Want to install a sanitation system

[dhays]

7 years in the Navy, MM1(SS) I have never questioned my abilities.

I do question, if I fold myself up to get into an area, will I be able to unfold myself and get out of the area. LOL

Yeah, makes me with my kids were still small and living at home.

 

[catalinajack]

So that means one takes an undue risk when installing anything himself? I am another who has a different opiniion. Geez, you must have deep pockets paying yard rates for all boat stuff. Most of us here do not.

The object in my mind is to avoid a lawyer.
My concern is, if something goes wrong, one of the questions asked will be, who put it in? Always nice to blame that very famous boat worker, "someone else." SMILE
If you can install it, great. Please have it checked and approved by a qualified "someone else."

 

[1838john]

Then look over his shoulder and ask lots of questions.
Dont forget to buy the 'most used' spare parts to fix it.

If you look over his shoulder and ask lots of questions " he/she will charge more because it will take more time". It would be worth the extra cost.
Why would you say "if you have to sue"?

 

[firstbase]

 

[rgano]

My impression of "professional" installation in most boat yards is that the kid putting the system in your boat is paid to do it thereby making him a "pro." If he has done it a few times, that still doesn't make it a certainty that he didn't use poor work and engineering practices in doing so. You will never find a factory trained and certified true professional installer for the many different systems in most places you get your boat repaired. When something goes wrong, most manufacturers will want the item back for warranty work, and guess what, you get to pay the same guy who installed it to remove it for return unless you find a yard willing to certify its work. Good luck with that. I will allow an engine mechanic that I watch every second he has his hands on my engine work on it on the extremely rare occasions my DIY capabilities an not up to the task. I once caught an old USCG retiree worker in the yard putting my refurbished props on the wrong shafts and not cinching up the new shaft couplers correctly. - TRUST NOBODY with your boat which contains your life. If you are a checkbook maintainer, god bless you for supporting the boatyard and maintenance man and mechanic community because you will be paying four to five times as much as I am for cost of ownership, and I have NO, absolutely NO problem with that because when I need that sort of help, they will be available instead of flipping burgers somewhere.

 

[Comodave]

I have found that I do a much better job than most any boat yards. I care about my boat, they generally care about getting it done. A local boatyard puts 2 coats of epoxy barrier coat paint so that they can make money. I put 6 coats on the last boat I did. I asked them why they don’t do more, they said nobody would pay for a proper job. Now is that the way you want your sanitation system installed?

 

[BigTime]

I removed the ElectroScan that was already installed when I purchased the boat. Operating mostly in brackish water adding salt was a real pain so when I needed to purchase $220 electrodes I installed a PuraSan.
Love the PuraSan !

 

[ezberci]

I want to install a complete system that is safe to dump over board, black water, tired of going to pump out. I am looking at a Ahead System made in Louisiana. This system uses 110 volt power and chemicals must be added. What other systems does anyone have or is out there, trying to stay with 110 volt.

I already use Lectrasan 24 Volt DC Sanitary system on my TICKETY BOO.(Tarquin Trader 41+2).
Waste sent to LectraSan first,progress takes 3 minutes approximately,than send to holding tank.I made also three way/ Y valve to discharge standardized waste either to sea or shore waste collecting station by the pump which installed on waste tank.I have tested many times while at sea "There is no parts or foams on sea surface created by Sanitary system progressed waste.But All kind off discharging in Turkish waters prohibited.So I always discharge to shore stations.I can send you the photos if you would like to more information.Please send me your e-mail adress.

 

[RoseLoper48]

Domestic makes the Purosan system. I like mine. It is a hold and treat system that discharges at a specified level and runs off DC power.

 

[angus99]

My impression of "professional" installation in most boat yards is that the kid putting the system in your boat is paid to do it thereby making him a "pro." If he has done it a few times, that still doesn't make it a certainty that he didn't use poor work and engineering practices in doing so. You will never find a factory trained and certified true professional installer for the many different systems in most places you get your boat repaired. When something goes wrong, most manufacturers will want the item back for warranty work, and guess what, you get to pay the same guy who installed it to remove it for return unless you find a yard willing to certify its work. Good luck with that. I will allow an engine mechanic that I watch every second he has his hands on my engine work on it on the extremely rare occasions my DIY capabilities an not up to the task. I once caught an old USCG retiree worker in the yard putting my refurbished props on the wrong shafts and not cinching up the new shaft couplers correctly. - TRUST NOBODY with your boat which contains your life. If you are a checkbook maintainer, god bless you for supporting the boatyard and maintenance man and mechanic community because you will be paying four to five times as much as I am for cost of ownership, and I have NO, absolutely NO problem with that because when I need that sort of help, they will be available instead of flipping burgers somewhere.

This!!!

Sadly, I can count on one hand the true pros that have worked on our boat. There are some good folks out there—and I’m willing to pay for things I can’t do—but I don’t like paying for someone who’s learning on the job unless they’re being mentored by a pro.

Boat work isn’t for everybody. Some lack the skill or time to do the maintenance or upgrades needed to keep a boat in top condition. I certainly don’t have innate skills; I take forever to get simple jobs done right and would starve to death if I had to rely on repairing boats for income. But I can research, learn the proper techniques and do a fair job that I’m satisfied with on most counts. Plus, there’s no better way to learn about your boat’s systems than working on them.

 

[HeadMistress]

Domestic makes the Purosan system. I like mine. It is a hold and treat system that discharges at a specified level and runs off DC power.

I think you mean DOMETIC...However, it's RARITAN, not Dometic, who makes the ElectroScan and PuraSan. Raritan ElectroScan promo sheet Raritan PuraSan Promo Sheet

Unlike the ElectroScan which creates chlorine by charging the ions in salt water with electrical current, the PuraSan has a block of chlorine (Raritan calls it a "tablet") in a cartridge that has be replaced (the cartridge, not jus the "tablet" in it) when all the chlorine in it has been used 'cuz the PuraSan can no longer treat waste without it, and it cannot be replaced with anything else, nor refilled with any other type of chlorine (NO swimming pool tablets! That can damage the PuraSan). So it's kind of important to know who makes it.

--Peggie

 

[syjos]

My impression of "professional" installation in most boat yards is that the kid putting the system in your boat is paid to do it thereby making him a "pro." If he has done it a few times, that still doesn't make it a certainty that he didn't use poor work and engineering practices in doing so. You will never find a factory trained and certified true professional installer for the many different systems in most places you get your boat repaired. When something goes wrong, most manufacturers will want the item back for warranty work, and guess what, you get to pay the same guy who installed it to remove it for return unless you find a yard willing to certify its work. Good luck with that. I will allow an engine mechanic that I watch every second he has his hands on my engine work on it on the extremely rare occasions my DIY capabilities an not up to the task. I once caught an old USCG retiree worker in the yard putting my refurbished props on the wrong shafts and not cinching up the new shaft couplers correctly. - TRUST NOBODY with your boat which contains your life. If you are a checkbook maintainer, god bless you for supporting the boatyard and maintenance man and mechanic community because you will be paying four to five times as much as I am for cost of ownership, and I have NO, absolutely NO problem with that because when I need that sort of help, they will be available instead of flipping burgers somewhere.

I agree 100%

 

[sdowney717]

I have an older Lectra San. It works fine. Has the meter and hand dial. I do add salt but its automatic by way of a shunt valve. I have a 10 gallon cooler plumbed to an adjustable PVC valve, every time the electric toilet runs, it draws from brackish raw water and the brine cooler.
I know it works since the electrode draws 22 amps,
(normal amperage is 17-23 from Vic at Raritan.)
which is about perfect. I measure it using an ammeter wired into the circuit, and the ammeter measures current for the electrode only, not the electric stirring motors.

I can turn the valve off or open it a little to adjust the current flow for the electrode, once its set its pretty good for the whole area we are in.

These electrode packs have a life span due to how they are made. The titanium plates are great, but they use a large solid strand copper wire that connects those plates to the electrode studs where the wires attach. What always happens after hundreds of uses, the copper wire heats up breaking the sealants and is exposed to the salt water and it corrodes and eventually breaks the connection. This damage is invisible, you can hack them open and find the damage and if your skilled can even repair them better then OEM, even use a titanium wire, if your good at these things. All the plates need do is to generate enough current to create the acid to kill the bacteria.

 

[catalinajack]

Here here. Trust but veirfy. Before leaving to do the Great Loop last year, I had a yard replace the damper plates (5,000+ hours) on the engines. While transiting the locks in Ottawa, one of my shafts parted from the transmission. At the time Drivesavers were in place. One of the Drivesavers had fractured. Upon investigation I fould two of the four flange bolts in the bilge and the other two were only finger tight. The mechanic may have forgotten to tighten the the bolts or he didn't use locktite but more importantly he reused the decades old hardware with tired lock washers. In any case, shoddy work and an ignorant consumer. Needless to say I now regularly check the bolts on my couplers. By the way, no more Drivesavers but that is another long story.

My impression of "professional" installation in most boat yards is that the kid putting the system in your boat is paid to do it thereby making him a "pro." If he has done it a few times, that still doesn't make it a certainty that he didn't use poor work and engineering practices in doing so. You will never find a factory trained and certified true professional installer for the many different systems in most places you get your boat repaired. When something goes wrong, most manufacturers will want the item back for warranty work, and guess what, you get to pay the same guy who installed it to remove it for return unless you find a yard willing to certify its work. Good luck with that. I will allow an engine mechanic that I watch every second he has his hands on my engine work on it on the extremely rare occasions my DIY capabilities an not up to the task. I once caught an old USCG retiree worker in the yard putting my refurbished props on the wrong shafts and not cinching up the new shaft couplers correctly. - TRUST NOBODY with your boat which contains your life. If you are a checkbook maintainer, god bless you for supporting the boatyard and maintenance man and mechanic community because you will be paying four to five times as much as I am for cost of ownership, and I have NO, absolutely NO problem with that because when I need that sort of help, they will be available instead of flipping burgers somewhere.

 

[ksanders]

I have vaccuflush fresh water heads that discharge into a holding tank.

From that holding tank a macerator pump moves effluent into the electroscan treatment system.

I have a salt injection system that is triggered by the electroscan controller to get the 20 amps of current that the electroscan has as a target amperage. The salt injection system is a modified version of the OEM unit from Raritan. I replaced the OEM float valve with a electrical float switch that operates a solenoid valve. I chose salt injection/electroscan over the Purasan system simply because the chlorine tablets are hazmat and cannot ship to Alaska except by barge service. I use a 40 pound bag of rock salt every week or so it seems, dependant on how many people are on the boat.

The treatment process is controlled by a hold n treat controller by raritan. There is a key switch to lock the system in no discharge mode while in NDZ’s. Once out of the NDZ a simple turn of the switch starts the automatic process of waste treatment.

I have found the system to be very reliable. After about 1200 cycles I had to replace the annode pack, but that was a couple hour job, easy peasy. Other than that the electroscan has required zero manitenance.