Macerator Toilet - Paper

[AussieCat]

It really comes down to how Biodegradable the TP is. Which is just how well it breaks down in water. There's a really easy way to check this. Just get 2 pieces of as many different TP as you can. We just asked friends for samples and what brand they were using and kept a note of each one. Then simply put each sample into a mid size jar or clear container 3/4 full of water. Give the container a good shake for 5 - 10 seconds. A good product will break down to almost nothing. We actually found some of the cheaper brands were better than the top brands. A lot left pieces 50 mm (2") floating in the water. Remember it's the paper that causes the blockage not the human bit. . Been using same brand now for 3 years with no problems. Another factor is salt water unless you are lucky enough to be able to flush with frees water. . We dismantle, clean and service our heads (one manual & one electric) every 12 months. Treat the heads same as your engines with regular service and no more 6 am blockages to deal with.

[peghall]

Instead of having to sort around that page to figure out what to click on (I remember when Raritan's site was easy to navigate!), here's a direct link to Raritan's promo sheet for the ElectroScan ElectroScan promo sheet



--Peggie

[charliehows]

I have a pretty common macerator toilet - I no longer put tp through it - my rule is 'human products only' - I think its going to last a lot longer this way and i have no problem disposing of tp in the daily bin.

[charliehows]

a little digression here, if you would indulge me; if there are concerns about the hygiene of disposing of tp in the bin, consider this - a recent scientific study has discovered seagulls carry many antibiotic resistant bacteria and viruses - how much seagull sh*t have you walked through on your deck lately? its a matter of proportion, which are the real risks.

[CapnBazza]

Originally Posted by scarlet

We have always stuck very closely to "Marine potty rules", but we never had a macerator toilet before, and we are under contract on a boat with a macerator toilet. So, since everything gets chopped up... will I be able to put Toilet paper in it? Or do we still need to follow the no paper rule?

What’s the”No paper rule”?

[peghall]

There are several versions, all starting with "Nothing goes into....the toilet (or head) that you haven't eaten"...."the toilet (or head) that hasn't passed through you."


There are more, some a lot more creative than those two examples.


--Peggie

[CapnBazza]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Just to throw this out there, but last year I fitted a Bidet to our head, and wow it really cuts down on TP use, and without trying to be gross, I believe it’s cleaner too.
We still use TP, mostly just to dry, and use only a fraction of what we used to.

Wouldn’t be without one.

[bailsout]

Check out portable bidets on line. 10 bucks, no paper. I also use it at home. Haven’t bought paper towels or toilet paper in 20 years. My wife uses pee rags.

[sailorboy1]

I have been using regular store Scotts single ply TP for 8 years with my bottom of the line Jabsco head. We flush the paper and don't even really try to go "lite"on the paper.

It has never clogged and we are full time cruisers the past 34 months.

[jacktheflyer]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

a64 Pilot google “Family Cloth” for something really unhygienic. Reusable cloth adult bum wipes.
Cheers

I buy a single ply paper that promotes itself as being "Recycled Toilet Paper". I wonder how they get to recycle?

[rls8r]

You may want to check out a (relatively) recent Practical Sailor article on toilet papers. They concluded that the Scott Rapid Dissolve TP is (and has been) the best to use in marine toilets. See: https://www.practical-sailor.com/iss...s_12091-1.html

[JanetGroene]

Take a cue from hotels and have a small supply of discreet bags available for guests to wrap items, such as tampons, they can't put in the toilet but don't want to display in the waste basket. And DO have a waste basket handy so nobody throws dental floss or soap wrappers into the head.

[Amapola]

Our boat came with one; we took it out; just one more thing to break down. We never flush paper products in the head.

[CruiserDerrick]

I have worked for many years for a yacht charter company and have replaced many macerator pumps.....here are a few thoughts
1. toilet paper is fine as long as you use 1 ply biodegradable paper...do not use the high cost "fancy" paper that is soft and cuddly (sic) anyway...…
2. your biggest foe...is dental floss...….its as strong as steel and will easily wrap around the macerator blades and presto....macerator will stop running.
3 as another person has said...use plent of water when flushing sewerage.
4. DO NOT ALLOW Children to play with the toilet...among other things I have extricated …..GI JOE, oranges, tennis balls, ping pong balls, cat toys, etc
5 Wet wipes should be outlawed...do not allow them on your boat....
6 hygiene products...

and anything else that has NOT gone through your body first...…

good luck
derrick

[RSH]

Originally Posted by peghall

On a recent Caribbean charter boat with a macerating head, we were told "if it didn't come out of you, don't flush it", so we also observed the marine potty rule and didn't flush TP Given the amount of charter traffic there, the less material dumped the better i guess.

It's not the amount of "material" from charter boats, it's that many charterers many charterers have no idea that what they can flush on land will clog a marine toilet. Today, that's often a wet wipe, but can also include paper towels and/or an overload of TP. And the cost of emergency trips to the boats to unclog toilets can really add up! So a requiring that everything but body waste go into the trash is the only way to prevent or at least cut way down on the emergency toilet repairs.

--Peggie

There is a Bravo reality TV show called "Unanchored" that had a bunch of people sailing on a Lagoon 560 (I think it was a 560, it's been several months since I watched it), and the captain was *insistent* that nobody poop on the boat-he made them all go ashore. I think they had about 8 people on the boat (plus him), and at the time I was like geez, it doesn't matter if you have a $1M boat, you're still basically camping?

I know better now (they just didn't want to deal with emptying the tanks or drunk people flushing stuff they shouldn't), but at the time I was very offput by it, and that's when I started doing marine toilet research so I could have what I consider to be a civilized experience onboard.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-di...e-date-trailer

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Just to throw this out there, but last year I fitted a Bidet to our head, and wow it really cuts down on TP use, and without trying to be gross, I believe it’s cleaner too.
We still use TP, mostly just to dry, and use only a fraction of what we used to.

What bidet did you use, and what was involved installing it? I like this idea a lot, although I don't typically use bidets except for when I was in Japan, where the toilets ran the gamut from a literal hole in the floor to the cushiest tushy experience one could imagine!