Salt Water in PortaPotti Flush

H

hardee

New member
The question is: can salt water go in portapotti flush tank.

Why? Our friend and fellow C-Brat is working his way up into SE Alaska, and has asked if I would pose this question on the site.

I believe his intention is toward using Salt water in the flush tank to conserve his fresh water supply. I know using Salt Water in a marine toilet will increase the odor generation and accelerate the production of the odors. So, would that be the same in a portapotti? And would the addition of some "blue chemical stuff" help reduce the odiforousness? :roll:

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

Friends_Cal_09_10_Oct.thumb.jpg
 
hardee":1u1cc0c3 said:
The question is: can salt water go in portapotti flush tank.

Why? Our friend and fellow C-Brat is working his way up into SE Alaska, and has asked if I would pose this question on the site.

I believe his intention is toward using Salt water in the flush tank to conserve his fresh water supply. I know using Salt Water in a marine toilet will increase the odor generation and accelerate the production of the odors. So, would that be the same in a portapotti? YES! And would the addition of some "blue chemical stuff" help reduce the odiforousness? YES! :roll:

Next question: Where is the "Soup" going to be dumped?

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

Friends_Cal_09_10_Oct.thumb.jpg
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Fresh water is available many places in AK, and your friend should be able to fill the tank on the port-potty from any river, spring or domestic water supply. He just needs a bucket and funnel. We carry a collapsable bucket, and it is easy to scoop up a gallon of water to use in the PP.

There are some springs in the mechanism--there may be accelerated rust with the salt water. The chemicals will work fine--many boat holding tanks use salt water. But there are many who use fresh water to avoid the issues with salt water. In The R 246 forum, a number of members used fresh water (dumping in, using the shower head etc) to "Flush" their marine heads--which were not hooked up to raw water.
 
ssobol":i3sig4na said:
Might want to use his grey water for flushing instead of salt water. Although the results will depend on what's in the grey water.

It is bad to dump salt water into a septic system. The is from an aquarium forum, but it talks about salt water in a septic system.

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/index. ... em.296022/
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MANY boats have salt water plumbing systems. My old Camano had one. Nothing wrong with it.
 
South of Heaven":1ukk3wdb said:
ssobol":1ukk3wdb said:
Might want to use his grey water for flushing instead of salt water. Although the results will depend on what's in the grey water.

It is bad to dump salt water into a septic system. The is from an aquarium forum, but it talks about salt water in a septic system.

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/index. ... em.296022/
Click to expand...

MANY boats have salt water plumbing systems. My old Camano had one. Nothing wrong with it.
Click to expand...

Most of my boats (sail) were raw water flush. Amazing how long fresh water can last when using sea water to flush.
I'm in the process of doing the conversion right now. I'm tying into the raw water pickup and pump already installed with strainer, through hull, and ball valve for my wash down pump. Should be easy running a T into the line and 15' to the bathroom.
My previous owner pulled all the holding tank and macerator out so I don't know how it all goes back in. Researching now. Need pictures.
 
It seems the bigger question is properly discharging the contents of a porta potti, especially in remote waters where marina facilities are very limited. I’m not sure how many actually navigate out of their way the required 3 mi. offshore. Even if they dump 3 mi. offshore, the current is as likely to push the effluent shoreward, rather than out to sea. Aside from the inconvenience of water availability for the flush tank, the weight of the porta potti is significant with the tank full.

For all of the above reasons I have been following the threads on composting toilets. In that research I see that some Canadian provinces now prohibit the carriage of a portable, chemical toilet. Presumably the reason for this is that they can be discharged into a body of water. Thanks for starting the thread Harvey. Ken
 
In order to get more days out of our porta potti, we use a sports water bottle and then just flush things down with that. Depending on the room for trash on board, we do not put toilet paper in the porta pottie, but keep it in a sealed trash can.
Just some other ideas.

Rob
 
serpa4":3amgpvmt said:
Most of my boats (sail) were raw water flush. Amazing how long fresh water can last when using sea water to flush.
I'm in the process of doing the conversion right now. I'm tying into the raw water pickup and pump already installed with strainer, through hull, and ball valve for my wash down pump. Should be easy running a T into the line and 15' to the bathroom.
My previous owner pulled all the holding tank and macerator out so I don't know how it all goes back in. Researching now. Need pictures.
Click to expand...

Didn't the 2018 use the head system, with a direct dump into the 9 gallon holding tank in the base of the commode? I would be concerned about corrosion in the valves in this system, which were designed for fresh water use. (As I recollect the amount of fresh water is minimal. The "Y" valve, and a hand (diaphragm) or 12 V powered pump (macerator or diaphragm). I converted one boat which only had the deck pump out to a diaphragm pump discharge--no macerator.

If fresh water is an issue, I probably would put in a small or even portable fresh water container, just dedicated to the head. There are small pumps which work well with this type of system. Let's say a 2 gallon container, with the pump could be put in the back corner of the head.
 
Back to the original poster....you got some good answers and yes you can safely use salt water in the portable toilet. But, it probably depends on the toilet....mine is rated for salt water usage and others may not be.
 
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