|
|
From: Edward Filkins (PC2.INTEROZ.COM!efilkins)
Date: Tue Oct 01 1996 - 17:11:35 EDT
My First Two Weeks with a Composting Head
We installed a Sunmar Marine/RV Composting head in our boat (a Coronado 35)
about two weeks ago now.
It installed easy enough, only having to make two modifications from the
instructions to get it working in my boat.
1. The toilet is rather tall and has a folding step that wouldn't reach the
floor, so I had to extend the step's legs by 2 inches.
2. It comes with a 3 inch vent pipe that should be ran straight up without
very many bends and a 0.2amp fan that pushes air from the toilet at the vent
pipe opening. (The fan sits 1 inch below the vent pipe). This being a flush
deck, center cockpit boat the first thing I did was throwaway the 3 inch
pipe and go with about 22 feet of 1.5in PVC pipe with 6 90 .degree turns. It
now discharges 12 feet above the deck(16 feet above the water) with the pipe
looking like a oversized shroud cover.
Well their fan wouldn't push any air through all this pipe, so I installed a
3 inch turbo bilge blower inline and it pulled all kinds of good air through
it. But at 2.5 amps it was too much of a good thing, too much noise, too
much air, too much power.
Back to the drawing board (I've been called dangerous before). Out of the
junk box, a 0.3 amp fan that came out of a laser printer some years back and
two 1.5 to 3 inch PCV pipe adapters. Some cutting, a little glue and some
tape ------- a INLINE 1.5 INCH TURBO TOILET BLOWER. It's a 3.25 inch
computer fan with everything that's not the fan removed mounted between the
two 1.5 to 3 inch (3.5 inch inside dia) PVC pipe adapters. Works like a charm.
Now there's no smell in the bathroom or on deck and the Composting toilet is
working just great so far. The fan pulls air through the unit evaporating
the liquids and the composting takes care of the solids and toilet paper.
Normal Maintenance.
Every Day: I have too add two handful of peatmoss to the unit.
Every Third Day: Crank a handle to turn the composting drum 6 times.
The most important thing is good ventilation, but it's easier to get good
ventilation then a pumpout.
Ed,
S/V JoyBells
Ed Filkins S/V JoyBells
http://www.vnet.net/users/efilkins/sailing.html
|