onthewater
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A Tale of Two Heads
Sal Salis Vita came with the standard “well known manufacturer” compact head, and holding tank combination. OK… we can deal with it (I told myself). Since our boat was a 2007 model that not been sold until we came along, some of the systems had yet to be used. It was somehow comforting to see the above named head still adorned in pristine fashion, having never been “christened”, I suppose.
On our first overnight, we removed the pink plastic stretch wrap material, and… used the head. I honestly hoped everything would work out OK. I was, hopeful. The macerator motor sprang to life, and the “deposited” contents were dutifully dispatched to the holding tank. So far; so good.
For those of you unfamiliar, a “compact design” head, is a (much) smaller version of a typical household commode. Naturally, while preparing to “do business”, you lower strategic body parts, and maneuver for seat contact. (Similar to astronauts docking the Space Shuttle at the International Space Station). It was disconcerting, though, that the compact design necessarily meant you had to do a lot of “lowering”, before said contact was made. So much so, that it felt as though said contact might not occur. Even though it finally did, you were positioned pretty darn “low in the saddle”.
OK…we can deal with it (I told myself). The first night everything seemed to go as hoped, then “Murphy” appeared on scene. On the second night (around 2:00 AM), I noticed that my pajama bottoms were “wet” after sitting to do some “liquid” business. Hmmm… that’s not good. I wiped up the mess, confident that I wasn’t the cause of it, and after changing jammies went back to sleep. The next morning Lori said, “Is there supposed to be “water” on the floor of the head?” Uh oh…well, no, actually.
I cleaned up the “water” again, and began to look for a source. After taking some things apart, and looking around, I was certain it wasn’t coming from the through hull. That’s good. It did appear to emanate from the base of the head. OK, no more head use until this issue was tracked down, and resolved, was the worthy decree. That worked out OK, as it was a Sunday, and we had to go back to work the following day.
A call was placed to the “well known manufacturer”, and eventually routed to the manger of the “fluid” division, who confidently stated it was “most probably a seal on the macerator pump which had dried out as a result of not being used”, and was now leaking said liquid. The division manager offered to send a replacement (at no cost) as a gesture of good will. Commendable. We were told it would take about 10-15 business days to arrive…hmmm…that’s a long time, but, it was a gesture of goodwill, you know?
After instituting some make-shift, temporary “workarounds” (best left to the imagination, and probably not suitable for discussion in the mixed company of this family friendly website), the replacement macerator finally arrived nearly 4 weeks later (but, it was, a gesture of goodwill, don’t you know?)
I eagerly prepared to switch out the macerator, and gain triumph over the leak! The division manager said it would be a “piece of cake” to change out the macerator pump, and, I believed him.
What he didn’t say was there could be a whole lot more involved that just switching out two hoses, and a wire.
In order to gain access to the bolts holding the macerator motor to the head, the bowl and base had to be removed, because the pump was set too close to the head wall for tool access. In order to remove the bowl, the screws which secured it, and were driven into the cabin liner, adhered with what I presume was 3M 5200 had to be removed. You may have heard it said that “you can’t break lose something installed with 5200 sealant”. Actually, it can be done, it just requires a lot of effort.
Next, I had to remove the refrigerator, trace the electric line, and spliced in a new wire. The inlet, and outlet hosed needed to be installed on the new pump, and there is a small piece of adaptor hose required to make the seal “leak-proof”. The original adaptor hose was most content where it was, necessitating heroic means to affect its’ removal, consequently rendering it less than suitable for continued use.
I did not find replacement pieces in the box, so it was off to the hardware store to buy a short piece of properly sized vinyl hose. There’s a large “O” ring that seals the pump body to the bowl, and it was a bit challenging to get seated properly, but with requisite time and care, that was accomplished, as well.
As a test, I hit the momentary switch, and the new motor snapped to attention. All right…this just might work! Everything was put back in proper order, and the final “test” was about to begin.
I poured some tap water into the bowl, confident that it would now stay confined to its’ proper place. After about a minute, or so, there was a trickle of a leak from the base of the head. Then a little bit more. It was not coming from the macerator, and all this effort was in vain. Drat!
Time to try another approach. I’d followed several C-Brats posts indicating great satisfaction with composting heads (although, to be fair, this was not necessarily a “unanimous sentiment”. That’s what keeps life interesting though, is it not?)
I did more research and came to the conclusion that we should try one of these composting heads. When I mentioned this fact to Lori, the look on her face was priceless. “You want to do what, with that?” was her initial response.
Let it be said that she has a very sensitive nose. You might think that after 3 kids, 5 dogs, and all the other associated “smells” we’ve dealt with in our 27 year marriage, that this would not be a big deal, but oh, it was. Several agreements were reached:
1. I would be the one to clean it.
2. I would be the one to deal with any “issues” that arose.
3. If it didn’t work, we would find something else that did.
4. And, just so there was no confusion, I would be the one to clean it.
OK, seems reasonable to me. I spoke with Larry, one of the principals at Nature’s Head Company (natureshead.net). He and his business partner are both long-term sailors, and have dealt with “sanitary” issues, as have the rest of us, for years. He answered all my questions, and assured me that with proper operation, and maintenance this system would result in a fresh, non-odorous head. Lori was skeptical. I placed the order.
When it arrived, it seemed well made. Nature’s Head is located in Ohio, and is made in the USA. That’s good! All the parts were there, and the simplicity of the design made a LOT of sense to me.
I’ve always had a problem drilling a hole in a perfectly good hull. It seems to kind of defeat the purpose of all the heroic attempts to keep water on the outside of the boat, as it were. I know they are necessary evils. On our twin engine trawler, we had a total of nine (count ‘em) thru-hulls, which seems like a lot, until you add up one per engine, one for a gen set, one for a water maker, one each for two heads, one each for the two AC units, and another one for a sea water wash down. That’s a lot of holes in the boat! It didn’t sink, and we were fine, but it still bothered me. (I know there are other alternatives, such as a sea chest, but space and plumbing restraints made that impossible on that particular boat). But, I digress…
An opportunity to eliminate one whole thru-hull on Sal Salis Vita would be a great coup! If the one for the head was gone, that would only leave one for the AC unit. (Eventually we may want to install a small water maker, if we head back to the Bahamas again, but I think we may be able to share the existing AC one).
So, on the “boat hole” front the Nature’s Head was a winner! The other thing that bothers me about the whole holding tank schema is carrying around sloshing, raw sewerage. I know there are ways to mitigate that concern, but I also know that my s&%t does smell. No doubt about it. (Maybe that was the main reason Lori was so hesitant about this whole “experiment”).
The installation was really very straight-forward, and relatively simple. I ran an electric line from a bus bar located under the instrument panel. This line was spliced to a jack supplied with the head, to power the small computer style “muffin fan” that ventilates the “solids” portion of the container. I made a couple teak mounting blocks, which were secured to the floor with 3M 4200 sealant/adhesive.
There are two supplied “L” brackets that are screwed to the teak blocks, and a thumb-screw is used to attach it to the base. The unit is very stable, even though the floor in our head is not entirely level. (I did have to make one of the mounting blocks about ¼” thinner due to the upward slope of the outboard side of the floor). In addition, it sits up high enough that you don’t experience the aforementioned “sinking feeling”.
The final part of the install was to run a vent hose. We ordered a Vetus Mushroom style stainless vent from Nature’s Head. They supplied an adaptor, and 5’ of vent hose. The only thing remaining was to drill a 1 ½” vent hole, and four screw mount holes. It was honestly a little disconcerting to drill a hole in the cabin of our pretty boat, but it had to be done. By using a new hole saw, and going slowly from both sides, (after running the drill in “reverse” to score a “path”) there was no chipping of gel coat.
As Larry explained, the thing that makes this whole process possible is separation of liquid from solid waste material. The “bowl” is designed to be gender neutral, so that liquids collect in a container on the front of the head, and the solids drop into the treatment compartment through a little “trap door”. Following deposit of solid material, you spin an agitator a few revolutions to mix the new material in with the peat moss. The urine container needs emptied more frequently, since there’s typically more of that created.
You simply remove the container, and dispose of the contents. Pretty simple.
Since the proof, as it were, is in the pudding, we can now offer a report after three days use (mid-October, 2010). A short amount of time, true, but there has been a significant quantity of solid material deposited, both human and canine.
So far, head smells are non-existent. That’s good! If you stand right next to the outdoor mushroom vent and sniff, you can detect a slight odor. It is not objectionable, and, I have no plans to do that, actually.
One consideration is a continuous electric supply to operate the vent fan. It requires less than1 amp, but there is still a 24 hour demand, which will add up. Seems like a small price to pay for an overall easier, environmentally friendly sanitation solution.
A couple more points to consider: The biological activity that performs this “magic” is aerobic, and becomes less effective as the temperature falls below 65 degrees F. That doesn’t mean it won’t work, it just works less well, and takes longer. Eventually, if it gets cold enough the activity becomes dormant (probably the way a lot of us feel during the winter months).
You also have the need for some starter peat moss. I bought a small bag of Miracle Grow peat moss which cost about 5 dollars. We keep a small squirt bottle of water next to the head for cleaning purposes, and to initially moisten the peat moss.
So far; so good. It passes Lori’s smell test. We’ll try and keep you posted as time goes on, but I’m already making plans for the space now occupied by our “no longer necessary” holding tank. That’s a good thing!
(Please note: Pictures available in our album).
Update: After our first five day on-board test, we couldn’t be happier. There were a lot of “deposits” made, and our Natures Head handled them all with ease.
The end “smell” of the unit was just kind of “earthy”, not unlike what you might encounter on a walk in the forest. Pretty “pleasant”, (if you can use that term) and not at all objectionable!
A couple points to consider: When filling the “liquid” tank, you can use “audio cues” to help define the liquid level. (The tank is made of a translucent material, so you can also see the lever directly, but redundant input makes sense to me).
Similar to filling any tank, the sound changes as the liquid level rises. In other words, as long as you can hear “something” you’re probably still OK. If that “noise” disappears, you best empty the tank!
When we returned from our trip, I emptied the solids bin. A kitchen size trash bag fits perfectly (tightly) around that compartment. All you have to do is flip it over, and the “dirt” falls into the bag for disposal. I did wear gloves for this procedure, as a precaution, but to each his own.
All total, I spent about 10-15 minutes cleaning everything up. That amounted to wiping down the interior of the bin, and finishing with some Fantastic cleaner, and paper towels. I thought this prudent, since we are winterizing Sal Salis Vita, and won’t need the head again until next spring.
If we were going to continue head use, it would have taken much less time. In that case, after emptying the container, you would just add more slightly pre-moistened peat moss, and you’d be ready to “go”!
As an aside for you skeptics, (I know you’re still out there) I offer one more piece of information. After I dumped the “soil” into the trash bag, I set it aside and left it open while the clean up continued. It was a pleasant 80 degree sunny afternoon, and there were a few flies “hanging out” as I worked.
I found it absolutely amazing that the flies paid this compost material NO attention, whatsoever. They buzzed around, but didn’t even go near the open trash bag. Pretty impressive evidence, me thinks.
In the final analysis, we are very happy with our choice to go “natural”. I know this avenue is not for everyone, but if you approach this problem with an open mind, you might just find it a better alternative.
Fair seas,
Bob
PS. Disclaimer. I have no interest in Natures Head, other than as a satisfied customer.
Sal Salis Vita came with the standard “well known manufacturer” compact head, and holding tank combination. OK… we can deal with it (I told myself). Since our boat was a 2007 model that not been sold until we came along, some of the systems had yet to be used. It was somehow comforting to see the above named head still adorned in pristine fashion, having never been “christened”, I suppose.
On our first overnight, we removed the pink plastic stretch wrap material, and… used the head. I honestly hoped everything would work out OK. I was, hopeful. The macerator motor sprang to life, and the “deposited” contents were dutifully dispatched to the holding tank. So far; so good.
For those of you unfamiliar, a “compact design” head, is a (much) smaller version of a typical household commode. Naturally, while preparing to “do business”, you lower strategic body parts, and maneuver for seat contact. (Similar to astronauts docking the Space Shuttle at the International Space Station). It was disconcerting, though, that the compact design necessarily meant you had to do a lot of “lowering”, before said contact was made. So much so, that it felt as though said contact might not occur. Even though it finally did, you were positioned pretty darn “low in the saddle”.
OK…we can deal with it (I told myself). The first night everything seemed to go as hoped, then “Murphy” appeared on scene. On the second night (around 2:00 AM), I noticed that my pajama bottoms were “wet” after sitting to do some “liquid” business. Hmmm… that’s not good. I wiped up the mess, confident that I wasn’t the cause of it, and after changing jammies went back to sleep. The next morning Lori said, “Is there supposed to be “water” on the floor of the head?” Uh oh…well, no, actually.
I cleaned up the “water” again, and began to look for a source. After taking some things apart, and looking around, I was certain it wasn’t coming from the through hull. That’s good. It did appear to emanate from the base of the head. OK, no more head use until this issue was tracked down, and resolved, was the worthy decree. That worked out OK, as it was a Sunday, and we had to go back to work the following day.
A call was placed to the “well known manufacturer”, and eventually routed to the manger of the “fluid” division, who confidently stated it was “most probably a seal on the macerator pump which had dried out as a result of not being used”, and was now leaking said liquid. The division manager offered to send a replacement (at no cost) as a gesture of good will. Commendable. We were told it would take about 10-15 business days to arrive…hmmm…that’s a long time, but, it was a gesture of goodwill, you know?
After instituting some make-shift, temporary “workarounds” (best left to the imagination, and probably not suitable for discussion in the mixed company of this family friendly website), the replacement macerator finally arrived nearly 4 weeks later (but, it was, a gesture of goodwill, don’t you know?)
I eagerly prepared to switch out the macerator, and gain triumph over the leak! The division manager said it would be a “piece of cake” to change out the macerator pump, and, I believed him.
What he didn’t say was there could be a whole lot more involved that just switching out two hoses, and a wire.
In order to gain access to the bolts holding the macerator motor to the head, the bowl and base had to be removed, because the pump was set too close to the head wall for tool access. In order to remove the bowl, the screws which secured it, and were driven into the cabin liner, adhered with what I presume was 3M 5200 had to be removed. You may have heard it said that “you can’t break lose something installed with 5200 sealant”. Actually, it can be done, it just requires a lot of effort.
Next, I had to remove the refrigerator, trace the electric line, and spliced in a new wire. The inlet, and outlet hosed needed to be installed on the new pump, and there is a small piece of adaptor hose required to make the seal “leak-proof”. The original adaptor hose was most content where it was, necessitating heroic means to affect its’ removal, consequently rendering it less than suitable for continued use.
I did not find replacement pieces in the box, so it was off to the hardware store to buy a short piece of properly sized vinyl hose. There’s a large “O” ring that seals the pump body to the bowl, and it was a bit challenging to get seated properly, but with requisite time and care, that was accomplished, as well.
As a test, I hit the momentary switch, and the new motor snapped to attention. All right…this just might work! Everything was put back in proper order, and the final “test” was about to begin.
I poured some tap water into the bowl, confident that it would now stay confined to its’ proper place. After about a minute, or so, there was a trickle of a leak from the base of the head. Then a little bit more. It was not coming from the macerator, and all this effort was in vain. Drat!
Time to try another approach. I’d followed several C-Brats posts indicating great satisfaction with composting heads (although, to be fair, this was not necessarily a “unanimous sentiment”. That’s what keeps life interesting though, is it not?)
I did more research and came to the conclusion that we should try one of these composting heads. When I mentioned this fact to Lori, the look on her face was priceless. “You want to do what, with that?” was her initial response.
Let it be said that she has a very sensitive nose. You might think that after 3 kids, 5 dogs, and all the other associated “smells” we’ve dealt with in our 27 year marriage, that this would not be a big deal, but oh, it was. Several agreements were reached:
1. I would be the one to clean it.
2. I would be the one to deal with any “issues” that arose.
3. If it didn’t work, we would find something else that did.
4. And, just so there was no confusion, I would be the one to clean it.
OK, seems reasonable to me. I spoke with Larry, one of the principals at Nature’s Head Company (natureshead.net). He and his business partner are both long-term sailors, and have dealt with “sanitary” issues, as have the rest of us, for years. He answered all my questions, and assured me that with proper operation, and maintenance this system would result in a fresh, non-odorous head. Lori was skeptical. I placed the order.
When it arrived, it seemed well made. Nature’s Head is located in Ohio, and is made in the USA. That’s good! All the parts were there, and the simplicity of the design made a LOT of sense to me.
I’ve always had a problem drilling a hole in a perfectly good hull. It seems to kind of defeat the purpose of all the heroic attempts to keep water on the outside of the boat, as it were. I know they are necessary evils. On our twin engine trawler, we had a total of nine (count ‘em) thru-hulls, which seems like a lot, until you add up one per engine, one for a gen set, one for a water maker, one each for two heads, one each for the two AC units, and another one for a sea water wash down. That’s a lot of holes in the boat! It didn’t sink, and we were fine, but it still bothered me. (I know there are other alternatives, such as a sea chest, but space and plumbing restraints made that impossible on that particular boat). But, I digress…
An opportunity to eliminate one whole thru-hull on Sal Salis Vita would be a great coup! If the one for the head was gone, that would only leave one for the AC unit. (Eventually we may want to install a small water maker, if we head back to the Bahamas again, but I think we may be able to share the existing AC one).
So, on the “boat hole” front the Nature’s Head was a winner! The other thing that bothers me about the whole holding tank schema is carrying around sloshing, raw sewerage. I know there are ways to mitigate that concern, but I also know that my s&%t does smell. No doubt about it. (Maybe that was the main reason Lori was so hesitant about this whole “experiment”).
The installation was really very straight-forward, and relatively simple. I ran an electric line from a bus bar located under the instrument panel. This line was spliced to a jack supplied with the head, to power the small computer style “muffin fan” that ventilates the “solids” portion of the container. I made a couple teak mounting blocks, which were secured to the floor with 3M 4200 sealant/adhesive.
There are two supplied “L” brackets that are screwed to the teak blocks, and a thumb-screw is used to attach it to the base. The unit is very stable, even though the floor in our head is not entirely level. (I did have to make one of the mounting blocks about ¼” thinner due to the upward slope of the outboard side of the floor). In addition, it sits up high enough that you don’t experience the aforementioned “sinking feeling”.
The final part of the install was to run a vent hose. We ordered a Vetus Mushroom style stainless vent from Nature’s Head. They supplied an adaptor, and 5’ of vent hose. The only thing remaining was to drill a 1 ½” vent hole, and four screw mount holes. It was honestly a little disconcerting to drill a hole in the cabin of our pretty boat, but it had to be done. By using a new hole saw, and going slowly from both sides, (after running the drill in “reverse” to score a “path”) there was no chipping of gel coat.
As Larry explained, the thing that makes this whole process possible is separation of liquid from solid waste material. The “bowl” is designed to be gender neutral, so that liquids collect in a container on the front of the head, and the solids drop into the treatment compartment through a little “trap door”. Following deposit of solid material, you spin an agitator a few revolutions to mix the new material in with the peat moss. The urine container needs emptied more frequently, since there’s typically more of that created.
You simply remove the container, and dispose of the contents. Pretty simple.
Since the proof, as it were, is in the pudding, we can now offer a report after three days use (mid-October, 2010). A short amount of time, true, but there has been a significant quantity of solid material deposited, both human and canine.
So far, head smells are non-existent. That’s good! If you stand right next to the outdoor mushroom vent and sniff, you can detect a slight odor. It is not objectionable, and, I have no plans to do that, actually.
One consideration is a continuous electric supply to operate the vent fan. It requires less than1 amp, but there is still a 24 hour demand, which will add up. Seems like a small price to pay for an overall easier, environmentally friendly sanitation solution.
A couple more points to consider: The biological activity that performs this “magic” is aerobic, and becomes less effective as the temperature falls below 65 degrees F. That doesn’t mean it won’t work, it just works less well, and takes longer. Eventually, if it gets cold enough the activity becomes dormant (probably the way a lot of us feel during the winter months).
You also have the need for some starter peat moss. I bought a small bag of Miracle Grow peat moss which cost about 5 dollars. We keep a small squirt bottle of water next to the head for cleaning purposes, and to initially moisten the peat moss.
So far; so good. It passes Lori’s smell test. We’ll try and keep you posted as time goes on, but I’m already making plans for the space now occupied by our “no longer necessary” holding tank. That’s a good thing!
(Please note: Pictures available in our album).
Update: After our first five day on-board test, we couldn’t be happier. There were a lot of “deposits” made, and our Natures Head handled them all with ease.
The end “smell” of the unit was just kind of “earthy”, not unlike what you might encounter on a walk in the forest. Pretty “pleasant”, (if you can use that term) and not at all objectionable!
A couple points to consider: When filling the “liquid” tank, you can use “audio cues” to help define the liquid level. (The tank is made of a translucent material, so you can also see the lever directly, but redundant input makes sense to me).
Similar to filling any tank, the sound changes as the liquid level rises. In other words, as long as you can hear “something” you’re probably still OK. If that “noise” disappears, you best empty the tank!
When we returned from our trip, I emptied the solids bin. A kitchen size trash bag fits perfectly (tightly) around that compartment. All you have to do is flip it over, and the “dirt” falls into the bag for disposal. I did wear gloves for this procedure, as a precaution, but to each his own.
All total, I spent about 10-15 minutes cleaning everything up. That amounted to wiping down the interior of the bin, and finishing with some Fantastic cleaner, and paper towels. I thought this prudent, since we are winterizing Sal Salis Vita, and won’t need the head again until next spring.
If we were going to continue head use, it would have taken much less time. In that case, after emptying the container, you would just add more slightly pre-moistened peat moss, and you’d be ready to “go”!
As an aside for you skeptics, (I know you’re still out there) I offer one more piece of information. After I dumped the “soil” into the trash bag, I set it aside and left it open while the clean up continued. It was a pleasant 80 degree sunny afternoon, and there were a few flies “hanging out” as I worked.
I found it absolutely amazing that the flies paid this compost material NO attention, whatsoever. They buzzed around, but didn’t even go near the open trash bag. Pretty impressive evidence, me thinks.
In the final analysis, we are very happy with our choice to go “natural”. I know this avenue is not for everyone, but if you approach this problem with an open mind, you might just find it a better alternative.
Fair seas,
Bob
PS. Disclaimer. I have no interest in Natures Head, other than as a satisfied customer.
