Huh? Re: [Rhodes22-list] Exploding Porta Potties

[Mary Lou Troy]

Bill,
All I can say is you have way too complicated a porta-john.

Ours is a Thetford 135 with a bellows pump and sliding closure a the bottom 
of the bowl. I've never experienced the pressure build-up you describe but 
if I suspected it, it would be easy to crack the closure & then flush. 
Simple, few moving parts and only a 2.6 gallon waste tank - which is why 
when we empty it every other day I can carry it up the dock.

On the other hand, if we lived on a mooring like you do, we'd have a marine 
head or plumb the porta-john to a deck pumpout fitting.

Best,
Mary Lou
1991 R22 Fretless
Ft. Washington, PA / Swan Creek MD

At 11:12 AM 11/21/2005 -0500, you wrote:
>Maybe it's a "get the new-guy" thing, but the Porta-Potty advocates never 
>seem to mention that Porta-Potties can blow out in your face--repeatedly.
>
>I developed plumbing problems with my marine head (which is terrific and 
>completely odor-free when working properly) owing to barnacle build up on 
>the inlet side.  On the advice of this list, I decided to switch over to a 
>Porta Potty this year, which I planned to eventually plumb into the rest 
>of my marine head system.  Luckily the project was more complex, and 
>launch time too short, so my boat went to sea with just a standard Porta-Potty.
>
>I have mentioned this before--as far as I'm concerned, the best feature of 
>a Rhodes-22 is that a man can make a pee while standing up with no risk of 
>falling overboard.
>
>My first disappointment with the Porta Potty was that the lower portion is 
>far more bulky than the small marine heads Stan installs, forcing me to 
>lean into the hatch opening at an off-balance angle.  It wasn't quite as 
>satisfying as the no hands required to hold you upright position I had 
>grown so accustomed to, but I felt I could live with it.
>
>Then came the big surprise!
>
>It was a hot summer day.  Time for a great pee.  I did my business while 
>surveying a lovely ocean vista.  Now, I know the women in this crowd will 
>have no sympathy for what happened next...It is impossible to flush a 
>Porta Potty while standing up, facing forward, with your upper body 
>protruding through an open hatch.  You must back out of the head, and, 
>while in this bent-over position, your head mere inches away from the 
>potty seat, grab the potty handle and pull it toward you as you exit the 
>enclosure.
>
>Did I mention that it was a HOT summer day?
>
>Most of you have the picture in your minds by now.  The lower portion of a 
>Porta Potty is air tight.  That's why you can't smell what's inside.
>On a hot summer day, that air expands.  But on a new Porta Potty, it has 
>no place to go--until you pull that handle!
>
>Then it blows your business right into your face which is mere inches from 
>the seat.
>
>Again, I know the women in this crowd are going to say "Just put down the 
>seat!" but if that advice, which has always been in my best interest, 
>hasn't always been followed for lo these many years of marriage, it's not 
>likely to always be followed now, either.
>
>I tried to remember to let out the air before pulling the handle when 
>there was anything in the upper chamber.  But on hot days, the pressure 
>could build up again, over and over.  I just didn't remember every 
>time.  (It's the same with the toilet seat--I know I remember most of the 
>time, but my wife only remembers the splashes in the middle of the night 
>followed by husband-awakening invective.)
>
>After 3 or 4 more explosions I pulled out the Porta Potty, and replaced it 
>with my old marine head.  Life has been much better ever since.
>
>Let me mention, also, another factor I found daunting in my Porta Potty 
>experience.  A gallon of water weighs 8.33 pounds.  A large porta potty 
>holds 6 gallons of water.  That's 50 pounds of sloshing 
>s..............stuff you're walking around with, hoping not to pull the 
>wrong handle by mistake.
>
>My boat is moored 1/2 mile from shore.  The nearest clean out facility is 
>1/4 mile from the dock.  My wife didn't take well to the notion of 
>bringing the tank back home in the back of the car.  Sure, I could have 
>done it more often, but the clean out procedure is just as foul as you 
>would imagine it to be, and walking around with 25 pounds of effluent is 
>no picnic, either--especially if you have to do it twice as often.
>
>When I have my boat recycled I'm going to talk to Stan about what we're 
>going to do next.  Using fresh water on the inlet side of the head is the 
>best way to go.  It totally eliminates all odors which are mainly caused 
>by little creatures pulled in with the sea water that die in the 
>tank.  The tank and pump out systems have always worked perfectly.  If all 
>I have to do is replace the valves on the marine head every couple of 
>years, I'll gladly do that maintenance in exchange for a far preferable 
>marine head system as far as I'm concerned.
>
>Bill Effros
>
>
>William E. Wickman wrote:
>
>>Ron, et. al.,
>>Everyone has an opinion about marine heads vs. porta-pottie, so here is
>>mine.  When I was first looking at a Rhodes, having a marine head was an
>>important criteria.  At one point, I had considered going the full monty; a
>>marine head with holding tank, macerator, and even an electra-san.
>>However, after reading the archives and upon further reflection, I realized
>>that the main reason that I wanted one was not for practical reasons, but
>>because it would make me feel more yachty.  The Rhodes is not a large boat.
>>That is what makes it so appealing, because it doesn't have all the big
>>boat problems.  As I read somewhere else on the list, it seems like those
>>big boat sailors that have marine heads are always having to fix something
>>on them.  Moreover, unless you keep the holding tank empty and clean, there
>>always seems to be an odor.  Simple is good.  I realized that I am not
>>going to be living on this boat, and the longest that I will probably ever
>>stay out is a week (maybe two if I'm lucky).  90+% of the time I am out on
>>the boat for a day sail or overnighter.  I believe that most Rhodies will
>>confess a similar percentage.  I ended up with a boat that has just the
>>porta-pottie, and have been very happy with it.  There is zero maintenance
>>with it, and it is very easy to dump anywhere there is a toilet.  Granted
>>it is a bit more hands-on than a pumpout, but a porta-pottie is much easier
>>to keep sanitized than a non-removeable holding tank.
>>
>>I'll finish with a true story.  I was on vacation during the summer of 2004
>>chartering a 45 foot sailboat in the San Juan Islands.  It was a wonderful
>>trip.  We had just docked for the evening in a marina on San Juan Island
>>and were walking off the docks to town when I saw the skipper of a rather
>>nice yacht in the process of emptying his holding tank into a "honey pot".
>>At this particular marina, they had tanks mounted on wheels with electric
>>pumps that they called honey pots.  It was a self-serve system that enabled
>>you to empty your sewage at your slip without having to go to a pump-out
>>station.  Well, right as we were passing by, something went amiss.  The
>>hose popped out of the holding tank fitting and drenched the skipper who
>>was bending over the hose fitting.  After everyone around finished their
>>collective Eeeeew, there was a bit of laughter by the small crowd that
>>always seems to gather around when some such activity as emptying a holding
>>tank is taking place.  It looked just like something out of a comedy.  The
>>skipper didn't think it was very funny though, and proceeded to spew a
>>string of profanities that required me to clap my hands over my 8 year
>>old's hears and quickly usher her away.  Moral of the story:  A
>>porta-pottie will not blow-out in your face.
>>
>>Bill W.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>             eroncol at aol.com
>>             Sent by:
>>             rhodes22-list-bou 
>> To             nces at rhodes22.org         rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
>> 
>>cc
>>             11/18/2005 
>> 02:48                                      Subject             PM 
>>                  [Rhodes22-list] thanks for replies
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>>
>>
>>Hi
>>Ed K., I do exist.  Been busy and not always near a computer.   Sorry about
>>the delay.  Thanks to you, Mary Lou, Steve Hemphill and Russell Miller for
>>your responses.
>>I live in Wynnewood, PA, Mary Lou.  I must get hold of your chapter in
>>"Sailing Small."   Thanks for the references Ed.  I will look at them.  I
>>already see abut the differing opinions, answers and facts,  though each of
>>you say newer is better.  Actually that is true of your comments re boat
>>and motor.
>>I've used marine head but never have used a porta-potti. Seems there are
>>differences of opinion both about enclosed head and about porta-potti
>>versus marine head.  Why prefer the porta-potti?  I assume as Ed says, that
>>this may be in the archives.   I will look.
>>Looks like I've got some thinking to do.  And some talking to Stan.
>>                               Ron Coleman
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