OK, so I gave up with the pump-out loo... annoyed me that we had a system (that wouldn't work) and had to change it BUT, given the arguments for and against:
For Pump-out:
Tank / loo already installed.
Requires emptying every 4 - 5 weeks (when operating properly)
Cost / time / effort to change (already there!)
Against Pump out:
It wouldn't pump out properly (empty)
Cost of pumping out
Restricted sites to pump out
History of efficiency of operation (bad)
Julie had had enough of it!
For Cassette:
Ease / sites to empty
Simplicity of operation / installation
No cost to empty
Julie wanted it!
Against Cassette:
Removal of existing system
Repetition of emptying
Given the above - and a bit of arm-bending, the cassette option seemed to be the only way forward and, although it entailed the removal of the loo and tank that was built-in, to be fair its a better system for our future plans (cruising the cut)...
It took about an hour to remove the loo and the window, dismantle the bed over the tank and cut a hole in the top to extend the inspection hatch enough to fit the pipe to remove the 3/4 full cack in it. It took a further hour to pump out and swill / clean the tank to empty (4 tokens later!!). Then a total of 15 cutting disks, 4 hours work and a lot of dust and scraping cack later; the top front and one side of the tank were out and the remainder cleaned and blackened to seal it... rebuilt the bed and cleaned the rest of the boat (at this point Julie came back (from walking the dogs for 3 hours to stay out of the way) to finish off - best she wasn't there for the mucky bits really) - 8 hours graft... Day 2 entailed cutting and boxing-out the rest of the under-bed cavity after filling the tray of the tank with the ballast blocks that were under the kitchen units to counter-balance the tank that was now 70% gone... another 4 hours work then more cleaning (sawdust this time!)... I fitted the cassette loo (Thetford C200CS) in a couple of hours (including cutting a hole in the bathroom wall to facilitate cassette replenishment, the water and 12V supply were there from the Tecma macerator and only had to be 'adjusted' slightly)...
All in all a reasonably simple (if shitty) job but having the peace of mind that the loo can't overfill, won't cost anything but effort every 3-4 days to empty, will pay for itself in 4-5 months and we have another 1cu m to use as storage space PLUS less power and water consumption, a job worth the aggro of doing - I know, 'in heinsight' should've done it when the initial refurb was in operation and the boat was a proper building site... Oh well - the joys of liveaboards!! Hee!
No comments:
Post a Comment