Sanitation Plumbing Question

[babylonlarry]

I am installing a lectra-san waste treatment system and want to use the same (existing) thru hull as is used for direct discharge. I have a primary Y valve diverting to the lectra san and want to plumb the outlet of the lectra san to the untreated discharge line (on the thru hull side of the Y valve).

Question: is an 1 1/2 barb Tee sufficient, or should I install a secondary Y valve?

The alternative is to use the 1 inch old mascerator thru hull.

At present, I am eliminating the holding tank. I will have to deal with holding if I am in a no discharge zone.

[redbopeep]

Hi there,
Don't have advice on your plumbing question--suggest you look at info from lectra-san on that one.

I don't see your home port so don't know where you're cruising from. Here in the USA recently there has been guidance from USCG that lectra-san requires a holding tank (as you seem to know) use in no-discharge zone. What you may not know is that, if you are a US flagged vessel, a direct discharge isn't authorized to exist in any recreational vessel unless it was installed prior to 1979. I don't think they had lectra-san systems before then, so if you are a US boat, you might want to keep the holding tank in place or verify with the USCG (or a US marine surveyor) what is legal here for new installs.

Best of luck to you,

[babylonlarry]

I've been "parked" in South Florida for the last 5 years while working towards a re-fit and a cruising kitty replenishment. finally seeing some light at the end of the surprisingly long ordeal.

The boat is a 1978, so the original head w Y valve , holding and direct was legal.

Do the new regs prohibit the capability of doing direct discharge when offshore?
I'll have to do some research and rethink keeping the holding tank "in the loop".

Thanks for the reply, Larry

[babylonlarry]

Finally finished the install on the lectra san. Kept the holding tank. I installed the old original model lectra san to find out that the outlet PVC fitting leaked, removed it and cut and chiseled off the old fitting...spent the better part of a week on the project starting each morning by striking the vee berth bed where I sleep....

I wound up with a 2 Y valve system. Primary diverts the head to the lectra-san or does direct discharge. The outlet of the lectra san has a Y valve going back to a Tee on the direct discharge line or goes to the holding tank with it's deck pump out and mascerator pump thru hull out. I think that as long as there is fluid in all the legs of the Tee it should be fine. If air gets pressurized in the Tee legs and is a problem, I'll have to add a third Y valve to replace the Tee.

Nice to have a good solution and be done with the job!