Sealand Porti-potti's--Don't waste your money!

[Salty19]

I bought a new Sealand 972 Porti-potti this year.    Very dissappointed in it, the sealing valve between the bowl and holding tank failed the first time we hauled it for emptying.  The mechanism that holds the seal basically fell into the holding tank.   Will try and get my money back.

Steer clear of these, they are very cheaply made!

[Potcake boy]

Not one of my favorite topics, but I concur on that assessment.  I found the thing to be a bit small and prone to not flushing easily and not having the proper water flow to rinse the entire bowl.  The rod that connects the handle to the slide valve broke when I pulled on one side of the the handle rather than right in the center - not very sturdy components.

If you own one of these, I'd exercise one other caution: do not use the holding tank emptying spout as a place to grip while emptying. When rotated all the way around from the stowed position the spout will disengage from the holding tank.  Which is the natural tendency because of the weight distribution when emptying the tank.  It took me a long and unpleasant hour to clean up the mess.

I haven't yet found an ideal porta - pottie, and a built in head and holding tank is a bit much for a small vessel.  Hmm, I wonder if a diaper pail would fit the area now used for the porta - pottie?  That would beat that wag bag thing - if I am carrying it home to through in the trash, might as well save a step in the process.

Does anyone have any experience with the porta - pottie that has the pump out option?

Ron

[Salty19]

lol....yep..me too...didn't drain the bowl properly. Utter garbage.

I had this one on the 16:



Worked perfectly and used A LOT less fresh water. Plus the seat was bigger. It was fairly old and still worked nicely.  I'm going to order another one today--the admiral definitely needs one since we go out frequently for 4-5 hours at a time.

Dick's sporting goods link:  http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2141116&cp=2367438.2367824.2782295.2782300

They also make them in 5 gal holding tanks, but this may be a little too large to use the 19--not real sure though.

[brackish]

Well I'm confused.  I have a Sealand model 964/966 (I have both the 2.8 and the 5 gallon holding tanks, never used the 5 gallon, both came with the boat) and it has worked flawlessly.  Just got back from a three week off and on use of the porta potty cruise and never had any problems with leaks, smells, or during the removing and dumping process.

However, my five year old Sealand looks exactly like the Century shown by Salty 19.  Has there been some kind of corporate inbreeding in the portable potty business?  I think Dometic is the parent corporation for the Sealand, at least in my manual.

[Caboose]

I go for the KISS on the boat. A five gallon bucket and plastic bags works great. A five gallon bucket is something that most folks have on a boat anyway and plastic bags are cheap. 99% of folks know how to tie a plastic bag, so no instructions are needed in proper operation of the head. For those of you who what the fancy or upgraded version, get the seven gallon bucket.

[Salty19]

Caboose--the admiral would have no part of that.   Frankly, neither would I.  Too much risk it will spill all over the place in weather/gusts. My interior is pristine and wish to keep it that way, not to mention the hygeine concern when handling this every day yo use it.    But grog to you for being creative and if it works for you...cool. 

Brack--You are not confused.  I borrowed my old potty yesterday as was having some friends aboard (great day of sailing, too).  While it looks identical to the Century unit I posted, it does say Sealand on the lid.  It's fairly old, probably 15 years perhaps more.  Still works perfectly.  So yep, probably a corporate meshing thing.   I hope the new one is as good as the old.

[Shawn]

"Does anyone have any experience with the porta - pottie that has the pump out option?"

I bought the Sealand 975 middle of last season that has the pump out option. It hasn't seen enough usage for an opinion yet. As it is now it isn't plumbed in for pump out, I'll likely do that after I pull the boat for the season. Rather be sailing then working on the head at the dock.

Shawn

[skip]

The Port-A-Potti I found years ago that fits under the stairs of my Com Pac 19 is a CP Product. Vagabond I don't know if it's a 226,232, 240, 248, 7 ET 263 two piece portable flush toilet.

1-800-495-5858. I marked the 'owner's manual with an X for the one I have. But again no number. Measure twice, buy once. I usually just use the Hill's Brothers coffee can on a tether. Well no one regulates the animals who poop or pee in the water, do they?

skip.

[TeamSlacker]

We also have the "century" show above (smaller holding tank size) in our CP16. Only really there for 'emergencies' and overnights but seems to be working fine so far.

[HideAway]

The only thing I have found to be disgusting about boating is dumping the potti.   I have the larger Sealand model and have run the pipes for pump out.   Its not an easy job but worth the expense to me.   If you do this be sure to use the expensive hose - as I recall it was around $10/foot - white not black.  This is not something you want to leak - ever.   I ran the hose to the bow rather that the beam not knowing about odors and not wanting the pipes next to me in the v berth .    Don't forget to install the vent - mine is just above the rub rail.  If I did it again I'd keep the pump out hose as short as possible. The deck is about a half inch thick solid fiberglass.

Our club has pump outs on every slip so its pretty easy to do the task.   The long heavy hose  that with a big valve is cumbersome to handle and it is a two person job.  I use a 5 gallon bucket full of water for the final flush to clean out that long hose.  Sometimes I'll dump two buckets.  One unexpected benefit is less odor because of the vent I suppose.

Someone mentioned using a plastic bag and a bucket.  This is not only illegal but a major health hazard for the unlucky person who empties the trash.  There is a product called a WagBag that uses some sort of powder that absorbs everything and can  be safely thrown in the trash afterwards.   I've never used it losing faith in such ideas after trying one of those chemicals that was supposed to have microbes that eat the waste -- It smelled so bad it made the dog howl- Matt

[mikew]

Thetford makes a good quality product. I use the 135 model on my CP-16. Also replacement parts are available.
Mike