[alberg30] Head

[George Dinwiddie]

From: George Dinwiddie <gdinwiddie at min.net>

The Alberg 30 came with a standard marine head with direct overboard
discharge.  On our boat, it's a "Brydon Boy" head, a model long 
since discontinued, though rebuild kits are available from Fawcett's
in Annapolis.

The tank and treatment system you mention is the Mansfield TDX
Type I MSD.  About 15 years ago, the Alberg 30 Association made
a group purchase of these units and had group work days where
they installed them.  These units have about an 8 gallon tank,
a bottle of formaldehyde, and an electronic control unit.  They
chemically treat the sewage and mechanically pulverize it for 
legal discharge overboard (except in zones designated "no 
discharge").  I would strongly recommend not pumping these
out in creeks or harbors.  Wait until you're in deeper water
with a good exchange with the ocean.  You don't want to increase
the nitrogen load on the ecosystem even if you've kill the
coliform bacteria.

Sealand purchased this business from Mansfield and called the
product SAN-X.  The parts are interchangeable.  Sealand 
discontinued support for these units a few years back, but
I *think* they may be supporting them again.  I've not needed
any parts since then, so haven't investigated.

The head itself operates just like any other marine head.
you pump the contents, and as much water as you feel is
necessary, into the tank.  You want to make sure everything
makes it to the tank, but you want to pump as little water
as possible so you don't fill up the tank.

To operate the treatment system, you flip the switch to 
"treat and discharge."  There will be a delay, and then
the chemical pump puts about a quart of formaldehyde into
the tank.  Then the macerator pump runs for about 20 
minutes.  We prefer to do this while motoring because 
of the power drain.  When it's done, a light comes on and
you can pump the tank out.  The way most of these were
installed on the A30, this is done with a Whale gusher 8
pump mounted such that the handle extends through the 
bulkhead into the head compartment.  Open the through-hull
and pump until the tank is empty.  Pump a little water
into the tank via the head and then pump the tank out again.

It's pretty basic and simple.  When you rebuild the pumpout
pump, you should try to get a nitrile rebuild kit instead
of neoprene.  That's much harder to find.

More recently, people have generally been putting in holding tanks
(a.k.a. Type III MSD).  The advantages of a holding tank includes:
	1. no discharge into the water at all (you have to go to
a pump-out station).
	2. you don't have to mess about with that nasty chemical,
formaldehyde.
	3. you can get a bigger tank to fit into the same space
as the TDX unit, or you can fit a tank into a different space.
	4. a holding tank is much cheaper to purchase than a
treatment system and there are no moving parts or electronics
to die.

The biggest disadvantage is that you do have to go to a pump-out
station to get rid of the effluent.  This is becoming much 
less of a problem in many areas.

Many people with holding tanks also have a means to pump them
overboard in an emergency or when offshore more than 3 miles.
This increases the complexity of the plumbing.  Also, if the
system in not "secured" in the no-overboard-pumpout setting,
you are in violation of U.S. law.

Hope this helps,
	George


bydel at aol.com wrote:
> 
> From: bydel at aol.com
> 
> I would be very interested in a discussion on the operation of the head. I purchased #441 a few weeks ago and got to spend a day poking about on her. She is now in Annapolis and I am in North Carolina. If I remember correctly, I was told that she has a Mansfield Head with a small holding tank under the V-Berth.
> There was a bottle of something next to the head and the pump handle. Also to the right of the head was a black switchplate with a switch, although I can't remember what it said on the plate.
> I know that this is pretty basic, but I have to start somewhere.
> 
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