[Alberg30] It's That Holding Tank Thing Again (and Group Buy?)

[Neal Jackson]

Well, I've finally had it with the Mansfield tank (it only took me nine
years)!   

After the Saturday night raftup on Leeds Creek I made a most unpleasant
discovery under the port V-berth.  l  will spare all the details.  However,
suffice it to say this worthless holding tank is history.  I am now going to
put in a Mike Lehman do-it-right-this-time system.  Anybody else who also
would like to make that upgrade now can get a deal on the holding tank and
macerator pump.  If you want to know more keep reading.

I have done my research (I think).  Important sources were Mike (the Head
Man) Lehman and Dave Terrell.  I think I have gotten it all straight now.
My boat is No. 486, so it has the liner.  I don't know whether this system
will work on the older boats.  While there has been some talk about a group
buy of tanks, it has never come about.

As I understand it the Mike Lehman system is this :

1.  A hose from the head runs to one 1 1/2 inch fitting to an elbow attached
to a fitting on the top surface of the tank (aft area).
2.  A second hose runs from another 1 1/2 inch fitting on the surface beside
the first fitting to a tee fitting (NOT a Y-valve!) behind the tank.
3.  One end of the tee fitting connects by hose to the pumpout deck fitting.
The other end connects to a Jabsco macerator pump.  The outgoing end of the
pump connects to the through-hull behind the head.  I plan to place a
locking switch in place so that the pump can be immobilized except offshore
or in extreme circumstances.  PS, that macerator pump is currently on sale
on the West Marine Web site, and shipping for online orders over $75 is free
(but make sure you find the little popup with the free shipping code).

I can send a picture of Mike's tank installation to anyone who wants it...I
just don't want to clog the listserve and those of you with dialup
connections by sending a big JPEG.

Bad news is that Kracor no longer does custom fitting installation unless
one is an OEM.  They stopped about a year ago.  The good news is that an
outfit called Raritan Engineering (www.raritaneng.com) makes a tank with the
exact dimensions of the Kracor 5057 (Raritan's part number is 14D208014),
and for the base price it will install fittings for up to five custom
locations on a tank.  More good news is that the Raritan is made of thicker
material than the Kracor (3/8" vs. 1/4"?).  But the best news of all is that
the Raritan tank is $176 with fittings and shipping included, as compared to
Kracor which is $375 for a blank tank with shipping extra.

So I have today ordered the Raritan tank.  The technician I talked with
there says that if we can promptly get in an order for five or more tanks
with the same configuration, Raritan will give a 40% off price to the
purchasers.  By my calculation that brings the unit cost down to about $106,
about the same price as Mike Lehman paid for 23 units from Kracor over ten
years ago.

If you want to get in on such a group buy, reply to me ASAP
(njackson at npr.org) and I will give you the information on placing the order.


Neal Jackson
PEREGRINE
No. 486
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