Managing marine sewage pump outs is one of those things that marina operators and boaters alike must deal with but was probably the last thing they thought of before opening a marina or buying a boat. That’s why companies like Wastecorp who manufacture pump out equipment work in tandem with engineers to help construct long term, reliable pump out solutions. The inquiry below is from an engineering firm who recently contacted Wastecorp for marine pump out stations for paying boaters. The firm is exploring options for designing a new pump out operation:
“Our firm is working on a marina sewage pump out project for the Port of Charleston, SC. I am looking for information on a few of your marine pump out products to see if they will meet our needs.
We operate a saltwater marina and offer a sewage pump out service to our customers. We currently have a peristaltic pump out system but we are looking for something less complicated and more user friendly. We send the pumped out sewage through a magnetic flow meter, up to shore and to the public utility. We are billed by the utility based on our flow meter readings.
Our solution is to pump the sewage from the boats, using our existing system, to a new holding tank. From there, the sewage would be pumped quickly through the mag meter and up to the shore. We are planning two holding tanks, one 1000 gallon tank and one 500 gallon tank. The pump needs to have saltwater corrosion resistance and the ability to handle untreated sewage. We expect most boats to pump out sewage with saltwater. Additionally the pump must have a steady flow to work with our mag meter.
To meet these needs I was looking at the following products. The first is the 2″trash pump TFCC-2. It looks like it can handle untreated sewage fine. My main concern is if it would be suitable for saltwater? Does the trash pump come in stainless steel/corrosion resistant materials? From your online materials I only saw the trash pump offered in ductile iron. Fortunately we do not have difficult head or flow rate requirements. We just need the pump to not corrode quickly and not be easily clogged.
I am also looking at the HW 525 and HW 1035 Honey Wagon skid mounted pump out stations. As mentioned above, we are planning to have two holding tanks. Would it be possible to remove the Mud Sucker® pump? We would possibly replace the Mud Sucker® pump with a trash pump. Also, the skid would be mounted to our concrete dock.
Finally I would like some information on your pump enclosures. Both the TF-6×6 and the TF-8×10 may work for use. What would be ideal would be to fit the skid mounted tanks with the pumps inside the enclosures. I was wondering if we could fit the TFCC-2 pump and HW 525 skid mounted Honey Wagon inside the TF-6×6 enclosure? Similarly, could we fit a TFCC-2 pump and HW-1035 Honey Wagon inside the TF-8×10 enclosure? Any suggestions or ideas to help meet our problems we would love to hear it.”
There are a lot of issues that the customer raises. First, Saltwater applications in the marine pump out industry require proper precautions to ensure that the pump and components do not prematurely wear. Wastecorp offers our Mud Sucker marine diaphragm pumps with stainless steel components for example and Viton flapper valves and diaphragms to help resist the harsh conditions of pumping, so we definitely recommend any marinas in a salt water environment go with this package which adds $600 -$800 to the cost of a package
Monetizing a marina’s pump out operation is a great idea to help control costs and keep repair parts costs down for your pump out. A mag meter is one way of doing it (measuring gallons pumped out), coin operated options and charging by vessel size are others. If you are worried about pulsation, all of our diaphragm pumps can be manufactured with pulsation dampeners or air chambers.
If a trash pump works better for the application then we can design all of our pump outs with our Trash Flow product line. Whenever possible, diaphragm pumps are recommended for their ability to pump out the wastewater and not get clogged. See our pedestal; pump outs for example that work really well for most marinas.
Enclosures are a great way to help protect your pump out investment from the elements and during winter months. There are a variety of styles available to meet small and large marina budgets. Enclosures are a long term investment for protecting your equipment so there is an investment required.
Getting the right marine pump manufacturer to participate in your design process is critical to the overall outcome of you pump out. Contact Wastecorp at 1-888-829-2783 to get more information for your project.