Italian maker Tecma from Thetford Marine provides a wide line of ceramic toilets for commercial vessels across a number of fisheries. Their trademark turbine macerating pump is a quiet, clog-proof evacuation system.
Richard Brunson, Thetford Marine’s U.S. field sales manager, said the proprietary pump creates a 200-mph vortex that liquefies waste.
“The technology is that we liquefy everything, so you don’t have any clogging issues. Whereas other centrifugals, they just try to grind everything up. But then you have lot of large bits; they don’t emulsify to a liquid. Then you get clogging downstream,” Brunson said.
The high-pressure turbine pumps can pump waste over 30 feet vertically and 270 feet horizontally, outperforming traditional centrifugal pumps with low to medium pressure.
“We’re the only ones in this industry that use this patented high-pressure turbine pump. Say if you’re low in a boat and you want to pump up 25 or 30 feet, the competition can’t do that,” Brunson said, adding the technology has come in handy for processors where crew quarters are added down low and waste is pumped up to the next deck.
Brunson said the Tecma Silence Line is the most popular for commercial fishermen. It removes waste at an efficient 1.5 gallons per second and comes in a household size bowl — the Tecma Plus; and a marine size — the Tecma Standard. A patented water trap and two check valves keep odor at bay in Tecma toilets.
For smaller boats — gillnetters looking to scale up from the industry standard 5-gallon bucket, for example — Brunson said Tecma’s Compact Line is ideal.
“It’s perfect because they can use salt or fresh water. Mostly (raw) because gillnetters don’t carry that much to start with,” Brunson said.
Thetford Marine has a useful YouTube channel with clear, succinct instructional videos on how to install toilets and replace pumps, among other things.
