I installed the Airhead in my 30+ eight seasons ago and have been delighted with how it has worked. (Kismet already shared
my blog post from that install.) I looked at the other brands and I think Airhead is still the one I'd choose again. In hindsight - I would have done the install the same way. I'm completely satisfied with it.
Here are a couple notes from my experience.
- Do not go without the coir for any length of time. The liquids don't all go into the front tank so there will be some liquid in the solids area. Without the coir, it can slosh around. Not good.
- Similarly, adding "solids" and toilet paper is good for the system and keeps the coir from getting too wet.
- The fan is not optional. My first fan died after about two years and I finished the last month of my season without it. Not only was there some odor, but it didn't work to remove moisture from the solids tank which made liquids build up in there and drain out one of the crank handle holes when heeling. The fan is just a 40mm 5V computer fan. I replaced the failed one with a much quieter fan and it's going strong for the past six seasons. I keep a spare on board.
- I only empty the solids tank at the end of my season in early November. Dump the solids in a trash bag and dispose of it in a dumpster. Rinse it out and it's ready for the winter. Surprisingly, this is not a terrible task. It works pretty much like the website describes. It takes a few minutes. I soak the liquids tank with a couple denture washing tablets and give it an extra rinse. Not bad.
Like I mentioned in my blog post, I couldn't get around the idea of venting through the deck. Venting through the anchor locker worked great for me. The nylon part of the rode does pick up a bit of a musty smell. A night at anchor that solves that.
