Do good electric toilets suck all liquid out each flush?

[BlackHeron]

Sounds like a LOT more fiber in the diet would be a big help for some of the commenters here.

[Woodland Hills]

Reading this makes me like my ancient GalleyMaid toilets all the more. They always evacuate the bowl and leave clean freshwater behind with just a quick press of a button. They also take standard Kohler toilet seats from Home Depot.

[peghall]

Originally Posted by Woodland Hills

Reading this makes me like my ancient GalleyMaid toilets all the more. They always evacuate the bowl and leave clean freshwater behind with just a quick press of a button. They also take standard Kohler toilet seats from Home Depot.

So will every "household" size marine toilet bowl.


--Peggie

[Harv1941]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

I have a sanimarin electric toilet which is OK, it never get's clogged at least. However I'm thinking of replacing it with a vac-u-flush because it doesn't seem to be able to suck out the last 1/4 cup or so of liquid at the end of each flush. If you are flushing down solid waste, it macerates it and leaves 1/4 cup of macerated poop in the bowl. If you fill the bowl with another cup of water to flush that down, it just dilutes the macerated waste and you still have 1/4 cup of now somewhat diluted macerated poop in the bowl. In the end, it requires a couple cups of water and multiple flushes before you have clean water sitting in the bottom. Similar but not quite as bad with urine, you always end up with just somewhat diluted urine sitting in the bowl unless you use a lot of water to flush and the smell gets pretty bad.

My question is if this is a function of a fault in the toilet, or just a poor design that doesn't happen with something like a Raritan Elegance? It wouldn't be such a big deal but the Mahe 36 has only a 12 gallon holding tank and one toilet so with a family of 4 you can't do a 3 day weekend without a pump-out if you have to flush several cups of water down for every flush.

I don't know about others, but we had two Raritan Elegance electrics and they worked fantastically. Always a clean, clear flush and nothing left in the bowl. The Elegance had multiple flush options, one was for liquid waste, one for solid waste, one for adding water and one for dry flush. We would not have any other type of marine toilet in our motor yachts.

[GWilly]

I really have nothing to add to what others have said. Yes, adding some water to the bowl before leaving your solids is a must-do. Our Elegance has worked flawlessly.

[GRIT]

We have TECMA silence plus toilets, and I've never seen anything "come back" into the bowl. There is a reservoir, of sorts, just before the macerator. If the bowl is empty, and I add water, the first 200ml or so just disappears into the reservoir, the second push of the button will start to show at the bottom of the bowl.

I suppose this is designed to counter the issues you're having. Perhaps, if I could see into the "reservoir", I'd see the mush you're seeing, too.

The "reservoir" is actually just the length of pipe between the toilet exit, and the macerator.

I'm fairly happy with these toilets, but they don't handle large deposits anywhere as well as a home toilet. I keep a toilet brush next to the toilet, to "encourage" larger deposits to leave the bowl.

Cheers, and good luck.
Paul.

[Popcorn]

Not mentioned before, was that you might check the vent line or outlet.
Back pressure may cause the reverse flow for just a few seconds. Your toilet may be just fine, and another toilet may do the same thing.

Another item not mentioned is the build up inside your lines. Poo, sand, growth of marine life, toilet paper all contribute to back pressure. I replaced my clogged lines and have no problems now. A stinky job but well worth it. I even bought a new toilet from WM and returned it, clean of course. Learned the hard way. LOL
Nicholas

[doublewide]

I am sure that some electric heads are better than others. We are very happy with our Jabsco heads. I can tell you that our heads work much better when we pour the flush water into the large aperture at the top, the one you sit on, than they do when we flush using our house domestic water pump. This “hack“ eliminates the problem of handling a large poo and the problem of brown reflux. And an additional benefit is that we can flush using rainwater, dishwater, or other gray water, thus reducing our use of fresh water for flushing. Try pouring your flush water into the top of the head. You will like it.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by GRIT

It's strange that you have macerated anything in the toilet. I'd say you've got a problem with your duckbill valve leaking poo back into the bowl.
Once your crap is macerated, it should never see the bowl again.

Good luck.
Paul.

I agree, check the valves.

We have two Vac U Flush Toilets. They work OK. We’ve learned to not flush any paper. Two monumental s___t storms in four years caused by paper in a duckbill. All Marine heads are a compromise.

[peghall]

If TP can get stuck in a duckbill, you're not flushing nearly enough water to rinse it OR solid waste out of the plumbing. Always hold the pedal down (or the wall switch if yours is one of newer models that have one) for at least 3 full seconds for urine only...7-10 seconds after solid waste with or without TP. Once a day flush a full bowl of clean water through it.

Fiw, VF was the toilet on my last two boats and I was a dealer for nearly 10 years, so I'm intimately acquainted with 'em. I've written a paper I call "VacuFlush 101" that explains how it works (an amazing number of owners think they do but really don't) and how much water it really needs (at least 90% of problems with it are a result of using way too little) to keep it working trouble-free. I'll be glad to send it you or anyone else that wants it if you'll send me an EMAIL or a PM that includes your email address (no way to attach anything to a PM).

--Peggie

[Captain Anthony]

I'm following just to read Peg Hall's comments.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by peghall

If TP can get stuck in a duckbill, you're not flushing nearly enough water to rinse it OR solid waste out of the plumbing. Always hold the pedal down (or the wall switch if yours is one of newer models that have one) for at least 3 full seconds for urine only...7-10 seconds after solid waste with or without TP. Once a day flush a full bowl of clean water through it.

Fiw, VF was the toilet on my last two boats and I was a dealer for nearly 10 years, so I'm intimately acquainted with 'em. I've written a paper I call "VacuFlush 101" that explains how it works (an amazing number of owners think they do but really don't) and how much water it really needs (at least 90% of problems with it are a result of using way too little) to keep it working trouble-free. I'll be glad to send it you or anyone else that wants it if you'll send me an EMAIL or a PM that includes your email address (no way to attach anything to a PM).

--Peggie

Now THOSE get everything out in one shot. Amazing heads.

[Flatswing]

Marine elegance heads do leave a Very small amount of clean water in the bowl if you follow Peggy’s instructions or have the electronic actuator pad rather than the push button. No brown liquid, no residual faeces. I removed both vacuflush and installed Marine Elegance and couldn’t be happier. If I’m offshore or staying at marinas, I use wet flush mode routinely and pump out every 2 weeks. When mainly anchoring, dry flush routinely with daily wet flush to clear hoses, lasts a week longer.

[Mike Banks]

The system I used was designed to have enough water coming through the system (it flushed from around the top of the bowl) that when the pump stopped, it descended into the bowl to leave it prepared for the next use and primed for the next flush.

I used to have seawater flushing, which meant a saltwater slurry in the waste tank. It also meant deposits in the plumbing caused by saltwater and human wastes interacting to precipitate out calcium lime. This is a less than great situation, and a problem not too hard to fix.

What one needs instead is a small holding tank to take shower water to which a little toilet sanitizer has been poured down the shower outlet just as one finishes the shower. The shower water is the BEST flushing solution and needs only a plastic tank which has an overboard discharge for when full.

As long as there is sanitizer in the shower water it will not stink out the boat when in the bowl--but shower water without the sanitizer really smells bad. The sanitizer used is the same as is used in the holding tank--or any portable toilet non-corrosive sanitizer will do.

[Cpt Mark]

Originally Posted by Chotu

In my experience, Raritan Marine Elegance does not remove 100% of the liquid.

My experience with the Raritan Elegance after 2 years is it leaves nothing but clean water behind. I've never had a problem with it.