Toilets -- Again

[Anders]

Originally Posted by toolbar

15 postings and no one has recommended going with a desiccating/composting head? :-)

Paul

I would never have one and would never recommend one.

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I've used them on different boats and just don't like them. Personal preference . . . to each his own.



Nor did I find them trouble free. I spent some time on one Swan with these and we were fixing one of them.

Curious as to the problem that required fixing. I have had to replace jokers, which requires pump removal. Once every few years. But I have only ever had one “plug”.

We now run in a bit of water before #2 use. That makes a world of difference.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

It's a known issue. I've met more than one other person who's had this problem.

Interesting. I wonder if it's mounting related or just a design issue? Maybe I should carry a spare base assembly for mine... Not like it takes up much space.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Interesting. I wonder if it's mounting related or just a design issue? Maybe I should carry a spare base assembly for mine... Not like it takes up much space.

If I were you, I would keep a complete spare unit. Don't know if your boat has one or two heads, but even with two, a nonfunctional toilet puts a real damper on a cruise.


The issue I believe is the flimsiness of the whole assembly, which allows the macerator to contact the housing if the assembly flexes.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

If I were you, I would keep a complete spare unit. Don't know if your boat has one or two heads, but even with two, a nonfunctional toilet puts a real damper on a cruise.


The issue I believe is the flimsiness of the whole assembly, which allows the macerator to contact the housing if the assembly flexes.

2 heads for us, fortunately. And very rarely more than just the 2 of us on board for more than a day.

[TheOffice]

We have 2 Jabsco 37010 electrics. I'll be removing them this fall and replacing them with manual heads (probably Jabsco). You can't control the amount of water coming in, so we have to keep a gallon jug of water next to the head to aid flushing. Plus, a spare motor costs as much as a manual head.

Anyone in Annapolis want them?

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

You like your Jabsco?

I thought it worked nicely, and it was easy to maintain. Joker valve replacement occasionally, motor/pump assembly replacement once every 10-12 years I guess... and I had to replace the solenoid once, IIRC sometime after the motor/pump replacement...

Don't have it now; sold that boat in 2020 and the current boat has VacuFlush. Not thrilled with them, but had them (and all the related sanitation plumbing) completely rebuilt/replaced just after we got the boat... and so far OK. (Knock wood.) They'll wake the dead in the middle of the night, though...

And I'd prefer electric. Either Jabsco or the Marine Elegance. No experience with the latter but it gets good reviews.

-Chris

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Maybe Raritan Sea Elegance?

Have had my fresh water unit 2.5 years now. It is the top rated unit and it is solid. In that time with 2 people full time use I have done the following;

- pulled unit out to get out a nut I dropped into it
- pulled out to replace the impeller because it cracked due to a "flushable wipe" (my fault) and at that time replaced the joker valves
- pulled out to to change the motor and pump seal because the discharge line scaled up causing pressure that allowed liquid into the motor making the brushes stick (I cleaned up the old motor and it works so have a spare)

I am very happy with it. I use the manual controller that allows fill/drain/both instead of the complex "smart" controller. If you get I recommend to have a rebuild kit that has joker valves and pump seal, and an impeller, as spares.

I did have to make a new base when I installed mine.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by TheOffice

We have 2 Jabsco 37010 electrics. I'll be removing them this fall and replacing them with manual heads (probably Jabsco). You can't control the amount of water coming in, so we have to keep a gallon jug of water next to the head to aid flushing. Plus, a spare motor costs as much as a manual head.

Anyone in Annapolis want them?

That's useful information. I'm scratching those off my list!


For God's sake, don't install a Jabsco manual toilet. I don't hate Jabsco -- I've had good luck with their electric toilet conversion, and with various pumps. But the Jabsco manual toilet is a horrible piece of trash, which works badly, fails often, and whose only virtue is that it's so cheap that you can keep a couple of entire spares on board. Don't ask me how I know.


If you want a manual toilet (why?!), I would recommend rather the Raritan one, which is really good. Used one of those for a couple of decades without any problems at all.


But electric toilets are the bee's knees -- much, much harder to clog because of maceration, and much easier to get your crew to flush enough water through to prevent scaling. I wouldn't have any kind of manual toilet on my boat.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Have had my fresh water unit 2.5 years now. It is the top rated unit and it is solid. In that time with 2 people full time use I have done the following;

- pulled unit out to get out a nut I dropped into it
- pulled out to replace the impeller because it cracked due to a "flushable wipe" (my fault) and at that time replaced the joker valves
- pulled out to to change the motor and pump seal because the discharge line scaled up causing pressure that allowed liquid into the motor making the brushes stick (I cleaned up the old motor and it works so have a spare)

I am very happy with it. I use the manual controller that allows fill/drain/both instead of the complex "smart" controller. If you get I recommend to have a rebuild kit that has joker valves and pump seal, and an impeller, as spares.

I did have to make a new base when I installed mine.

Thanks for that. One more testimony to these, to add to others I've heard.


And thanks for the tip about the controller. I would certainly go with the manual one as well

[Bowdrie]

"Tecma", parts available thru most any Thetford/RV dealer, you're not bound to any "marine" store.
Can work with either a pressurized freshwater system or remote fresh/seawater pumping and have adjustable water usage/levels.

[Dockhead]

A fairly recent Practical Sailor article, rates the Planus Marine "Arctic" toilet as the top "cost no object" choice, with difficult availability in the U.S. the only drawback. This does not apply in Europe. https://www.practical-sailor.com/sys...toilets-part-2


Sounds good to me. It's not ludicrously expensive over here; I found one in the UK for £1000 including VAT. I might take a flyer on this.

[SailingPNW]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

You must have the model with the separate pump. I think that's for sea and fresh water flush. Mine is a sea water only where the same pump does both supply and discharge.


I am not the only person who has had the pump self-destruct. Glad you've had better luck than us.

The pump itself should be for the seawater only, where the black water should be expelled by the macerater. On the Sea Era, it uses the same motor to drive both at the same time, so your right in that you can't use a control that allows you to split the macerater from pumping water into the toilet.

Seems a poor design choice, but does reduce the footprint, the elegance is much better in that the pump is completely separate and there are several good panel options to choose from. That said I can see shying away from Raritan based on the problems you had. I have had good luck with mine though, the seawater pump that came with it was also substantial, and definitely not anything like what could be in the sea era.

[hpeer]

Dockhead;

I get you don’t like the Lavac, OK by me.

I did want to pointing out for those following the thread that there was and may still be an electric operation option. In that case a motor operates the pump through a linkage. I have see it in catalogs and Spares shows that option in their drawings.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Anders

I would never have one and would never recommend one.

We’ve been using desiccating/composting heads for 15 years full time and there’s no way I would ever go back to the standard holding tank system.