Which Toilet to Buy ?

[Sabbatical II]

The Sydney boat show's coming up and I want to check out all the toilet systems for my new boat. Given that most sales reps will not encourage me to "test drive" the actual units on display, I'm left to collecting as much annecdotal eveidence as possible.

The boat will have only one head in the centre of the yacht with the holding tank mounted under the vee berth. I want a quiet electric operation but most of all, I don't want my wife having to pull smelly bits apart to fix blockages at sea. I want the unblockable toilet. I am aware that many people consider a manual toilet more reliable, but I have a manual unit on my current boat and most non boating women seem intimidated by it.

Can anyone help me with real life experience of whcih brands and models have worked the best and which to avoid?

Greg

[S&S]

I'm not sure "Electric" and "clog free" are mutually achievable. With manual heads I've had good luck with both the Groco "k" series and the Blakes.

the groco has an electric option so that may be wortha peek.

they all need maintenance, and any will clog if you're not careful with what you flush.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by S&S

I'm not sure "Electric" and "clog free" are mutually achievable. With manual heads I've had good luck with both the Groco "k" series and the Blakes.

the groco has an electric option so that may be wortha peek.

they all need maintenance, and any will clog if you're not careful with what you flush.

I would think that electric toilets would be a lot less inclined to clog, due to the fact that they macerate right at the toilet.

[S&S]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I would think that electric toilets would be a lot less inclined to clog, due to the fact that they macerate right at the toilet.

So you'd think but the macerator itself can get frozen if "foreign materials" get flushed. Not fun.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I would think that electric toilets would be a lot less inclined to clog, due to the fact that they macerate right at the toilet.

- - Not necessarily - The "pure" electric toilets normally have a macerating blade assembly as the first thing in the path. These blades will chop up -most- everything except - old pigeon peas in "Bahamas rice and peas" and other "BB-type" food items that pass right through us but end up getting jammed in the blades.
- - Besides paying attention to the placard next to the toilet that says "Don't put anything in the toilet that you have not eaten first" they need another placard "Don't eat anything that resembles a steel BB or other rock hard petrified food."
- - With the exception of the Lavac vacuum toilets most of the others still have the "joker-valve" somewhere in the exit system so "lime" build-up from using sea water to flush is a forever problem whether you have an electric or manual toilet.
- - I specifically like the marine toilets that have the dual option of a hand crank or an electric motor attachment to "pump" the handle. Best of both worlds - push button electric when you have the juice or hand crank when you do not want to use up your batteries.

[trinescape]

Hi Greg,we lived aboard our tri that being myself my wife and two kids for two and a half years ,when we refitted our boat i went with the TMC brand of electric maceratoring toilet and only just recently i had to put a kit thru the unit ,all up we had 6 years of trouble free ''toileting'' this toilet is available from whitworths just a word of warning get the large bowl model friends of ours got the standard model and it feels like your perching over an egg cup!! btw tmc back up there product with all spare parts available and they were priced at the lower end of the scale from memory i think about $350 australian or cheaper on sale good luck cheers andy

[Pelagic]

Tecma is the best

[akio.kanemoto]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Tecma is the best

I second that one. I've been told that Tecma units can digest almost anything. So I bought one for my refit a while ago... still haven't fitted it though. Depressing thing is that it was around AUD1300 and I'm not sure I have the space for it.. so may have to sell and downgrade to a manual (small) Jabsco one... :\

The Tecmas are really well built, high quality units - and come with a bidet too.

[Brent Swain]

Skip the holding tank, pumps, thru hulls, etc and build yourself an airhead or natures head type composter .

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by Brent Swain

Skip the holding tank, pumps, thru hulls, etc and build yourself an airhead or natures head type composter .

+1 vote for the composter. We made the switch last year in our Pretorian.

[pwratch]

Originally Posted by Brent Swain

Skip the holding tank, pumps, thru hulls, etc and build yourself an airhead or natures head type composter .

I'll second this recommendation. We had the "classic" system using a Lavac toilet. As such systems go, the Lavac was a good unit being reliable, simple to maintain, and so on. But sewage is still sewage and we (I) refitted to an EOS Airhead toilet w/ the holding tank only for urine. That was six years ago (thereabout) and it has been well worthwhile. No clogging, odor is controlled to the point of non-existence or at least non-experience by us. You do have to periodically dispose of the composted/dehydrated solid waste but the chore is pretty quick (practice helps) and can be accomplished in a sanitary manner. I'd do it this way again though, given the combination of expense, questionable robustness and simplicity of the Airhead, I'd just build my own. Mr. Swain sells a book of boatbuilding techniques that includes a page on such a toilet that you may find useful. The book isn't cheap and perhaps not worth the cost if the toilet is your only interest. Perhaps he'd sell just the outtake.

[rebel heart]

I have a Lavac that I swear by. The bowl is separate from the pump, and the pump is a Mark V manual that is easily serviceable, much tougher than any other marine toilet pump, and has parts and rebuild kits abound. You can run an electric pump as well, or both in tandem (the manual being a backup). Three years of several times a day use by two people. I've opened up the pump housing once to knock out some mineral buildup, as well as some of the hoses. The bowl seal is perfect, and it's white and shiny with zero stains.

I wrote up a post about it and included pictures of the install:

Rebel Heart - The boat and her crew - Eric's Blog - Head install weekend is over,*successfully.

[jackiepitts]

My vote is for Tecma as well. We have had our Tecma for about 4 years and it has never clogged or broken. These toilets were made to actually pump up hill (up to 11 meters) which I believe speaks for the power of these macerating toilets.

[Tellie]

+3 for the composting head. I've had manual and electric. Should have saved the tons of money and switched to a composting head long ago. You can pay all you want for fancy, but when it comes right down to it a head is just a hole with a container. Sometimes "KISS" really is the way to go. I've eliminated a holding tank which gives me a lot more storage space. The plumbing hoses, no matter how good they are, eventually give off that musty smell. This smell is especially noticeable when you open up your boat after it has sat for awhile. With the elimination of all the plumbing hoses the boat smells nice. I've eliminated four thru-hulls, locking valves etc. Get over the pre-conceived ideas and do yourself a favor.

[Pelagic]

Tellie, where can I find information on marine application composting head?