Raritan Elegance

[Codacap]

Has anyone purchased one these and if so what is your review?

[sy_gilana]

Cant Comment on that model, but we have a Raritan Crown head, purchased in 1978. Still going strong. (now that I have said that its going to crap out)
Damn good gear!

[Polpaul]

I had one installed in my aft head last year. I love it so much I just got another one that I am in the process of installing in the foreword head. The aft one I got with the "sea fresh" option that allows switching between sea and fresh water. That complicates installation somewhat (vented loop, sea strainer and pump) but it's well worth it. Also, get the "smart panel". That's the flush switch panel that has four buttons. One button is a low water flush option for liquid waste (the flush pump only cycles once), the second button is normal flush for solids (flush pump cycles three times), third puts water in the bowl and forth activates the flush pump to empty the bowl. The flush is quieter than the vacu flush on the last boat, and MUCH quieter than the old electric head it replaces. Very water efficient too. I highly recommend it.

[HopCar]

I don't have any personal experience with this toilet but Raritan products are generally very well made. The Sea Fresh option would be very nice to have. Peggy Hall will be along soon to give you her opinion. Listen to her.
If you decide to buy one, I'd like the opportunity to quote you on it.

[CarlF]

Positively the best head I've ever owned (and I've owned many).

Things to know:

Comfy seat

Has not clogged - ever. I've owed a Lavac but this is even better

Quiet flush. This is very important to me. It's the quietest electric head I've found.

Guest friendly - anyone can figure out how to flush this thing if you have the smart control panel.

And the biggest benefit - it's "smart control" flushes more waste with less flush water than any head I've ever used. This means the holding tank requires noticeably fewer pump-outs.

I also have the sea fresh option but use fresh water except when offshore and not using the holding tank. Fresh water is the easiest way to control smell and the Elegance uses so little water that it's not hard to accommodate.

The only negative is that it is a little pricey with the smart control panel - but to me, well worth it.

Carl

[Codacap]

Thanks to all. Order has been placed.

[glhotka]

I know this is an older thread and am getting ready to order my unit. The question I have and have not found the answer to is the smart flush panel ability to be mounted in a head that doubles as a shower.
Are these panels waterproof??

[Polpaul]

I don't know the text book answer to your question, but it looks to me that the front of the panel is waterproof, but the back is not. The back of the panel connects to the circuit board by means of a patch cable (RJ-11)--its receptacle has no gasketing, so the back of the panel cannot get wet. But I see no reason why you couldn't put a bead of caulk behind the edge of the panel where it connects to the wall. In any case, I have found the tech support line at Raritan very helpful and friendly. I'm sure they can advise you properly. 856-825-4900.

[JayH]

Originally Posted by glhotka

I know this is an older thread and am getting ready to order my unit. The question I have and have not found the answer to is the smart flush panel ability to be mounted in a head that doubles as a shower.
Are these panels waterproof??

For the most part, yes. The buttons on the front are waterproof and the circuit board is coated with some waxy stuff which I assume makes it waterproof also. However, the panel connects to the relay module via a RJ-45 jack on the back of the circuit board which is definitely not waterproof.

Mine is mounted in an area that sees two showers a day and it gets very wet. If water gets to the jack, the toilet can misbehave.

If you caulk the panel in place it should be fine. I did not want to do that, so I tried plumber's putty but it didn't work. Now I'm using white vinyl tape (electrician's tape) to seal the panel against the wall and that is working well.

[HopCar]

I spoke to Matt at Raritan about this. He said the front of the control panel was water resistant and should be fine in a shower. He said you need to bed it when you install it to prevent water from reaching the back. I would try to mount it high where the shower doesn't hit it directly. He also warned that you don't want water getting to the electrical parts of the toilet so seal that well when you install it.

If you decide to buy one, I'd love the chance to quote you on it.

[parkhil2]

In searching for a replacement toilet for my boat I cam across this site. Based on the information provided decided to purchase a Raritan Marine Elegance toilet. Since Hopkins-Carter was helpful in making this decision I reached out to them to allow them to price it. Not only did they have better pricing than anywhere else, they had service you would only expect from your local mom and pop marine shop. The experience was excellent and I felt obligated to register for an account and let everyone know about my experience.

[HopCar]

Parkhil2, Thank you so much for your kind words!