toilet upgrade

L

littlebookworm

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Jul 12, 2007
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27413
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I recently finished upgrading the toilet on our Cruisers from manual to electric because the Admiral complained. When she learned that the cost of a conversion was only about $400, she wanted to know why I hadn't done it sooner! It took about 9 hours because I had to figure out how to run the electrical cable from the main panel in the starboard side of the aft cabin to the head on the port side. Anyone who's handy with basic tools should be able to do the job. Any questions, ask. Hy
 
I find manual not to be a big deal, what I really hate is raw water!! On our little 26' daysailor I put a fresh water Raritan manual and it s pretty nice, I just hate raw water hate, whether manual or electric.

Anything above 25/30 I prefer vacuflush
 
I agree with Pascal, totally hate raw water. Our marina has virtually no water movement, hence lots of hyacinth, grass, and with this summers heat, lots of algae. Best improvement to boat has been the purchase of the Jabsco fresh water conversion kit, to change from raw water to fresh water. Kit has the electric solenoid to eliminate any contamination of the fresh water tank( not that we use it for drinking anyway). I have been really pleased with having fresh water flush instead of the dirty muddy lake water. Wife is ecstatic. Also really surprised at how little water the toilet uses for flushing.
 
I too was unaware of the amount of odor a raw water head brings in. (That's not surprising, I"m unaware of a lot of stuff....) When we moved from the Cruisers (raw) to the Carver (fresh), we were amazed at the difference. (that was an expensive upgrade however...) We then suggested and helped a friend do a fresh water conversion on his small day cruiser and he was impressed at the difference. The interior of the boat took on a new sparkling feel without the scary doom and gloom of what's behind "that" door!
 
Manual vacuflush is way to go.
Friend has an electrical digital one.
When the switch thinks its full it won't flush.
Switch thinks it's clogged, it won't flush.
It's a nightmare. He has replaced the switch twice.
Constantly pumping it out because when it's a 1/4 full it thinks its full.
Annoying toilet.
Give me a pedal, a vacumn and tank.
Sometimes technology does not improve things!
 
Our marina's just off Long Island Sound, which connects directly to the Atlantic Ocean. Tides run 3'-4' so water is constantly be replaced. There is some slight odor from the salt water, but it's minimized by a small air freshener and an open side porthole. The electric is definitely a big improvement over the manual. I thought about the vacuum flush upgrade, but had read and heard various complaints of malfunctions. Now it's on to the next project - moving the battery switching location. See posting in Electrics) Hy
 
I'm in brackish water so I'm not having the raw water problems you other guys are having. The only issue I've ever had is the very first flush after not being on the boat for a week or more. The water in the line gets real funky. So, I worked up a system that I can use a fresh water flush when we are closing up the boat on Sunday afternoon, so now I have fresh water in my water line so I don't get that funky smell when we come back on Friday.
 
Since we're all chiming in on our potty preferences mine are:

Raritan Marine Elegance fresh water heads. One in the 30' cat. Two in the 36' Gulfstar trawler.

I don't have Pascal's experience with Vacuflush so I'm keeping it simple.

One major upgrade over a good head, at least to me, is a Type I MSD. I've got Raritan Purasan's on both boats (Hold-n-Treat options, with holding tanks, for those pesky, useless No Discharge Zones).
 
The previous owner of my boat installed a small fresh water tank and plumbed it to the head (Raritan Crown electric). There's a valve that lets me switch between the tank and raw water for flushing. I haven't used the raw water since I figured out how to work the valve. Fresh water flushing is great.
 
My Regal 2465 hadd a manual raw water head to n brackish water. Stinkeeeeee! In port, I used the pull out shower from the sink to fill and flush the head. Problem solved. I'm assuming that is what the fresh water conversion is.

I thought the VF was old technology.

I'm all in favor of an MSD system.
 
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