35.5 Head and System Replacement

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Feb 1, 2011
281
sail boat dock
Well, think I have it figured....read 'the' book, picked through 60 pages of back posts....

Admiral wants a new electric head, showed her the Raritan Sea Era, she said I will be cleaning that....
so, looking at the models with easier to clean sides for my cabin boy job.

Any suggestions for a 35.5 would be most appreciated. rear discharge and blonde control panel required. Fresh water model.

The rest of the system will be a 1 inch Trident 102 waste line from head to centre of top of a new Ronco 25 gal tank, with no loop in the line due to distance of 8 ft plus and the fact that the line travels under the rear tranverse berth.
The pumpout waste line will exit from the top of tank to ensure there is no standing waste in the line. Pickup to be cut at 22 deg and go to bottom of tank. Vent to be 3/4 inch line with new through hull to match. Vent to run as horiz as possible. I will have to re plumb to get enough fresh water, as my lines look like 1/4 in grey rv stuff.

My last questions to others who have done the install would be

should I hook up my macerator for overboard dumping, directly to the tank with it's own 1 in top tube pickup, or y valve off the 1 1,2 inch pumpout line that will come out the top of the tank. The pump currently is mounted on the rear bulkhead, level with the tank top, to keep standing sewage away.

Will a type 1 unit [purasan] work with a holding tank above the toilet and 8 ft plus away ?
Raritan has a nice combo system to hold waste too, not sure if it eliminates the placement hieght issues.

The Sealand 9100 head seems to have a reasonable amp draw, and she likes that style. I would prefer a Raritan model, which unit to choose?

An article like an ''Electric Toilet Shootout'' would be interesting. I didn't find much in the back postings for comparing, except the Vetus was touted in a dated 2006 post.

Thanks for any heads up you can offer.
 
Last edited:
Mar 20, 2007
500
Catalina 355 Kilmarnock, VA
Check back issues of "Practcal Sailor" from about a year ago. They had an extensive 2-issue review of electric heads.
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Stretch:

Regardless of how these tests come out, the real test of the unit is how long they last without breakdowns or worse yet replacments.

As you can see from the article in PS, the cost is/may be a factor.

We have had a Raritan SeaEra in our Hunter Vision for over 6 years. Ours is raw water flush (not fresh water off your storage tank). We have zero issues other than a couple of female guests using baby wipes. If the SeaEra can't grind them it will not flush them (great feature).

Needless to say we like ours (except for the noise it makes when flushing). The fresh water flush version is supposed to be much quieter (according to Ms Peggie).

A major consideration is what will fit within the area that you need to mount it. Some of these models may not fit, so that is a major consideration.
 
Feb 1, 2011
281
sail boat dock
Thanks Steve, and point taken. The current unit is 13 h by 14 w and 16 d, a jabsco manual pump, on a 4 in riser deck. I have 25.5 inches total width of space. The Sea Era is nice and compact, for extra space to get to the engine. There is enough space behind the current head to mount a Purasan right there. I don't expect the Admiral would let me. The newer raritan models attract her with the clean looks, not the ''model a'' styling [her w]
I would be very interested in your opinion of the type 1 units in a boat our length, and where you would consider placing the unit. Thanks for all your posts I have read in the archives, too.
 
Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
I would not install a purasan or any other device. Just another thing to go wrong.

A holding tank with a macerator works. There have bee n some issues with the bolts rusting on these pumps too.
 
Feb 1, 2011
281
sail boat dock
Alan's 30 gal ronco b 189 seems like the best choice in a holding tank, it has a ramped up side to get the extra volume, and still has room to have top discharge and top centre inlet.
http://ronco-plastics.com/newRonco/product_details.php?prodID=82

Reading another site, they estimated the type 1 system from Raritan cost about .23 cents a flush, for the electrode life, not inc install costs.
 
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