Compact electric raw water head

[DanColucci]

So I wanted to put another Raritan Sea Elegance electric head in my new boat and replace the compact Jabsco. I had the Jabsco electric in my old boat and really like the Raritan much better and thought I'd upgrade but so far - I cant find anything that fits and not sure what would be a good recommendation if there is any compact electric raw water head as good as the Raritan? The height to the top of the seat is 13" and my depth available is 17.5" on the existing one that fits.

Any suggestions appreciated

Dan

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

If the Elegance won't fit...

Consider going with the Raritan SeaEra instead. Raritan Sea Era

It's not the upscale all china "throne" that the Elegance is, but it can be mounted to put the discharge on either side or the rear--so one of those configurations SHOULD fit....and it does offer a choice of flush options that I think you'll like. Vic Willman ("headmaster") should be along shortly to tell you about 'em...if not, you can email him vic@raritaneng.com

 

[Steve Dion]

Dan:

I replaced a Jabsco with a SeaEra on the recommendation of Ms Peggie. We love it. Ours is noisy because we use raw water intake, but it is great. Nothing that cannot be ground up by the macerator gets to the holding tank (so everything is liquidified when it leaves the toilet. We have had some guests try to flush baby wipes (no go). They just spin on the macerator blades (remove with needle nose pliers). Much better than a plugged toilet.

If you flush with water from your pressurized water system they are supposed to be much quieter.

The footprint was probably 1-1.5" deeper than the Jabsco.

 

[JoeWhite]

And along these lines - We use pressurized fresh water from the water tank to flush the head. This has solved the odor problem on our C36. So is it possible to have a hose permanently connected to the head so that we can press a button to bring water to the head rather than extend the sink hose every time. Has anyone done this? If so do you have some photos or diagram?
Thanks.

 

[Steve Dion]

Joe:

Do you have a SeaEra? If so, why don't you contact Raritan?

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Nope very bad idea..

So is it possible to have a hose permanently connected to the head so that we can press a button to bring water to the head rather than extend the sink hose every time. Has anyone done this?

No toilet that's designed to use sea water should ever be connected to the fresh water system...it cannot be done without risk of e-coli contamination of the fresh water, damage to the toilet, or both..and every toilet mfr specifically warns against doing so in their installation instructions (not that anybody ever bothers to read 'em). ONLY toilets that are designed by the mfr to use pressurized flush water can safely be connected to the fresh water system.

There are safe ways to get fresh water to a raw water toilet...one is to reroute the toilet intake to tee into the head sink drain. You could keep the that seacock closed except when the sink is in use and run water down the sink to flush with fresh water all the time...but it makes more sense to rinse the sea water out of the system before the boat will sit instead.

Or, you can install a separate flush water tank...but that would require totally separate plumbing...vent and fill. The sink drain is easier.

Closing the intake thru-hull and using the shower head to add water to the bowl is NOT a good idea because running dry destroys the intake impeller in an electric toilet and damages the pump in a manual toilet because bowl contents only go through the bottom part of a manual pump, leaving the rest of the pump dry, which wears out and can even damage seals, valves and o-rings.

So the only two good solutions are the sink drain line or a new new toilet that's designed to use fresh water.

 

[DanColucci]

Hi Peggy and thanks for the reply. The Sea Era is (according to the cut sheet) 14.75 high so that's why I was looking to know if you recommended any other brand/model that had a max height of 13". My boat has a hinged fiberglass seat that is the reason for the issue. If none of the heads are short enough, I guess I have 3 choices:
1) Stay with a manual head
2) Remove the shower hinged shower seat (integral to the boat not the head itself)
3) Remove the seat cover of the head to save on the height

Thanks again for any advice - suggestions appreciated

Dan

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

If it were my boat...

I'd pick option #3. How much of the time is the toilet seat lid down anyway? And if it needs to be for some reason, you still have the hinged lid cover to hide whatever needs to be covered up.

 

[DanColucci]

Thanks for the vote Peggy!
So question # 2 - same boat (BTW - just purchased your book!)
This boat had some areas where the hoses needed replacement (that's done) but now I still have some residual odors on the walls where they were mounted to the path to the holding tank. Can you recommend what I should do to clean these somewhat restricted areas?

Regards,
Dan

 

[FastOlson]

Hi Peggy and thanks for the reply. The Sea Era is (according to the cut sheet) 14.75 high so that's why I was looking to know if you recommended any other brand/model that had a max height of 13". My boat has a hinged fiberglass seat that is the reason for the issue. If none of the heads are short enough, I guess I have 3 choices:
1) Stay with a manual head
2) Remove the shower hinged shower seat (integral to the boat not the head itself)
3) Remove the seat cover of the head to save on the height

Thanks again for any advice - suggestions appreciated

Dan

Easiest to remove the hinged shower seat. Our boat came with a nice hinge-down teak (!) shower seat over the head and we removed it. The next owner, someday, can have it to reattach as he chooses.
After all, if you are sitting there to take your shower, you could just as easily sit on the "throne" and shower... unless there is some unstated reason to keep the shower water out of the toilet!


L

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Eliminating residual odor

This boat had some areas where the hoses needed replacement (that's done) but now I still have some residual odors on the walls where they were mounted to the path to the holding tank. Can you recommend what I should do to clean these somewhat restricted areas?

To get rid of any odor permanently, you have to find the source and eliminate it. Once you have, there's a product called PureAyre http://www.pureayre.com that, when sprayed on every surface and into cushions enough to penetrate to middle of 'em, will eliminate ALL the remaining odor. It'll even take it out of clothing that's pre-soaked in it in cold water overnight. I don't have any vested interested in PureAyre...I tripped over it at a boat show several years ago and brought some home to test. I've been a fan ever since 'cuz the stuff WORKS! It's the only product I've found that not only gets rid of organically caused odors, but also smoke and diesel odors.

And btw...when you replace sanitation hoses, never replace only the sections you THINK need it...replace 'em all. Otherwise, you'll spend the next few years chasing down that one MORE section of hose that needs it. It's a job you only want to do once!

 

[franst8]

Thanks for the recommendation for PureAyre. I'm headed out to get some now. I'm dealing with the usual boat smells and pet smells.
franst8

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

You'll prob'ly have to order it

Thanks for the recommendation for PureAyre. I'm headed out to get some now. I'm dealing with the usual boat smells and pet smells.
franst8

At least, if you want more than a small squirt bottle of it. PureAyre