Jabsco head

[Mike]

My Hunter 260 came with a Jabsco manual head. It is 3 years old and the pump is not working. Also, there are cracks in the pump housing. Any suggestions?

 

[Steve Dion]

Throw it overboard

Mike:Throw it overboard. This is NOT pollution, they make a much better reef for fish than they ever made as a Crapper.It will cost about $100 for a new pump or $125 for the entire head. You may want to equate them to a Yugo.Get a Raritan PHII and be a happy sailor with your new Crapper! Seriously, if you ever go out on a sea going fishing boat, they use these PHII's. I doubt that there is any head that is going to as reliable. You can pick them up from $225-275 but it may be the last one you ever buy.

 

[Steve]

Get a New One

Haven't had any personal experience with the Raritan heads, but everyone I know just replaces their head every few years. Yes, you can buy the rebuild kits, and do the nasty work every two or three years, and deal with the constant leaking, etc. or you can spend just a little more money for a new head than you'd spend for a rebuild kit. I just replaced a Groco on my boat with a Jabsco head. Don' waste time, money on a rebuild. By the way, a warning about the electric heads. They're VERY noisy. No one will sleep through the flush, and everybody in the marina/anchorage will know that you just flushed. My two cents worth....

 

[Jim Logan]

Another viewpoint on heads....

I have a Raritan Crown II head that is at least 10 years old - I've rebuilt it once, it is electric, porcelain, and has a pump motor that looks like it could start a V8 diesel. So I spent a lot once, and can probably keep this forever (or as long as they make $60 seal and pump rotor kits, it's simple to rebuild). Joker valves in all heads need to be changed annually, in my opinion, not fun, but generally not difficult or messy if you clean the lines prior to disconnect. Makes my significant other happy, so it was money well spent. Same old story, pay me now, or pay me later.