Manual to electric toilet convertion - hunter 38

Ron20324 · Oct 27, 2015

Maybe a potential macerator line?

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Oct 27, 2015

Sergey Vetrov said:
Hi Team
I am planning to replace my manual toilet with electric one.
I have found spare wire on main switch board which I would say "reserved" for electric head. Before "disassembling" my boat to try to find second end - can anybody advice where potentially it can be found. Otherwise I will run new wiring...Thank you in advance

I'd run new wiring anyway unless that wiring is rated to carry the toilet's load--you'll find that information in the toilet's installation instructions--.AND is a separate dedicated circuit.

Btw...if your bowl, seat and lid are in good shape, you don't have to buy a complete new toilet unless you're upgrading to one of the all china "thrones." Most others are available as "conversions," which included everything BUT the bowl, seat and lid....your bowl WILL fit. Conversions also available in both sea water and pressurized fresh water models. Suggest you check out the Raritan SeaEra.

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Oct 28, 2015

I wouldn't put two toilets on the same circuit...each toilet needs to be its own separate circuit.

I didn't notice that you're in NZ...unfortunately shipping, rate of exchange and duties make Raritan toilets too expensive. Jabsco and TMC are your only viable options, and I don't recommend TMC at all..

All sea water toilets are noisy because, contrary to popular belief, it's the intake pump, not the macerator blade, that makes most of the noise. Toilets designed to use pressurized flush water are much quieter because instead of intake pumps, they have solenoid valves. They also draw on 10 amps vs 15 for sea water, and use less flush water. And, because they don't have an intake pump, they typically cost less. Check out the 37045. conversion.

If you must go with a sea water toilet, do NOT opt for the Jabsco 29200 "conversion"...even Jabsco admits it's a lame excuse for an electric toilet...noisy, pricy, highly prone to clog and an even shorter average lifespan than Jabsco manual toilet pumps. The 37010 conversion is your lowest cost option that works.

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Dec 7, 2015

The Marine Elegance is the best toilet in it's class...but some of it's best features--notablly the "Smart Flush" panel--only work when it's installed to use pressurized fresh water. If you must use a sea water toilet, the Raritan SeaEra is a more sensible choice IMO. It was purposely designed to be a "plug and play" upgrade/replacement for the Jabsco 37010 series...even the mounting bolt patterns are identical. A lot less expensive than Elegance too!

seadaddler · Dec 7, 2015

I have the sea era on my H-36 and really like it and yes very noisy but does
a good job,I do know people with the elegance and they love it also and less noise.
nick

Birdman737 · Dec 15, 2015

Like some others on here I'm considering an upgrade this winter from a manual to electric head.

I've got a question about where to mount the remote seawater pump for quietest operation... if the pump is above the waterline, will it lose prime and be louder while repriming? I assume the pump is self priming, but is there a substantial change in noise level if it's mounted a foot or two above the water line? Is this only an issue for the first use after sitting a few days (in which case, I wouldn't care)? From an extra space standpoint, mounting it a foot or so above the waterline would probably be most convenient for me.

As usual, thanks for everyone's advice!

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Dec 15, 2015

A few electric toilets need a remote intake pump, mostly those designed to use pressurized fresh water, but have an owner who also wants to use sea water (the Marine Elegance is one), but 90% of electric toilets designed to use raw (sea, lake, river) water have integrated intake pumps...so which toilet are you considering that you think would need a remote intake pump on boat in fresh water?

Birdman737 · Dec 15, 2015

Like you noticed, I'm on the Great Lakes, where the "seawater" is still fresh and doesn't have the same degree of smelly issues that salt water boats have. Therefore, I don't have an immediate need to use up the boat's freshwater supply to flush the toilet. In 2-3 years, though, I'm thinking of taking the boat to salt water, and am therefore considering the Raritan SeaEra model where you can select between sea and fresh water. I'd maybe think about a Marine Elegance, but the hose routing from that toilet may not quite work in the space I have.

However, the head I'd like to upgrade is next to the master/aft cabin, so flushing noise is somewhat of an issue, and is probably the main reason I'm considering a remote intake pump flushed toilet. Also, if I remember correctly, the SeaEra model with integral pump only has one "flush" button... having control of adding bowl water vs. pumping out bowl contents separately would be nice.

seadaddler · Dec 16, 2015

I have the sea Era and do have it setup to draw in sea water
but have the sea water value closed most times and added a fresh water sprayer and use that to add fresh water for flushing.
I also have sink drain into head and use to flush the whole head onl h when needed.
Nick

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Dec 16, 2015

Birdman737 said:
I don't have an immediate need to use up the boat's freshwater supply to flush the toilet. In 2-3 years, though, I'm thinking of taking the boat to salt water, and am therefore considering the Raritan SeaEra model where you can select between sea and fresh water.

The SeaFresh system can be retrofitted if/when you ever need it.

All sea water toilets have only a single flush button...the optional "multiple choice" flush controls can't work with sea water intake pumps, only with the pressurized flush water solenoid valve. If you opt to use a remote intake pump, you'd have to disable the intake pump in the toilet (which in a SeaEra is a diaphragam pump instead of the usual impeller)...and wire the intake pump and the toilet separately...two flush buttons. IMO, from both a noise and a flush water consumption perspective, you'd be far better off with a toilet designed to use pressurized flush water. Adding a remote intake pump to it if/when you'll put the boat in salt water is a lot easier than trying to redesign a sea water toilet to use two separate pumps. So if you're considering the Elegance, go for it...I don't know how the hose routing from the Elegance should be any different than from any other toilet.

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Dec 16, 2015

seadaddler said:
I have the sea Era and do have it setup to draw in sea water but have the sea water value closed most times and added a fresh water sprayer and use that to add fresh water for flushing. I also have sink drain into head and use to flush the whole head onl h when needed. Nick

Doing that with most sea water electric toilets would destroy the intake impeller and housing, making it impossible to open the intake seacock without risk of sinking the boat. However, the SeaEra intake pump is a diaphragm pump, so isn't subject to being "fried" by dry friction heat. But I'm not sure that keeping in the tank seacock closed is good for it. And I can't see the need to do that if you've connected the intake line to the sink drain line...'cuz you only need to run a sinkful of clean fresh water through the toilet before the boat will sit to rinse all the sea water out of the entire system.

seadaddler · Dec 16, 2015

The only problem with using sea water and than rinse from sink is when we are out cruising for a few weeks
I use fresh water sprayer and control how much water is going into holding tank and same thing with sink rinse it
tends to fill up the holding tank much faster and so while cruising would need to stop and fill up my fresh water
supply that much more and my way has been working pretty good and really have not used sea water in the head at all.
I am sorry I did not get the elegance model with the better control system but it was $$$$ more than the Sea Era.
My boat came with a WC head and changed to PHII within a year of my 2007 H-36 and than about 3 years ago changed to the Sea Era and we love it and did ask wife about changing to the elegance and can't repeat what she said plus something like I will kill you.
The PHII was great and still have on board as backup but love the Sea Era with the so easy push button chopper blade
works me for sure.
Nick

imanoutdoorgrl · Jan 17, 2016

Have you thought about a Vaccuflush?

seadaddler · Jan 17, 2016

Vaccuflush has too many working parts and so much more
to install and too many things to go wrong.
I used my old bowl on my Sea Era and no need for
Sea water pump.

Peggie Hall HeadMistress · Feb 8, 2016

Sergey Vetrov said:
Morning Hunters Team
Finally I am changing my manual Jabsco to Raritan electric. I am using my deck wash pump to deliver raw water to the toilet through solenoid valve. Do you think I need to connect output from solenoid valve through existing vented loop or run it straight to the toilet?

Which Raritan toilet did you buy? Or are planning to buy?