Raritan Conversion

[Apex]

SBO Offers up a conversion kit to change everything except the bowl/lid over to Raritan. If you are in the market for a new toilet, FORGET the other brand. I replaced with a like kind when the pump housing cracked, figuring I may have not winterized properly. The new toilet failed within 1 year, the gasket was malformed so leaking. I tried changing out for the old gasket and it wouldn't pull fresh water from the lake. It is leaking still. I know I know, we have all read up about the merits, but since I was a daysailor, rarely needed the toilet and mainly dry flushed only anyway, I thought I could skate by. not so. I think SBO is the ONLY place to sell the conversion kit.

Listen to Peggie....
..rant over. I should have my conversion shortly.

 

[sailboatracer]

If anybody is planning on converting their Jabsco toilet to a Raritan, just be aware that it is NOT a direct replacement. The discharge is not in the same location and can cause installation problems. A friend of mine just did the conversion and ran into this issue. He had to cut his bulkhead in order to connect the waste discharge hose. Just saying.

 

[Tally Ho]

I agree about the quality of the Raritan, my old boat had a Jabsco, and it seemed like I needed to rebuild or replace the pump annually.

My newer (but older) boat had a Raritan head and it has worked flawlessly for the 4 years I have owned her. I put some lubrication in the wet/dry valve as it was a little stiff, but the pump remains very powerful.

I am sure it will need some TLC soon, but I keep putting it off because the thing works so well (I know Peggy...an ounce of prevention...) but it just keeps on flushing !

Won’t own any other manual head (for long).

Greg

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

My newer (but older) boat had a Raritan head and it has worked flawlessly for the 4 years I have owned her. I put some lubrication in the wet/dry valve as it was a little stiff, but the pump remains very powerful.

That MIGHT have lubricated the dry/flush valve, but did nothing whatever to lubricate the pump. If you want it to keep working for the 20+ years it's designed to, LUBRICATE THE PUMP...now and every year as part of spring recommissioning. It's a 15 minute job: buy a tube of SuperLube thick Teflon grease (Ace Hardware carries it if you can't find it anywhere else)...and it MUST be the TUBE of grease, not any of the other Superlub lubricants. Then...
1. remove the 4 screws that hold the pump on the base. 2. lift the pump off the base just enough be able to stick the nozzle on the tube of SuperLube grease into it. 3. Give it a healthy squirt--about a tablespoon. 4. Replace the pump onto the base.
5. Pump 2-3 x to spread the grease all over the inside of the pump. 6. Open a beer...you're done till next spring.
There's only other thing it needs to continue providing reliable trouble-free service for 20-25 years: Put a rebuild kit in it every 5-6 years. The kit for all PHII pumps mfr'd after 6/92 is PHIIRKC.

 

[capta]

That MIGHT have lubricated the dry/flush valve, but did nothing whatever to lubricate the pump. If you want it to keep working for the 20+ years it's designed to, LUBRICATE THE PUMP...now and every year as part of spring recommissioning. It's a 15 minute job: buy a tube of SuperLube thick Teflon grease (Ace Hardware carries it if you can't find it anywhere else)...and it MUST be the TUBE of grease, not any of the other Superlub lubricants. Then...
1. remove the 4 screws that hold the pump on the base. 2. lift the pump off the base just enough be able to stick the nozzle on the tube of SuperLube grease into it. 3. Give it a healthy squirt--about a tablespoon. 4. Replace the pump onto the base.
5. Pump 2-3 x to spread the grease all over the inside of the pump. 6. Open a beer...you're done till next spring.
There's only other thing it needs to continue providing reliable trouble-free service for 20-25 years: Put a rebuild kit in it every 5-6 years. The kit for all PHII pumps mfr'd after 6/92 is PHIIRKC.

From your description, it sounds as though you are suggesting putting the SuperLube below the plunger. I would think it needed to go above the plunger? Please clarify.

 

[Tally Ho]

That MIGHT have lubricated the dry/flush valve, but did nothing whatever to lubricate the pump. If you want it to keep working for the 20+ years it's designed to, LUBRICATE THE PUMP...now and every year as part of spring recommissioning. It's a 15 minute job: buy a tube of SuperLube thick Teflon grease (Ace Hardware carries it if you can't find it anywhere else)...and it MUST be the TUBE of grease, not any of the other Superlub lubricants. Then...
1. remove the 4 screws that hold the pump on the base. 2. lift the pump off the base just enough be able to stick the nozzle on the tube of SuperLube grease into it. 3. Give it a healthy squirt--about a tablespoon. 4. Replace the pump onto the base.
5. Pump 2-3 x to spread the grease all over the inside of the pump. 6. Open a beer...you're done till next spring.
There's only other thing it needs to continue providing reliable trouble-free service for 20-25 years: Put a rebuild kit in it every 5-6 years. The kit for all PHII pumps mfr'd after 6/92 is PHIIRKC.

I know...that is why I called you out! I will get around to it this year!

Greg

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

From your description, it sounds as though you are suggesting putting the SuperLube below the plunger. I would think it needed to go above the plunger? Please clarify.

Why do you think it's necessary for grease to go into the pump above the plunger?
Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein

 

[capta]

Why do you think it's necessary for grease to go into the pump above the plunger?
Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein

To lubricate the shaft for the pump handle.

 

[Apex]

To lubricate the shaft for the pump handle.

Looks like the PHII design uses a cartridge to seal the pump handle shaft. Should be an easy lube job.

 

[capta]

Looks like the PHII design uses a cartridge to seal the pump handle shaft.

LUBRICATE, not seal.

 

[capta]

Why do you think it's necessary for grease to go into the pump above the plunger?
Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein

Everything below the plunger comes from the bowl and goes out the exhaust. What is the point in lubricating that? You just flush the lube right out! If squirting some SuperLube in the botttom will lube the plunger o-ring, why wouldn't doing so above the plunger do it just as well, while lubing the shaft and seal as well? How does lubing below the plunger lube the flush/dry valve?
Thanks for the Einstein quote, but in this case I think it rather rude and uncalled for.

 

[jviss]

With "O"-rings, generally, any more lubricant other than a thin film on the ring itself is a waste. I can see injecting a gob of grease if you're trying to lube downstream components, but it is an imprecise and wasteful method.

 

[Apex]

aw c'mon, easy fellas: Peggie has been touted as an expert in toilets and plumbing and has graciously offered advice on this forum over-and-over. I am certain there is a reason to the PM method. I would surmise careful disassembly and precise lube application for effluent charged components in order to maintain a well designed system isn't justified by the cost of splooging some grease in an easy access location which in the end provides similar results. Wasting some lube? no problem. What would happen if the top half has too much grease? Nowhere for it to go.... As for the handle shaft, it is a cartridge design on the PHII, so remove the cartridge and slather some grease above and below the seal. Maybe for that brand ONLY, the cartridge can also allow access to the plunger as well for precise PM? No poo danger on that side....I dunno I will let everyone know once I receive the crapper, and see the mfr instructions.

Regardless, I am heading her advice on getting a more robust system, and eliminating a brand previously described as disposable to which my personal experience has proven accurate.

 

[jviss]

Excellent points, Apex.

I was thinking that when I did this, when I lubed the seals, I would flush a lot of water, and maybe even some anti-bacterial something-or-other, to clean it out as well as possible; kind of like the process to prepare for a colonoscopy. Then, of course, rubber gloves, safety glasses, and keep one's mouth shut!

The idea would be to ensure that everything was visually inspected, and that all of the seals that need to be lubricated get lubricated properly.

That said, I will probably never do it, opting to just replace the entire pump assembly when needed.

Yes, I have the Jabscco Twist-n-Lock. I can't comment on the longevity yet, but it functions very well. I hope that any failure mode is gradual, not sudden, as I'm not (yet) carrying a spare pump assembly.

 

[Apex]

jviss, I have spare parts.....

 

[jviss]

jviss, I have spare parts.....

Thank you! Mine's pretty new, I think, and no problems yet. Have you had issues?

 

[capta]

[QUOTE="Apex, post: 1460006, member: 120403" As for the handle shaft, it is a cartridge design on the PHII, so remove the cartridge and slather some grease above and below the seal. [/QUOTE]
These are plastic toilets with a plastic "cartridge". Putting a wrench on it several times a year to undo it to lube the shaft generally leads to rounding the plastic nut and early replacement.
As for "picking" on Peggy, I thought it a valid question and wanted a serious answer, not some flippant comment and a quote posted to insinuate I know nothing about marine toilets. I've been caring for and rebuilding marine toilets since the early 60's, so unless I'm a complete moron and/or senile, I should understand how they operate, wouldn't you think?

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

The instructions for lubing a PHII I posted are the same instructions you'd get from Raritan.
Lubing a Jabsco is even easier: just take the top off the pump and stick the nozzle on the grease tube into it a squirt about a tablespoon into it.

In any manual toilet, it's not the PISTON ROD ("pump shaft") that needs lubrication...it doesn't rub against anything. It's the seals, o-rings etc ON the rod that rub against the pump cylinder wall that need lubrication to reduce wear. So the grease needs to be spread all over the inside of the pump.

Thanks for the Einstein quote, but in this case I think it rather rude and uncalled for.

If you'd been paying attention you'd know the Einstein quote wasn't personal...that it's been part of my signature for several years and shows up in at least 90% of my posts on this site, every other site on which I participate and all my emails.

Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein

 

[MitchM]

i've nursed my manual jabscos over 25 years with annual grease lube of the pump. i also pour olive oil into the toilet bowl and onto the shaft of the handle 2x a year as i heard this from an old timer . whatever i'm doing is working..

 

[jviss]

I think the olive oil in the bowl is just a waste. Save it for your salad! It will end up in the bowl eventually.

I also had an old timer tell me to just use white vinegar in the bowl and stop using the holding tank chemicals. I was polite, but will continue to do what I do.

I think flushing with a lot of water helps.