Raritan toilet install...

Mar 3, 2008
188
Hunter 356 Lake Stockton
Thinking about replacing my Jabsco manual toilet with a Raritan. What sort of issues will I be facing? e.g. removal of old unit, mounting bolt differences, hose connections, etc.
 

eianm

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Jul 7, 2010
517
Hunter 42 Sydney
i did this some years ago- best investment- the Raritan product is great, but the after sales support is tremendous! I can't remember exactly WHY, but I had to make up spacer plates for the base- something to do with having them fit correctly- I think it was that the base is a fair bit larger and I needed more floor space, so made an adapter /spacer . I recommend going with the Elegance model with the smart controllers- couldn't be happier with them!
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,709
- - LIttle Rock
Thinking about replacing my Jabsco manual toilet with a Raritan. What sort of issues will I be facing? e.g. removal of old unit, mounting bolt differences, hose connections, etc.
Raritan makes a bunch of toilets, both manual and electric...which one are you yearning for?
 
Mar 20, 2004
1,729
Hunter 356 and 216 Portland, ME
Doug/Karen,
We did this years ago, when Peggy pushed them to make a conversion kit - you use the bowl from your jabsco, all the rest is Raritan. Best thing we've done on Escape! works incredibly well, very easy. You can get the kit on SBO - get the compact version for the 356. It took me about an hour to install, the lag bolts are in a slightly different position but it fits perfectly. the biggest issue was finding a good place to park the toilet to remove the bowl (4 bolts), dump the jabsco, and install the bowl on the Raritan base/pump.
 
Mar 3, 2008
188
Hunter 356 Lake Stockton
Thank you all. I have replaced a Jabsco with a Raritan once before on our H31. Loved the Raritan but the mounting issue was entirely different compared to the H356. Chuck, I am very interested in your "conversion kit" idea. I will further pursue it.
 
Mar 3, 2008
188
Hunter 356 Lake Stockton
Chuck:
Did you mean you converted to an electric Raritan? Our Jabsco is manual and we want to stay manual. I could not find a conversion kit to take me from a manual Jabsco to a manual Raritan.
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,709
- - LIttle Rock
Chuck:
Did you mean you converted to an electric Raritan? Our Jabsco is manual and we want to stay manual. I could not find a conversion kit to take me from a manual Jabsco to a manual Raritan.
Ok...I finally get an answer to my question...you want to stay with manual. That would be a PH II or a PHC, which is the compact version. Both are available as complete toilets or "conversions," which allow you to keep your existing bowl, seat and lid....converting your manual Jabsco to a manual Raritan. Check them out here: Raritan LBA Upgrade for almost any toilet.
("LBA" stands for Lower Base Assembly...iow, everything but the bowl.
 
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Dec 2, 1997
8,709
- - LIttle Rock
Only one thing wrong with all that, Stu... You installed the full size PHII....they'll most likely go with the compact PHC, which is on a different base (what used to be the base for the Raritan Compact II, now discontinued) that has a couple of mounting bolts that should fit the Jabsco's leftover holes.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Peggie, I hear ya, but the next question usually is: How do I get to the nuts on the bottom of the bolts???:doh::poke::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 
Mar 3, 2008
188
Hunter 356 Lake Stockton
Key question, Stu. The current base under the toilet does not appear to provide any access.
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,709
- - LIttle Rock
Peggie, I hear ya, but the next question usually is: How do I get to the nuts on the bottom of the bolts???:doh::poke::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
Yup...and sho' nuff, there it is, right on schedule. :dancing:

All marine toilets are mounted using lag bolts...there are no nute, so no need for any access to the underside of anything...just back the bolts out.
 
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Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Peggie,

That's why I keep sayin' this:


I want a new emoticon:

:pPLEASE read the blinkin' links:

Please, please, please.

Yup...and sho' nuff, there it is, right on schedule. :dancing:

All marine toilets are mounted using lag bolts...there are no nute, so no need for any access to the underside of anything...just back the bolts out.
 

SFS

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Aug 18, 2015
2,066
Currently Boatless Okinawa
I am seriously considering this conversion. My Jabsco is leaking slightly at the shaft entrance at the top of the pump when I pump. Also, the bowl tries to empty during pumping, but there is a bit of liquid left no matter how many pumps I make in dry mode. I've read all the related threads, and if my inferences are correct, I could need a pump rebuild, but at a minimum likely a joker valve and a piston seal kit. Before I put ANY money and time into the Jabsco, I would rather just buy the PHC LBA and move on. My question:

Clearly the bolt holes for the base may not be perfect as they exist in the floor of my head. I have no problem making marinetex fills and drilling new holes for the base. But I've not seen any discussion of whether my existing Jabsco bowl is definitely going to fit on top of the new LBA. Will it fit, or will I also be drilling new holes into the top of the LBA to accommodate my Jabsco bowl? If it doesn't fit, it's worth the extra $25 dollars (including shipping) to order the full PHC from Defender instead of the LBA only from this site.
 
Oct 16, 2017
3
Wauquiez Hood 38 Seattle, WA
SFS - did you ever take on the LBA project? When I looked at the mounting diagram, it looked like the bolt holes were offset 45 degrees from those on my current Jabsco bowl, which is why I ask.

The diagram on the LBA page (http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?52006/) - (Diagram: http://shop.sailboatowners.com/emp/images/Bowl_holes.jpg) shows the holes at 12, 3, 6, and 9 O'clock for the LBA, yet the holes for my Jabsco bowl are at 2:30, 4:30, 7:30, and 10:30. Granted, I could rotate the bowl 45 degrees but I think The Admiral would protest.
 
Dec 19, 2006
5,809
Hunter 36 Punta Gorda
I changed to the PHII raritan 2007 H-36 and used my old bowl and new holes for lag bolts
and not all that hard but love my Sea Era electric and also did have the Raritan PHII but like the Sea Era now still using old bowl.
Nick
 

SFS

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Aug 18, 2015
2,066
Currently Boatless Okinawa
SFS - did you ever take on the LBA project? When I looked at the mounting diagram, it looked like the bolt holes were offset 45 degrees from those on my current Jabsco bowl, which is why I ask.

The diagram on the LBA page (http://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?52006/) - (Diagram: http://shop.sailboatowners.com/emp/images/Bowl_holes.jpg) shows the holes at 12, 3, 6, and 9 O'clock for the LBA, yet the holes for my Jabsco bowl are at 2:30, 4:30, 7:30, and 10:30. Granted, I could rotate the bowl 45 degrees but I think The Admiral would protest.
@Scott Wauquiez, sorry for the delay in responding, I've been out of the country. I did make the conversion, and there were a few hiccups, but they were very minor. Let me see if I can remember the issues.

I bought the whole package, including a new bowl, from Defender. Upon install, I needed more room than I had due to the fact that the fittings are a little different from the Jabsco. Since I didn't want to deal with the liner, I raised the toilet so I could slide the whole thing back, making use of some space in an existing cutout in the liner. So I made a 3" thick platform (epoxy coated) the same dimensions as the "deck" that the toilet sits on. I also cut out some of the melamine covered MDF to make that opening just behind the toilet a little wider. The combination allowed me to slide the Raritan further back (and freed up access to the toilet fittings).

The following thread may be of use to you, and the info above appears in one of my posts therein:
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/i...wners-how-have-you-upgraded-your-head.186052/

See also my post #14 in this thread, which gives more detail on the fittings issue:
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/430-head.182716/&highlight=raritan toilet

If you want to talk on the phone, send me a PM with your phone number.
Edit: I can't seem to find a picture of the riser I made, but here is a picture that will show the factory "hole" in the liner behind toilet. It's kind of a shelf really, and I removed some of the sides of the oval opening to make it larger. The riser I made went where the measuring tape is.

1208161150b.jpg

One more thing: when I raised the toilet, the fold-down seat attached to bulkhead on the right side of the picture had to be raised slightly. I removed it, and haven't yet remounted it.
 
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Oct 16, 2017
3
Wauquiez Hood 38 Seattle, WA
Thanks, SFS! I did more research in the real world and it turns out that the bolt diagram that I linked earlier looks like it's intended to show relative distances, rather than orientation. The actual LBA does appear like it will indeed be a bolt-for-bolt replacement of the Jabsco one I have (both in bolts that mount the bowl to the LBA and the LBA to the floor.) Of course, my stating that means that the follow-up to this post will be a profanity-infused description of why I was wrong. :)

The part I'm still mentally wrestling with is the best way to move the water intake from the rear of the pump (where the Jabsco's intake is) to the front of the pump (where the LBA's intake is.) I could get a few couplers and a small amount of intake hose but I don't want it looking like it was hacked in after the fact. I will probably just have to replace the entire intake hose.

Thank you again for the response - hopefully your trip abroad was for pleasure!
 

SFS

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Aug 18, 2015
2,066
Currently Boatless Okinawa
I didn't have to lengthen any hoses, and the connecting points on the Raritan toilet are all the same size as on the Jabsco.

Edit: I seem to recall someone else (maybe on another forum) having trouble with the fact that the connection points are not in the same LOCATIONS as on the Jabsco. That may be an issue. Do some searching on the forum(s), as I don't remember the specifics. I may have gotten lucky, in that my hoses were long enough to reach the "new" locations.
 
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