W-C Head with Macerator Pump

[Maddog]

Peggy - I need your help. I own a Challenger 32 (built 1970-original head) with a Wilcox Crittenden Head that has a macerator pump. This pump attaches at the base of the head with 4 bolts where a regular hand pump would attach. The macerator does say Wilcox Crittenden on top, but I can find no info that matches my searches here or on the web and I see no part numbers on the unit. Of course it is no longer working. Before I disassemble the unit and all the nastyness that comes with that, I'd thought I would ask your help.

Any idea on which unit this is?

Is there a replacement pump or repair kit I can buy? I'd like to stick with this head.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

It's not salvageable...

I'm not sure whether W-C actually made that toilet or whether a PO cobbled up his own "conversion" using a Headmate and a macerator. My W-C guru will know though...I've emailed him and will post his reply.

What I do know for certain is that it's not salvageable. The bowl might be, unless it's chipped, scratched and/or cracked, or doesn't have a 4-bolt mounting pattern, but that the only thing that is. All the rubber etc in the pump has be rotten...the motor and wiring have to be corroded just from sitting for years, 'cuz lubrication settles in sealed electric motors that sit unused for long periods, ceasing to provide any protection once it has.

So it's time for a new toilet. It'll help me direct you to the right choice if you'll tell me WHY you want to stick with a 40 year old non-working obsolete toilet?

Marine toilets aren't like the ones at home....those don't have any moving parts...marine toilets do. And equipment that has moving parts wears out--not just the parts in kits, but the hardware too. Pump housings and impeller houses wear and get scratched and scored...tooled and machined parts--levers, springs, rods etc break. Mfrs redesign 'em...which means they require different parts from the previous versions. It's not profitable for mfrs to support obsolete equipment forever...and they don't. 10 years is about the maximum length of time parts remain available for most discontinued equipment.

 

[Maddog]

Crap! (Bet no one's ever pulled that joke on you.)

It does look like a Head Mate. The bowl and seat are fine. I was hoping to either fix or replace the pump. Are there any options that way?

Thanks for the quick response. I hope your freind has an option for me.

 

[Joe]

Crap! (Bet no one's ever pulled that joke on you.)

It does look like a Head Mate. The bowl and seat are fine. I was hoping to either fix or replace the pump. Are there any options that way?

Thanks for the quick response. I hope your freind has an option for me.

I think you'd actually save money and time by replacing it ... here's one of the best:
http://www.marineboatsupplies.com/r...gle&utm_medium=Free&utm_campaign=GoogShopping

There are cheaper ones... this is a typical replacement for the discontinued head mate.

http://www.sailsmarine.com/ItemDetail.aspx?c=38006

$136 for the jabsco... a very economical substitute...a new pump for the Head Mate cost over $150!

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

I know what you have now!

It was indeed made by W-C....here's what Jocko sent me:

Actually there were 2 units that were designed and engineered by Wilcox Crittenden during the period the company was owned/managed by Gulf & Western--

The "ELECTRA-HEAD-MATE" and the "EL-SEACLO" -

The electric HEAD-MATE was designed to attach to the Head-Mate waste arm - with an electric motor bolted down where the pump unit attached w/4 bolts

The "EL-SEACLO" (electric SKIPPER model) was a unit that could attach at the front of the manual unit and could be electric or manual - the foot pedal controlled the intake water flow

Yours is the Electra-HeadMate. The electric pump actually replaced the manual Headmate pump...the only comparable replacement today is the Jabsco 29200 "conversion," which I wouldn't have as a gift because it draws a whopping 25 amps (compared to 15 for most other sea water macerating toilets), makes enough noise to wake the dead, "chokes" on flushes that any decent MANUAL toilet, much less any other electric, could swallow easily...and has a trouble-free lifespan of about 2 years, if that long.

The motor only replaced the pump HANDLE on the electric Skipper...there are still two toilets today that are comparable--the Raritan PHE II and the Groco electric Model K. You don't want either one of those either.

If you want the "push button convenience" of an electric toilet, bite the bullet and buy a toilet that was designed to BE an electric toilet from the ground up, not a "conversion" from a manual toilet. Practical Sailor just published a test of all the most widely used electric toilets...they rated the Raritan SeaEra "best budget buy." Raritan Sea Era It's available as either a complete toilet or a "conversion"...in this case, conversion doesn't actually "convert" anything, it only means you get to recycle the bowl, seat and lid from your old toilet, which saves quite a bit of money.

If your budget isn't big enough for electric, you would not regret going with the Raritan PH II/PHC rated the best manual toilet in its class for nearly 3 decades.Raritan PH II Also available as a complete toilet or a "conversion" Check that out here: sbo.com PHII PHC LBA

You can bronze the W-C pump and display it as a genuine antique! :dance:

 

[Maddog]

Thank you I appriciate your efforts.

 

[Maddog]

Peggy - Just an update. I bought the PHII today. I internet price matched at West Marine and was able to pick it up for $290. Install happens tomorrow. Care to join me?


(Thanks to everyone for their help and advice. I'll post pictures of the old head so you can indentify it in the future. Family wants to turn it into a planter/fountain in the back yard.)