I've had all I can take, or The trouble with Tecma

ksanders said:

ICK!!!

Not a chance!

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So it seems it come down to 4 toilets: Jabsco, Raritan, Tecma and VacuFlush. If I can no make the Jabsco more aggressive, then the next is Tecma. Jabsco and Raritan both have the 90 degree turn in the toilet and a 1” discharge, and Vacuflush is simple not in the running because of the hose run, so that leaves Tecma. I believe Tecma has a more straighter 1 ½” discharge and the macerator impeller looks more aggressive. However, the push is still a question. So its either stay with what we have Jabsco or Tecma.


Take a look at the Microphor which works like a septic tank, no chemicals/electricity. Just use it. We have a 4 person Microphor, but it’s a little pricey, but I, err the boat is worth it.

FF said:

For folks that live in the many no discharge zones,

Nature's Head Composting Toilets - The environmentally ...

www.natureshead.net/

These work , dont stink , and use no electric or $400 pumps.

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The company I work for tried these on one of our yachts, and now we have several for sale in our warehouse. Apparently, for what ever reason, they didn't go over well with our charter guests, or they couldn't handle the volume. I was offered one, but declined although I sure like the idea, thanks Fred.........Arctic Traveller

We've been very happy w the raritan electric fresh water heads we installed last year to replace Jabsco raw water electric. One of them has a good 12-15 foot hose run but no issues. Vacu flush were nothing but problems on prior boat but I'm sure they had not been maintained so I will allow room to hope they could be better than I think.

Pineapple Girl said:

We've been very happy w the raritan electric fresh water heads we installed last year to replace Jabsco raw water electric. One of them has a good 12-15 foot hose run but no issues. Vacu flush were nothing but problems on prior boat but I'm sure they had not been maintained so I will allow room to hope they could be better than I think.

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So why did you change? Both have 90 turn, and side discharge 1"?

The only fresh water electric head we have had has been a Vacuflush so I have nothing to compare it to. In over 5 years it has clogged once that required disassembly and that was by a guest. They seem noisy when flushed but we're use to it. It's probably not the most guest friendly head for guests. They need to get use to quickly releasing the foot peddle.

They are a simple system. Leaks are easy to deal with if you have one (usually after I have changed the 4 duckbills). We do nothing for maintenance other than use it; no periodic chemicals or weekly bucket flushes. Duckbills get changed when it won't hold a vacuum usually 6-12 months of daily use. We have never had an issue getting parts. We'd buy another one.

Phil Fill said:

So why did you change? Both have 90 turn, and side discharge 1"?

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Smell. 27 year old raw water heads in salt water stank to high heaven. Fresh water have no odor.

Larry M said:

The only fresh water electric head we have had has been a Vacuflush so I have nothing to compare it to. In over 5 years it has clogged once that required disassembly and that was by a guest. They seem noisy when flushed but we're use to it. It's probably not the most guest friendly head for guests. They need to get use to quickly releasing the foot peddle.

They are a simple system. Leaks are easy to deal with if you have one (usually after I have changed the 4 duckbills). We do nothing for maintenance other than use it; no periodic chemicals or weekly bucket flushes. Duckbills get changed when it won't hold a vacuum usually 6-12 months of daily use. We have never had an issue getting parts. We'd buy another one.

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I truly think we just had bad apples due to lack of maintenance. They both had vacuum leaks even after pro service so the vacuum was priming frequently--and that WILL wake you up. Plus all sorts of other issues. But honestly the whole boat was one issue after another--it had been repo-ed one owner prior then the immediate prior owner owned it very briefly so I'm sure it had not been maintained!

every time I read all these posts...I'm glad I thought outside the box on marine sanitation systems and designed my own...inexpensive, reliable, quiet, easy to maintain...operator friendly..listening to "experts" leaves you nowhere in this particular quagmire...

Did a miracle take place?

Arctic Traveller said:

it matters little now, as I won't spend another dime on it. I already feel better knowing it's out of my life forever. Anyone want it for free?..........Arctic Traveller

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So, no one wanted my old Tecma. I told my wife I intended to smash it to small pieces and throw it in the dumpster just to feel better about it. She on the other hand asked me if I had called Thetford, as did others. So, I decided to call one last time to get it off my chest forever. Sometimes you talk to customer service reps that clearly need to take a vacation or to find a new job. Once in a while though you get to talk to the one who just got back from vacation, and yesterday I hit the jackpot. I don't know where she went or what she did, but she was in a really good mood. When I told her my sad story, she asked me a bunch of questions I didn't know the answer to (serial number,date of manufacture etc) and then said she would be sending me a new pump/motor AND the newly designed waste discharge tube that solves the problem of the plugged bleeder. I'm stunned, but I have mixed emotions about it. I stated in no uncertain terms that I would never spend another dime on it. Still, how could I pass up a free motor? Well, were due to depart Juneau after the next storm rolls through, but the new motor won't arrive sooner than next Tues or Wed, and in order to make it happen that quickly, I had to pay $100.00 in overnight shipping. So....now we will have our Tecma for the trip, but I had to bring my self to spend more money on it. Next year, I"ll have a better idea of how I feel about it. ................ Arctic Traveller

psneeld said:

every time I read all these posts...I'm glad I thought outside the box on marine sanitation systems and designed my own...inexpensive, reliable, quiet, easy to maintain...operator friendly....

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So, do tell.(a bucket perhaps?)........................AT

."I'm glad I thought outside the box on marine sanitation systems and designed my own."

A WWII surplus Monel head with a 4 x 2 outlet hooked to a bronze 2 inch Edison offset pump has worked for 35 years , with same parts, even flap valves.

Price today would be a concern tho.

Unquestionably the system easiest to live with is a Sealand RV unit , full size that gravity drops into a tank below.

120V RV macerator , or for the spenders with a 40 ft discharge run, an Obendorf 120V waste pump would be choice today..

Arctic Traveller said:

So, do tell.(a bucket perhaps?)........................AT

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post #11..and along with FF's comment it is a Sealand gravity RV toilet.

"Apparently, for what ever reason, they didn't go over well with our charter guests,"

Charter guests are mostly lubbers and anything different from their in dirt house will discomfort them.

Some of the steel house boats in St Thomas use real home toilets that flush with
1 1/2 G of water , from a FW style pump, hooked to a seacock.

KISS is the prime requirement.!

Gravity toilets you say, no say I, been there and done that. Some of us live in the 21st century, actually use our boat, have expectant family or guests on board and have the basic skills/interest to replace a duckbill.

Great thread Jeff, 100% of us use the onboard head and can relate.

If I were cruising solo, I'd do the natural head thing, but every time I hear about a guess on a boat with a natural head, the story always contains a lot of eye-rolling and smirks. Sometimes, technology is just plain stupid and we go along with it. Meanwhile, I just keep replacing my duckbills.

sunchaser said:

Gravity toilets you say, no say I, been there and done that. Some of us live in the 21st century, actually use our boat, have expectant family or guests on board and have the basic skills/interest to replace a duckbill.

Great thread Jeff, 100% of us use the onboard head and can relate.

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geeez...I guess those million dollar RVs that have'm were designed by Ben Franklin himself.

they are EXACTLY the same toilet as a vacuflush without all the headaches...and if yours smelled...it was either a bad design or something else...

A bit embarassing I guess given the position of the original poster, but we LOVE our two Tecma's...best toilets we've ever had/experienced. I suppose Actic Traveller is way beyond trying a new & different Tecma model, so I'd suggest Head Hunters, which I gather are the new standard install on Flemings. I think VacuFlush toilets are dreadful, 1980's technology...had problems with them when boating in Alaska and hear horror stories from owners with them in slips around me. The diversity of experience and opinion on this topic might suggest installation quality is more the problem than product quality?

Headaches? Headaches would be

1. Changing out my two perfectly acceptable Vacuflush units
2. Dumping the gravity tanks on a daily basis
3. Trying to sell a modern boat with a Mickey Mouse gravity tank or two

We owned a 1981 Mainship that had a factory installed a gravity toilet.

There are still available.

https://www.dometic.com/enus/Americ...-Sanitation-Systems/Gravity-Discharge-Toilet/

Aquabelle

Our Vacuflush units work in Alaska, BC and Washington. They are not hooked into our GPS units. Maybe your thoughts are a Southern hemisphere thing?

In addition to install correctness to insure a satisfactory head experience, I'd add rigorous user training. We tell our guests they assist the head repairman in cleaning out clogs, we've never a plugged head given that user advice.

On a more serious note, this thread once again demonstrates brand and design choices for all things aquatic lead to many types of successful outcomes. Why is that?

sunchaser said:

Headaches? Headaches would be

1. Changing out my two perfectly acceptable Vacuflush units
2. Dumping the gravity tanks on a daily basis
3. Trying to sell a modern boat with a Mickey Mouse gravity tank or two

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Who dumps gravity daily??? I push a button for a few seconds every 5 flushes or so and it's just like any other major holding tank system.... and most REAL boaters I deal with think it's better than they ever have seen on a boat...no MICKEY MOUSE here...people are asking me to upgrade their systems when it come time.

No one is saying change out your marginal system..wait till it breaks and it will....

I don't tell my guests they have to assist the repairman as they haven't clogged since installing them over a year ago and I have been living aboard with full time company.

Shouldn't comment on a system you have never seen or used...I can on all the others because I have used them and hasd to repair most of them.

psneeld,

Why aren't you working as or with a boat builder or a naval architect. You seem to know everything and have more experience than anyone in the industry (based on what you've said).

Trust me, no bad intentions here. Just truly wondering.

psneeld
Nice to know you are a self proclaimed (over and over) REAL boater. My mistake too, I thought your head needed to be dumped only once per day, now I find out (actually I already knew) it is cobbled together much the same as all other marine heads with pumps lines and holding tanks. It is good to know your unusual head system satisfies your needs, as does mine. As they say, different strokes ----

sunchaser said:

psneeld
Nice to know you are a self proclaimed (over and over) REAL boater. My mistake too, I thought your head needed to be dumped only once per day, now I find out (actually I already knew) it is cobbled together much the same as all other marine heads with pumps lines and holding tanks. It is good to know your unusual head system satisfies your needs, as does mine. As they say, different strokes ----

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Exactly...all I'm saying is what mine is and what the other's aren't....I didn't pass judgement on anyone more than the NA that design boats to sell...and we all know how well they actually cruise full time..

If you don't like my posts feel free to ignore...I'm here to learn new, inventive and how to fix/improvestuff...not just read what's regurgitated in brochures and boating mags....

mahal said:

psneeld,

Why aren't you working as or with a boat builder or a naval architect. You seem to know everything and have more experience than anyone in the industry (based on what you've said).

Trust me, no bad intentions here. Just truly wondering.

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I work in the industry as a tech...improving daily what the NA's fresh out of some intenet training school can only dream about. Never said I had more experience than anyone in the industry...just many of the yahoos right here....

Read a little more carefully and you'll see that....

This is quickly becoming an interesting thread.

Reading the posts I would be lead to assume that the engineers at all of the marine sanitation outfits just have it wrong, and that all of us with commercial purchased marine systems are just barely getting by with our marginal equipment.

Oh, and that we're not "real boaters".

Some of us sound like we are legends in our own minds.

Obviously, thinking out of the box has its advantages. So does thinking outside the boat.

healhustler said:

Obviously, thinking out of the box has its advantages. So does thinking outside the boat.

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:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Seems we are good to "go" again. Larry (Healhustler) has put up one of the funniest posts I have see lately.:lol::lol:

Very clever.

sunchaser said:

Aquabelle

Our Vacuflush units work in Alaska, BC and Washington. They are not hooked into our GPS units. Maybe your thoughts are a Southern hemisphere thing?
We tell our guests they assist the head repairman in cleaning out clogs, we've never a plugged head given that user advice.

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If one thing has become clear here, it's that heads are a bit like anchors. Everyone has a favorite that works best for them. I can't think of too many different models that have not been recommended as a good replacement for my Tecma, including other Tecma's. Seemingly, every manufacturer has models that are someone's favorite.

It has been suggested that all our troubles with the Tecma are due to our location in Alaska (no it's not hooked to our GPS) Glacial silt has been blamed for our plugged bleeder line and failing pump seals. Perhaps there's something to that, but with the newly designed hose, I have hopes I can get a few more years service before I have to again take it all apart.

Finally, as Chief Engineer aboard small cruise ships it falls to me to discuss issues like water usage and toilets when we do our weekly "Welcome aboard" briefing. I've taken to telling our guests that if they flush anything down the toilet that they didn't already eat or drink, or small amounts of toilet paper, that the toilet will back up and flood their room. I've gotten some pretty concerned looks, but most folks take me seriously, it's not a pretty mental image...................Arctic Traveller