Time to replace the pooper!

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toocoys

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Now that we're buying the boat, its time to replace the sanitation system. We currently have Jabsco 37010 heads that are fairly old, but still in good condition. However the macerator pumps are completely shot.

My question is should I just replace the Jabsco quiet flush pumps (if possible), or do I convert them to Raritan Sea Era bases?

We'll be installing a new poly holding tank, and running completely new "costs an arm & a leg per foot" hoses as well.
 
Now that we're buying the boat, its time to replace the sanitation system. We currently have Jabsco 37010 heads that are fairly old, but still in good condition. However the macerator pumps are completely shot.

My question is should I just replace the Jabsco quiet flush pumps (if possible), or do I convert them to Raritan Sea Era bases?

We'll be installing a new poly holding tank, and running completely new "costs an arm & a leg per foot" hoses as well.
We did that same whole conversion. World of difference, such an improvement. Better operation and it no longer sounds like I'm running five loud blenders simultaneously to make daiquiris. The Jabscos were okay, low maintenance, relatively low cost, can't fault them, but the Raritan SeaEras are a clear step up.
 
We did that same whole conversion. World of difference, such an improvement. Better operation and it no longer sounds like I'm running five loud blenders simultaneously to make daiquiris. The Jabscos were okay, low maintenance, relatively low cost, can't fault them, but the Raritan SeaEras are a clear step up.

OHHHH SNAP! And we have the exact same boat!!! Care to share photos of your aft head? I'd like to see how it fits etc.
 
I was a distributor for both Jabsco and Raritan.
Save your toilet bowls and buy Sea Era conversion kits.
I think Peggie Hall will agree with me.
 
If I was going to replace the whole system, I would go with a Raritan Marine Elegance.
 
I was a distributor for both Jabsco and Raritan.
Save your toilet bowls and buy Sea Era conversion kits.
I think Peggie Hall will agree with me.


Definitely! It's available in both sea water and fresh water versions...I'd go with the fresh water version which will also allow you to upgrade the flush button to one that offers 3 choices--bring in water, "dry" flush and simultaneous flush water and discharge. That's not available for sea water toilets. Raritan SeaEra Conversion Promo Sheet


--Peggie
 
Definitely! It's available in both sea water and fresh water versions...I'd go with the fresh water version which will also allow you to upgrade the flush button to one that offers 3 choices--bring in water, "dry" flush and simultaneous flush water and discharge. That's not available for sea water toilets. Raritan SeaEra Conversion Promo Sheet


--Peggie

Our heads are plumbed to our fresh water tanks and pressurized water lines. We have jabsco solenoids that allow water in.
 

I'm 99% certain that the "integral" kit is the sea water version and the "pump" kit is the fresh water version.


I'm also 99% certain that you can find it for a lot lower price than WM. Get a quote from Hopkins Carter Marine Hopkins-Carter Marine Supply and Fishing Tackle (owned by HopCar until he sold it and retired last year).

--Peggie
 
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Now that we're buying the boat, its time to replace the sanitation system. We currently have Jabsco 37010 heads that are fairly old, but still in good condition. However the macerator pumps are completely shot.

My question is should I just replace the Jabsco quiet flush pumps (if possible), or do I convert them to Raritan Sea Era bases?

We'll be installing a new poly holding tank, and running completely new "costs an arm & a leg per foot" hoses as well.


How many gallon poly holding tank?

How many gallons per Flush on the new toilet?

Maximum number of days between holding tank pump outs?

That should be your determining factor on selecting a new marine toilet. If the tank capacity is small, a toilet that uses less flush water will extend your days between pump outs.

As for the expensive hoses, I try to use as much white PVC DWV pipe that I can fit into the boat. PVC pipe is very very inexpensive compared to sanitation hose of the "no odor permeation" type and available at Lowes and other hardware stores. There are PVC big sweep pipe fittings available in various angles and adapter fittings. You will have to purchase the PVC hose cuff adapters to fit a section of hose between the pipe and appliance, at a marine Sanitation store or a well stocked marine store..

The advantage to PVC DWV pipe is that it will never permeate odor.

The trade off for hoses to be flexible, is odor permeation. The best expensive, no odor hose will remain odor free for 5 to 7 years. A lot depends on if any low spots exist that is trapping sewage.
 
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...We'll be installing a new poly holding tank, and running completely new "costs an arm & a leg per foot" hoses as well.


In case you don't already know this...Ronco Plastics Ronco Plastics marine Tanks is your best source for a tank...and if replacing hoses is a job you only to do once for at least 10 years, I'd go with Raritan SaniFlex hose Raritan Saniflex Sanitation Hose because it's proven to be totally odor permeation resistant and is also so flexible it can be bent like a hairpin without kinking...making most rehosing jobs a whole lot easier. Defender has it for about $10/ft.



--Peggie
 
In case you don't already know this...Ronco Plastics Ronco Plastics marine Tanks is your best source for a tank...and if replacing hoses is a job you only to do once for at least 10 years, I'd go with Raritan SaniFlex hose Raritan Saniflex Sanitation Hose because it's proven to be totally odor permeation resistant and is also so flexible it can be bent like a hairpin without kinking...making most rehosing jobs a whole lot easier. Defender has it for about $10/ft.



--Peggie

I've already talked to Phil? Rich? from Ronco Plastics about a tank. The tank is going to be about $300 plus the fittings I need.

As for hoses, I want to go with the best no matter the cost. Right now we have the funds to repair and replace everything that needs fixing for the next 10 years or so.
 
The advantage to PVC DWV pipe is that it will never permeate odor.The trade off for hoses to be flexible, is odor permeation. The best expensive, no odor hose will remain odor free for 5 to 7 years. A lot depends on if any low spots exist that is trapping sewage.

The biggest advantage to hard PVC is price...which less than even the cheapest hose. But it's not the best choice for runs that have a lot of tight bends because bends make it necessary to install radius fittings.

Trident 101/102 hose (identical except for color..101 is black, 102 has a white "skin") has been on the market for more than 20 years without a single reported odor permeation failure and I've never heard of one either. But it has one major drawback: it's almost as stiff as hard pipe, making it just as unsuitable for installations that have tight bends

Raritan introduced their SaniFlex hose about 10 years ago...and it's proven to be 100% odor permeation proof--not a single reported odor permeation failure and I've yet to hear of one either. Which is surprising because it's so flexible that it can be bent like a hairpin without kinking Raritan Saniflex Sanitation Hose. Shields has a "lifetime" warranty on their Poly-X sanitation hose. It gets excellent reviews...for an average RETAIL (not list) price of $16/ft it should! Trident 101/102 averages about $8/ft, Raritan SaniFlex can be found for $10/ft (all prices are for 1.5")

Dometic/SeaLand's OdorSafe is the one premium sanitation hose that's the "exception that proves your rule" 'cuz it does have a high failure rate...I've personally been on half a dozen boats on which it had failed in less than a year and I've heard of quite a few more. Price varies from $16/ft at WM to $8/ft at Fisheries Supply in Seattle.

--Peggie
 
TC, we changed our holding tank and hoses early this year, with mucho help from Peggie. The new tank (Rich, at Ronco) is larger than our original (mis-labeled) and we made all the innies/outies on top of the tank, so we were able to increase capacity by about 60%. We used SaniFlex hoses, and it's very easy to work with, bends nicely.

Some points about tank fittings that weren't obvious until afterwards. First, Rich/Ronco did a very good job installing what we (thought we) wanted, where. OTOH, overhead clearance was an issue, and it wasn't until after the tanks arrived that we learned aout some other Ronco options. They spin-welded 1-1/2" and 1" fittings on top, threads above the top surface of the tank. Had we known they offered the option, we would have specified threads inside the tank (flush fitting) 'cause that would have saved us about an inch of overhead space. Also, the default dip tube/elbow they provided was a 3-piece thing, about another inch too tall for our application. The option we hadn't known about is a two-piece elbow/dip tube that saved us that inch. Together, flush spin-welded fittings and the two-piece dip tube/elbow assembly, would have been niftier. It worked out OK in our case, but we were initially in a bit of panic... until we explored options.

We used four fittings; one innie (inlet from toilet), two outies (separate outlets to deck pump out fitting and to overbeard macerator), and one outie for the vent outlet. That configuration, along with the dip tube approach, should make future maintenance on any one hose or on the macerator pump slightly easier, less messy.

I used SaniFlex for the hose run from toilet to tank, but... there's a dip in that run, so it's always got standing waste in it (unless I flush a few gallons at a time, not a great alternative). PVC would have been better for that one rune... and it's what I'll use if I ever have to replace that one SaniFlex hose. I didn't this time because I've not worked with PVC before and because there are some complicated bends that I'd have had to solve.

Were it me, replacing the toilet, I think I'd be looking at whatever bowl might fit the existing mounts. If Jabso, so be it. 37045 Quiet Flush electric freshwater, in our case. Ours works fine, it's sorta quiet, at least when the motor is new, and when compared to the loud POP!!! that happens when you light off a VacuFlush at oh-dark-thirty in the AM. Otherwise, if a straight one-for-one swap isn't in the cards, Peggie's usual Marine Elegance recommendation sounds OK to me.

-Chris
 
The Marine Elegance would NOT be a "straight one-for-one swap" with a Jabsco 37045, but the Raritan SeaEra was purposely designed to be...even the mounting bolt patterns are a match. You could even go with a "conversion" that lets you keep your existing bowl seat and lit. It's available in both sea water and fresh water versions. Raritan SeaEra Conversion Promo Sheet


--Peggie
 
This s*** is getting good. Pun strongly intended. :lol:


Toocoys, we need a head revitalization thread with high-quality professional cell phone pics if possible. :thumb:

I will be doing a new install when I build my boat. Your install has already helped me before you've gotten started. :flowers::Thanx:
 
"I will be doing a new install when I build my boat."

If there is room under the toilet the low cost, low maint and the tiny water consumption might make sense to investigate a RV toilet setup.

The holding tank ability is 10 or 20 times the usual boat head as so little water is consumed on a flush.

The holding tank needs to be directly below the toilet , which usually males a retrofit very difficult , but on a new build , why not?
 
"I will be doing a new install when I build my boat."

If there is room under the toilet the low cost, low maint and the tiny water consumption might make sense to investigate a RV toilet setup.

The holding tank ability is 10 or 20 times the usual boat head as so little water is consumed on a flush.

The holding tank needs to be directly below the toilet , which usually males a retrofit very difficult , but on a new build , why not?
Just a caution on RV style toilets...
There are lots of threads on the RV forum warning about not using enough water to flush and getting a mound building up that is difficult to break up. The solution for RVers is to use plenty of water and dump more often.
If I was starting over w a new tank & system in a boat in addition to Peggie's advice above I'd include her excellent advice to be sure to have 2 large dia vents on the tank... preferably one on each side of the boat.
I would also suggest an extra plugged hole in case I needed to add a bubbler in the future.
 
"I will be doing a new install when I build my boat."

If there is room under the toilet the low cost, low maint and the tiny water consumption might make sense to investigate a RV toilet setup.

The holding tank ability is 10 or 20 times the usual boat head as so little water is consumed on a flush.

The holding tank needs to be directly below the toilet , which usually males a retrofit very difficult , but on a new build , why not?

Just a caution on RV style toilets...
There are lots of threads on the RV forum warning about not using enough water to flush and getting a mound building up that is difficult to break up. The solution for RVers is to use plenty of water and dump more often.
If I was starting over w a new tank & system in a boat in addition to Peggie's advice above I'd include her excellent advice to be sure to have 2 large dia vents on the tank... preferably one on each side of the boat.
I would also suggest an extra plugged hole in case I needed to add a bubbler in the future.




FF, I would agree if my boat was a weekender a few times a year. As Bacchus points out, there are drawbacks. I personally know a few couples that full time in their RVs. They have around 30 to 40-gallon black tanks and empty every 3 to 5 days. They have issues with solid waste not flushing and use an add on sprayer similar to what is found on a kitchen sink. It works but that 1/10th-gallon flush quickly becomes a gallon.



Bacchus, the two vents are doable and I'll probably do that. I know about the bubblers that some have used but hadn't considered one. I'll have to keep that in my notes.



Thanks to you both.
 
Or you could go with a simple composting toilet and not have to worry about tanks, hoses, water, pumpouts. I know most here find them strange, but we just finished up a month long trip on the boat and were very pleased.

If you have a party style boat with lots of drinkers this is not the best setup I admit because the urine tank fills up too fast. It worked out fine for us as a couple.
 
On our RV, I have added a swirling jet water sprayer in order to get the tank flushed out completely. It is real easy to get a mound in the tank if you don’t use enough water when flushing. We usually use a lot of flushing water. Then when we dump the tank we use the jet sprayer to flush out the solids. We have a clear section in the dump hose so we can see when the dump water is clean or not. The only saving grace of using an RV setup in the boat is that a boat rocks around more than an RV so it may break up the mound, or it may not. In an RV we didn’t really care how much water we used because if we were in a park we would have the dump hose hooked up so it was easy to dump the tank, just open the dump valve and turn on the sprayer. In a boat it isn’t as easy. I would never use an RV toilet in a boat because of that. In our boat we have a macerator so the solids get chewed up and wont create a mound in the tank.
 
Or you could go with a simple composting toilet and not have to worry about tanks, hoses, water, pumpouts. I know most here find them strange, but we just finished up a month long trip on the boat and were very pleased.

If you have a party style boat with lots of drinkers this is not the best setup I admit because the urine tank fills up too fast. It worked out fine for us as a couple.

Or you could just pee over the side.
 
That’s my preferred method, but my wife doesn’t think it’s too cool in a crowded anchorage. [emoji51]
 
I have an RV toilet in my boat that drops into a PVC pipe and is pulled out to the Electroscan or holding tank by a separate macerator pump mounted conveniently in the engine room under the floorboards (engineered this to keep it very quiet). The toilet has been flawless, the macerator pump lasts the normal amount of time whether an RV toilet or marine toilet. It can be flushed everytime used or skip to keep the noise down at night.


The trick with RV is to keep your holding tank closed till full then dump. I have never had a mound problem...those I know that have would leave their black tank open all the time....those that don't usually don't have the problem.
 
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"The trick with RV is to keep your holding tank closed till full then dump. I have never had a mound problem...those I know that have would leave their black tank open all the time....those that don't usually don't have the problem."

Yes!

RV 's sometimes have combined black and grey tanks , some have separate black and grey tanks .

In long term camping the grey tank can be left open as the water supply is usually from the sites hose no chance of running out.

With the black tank ,it is kept closed to keep the deposits liquefied until mostly filled , then dumped.

The simple method of clearing "standing soldiers" is to dump a 10 or 20 lb bag of ice into the tank , and go for a ride.
 
The Marine Elegance would NOT be a "straight one-for-one swap" with a Jabsco 37045, but the Raritan SeaEra was purposely designed to be...even the mounting bolt patterns are a match. You could even go with a "conversion" that lets you keep your existing bowl seat and lit. It's available in both sea water and fresh water versions. Raritan SeaEra Conversion Promo Sheet


--Peggie

I'm going to be keeping my bowls and replacing the pumps with the SeaEra. Seems to be the easiest thing to do since I already know my heads fit, and I dont feel like doing math and trying to squeeze something totally new in.
 
Or you could go with a simple composting toilet and not have to worry about tanks, hoses, water, pumpouts. I know most here find them strange, but we just finished up a month long trip on the boat and were very pleased.

If you have a party style boat with lots of drinkers this is not the best setup I admit because the urine tank fills up too fast. It worked out fine for us as a couple.


My only fear with a composting toilet is missing the bowl. I dont exactly poop like a dainty 4 year old girl, so much as I do a 400lb lumberjack after an all you can eat sitting at Denny's. I looked at a composting toilet at a local boat store, and to me it would be like trying to $h!+ in a empty can of green beans.
 
My only fear with a composting toilet is missing the bowl. I dont exactly poop like a dainty 4 year old girl, so much as I do a 400lb lumberjack after an all you can eat sitting at Denny's. I looked at a composting toilet at a local boat store, and to me it would be like trying to $h!+ in a empty can of green beans.




Please forgive me but :lol:. I kind of know what you mean. :blush:
 
My only fear with a composting toilet is missing the bowl. I dont exactly poop like a dainty 4 year old girl, so much as I do a 400lb lumberjack after an all you can eat sitting at Denny's. I looked at a composting toilet at a local boat store, and to me it would be like trying to $h!+ in a empty can of green beans.


Ok, wow. Yeah maybe the composting toilet isn’t for you. It’s not really any harder than a regular toilet, but I guess maybe even regular toilets can be challenging for some.
 

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