I have inherited a electrical head that at the moment doesn't work.
Unless I can get it working my feeling are to revert to a manual one.
Your opinions will be appreciated.
Select to expand quoteBundeenabuoy said..
I have inherited a electrical head that at the moment doesn't work.
Unless I can get it working my feeling are to revert to a manual one.
Your opinions will be appreciated.
Hi Bundeenabuoy
A third option might be a composting toilet. Sounds gruesome I know, however, those who have gone that way seem to rave about them 
Select to expand quoteBundeenabuoy said..
I have inherited a electrical head that at the moment doesn't work.
Unless I can get it working my feeling are to revert to a manual one.
Your opinions will be appreciated.
I have no opinion but I recently had to fix a jabsco manual one. I need to replace a seal but when I took the hose off the inlet the barb broke so I had to replace the whole pump. I also had to buy some hinges for the seat. I almost could have bought a whole new toilet for the price of the parts!
Lavac manual.
uses a very robust bilge pump and has very few moving parts.
2 adults, 2 kids full time liveaboard cruising for 5 years with no maintenance other than a clean and de-scale of the pump and hoses once in a blue moon.
Manual is good enough for me. A recent $60 service kit was the only cost over 5 years and I only needed one seal out of it (pump handle), so not very onerous from a maintenance point of view.
Only Yacht I had with an electric toilet was a charter in the Witsundays. 30 minutes after leaving we worked out the toilet wasn't working, so after 15 minutes on the VHF only option was to turn around and head back to the dock. The charter company could'nt get it working and end up having to call an electrican. After an hour the electrican finally found a blown fuse installed inside the toilet.
Since then every toilet I have had has been manual, generally Jabco. Earlier this year installed the service kit and the 18 old manual toilet works fine.
I believe having an electric toilet on a yacht is an unnecessary complication.
Ilenart
My opinion, lecky dunny is the only way to go and I believe the only LEGAL way to go.
Legislation requires that a direct discharge toilet in open waters has a mascerator. The only mascerator that a manual dunny has is that silly rubber reed valve type thing that restricts the flow and makes it HARDER to pump out.
The cheapest TMC lecky dunny you can buy from WWs for less than $300 has a two bladed s/s chopper that mascerates before anything leaves the bowl and a plastic cover over the motor to protect it from your misdirected pee.
If you fit the dammend thing up with clear reinforced hose on the discharge side you can actually observe when the brown stuff has gone and it is ready for the white stuff (toilet paper).
Does everbody here actually know how to operate a marine dunny............??????????????????
You dump then you pump. You wipe then you pump, if necessary, a couple of times over.
I hazard a bet that I have unclogged and repaired more marine dunnys, both manual and electric, than anybody on this forum.
Anybody who believes that a manual dunny is more "natural" or "traditional" than a electrical one needs their head read.
Is that an authoritive end of topic post?? Get legal or get stupid.
Select to expand quoteIlenart said..
I believe having an electric toilet on a yacht is an unnecessary complication.
What?? Like electric lights, radios, GPSs and chart plotters??
Select to expand quoteBundeenabuoy said..
I have inherited a electrical head that at the moment doesn't work.
Unless I can get it working my feeling are to revert to a manual one.
Your opinions will be appreciated.
I've got the exact same dilemma, I'm considering going straight to the Porta-Potti, as I've had on previous yachts and it's worked fairly well.
I looked into the rules regarding being legal to dispose of you know what,you know where . I can legally get in the water to do my business apparently . I can't do it in a bucket and chuck it over the side. It has to go through a macerator to be discharged in most states of oz , and only in certain areas. I got rid of my very reliable manual toilet and put in an electric one as the cost to add a macerator to an existing holding tank was about the same as an electric toilet. I have an old boat, she is tired , but I still care about the environment I sail in. If your a day sailor,get a porta potty. If your an offshore boy , manual or bucket, if you like cruising coastal unfortunately holding tank and macerator. How it gets to the holding tank is up to you. As we are now pretty much stuck in aus , I suspect the the rules my be enforced a bit more in crowded anchorages , so if you have to fix something on your boat it may be more economical to check new rules and bring it up to scratch. Ahh an electric porta potty with built in macerator, there's an idea.??
I have a TMC Electric that is older than 10 years and has never given me problems. The manual loo i had on my previous yacht was horrible, never could get it to work properly even after a rebuild kit.
Select to expand quotecisco said..Ilenart said..
I believe having an electric toilet on a yacht is an unnecessary complication.
What?? Like electric lights, radios, GPSs and chart plotters??
Difference is that electric lights, radios GPS's etc are reliable, I have found that electric toilets are not. Plus with anything electric you need a backup. What do you do when your electric toilet stops working? What do you tell your wife and kids to use in a crowded anchorage when your electric toilet stops working?
Select to expand quoteIlenart said..cisco said..Ilenart said..
I believe having an electric toilet on a yacht is an unnecessary complication.
What?? Like electric lights, radios, GPSs and chart plotters??
Difference is that electric lights, radios GPS's etc are reliable, I have found that electric toilets are not. Plus with anything electric you need a backup. What do you do when your electric toilet stops working? What do you tell your wife and kids to use in a crowded anchorage when your electric toilet stops working?
You have what I have, a Marine head plus porta potty. The porta fits nicely between the v berths. However, even on a large scale at sewage treatment plants, macerators can be troublesome. They have automatic reversing and trips when something hard comes through. The minimum for a boat would be to have a circuit breaker mounted in an easy to get to place.
I had an electric toilet on MB. Fantastic. AS cisco says, dump, pump, wipe, pump. He got to use it a few times.
The only problems I had in 15 years was wiring that got damaged by hand cleaner and when I put paper towel in by mistake (twice).
It macerates, the ladies prefer it, less seals to replace (none in my time) and I've experienced quite a few manual ones that block, clog, break down. Usually just when you are busting and can't wait.
Select to expand quoteIlenart said..
What do you do when your electric toilet stops working? What do you tell your wife and kids to use in a crowded anchorage when your electric toilet stops working?
Come on mate. Get real. If you are in a crowded anchorage you are probably not far from home.
What do you do when your manual toilet cloggs up??
On board you carry a 10 litre paint bucket with a clip lid and a bottle of toilet chemical or a porta potti which are the only things legal to use in protected waters anyway if you do not have a holding tank.
Your lights fail. You have a few torches and a kerosene lamp.
Your radios fail. You carry a hand held VHF and your mobile phone and a signaling mirror.
Your GPS and chartplotter fail. You carry charts, parallel rule, hand bearing compass, dividers and pencils.
Your wife and kids complain. You tell them to put up and shut up because you have more important things to do such as get the vessel safely back home.
If you do not know these basics, you should not be out on the water.
Have you got anything else??
I replaced my 2 manual toilets with electrical. Both manual needed new seals/service kit. The electric ones have worked without any issues, press the button and your dump is gone. Don't think there is much that needs servicing, I wouldn't go back to manual.
Select to expand quoteBundeenabuoy said..
I have inherited a electrical head that at the moment doesn't work.
Unless I can get it working my feeling are to revert to a manual one.
Your opinions will be appreciated.
...and given it's already set up for electric i.e. you have have the cables, circuit breaker etc in place I'd just got with a new electrical toilet. If you convert to Manual you may find that the outlet hose is larger on the manual than on the electrical, so that would need to be upgraded as well, then possibly a larger Y valve and anything after that. Double-check before you decide.
I have friends who cruise with a composting toilet and they would never go back to electric or manual. I couldn't afford to buy one so I'm building my own. I made a mold for the urine diverter and cast it in glass. I used 3ltr milk bottles for collection, a 20ltr bucket for solids with stainless mixing mechanism and small 24/7 fan to vent overboard. All this fits into cabinet with a standard toilet seat on top. A bit of trial and error to get everything to fit and get dimensions right but the next one which I'm building for a friends boat should be just ok.
George
Select to expand quotecisco said..Ilenart said..
What do you do when your electric toilet stops working? What do you tell your wife and kids to use in a crowded anchorage when your electric toilet stops working?
Come on mate. Get real. If you are in a crowded anchorage you are probably not far from home.
What do you do when your manual toilet cloggs up??
On board you carry a 10 litre paint bucket with a clip lid and a bottle of toilet chemical or a porta potti which are the only things legal to use in protected waters anyway if you do not have a holding tank.
Your lights fail. You have a few torches and a kerosene lamp.
Your radios fail. You carry a hand held VHF and your mobile phone and a signaling mirror.
Your GPS and chartplotter fail. You carry charts, parallel rule, hand bearing compass, dividers and pencils.
Your wife and kids complain. You tell them to put up and shut up because you have more important things to do such as get the vessel safely back home.
If you do not know these basics, you should not be out on the water.
Have you got anything else??
Nope, I'm way to busy to get involved in an endless debate. The OP asked for opinions, I happy with what I have said above.
Ilenart
Select to expand quoteaus005 said..
Electric is the only way to go
Yep - buy quality, maintain it regularly and all problems will pass....
First thing i did when I bought my boat was to put in a Jabsco electric head (for the Missus). More than six years ago now, and
it's never been a problem, No maintenance, just keep it clean and use toilet conditioner.
Select to expand quoteDatawiz said..
and all problems will pass.... I saw what you did there Gary.....
Select to expand quoteBundeenabuoy said..
I have inherited a electrical head that at the moment doesn't work.
Unless I can get it working my feeling are to revert to a manual one.
Your opinions will be appreciated.
I mistook the deck water pump to be part of the toilet system. I have a manual RM69 which I plan to replace with the top of the range Jabsco.
There is a choice in toilet seat material. I am leaning towards wooden as sturdier than plastic.
A new TMC electric toilet is about as good as they get and they are made in Taiwan, not China.
I will hazard a guess that Jabsco have farmed out their manufacturing to China.
China is refusing our goods. We should return the favour by refusing their goods (bads).
Could you advise me as to what spare parts I should have when I do the change over. I am thinking extra clips for the pipe lines and possibly I will need to replace the pipe lines?
Maybe an impeller for the flushing pump in case somebody burns it out by not opening the water inlet.
Just one consideration to throw in here is the current draw from electric toilets. Mine is somewhere close to 15 amps when flushing. Not a problem if you have a good house bank and charging, but it's worth noting. With our setup, it's something I have to manage carefully on longer trips and it sometimes means having to motor for a while (to charge) when I'd rather be sailing...
We have a composting head and while it was expensive I will still say that after owing the boat for 2 years that it has been the best thing I have ever bought for the boat.
If you have a toilet and you use it in an anchorage anywhere near other boats you can be prosecuted. Secondly, myself and my kids swim around my boat so if you use a head without a holding tank closer than 3nm from shore then you are irresponsible, and a f*ckwit
Select to expand quotedralyagmas said..
We have a composting head and while it was expensive I will still say that after owing the boat for 2 years that it has been the best thing I have ever bought for the boat.
If you have a toilet and you use it in an anchorage anywhere near other boats you can be prosecuted. Secondly, myself and my kids swim around my boat so if you use a head without a holding tank closer than 3nm from shore then you are irresponsible, and a f*ckwit
I have a holding tank ,and think twice before going for a swim at a crowded anchorage for that reason. I would hate to even touch the water at bums bay surfers paradise
Select to expand quote2bish said..
Just one consideration to throw in here is the current draw from electric toilets. Mine is somewhere close to 15 amps when flushing. Not a problem if you have a good house bank and charging, but it's worth noting. With our setup, it's something I have to manage carefully on longer trips and it sometimes means having to motor for a while (to charge) when I'd rather be sailing...
Hi, when you do the maths an electric toilet may draw 15 amps, but for a very short period so the power used is very little in the scheme of things.
