Head upgrade

This is a great thread and has all but convinced me that the Marine Elegance is the head I need to replace both our heads with!
Question....in my reading the ME specs, it says it is only 12" tall from base to seat?? That is aulfully low?? I think the "average" head/toilet at land is 18"? Is it correct that it is only 12" tall? If so, are you all setting it up on a platform? Our current heads are set up on a wooden platform but I don't like it- would like to just direct mount it to the floor so that it will look like a normal toilet.
If I have 12v run to the existing electric heads and 1.5" discharge lines, will the only thing I need to do to install is mount the new base, connect to the discharge line, connect the 12V, then run a water service line from a nearby freshwater line or the tank?
 
I believe it was the same height as my VacuFlush and previous Jabsco heads. My head is on a built in fiberglass pedestal that is part of the head room's internal fiberglass liner. I would measure your current boat's head they are typically lower than land based toilets because most are on pedestals.
You won't be disappointed with the Raritan ME Tony, they are flawless in their operation. They also use very little water.
Other than the installation you mentioned you need to install the control head, control cable and 12VDC freshwater water valve (duck soup).
Bill
 
Thanks Bill.
Our current electric heads are on a pedestal as well- I think I am going to order the new heads and get them installed ASAP and then look at adding a 2nd holding tank for the aft head to make not have to flush so far to the forward holding tank. My wife informed me last weekend I had to upgrade the heads and who am i to argue with her when she asks for boat upgrades??? :)
 
Thanks Bill.
Our current electric heads are on a pedestal as well- I think I am going to order the new heads and get them installed ASAP and then look at adding a 2nd holding tank for the aft head to make not have to flush so far to the forward holding tank. My wife informed me last weekend I had to upgrade the heads and who am i to argue with her when she asks for boat upgrades??? :)
 
quote:
Originally posted by Woodsong

My wife informed me last weekend I had to upgrade the heads and who am i to argue with her when she asks for boat upgrades??? :)

Click to expand...


Extremely wise man!!! :)

Bob
 
Short Model (12" tall from deck to top of bowl, not counting seat) uses part # prefix "22"

Tall Model (15" tall from deck to top of bowl, not counting seat) uses part # prefix "23"

For angled back, add a zero ("0") to the above. For straight back, add a "1" to the above. (Examples: short model, angled back = 220. Tall model, straight back = 231)

Next comes either nothing (for a white bowl and seat), or an "A" for bone-colored bowl and seat.

Then all models get an "H" added to the above (for household size bowl and seat - no other options).

Following the "H", add an "F" for pressurized fresh water-flushing, an "R" for raw water-flushing, or an "S" for the Sea/Fresh option.

Next comes a "012" for a 12 volt model or a "024" for a 24 volt model.

If you want the Smart Switch programmable control, stop right there; the part number is complete.

If you want the 3 button manual control, add a "01" after the voltage.

If you want the simple single push button control, add a "02" after the voltage.
 
Let me add that the Smart Switch option is recommended by Vic, and I'm happy I went with it. I bought a spare single-button as a back-up.
 
Well, Jim and I did around 85% of the install yesterday. It all went really smoothly. The only holdup is I'm missing the adapter to go from Whale to 1/2" hose, but other than that (which I ordered from Boatfix and asked for "next day" per the instructions - let's see if it makes it here before the weekend!), it all seems to be in place. I just have to connect that and set the toilet down and connect it to the new waste line. I'll post pics once done.
 
um, yeah... 15mm quick connect...

you're confusing me...
 
Dang, I'm only a couple months late seeing this. That's a nice installation. Now that you've had time to use it, are you still happy with it? I'll bet you are.
 
Looks real good! In looking at the first pic., I noticed you have the version with the angled back. While none of the plumbing or wiring appears to be "showing," it is also available with a straight back, where it goes straight down, from the raised area of the bowl at the top. Might've made a slightly neater looking job. But as it is, it still looks quite good, and I really hope you're happy with it!

Short model, angled back (as shown in the photo) first 3 numbers of model # = 220. Short model with straight back, first 3 numbers of model # = 221.
 
Thanks guys... It really was not that big of a deal to put in, and yes I am absolutely happy with it, it definitely works as advertised!!! Sure better than what I had and I like the concept a lot better than the Vacuflush I had on my previous boat also.

That's very true Vic about the angled back, and I had actually thought about that, but it was the angled back that allowed me to push it far back enough against the bulkhead to keep some standing room, and still get the plumbing out behind it, with two elbows, through the bulkhead using the previous hole locations (which are behind and to the right of the toilet).

Plumbing it any other way (as in through the floor for example) was truly not viable the way that the boat is set up. I even considered setting it at a 45 degree angle in the far corner, so that I'd use only one elbow, but it looked terrible and the lid could not open fully. I was also concerned about the two elbows at first in terms of pressure but with roughly 6' of total hose run to the waste tank, it really was not a problem.

Anyway, I ended up doing it this way because it was really the only way I could think of w/o having to tear the boat apart. The hoses are visible if you look over the top, but otherwise they're not, and I set it far enough to the side that most people won't notice them.

I did run into a couple little quirks installing it. The main one was that it was hard to get the sanitation hose to properly seal against the smooth white adapter piece that comes with the head. At first install it leaked a lot, I re-did it and clamped it , it still dripped a tad, so I ended up double clamping it and applying a bit of sealant, and thankfully that did the trick. Part of the issue was that the OdorSafe Plus hose I used is very stiff which I don't think helped (clamps have a hard time compressing it), but I wished the piece I was connecting to was jagged in the same manner that the PVC elbows I bought for the two turns were.
 
I am also wondering if there's any spare parts I should keep onboard? If there's one system that you don't want to be surprised with when it refuses to work after someone "uses" it, it's the toilet LOL. Is there anything that might fail more frequently here that maybe I should keep spares of? For the Jabsco I used to always have an impeller since it seemed to crap out every year.

Here I worry a bit about a control failure or something like that preventing an otherwise perfectly good toilet to flush?

Would appreciate thoughts.
 
About the only thing that's turned up so far, that I would recommend to keep on hand is a pair of spare joker valves (it uses two, and they're both the same), Raritan part # 221135. Factory retail is $12.20 each, so they aren't terribly expensive.

Joker valves, by design, are self-cleaning but over time, they tend to stiffen somewhat and can also acquire mineral buildup on them from the dissolved minerals in the water settling out and adhering to them. That can keep them from sealing tightly, and you may occasionally get a bit of backflow of "dirty water" into the toilet bowl.

Changing the joker valves on a regular basis will help to avoid this from happening - my suggestion is every second year, during spring commissioning.
 
I carry a pair of Joker valves, a spare manual switch (in case my smart switch takes a, uh, crap) and a spare motor for the unit. Granted, this is because we've been known the spend a month out of the country on the boat each year. But if I remember correctly, the motor is quite a deal for some reason. Unless the price has changed, Vic?
 
Raritan's retail price for the 12 volt Marine "Elegance" motor, part #221012, is $130.00. All the replacement parts for the "Elegance" (at the moment) are "relatively low cost."
 
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