Baby Blake toilet

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milfordman

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I have at present installed in my boat a baby blake toilet which is 20 years old I have been having trouble getting the pumps to be water tight. I prefer to avoid dilute sewage when ever possible.

I have fitted new plungers and the modified 'o' ring seal kits and new packing but it seems as though the glands have to be repeatedly tweaked to keep them water tight, and even then they are quite stiff to operate.

My guests often strugle with them.

Also it seams to me the price of spares is prohibitive. I could have bought new toilets with what I have spent on spares.

Last week I was in conversation with a delivery skipper who thought they were pants. He said he preferred the Lavac toilet which has fewer parts to go wrong.

I understand the Lavac depends on a sealed toilet lid. Can the forum comment on the use of the Lavac, and comparisons with the baby blake.
 
Yes a sealed lid and what is in effect just a white version of a common Henderson bilge pump..

Fit a Lavac and forget your troubles.

The loops in the inlet and outlet pipes are V important so check that you can install one according to the instructions.

See the BLT website

(I have an idea that the Zenith version may not now be available but replaced by an improved version of the "popular" . Thats so in the USA anyway!)
 
I had the same problem, got rid of the rubber o ring and now use some ptfe stuffing box packing with a bit of waterproof grease. Needs a little attention now and then but seems to work well. Think mine was fitted when the boat was new which was 1983. I like my loo /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
Our BB also weeps at times, but Hubby sorts and we are very happy with ours. If we were to replace then of course price of BB is so high that a more budget brand would be order of the day.
Considering how long the BB has been made and available gives testament to its success.
The other posts solution of packing material is not first time we've heard that and makes sense.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I changed from a BB to Lavac popular. Best toilet on the market - go for it.

[/ QUOTE ]

We did similar may years ago, removing the BB and installing a Lavac Zenith! I gave the BB to a chap restoring an old wooden boat where the BB was more 'in character'.

Compared to the difficulty of using and maintaining the BB, we would never go back - SWMBO would immediately sue for divorce (cruelty!) if I even suggested it! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Have had a Baby Blake on boat 1, glands always ouzed no matter what you did. Then had a Simpson Lawrence on TG and ditto. Bought a Lavac 15 years ago and since then have had a clean and tidy 'heads' which has needed nothing more than a gentle wipe down. A Zenith is nicer for the wider person! but the standard is more than adequate. You can always rig the pump as an extra bilge pump as well and it suits a holding tank arrangement very well. Only issue is that the pump is the substantial Henderson Mk V and needs a strong bulkhead or base. Easy to use. Do it.
 
Just installed a Lavac, chosen mainly because of good reports here. Now made in Taiwan and pump is no longer a Henderson, but a similar design from Denmark. Very pleased with it so far.

Prices have fallen, along with all other loos and sells for £140-150, compared with £90 for a Jabsco and even less for lesser known makes. Large percentage difference but still not a lot of money compared with other items.
 
I struggled with a BB for about 4 years before throwing it away in disgust. I fitted a par brydon which in those days was a good cheap loo. I am not convinced that the Jabsco replacement would last as well as the Par Brydon.

The lavac is definitely the simplist, and easy to convert to a holding tank system.
 
I had two blakes and a simpson lawrence, now have three janscos, one a leccy "Quiet flush" (Which is not quiet, hate to hear a loud one!!) would not go back to BB I think they are a awonderful piece of victorian toilet, but things have moved on, I can buy a complete Jabsco for the price of a full repair kit for a BB.
I hera good things about lavac, but I dont want one.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Have had a Baby Blake on boat 1, glands always ouzed no matter what you did.

[/ QUOTE ]
Had the same problem with mine before replacing the o rings with stuffing. Now tighten 1/4 turn every few weeks and maybe twice a year replace the packing. Liveaboard so gets used a lot. Maybe that helps. To the original poster it might be worth trying this before the expense and hassle replacing. Just sanded mine back to bare metal and painted with clear epoxy - looks rather elegent now, no plastic /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
You are looking at the larger model (Zenith). The price is for the Popular. Smaller bowl, but the same bowl as a standard Jabsco. I got mine from Seateach in Emsworth who ask £140. Most of the other Mail Order people including Force Four have them at £150. The nominal "retail" price is, I think £200 but nobody charges this.

Don't think anybody buys the Zenith any more because of the price and loo compartments are generally designed for the standard size bowl. Spares are equally expensive.
 
last time tried some hammerite special metals primer which didn't work either, but that was before i got the leaks sorted out. Will let you know how the epoxy does. Hopefully in about a year /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
tillergirl said:
Have had a Baby Blake on boat 1, glands always ouzed no matter what you did. Then had a Simpson Lawrence on TG and ditto. Bought a Lavac 15 years ago and since then have had a clean and tidy 'heads' which has needed nothing more than a gentle wipe down. A Zenith is nicer for the wider person! but the standard is more than adequate. You can always rig the pump as an extra bilge pump as well and it suits a holding tank arrangement very well. Only issue is that the pump is the substantial Henderson Mk V and needs a strong bulkhead or base. Easy to use. Do it.
Click to expand...
do you think it's possible to substitute the BB intake flush pump with another pump, like the Henderson, and use that instead? seems to make sense. I can't take the top off the BB to service it.
 
Hambleton said:
do you think it's possible to substitute the BB intake flush pump with another pump, like the Henderson, and use that instead? seems to make sense. I can't take the top off the BB to service it.
Click to expand...
I did on mine years ago, after the river I was on during the winter froze and 'burst' the inlet pump. I can't remember what I used for the replacement though.

Now have a lavac poplar.
 
Hambleton said:
do you think it's possible to substitute the BB intake flush pump with another pump, like the Henderson, and use that instead? seems to make sense. I can't take the top off the BB to service it.
Click to expand...
well, got it all refurbed and reassembled...and now it's leaking which it never did before. But I'm really chuffed to have my Blakey back. Dysfunctional love.
 
blakesandtaylors.co.uk sell upgraded seals to replace older style leaky ones. I got bored one winter and dissasembled my toilet. There is a lot of parts!
Had all the shiny bits rechromed and all the white bits powdercoated. Looks like a brand new toilet.
Although the majority of the bb look the same there are a fair few variations of cylinder caps/seals
 
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