Blakes Lavac Taylors - "having a laugh"?

Interesting topic! And it's good to have a response from BLT. I have a Lavac on my boat and it's excellent. Soon after I bought the boat I managed to crack the bowl - don't ask - and SWMBO insisted I replace the bowl. It was ONLY £30 more expensive to buy a complete Lavac with pump etc than just buy the bowl! I bought the complete kit of course I was a design engineer before I retired and I was always designing/making items with cost in mind - 2 days for a toilet seat and lid? Ridiculous price - just subcontract a manufacturer to make it with CNC equipment, I reckon it would take about 5 minutes for each item - ok it could then be hand finished but the cost would be considerable less. Even cheaper if made in the Far East... And don't get me started on the 2 days to make the bowl with 50% failure... Just get another manufacturer - or redesign the seal???
 
Speak to John Gardner at mail@taylorsheatersandcookers.co.uk

He's not great with email, but he is helpful and they seem to be independent of Blakes Lavac Taylors, though they include ex Taylor's stove builders.

Hope he's still functional - it's over a year since I spoke to him. pm me if you want his phone number. Reluctant to post it here. He can supply the Schraeder valve tank lid.
 
Having recently dismantled a 3/4 inch blakes seacock probably 40 yo in the unlikely event of having to replace would replace with similar .A lavac toilet is the toilet that needs much less maintenance compared to jabsco versions and less prone to operator error.
 
I removed the (primitive and uncomfortable) hand pump on a Taylors kerosene tank and had the screw-on cap modified to take a tyre valve bought from a bike shop. Works fine. Cost less than a tenner!
For mods like these I prefer to go to a small fitter/turner workshop rather than an unrealistically priced spares dept.
 
Any marine head can be converted to a lavac system. Just throw away the pump and hook the head to any bilge pump. Then use closed cell foam to seal the lid and seat. Done! Works well. Used that for a decade or more. No problems.
 
PetiteFleur said:
Interesting topic! And it's good to have a response from BLT. I have a Lavac on my boat and it's excellent. Soon after I bought the boat I managed to crack the bowl - don't ask - and SWMBO insisted I replace the bowl. It was ONLY £30 more expensive to buy a complete Lavac with pump etc than just buy the bowl! I bought the complete kit of course I was a design engineer before I retired and I was always designing/making items with cost in mind - 2 days for a toilet seat and lid? Ridiculous price - just subcontract a manufacturer to make it with CNC equipment, I reckon it would take about 5 minutes for each item - ok it could then be hand finished but the cost would be considerable less. Even cheaper if made in the Far East... And don't get me started on the 2 days to make the bowl with 50% failure... Just get another manufacturer - or redesign the seal???
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I read a long time ago that the reason the bowl is so expensive is that its rim flatness requirements are difficult to achieve and there is a high reject level. No idea whether this is true but it sounds possible.
 
Delighted that my new old boat comes not only with a baby in great condition but a full set of spares and the used parts from the last overhaul. That lot together is worth more than a new engine!
 
PaulRainbow said:
What problems have you had ?
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It was a previous boat that I had, that had Lavac toilets. The toilets themselves weren't really the problem, but the Michael Henderson pumps were hidden away out of sight, so that the installation was "tidy". This made the pumps much more difficult to access for maintenance, and they had lots of little nuts, which delighted in jumping down into the bilge. I can't complain about the installation, as it was me who installed them, but I didn't like the pumps. I seem to remember some problems with the little screws which held in place (I think) the suction valve.

The Jabsco toilet pump is there as an integral part of the toilet. It is instantly accessible, and easy to maintain. I like it better.
 
I like this thread. So very English!

And... I'm delighted to discover among my departed F-in-L's legacy boat bits, a 'Baby Blake' in good order. Quite why is a mystery, now. I'm similarly delighted to note the prices such coveted artifacts are now commanding on eBay. I foresee a winter week's burnishing up the brass, some Cetol on the seat, and I ought to be able to afford a new Taylor's diesel heater - or a new-old complete little Hurley - on the proceeds...!
 
NormanS said:
It was a previous boat that I had, that had Lavac toilets. The toilets themselves weren't really the problem, but the Michael Henderson pumps were hidden away out of sight, so that the installation was "tidy". This made the pumps much more difficult to access for maintenance, and they had lots of little nuts, which delighted in jumping down into the bilge. I can't complain about the installation, as it was me who installed them, but I didn't like the pumps. I seem to remember some problems with the little screws which held in place (I think) the suction valve.

The Jabsco toilet pump is there as an integral part of the toilet. It is instantly accessible, and easy to maintain. I like it better.
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My boat came with the Lavac installed and the pump in plain sight. I did think of re-fitting out of sight, but thought it might bake servicing more difficult, seems i was right :)

I know the little nuts you mean, they go on the screws that hold the pump together, but as mine is easy to get at i only have to make sure that when i drop one it doesn't go down the shower drain :)
 
PaulRainbow said:
My boat came with the Lavac installed and the pump in plain sight. I did think of re-fitting out of sight, but thought it might bake servicing more difficult, seems i was right :)

I know the little nuts you mean, they go on the screws that hold the pump together, but as mine is easy to get at i only have to make sure that when i drop one it doesn't go down the shower drain :)
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newer pumps have st screws but service kits do have replacement machine screws
 
stuey_two said:
Not just the spares, have you seen the price of a new Baby Blake?
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Minn said:
I have now: £3,880!!!
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Mataji said:
Still wondering what the difference is between Baby Blake and Lavac. One costing £4000, the other £200.
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Not that I'm in the market for one, but just stumbled on current price via Leesan -

Baby Blake - £6,001.63

Blakes Victory - £8,396.58

[Suitable smiley out of stock!]
 
LittleSister said:
Not that I'm in the market for one, but just stumbled on current price via Leesan -

Baby Blake - £6,001.63

Blakes Victory - £8,396.58

[Suitable smiley out of stock!]
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Yikes!!
I had a couple of Lavacs spare and put them on the web..
Actually I can't remember what they went for, but around €400? Never used and snapped up.
 
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