Cheapo Compass sea toilet- any good??

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sparkie

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Hi all,

Have to replace my sea toilet. Looking through the various catalogues the cheapest appears to be the Compass manual compact at around £65. I'm not looking for the ideal, as the thing is only used very occasionally. Has anyone out there fitted one of these, and if so does it peform OK??

Safe sailing

Sparkie
 
Keep in mind that with toilets, like anything else, you get what you pay for. A cheap toilet may be ok for very light use...but has to be flimsily made, which means it won't stand up under any abuse. So don't invite any "gorillas" aboard that are likely to man-handle pumping it...'cuz as sure as the Lord made green apples, he'll crack the pump housing.
 
Hi Peggie,

Good coments as always. But have to take issue on one point:

My (cheapo?) BRYDON BOY (c.1985) is still going strong. I have replaced all the rubber bits (seals/valves/etc) once in that timeframe. Basin (porcelain) and seat (heavily painted wood) are still as new.

No smells either!!

Vic
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hi Peggie, good coments as always. But have to take issue on one point:
My (cheapo?) BRYDON BOY (c.1985) is still going strong. I have replaced all the rubber bits (seals/valves/etc) once in that timeframe. Basin (porcelain) and seat (heavily painted wood) are still as new.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you adjust the price of your Brydon Boy for inflation to today's toilet prices, you'll find that it's not a cheapo toilet at all. Additionally, almost everything made 15-20 years ago was a lot higher quality than its counterpart made in the last 5-8 years. It's not at all unusual to see Brydon Boys (a version of the Jabsco manual made in Canada under a licensing agreement) and Jabsco toilets that era still working reasonably well...while those made in the last few years rarely provide more than two years of trouble free service.

However, your Brydon isn't likely to be still working as efficiently as it once did, 'cuz seals and o-rings do wear--eventually wear out--and require replacement. Jabsco did offer a rebuild kit for it, but discontinued it about 3 years ago, and not all the current Jabsco bits fit the Brydon. No hardware parts have been available for more than 10 years...so take VERY good care of it, and keep it VERY well lubricated...'cuz when it fails, you're not gonna be able to repair it. Otoh, 20 years is a pretty good lifespan, so it won't owe you anything when it finally dies. The only reasonably priced US made manual toilet that'll last that long is the Raritan PH II. Rated the best manual toilet under $500 for the last 3 decades, it lists for about $250 here, which--adjusted for inflation--is about what your Brydon would cost today.
 
bought and fitted a cheapish( 'Heads' is the make- American I think) sea toilet.The smallest available about 4years ago from Compass and though it is lightly used has workd fine. Its made of porcelain.
Regards
Dave
 
Very disapppointed with mine but a full strip and PROPER reassembly helped no end. Best bit was replaceing the large rubber outlet valve (joker valve?) with the Jabsco version with the triple cut (£5), makes the w/c far more user friendly.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm persuaded that I will be better going for a Jabsco, (£95 lowest) as at least when it fails in a couple of year's time I should be able to get parts for it!

Safe sailing

Sparkie
 
You can still get spares for your old toilet from www.batmagneten.se its in Sweden but im sure they would send,There really very nice people and provide a service,they even give a small discount on items that are the full list price,

I have their cataloge on board i keep a few to compair prices when i need somthing costly.
I havent looked on line yet but on page 114 there are all the parts plus a small easy to fit "septictank"and even a pump to electrify your manual toilet!!And diagrams showing every part of the toilets with long lists of parts

Their least costly toilet compleat is 1395SEK (about 160euros) most costly 4970SEK (about 530euros)

And on page 113 as well.all the rubber bits and weighted clap valves

On allmy boats except this one ive had blakes toilets and they have never let me down, only once did i take one apart to check and get to know it.umm and i bought a kit of rubber bits for it and never used it. I try not to use others loos as they can be complicated!!

At the moment i have the classic folkboat loo developed in the 1940,s its very reliable and incroperates a holding tank, very advanced given todays new regulations!Dosent need a vacum pump to empty it.thank goodness!!

I saw a boat being pumped out,must have had a blockage as when the emptying pipe came off the tank shot its entier contense over all on board and in the sea around when the crew had showerd they were fined for polluting!!!!!
 
" saw a boat being pumped out,must have had a blockage as when the emptying pipe came off the tank shot its entier contense over all on board and in the sea around when the crew had showerd they were fined for polluting!!!!! "

That wasn't due to a blocked in the tank discharge line, it was caused by a blocked tank VENT.

When flushing into a tank, a clog in the head discharge line is the only thing that ever occurs to most people if the toilet becomes increasingly hard to pump or "burps" or backs up into the bowl...and--just as you thought--that a clog in the tank discharge line must be reason a tank can't be pumped out. But a clog is the LEAST likely possibility...the real problem is a blocked tank VENT.

When air in a tank displaced by incoming waste can't escape out the vent, the tank becomes increasingly pressurized...resulting in an eruption when the deck pumpout cap is opened, or worse--an eruption in the toilet, a burst fitting connection, or even a burst tank The tank vent is also the source of air to replace contents being sucked out. When the vent is blocked, the pump pulls a vacuum that prevents anything from being pulled out of the tank. The boat you saw was VERY lucky that it only resulted in a spew when the pumpout hose was disconnected...that much suction against a blocked vent usually results in a cracked (imploded) tank.

It's therefore absolutely essential that holding tank vents be checked regularly and never allowed to become blocked. Cease use of the toilet immediately if you start to feel increasing backpressure and/or the toilet "burps" or backs up when flushed...and NEVER just turn pumpout over to a dock hand and walk away. Stay and watch the pumpout sight glass to make sure waste continues to be sucked out until the tank is empty. If flow stops after only a gallon or so could have been removed, stop the pumpout immediately. Don't use the toilet or attempt to pump out or dump the tank again until the vent has been cleared.

The two most common places for tank vent blockages are the vent thru-hull and the vent line connection on the tank. Inspect both regularly...scrape out anything you find...and backflush the vent line with water every time you pumpout and/or wash the boat to prevent waste (which spills into the vent while heeled) from building up and creating a clog.

Btw...the original "Folkboat" toilet didn't incorporate a tank...it was always open directly the sea...workable ONLY if the toilet is well above the waterline, but not if it's below waterline.
 
the folkboat head is a bucket!

And the event was spectacular to say the least! and for the port capitan to be passing was just bad luck! But what a mess!! Give me a good FB toilet any time.

Today of course the bucket feeds to a holding tank which has a deoderising product and is empted every week, without suction!!!!
 
"the folkboat head is a bucket!"

Ooops! NOT the toilet I was thinking of. What the heck WAS it called?

How does your bucket feed into a tank...how do you have it plumbed? Or do you just dump it in?
 
Hi Trouville,

Many thanks for the response. The site you included looks and sounds really interesting, unfortunately my Swedish is a little rusty! The pump to convert to electric sounds interesting and there was an item in this month's PBO describing just such a conversion, to fill only though. Sounds worth investigating.

I had a PortaPotti on my last boat and although very reliable(!) it was pig to clean properly and always smelt no matter how hard I tried.

Fortutunately I don't need a holding tank yet in the Irish Sea although I'm sure it will come in due course.

Safe sailing

Sparkie
 
One great thing about the Baltic is that almost everyone speaks perfect English!! If you need any info im sure an email in engish would surfice,their not doing much in winter and im sure they will be glad to help
I use a porta bucket! and as for the smell it depends on the plastic(these days used) Ive found smell free pot and tank which even when not cleaned dont smell!!Though as a rule all is kept clean.the potty holding tank is ideal for a weeks use when in a port,and is easy to empty in the correct way.
 
We've got one.

It's done maybe sixteen or seventeen weeks of the two of us living aboard and using it every day with no problems.

BUT . . . it needs a dod of cooking oil down it every three or four days or it gets incredibly stiff to pump. Cheap cooking oil is very cheap though, and we will not replace it until it falls apart. We carry a spare pump unit.

- Nick
 
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