Lavac toilet questions

T

tgeewe

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HI.

I am in the process of replacing my old head. Based on some research, Lavac Popular (24V) seems to be the best bet, however I do have some questions about it. Any help is appreciated.

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1. Some say that it is not guest friendly. Why?

2. My old head did have a macerator, this way If I was pumping into the sea, the "hard stuff" came out in "small pieces". How is it with the Lavac? Is there some mechanism built in to break it up? Or else, is it feasible to build a macerator into the system?

3. Also worried about having to use the toilet brush to clean up after harder jobs. Do you ever have to do this? Asking because this would require two flushes and a waiting time of 2 minutes (at worst) between them which is not really user-friendly. (What I can think of is that the strength of the vacuum pull causes the flushing water to entirely clean of any mess)

4. Is there a way to add water to the toilet before the next job, if leaving it dry.

5. What is the power consumption of the 24V (or 12V) electric pump? How is it compared to other toilets?

6. There are times when you have to use "extreme amounts" of toilet paper ... Will it clog the system?

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Thanks /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif,
tg
 
Don't know about electric Lavacs, but our manual Zenith ( bigger bowl and British-made) deals with everything except wet wipes. You don't need a macerator. Guest unfriendly? If you pin up the instructions it should not be a problem, especially with the electric version. Ours is hooked up to a holding tank and with a couple of diverters in the system we can use the same pump to pump out. There should be no need to add water if using the system normally i.e. flush with the seat down to set the vacuum. You can only pump the bowl dry with the seat up. The amount of (clear) water left in the bowl after a lid down flush is governed by the size of the hole plug in the top of the inlet hose loop. There are two sizes of plug providing more or less water. If you need more info, phone the tech guys at Blakes Lavac, they are very helpful.
 
Just got this reply:

"The Lavac won't clog (or never has) but it doesn't do a very good job of rinsing the sides of the bowl (especially of toilet tissue). If one has good direction aim while seated this isn’t a problem. A second flush, often preceded by a directional rinse shot from the shower hose is frequently needed."
- Carl @ ssca.org

How about this ? ... Does not seem to be very convenient to flush/wait 2mins/flush again (especially if I dont have a shower in the head)
Any positive/negative experience with this?
 
I second sailorman's points. I have a manual Lavac and much prefer it to other manuals - the only moving parts are in the Henderson pump and if you are going to get a blockage it will be there and is easy to get at. The pump itself does a good job of macerating.

An occasional squirt of disinfectant cleaner round the seat and lid seals keeps it sweet. If the vent hole gets a bit clogged just push a pin into the hole - this seems to be the reason for long waits for the pressure to equalise.
 
We have a manual Lavac and love it. When cleaning, just pump out the water (seat up), spray with disinfectant, and wipe out with paper towel--no brush needed, so no messy brush storage. MUCH easier than the always-full house toilets. To keep our long line of hose clean of build-up (we're in a marina right now so all goes to the mid-boat holding tank from forward and aft heads), we pump at least 10 times, wait a few seconds, pump at least another 10 times. It's good exercise. We mounted our Henderson on a high bulkhead because we've a cupboard in the shower that gives great access to the Henderson, so the up-an-down pumping works to keep me in shape.

I second the idea that anyone can work one--just post instructions or be very clear before guests use it. We've never had a clog. My husband prefers less water in the bowl--adjusted from the pump--so he adds in a few pumping cycles. Even with low water, it keeps itself quite clean.

If you're going with electric, I can highly recommend the Tecma Silence (including bidet!) that we have in the aft head. It has a macerator and an extremely forceful pump, which makes it very visitor friendly. I probably wouldn't have splurged in that direction if we weren't having an elderly lady on board who, because of her dementia, was capable of using an entire roll of T-paper in one sitting. The Silence can handle that.
 
I am thinking about liveaboard in 4 years time.Thank goodness someone is talking about heads rather than the more esoteric subjects that come up.I would want a reasonably full size "throne",are they available and would it be easy to fit one?After all this will be one of the more repetitive things one would have to cope with.
 
Sounds wonderful-I think I want one at home, never mind my boat!
Seriously, "heads problems" are a potential worry for me. I've used a Lavac once or twice and it seemed easier to operate than the "ordinary" ones-but I've been put off by their reputation of being "tempermental", "a black art" etc.
 
We and all of our cruising friends insist on having a full sized toilet - we have two. Never have we had a single day when both toilets have not worked just fine. There are issues, but if you are looking at life afloat, rest assured that you will not find that an issue. If you don't like what's fitted when you buy, it is easy enough to change.
 
Thanks for that.Obviously there is a lot of information that this forum is privvy to!Again please help me over the coming 4 years.I may ask a few questions that might seem obvious/stupid to some but if you don't ask you get.
 
No problem. It is worth following threads on subjects that might interest you - you will often see quite wide differences of opinion which makes this place more valuable than a text book. Anyone who posts an iffy or downright incorrect answer usually is corrected by others. Nevertheless, sometime complete rubbish does appear here....you have to be picky, as in any other forum.
 
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