manual or electric head?

[Robin]

Our boat came with a jabsco manual toilet converted to an electric oneby the previous owner. It looks like we need to replace the electric pump unit which is the same cost as a new electric Jabsco, not a conversion but a 'proper' electric model. we have a holding tank ( must have here) but it is not huge ( maybe 20 gallons ) so my question is which toilet is best with a holding tank system, a manual one or the electric one which has a built in macerator pump? We have a free pumpout weekly in our marina berth as part of the service< But if in the Bahamas pumpouts are few and pricey, so a quick trip a few miles out offshore to dump the tank may occasionally be needed, so which is best a tank of macerated carp from the leccy model or the one full of lumpy bits left over from the manual one maybe?? Cost of a new electric pump unit for the existing head is around $400 and the brand new purpose built electric model with a macerator pump built in is $429 give or take. We had two of these on the mobo we lived on and they work well, the difference then being we had a 50 gallon holding tank. So whiCh should we choose??

 

[PlanB]

You might want to check the diameter of the outlet pipe on each version. As I recall, there is a difference.
There might be a macerator on the holding tank, too, if it has its own pump.
Having had both, I´d go for the simplicity of the manual!

 

[Andrew G]

PlanB makes some good points. It depends on you and your guests - whether they can "cope" with the manual operation vs the push button ease of the electric one. Don't forget that the electric ones are noisier - some don't like telling the world that they have finished, and they use power (not a problem if you are used to them and have adequate capacity). I bought a new Jabsco electric one (bowl included) for less than the cost of adding a macerator to my manual one when I installed my tank. Some larger boats keep one manual WC on board just in case.
Cheers, Andrew

 

[charles_reed]

Being all-too-aware of the consumption of an electric toilet, and the added break-down complication, I'd not consider it. As a macerator appears to be a major attraction could I suggest the age-old adage of "if it ain't been through you don't put it down here". Diverting toilet paper into a holding bag, whilst raising cries of horror from the over-strictly potty-trained, prevents that soft white carpet so common in "favourite" anchorages in popular cruising grounds around the world as well as eliminating 90% of pump blockages.

 

[vyv_cox]

We replaced a RM69 manual toilet with a Jabsco LITE electric one. Inlet and outlet connections are the same, 3/4" and 1.5" respectively. Power consumption is high in current, about 12 amps, but only for one or two seconds, so not really significant. Our holding tank is 50 litres without a diverter, so everything goes through it. We find we can get three days before it needs emptying. If you could fit a diverter valve to take liquid-only offerings directly overboard it would be a distinct improvement.

The LITE is much easier to keep clean than any manual type. It is a little more noisy than manual pumping but not a lot. We have had a couple of incidents of salt encrustation in the joker valve housing, probably because the flush water throughput is so low. Now I know what it is it is a simple job to fix. The big benefit is no manual pumping, a spectacular bonus to those with arthritic fingers. I installed it about four seasons ago, since when it has been fault free other than the salts. I carry a spare drive belt for the impeller as a breakage would kill it stone dead but not needed so far.

 

[laika]

I believe the solution for optimal tank usage is vacuum flush due to the small amount of flushing water involved. That being said, I ripped out the hugely expensive vacuuflush system the previous owners had installed as I didn't like the concept of wasting fresh water and power and I wanted to reclaim the locker space taken by the vacuum tubes, pumps and supporting plumbing (the latter needed upgrading anyway). Perfectly satisfied with my manual jabscos but in retrospect I should have left the vacuuflush system in the aft heads so as to have the option of manual on an ocean passage or vacuflush in a marina.

 

[Robin]

You might want to check the diameter of the outlet pipe on each version. As I recall, there is a difference.
There might be a macerator on the holding tank, too, if it has its own pump.
Having had both, I´d go for the simplicity of the manual!

the existing one an electric conversion has a 11/2" outlet to the holding tank and the purpose made all electric one has 1" or 11/2" outlet options. Our local poop engineer said 1" gives a higher velocity flow with the macerator type pumps so is more efficient but our tank is close by the head not a boat length away. We have a simple layout it seems, with all going via the tank and either deck pumpout or gravity drain out options thereafter. Power usage is not a concern as it is high amps but for only a few seconds. I was thinking more of the consistency of the retained mush in the tank between manual and macerated electric options and which is best (or is least worst) when dumping offshore because there are no pumpouts around, as in parts of the Bahamas. We live in an area where the poop police are very anal (sorry) so want/need to comply whilst retaining the go for a sail offshore overboard option for when it is the only option other than staying in a marina 24/7

 

[Robin]

PlanB makes some good points. It depends on you and your guests - whether they can "cope" with the manual operation vs the push button ease of the electric one. Don't forget that the electric ones are noisier - some don't like telling the world that they have finished, and they use power (not a problem if you are used to them and have adequate capacity). I bought a new Jabsco electric one (bowl included) for less than the cost of adding a macerator to my manual one when I installed my tank. Some larger boats keep one manual WC on board just in case.
Cheers, Andrew

That reflects my thinking although we already have the tank and no macerator or even pump on it's outlet just gravity fed as it is a vertical mounted tank fitted in a nearby locker almost directly above the seacock for overboard discharge. Trouble here too is liquids going overboard is also verboten so a small tank can end up full ( but 90% liquid, mostly accumulated flush water) very quickly. As a result the systems have to stand up to jobsworth inspection for compliance and somehow to be tamperproof as in diverter valves locked or cable tied in the acceptable option position.