New electric toilet??

Robin

Robin

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our boat came with a jabsco electric conversion to the usual manual pump twist 'n lock toilet, but the electric bit is knackered. The cost to rebuild or replace the pump unit is about the same as buying a new toilet., We have options including the KISS one of going back to a new twist'n lock manual one but fthen we could put the same electric Jabsco on that we had two of in our then liveaboard mobo, worked grest but was a bit noisy and used a lot of flush water, ok but we now have a smaller holding tank. Then there is the new Jabsco Lite Flush model which fits the same footprint size as the manual whilst being much more modern looking and uses only 0.6lts per flush and does it quietly.

Has anyone fitted the Jabsco Lite model and if so is it good, bad or indifferent?

VIDEo demo seen herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yC27HM6DEk
 
This was my reply to your post of a couple of days ago.

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.
 
vyv_cox said:
This was my reply to your post of a couple of days ago.

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.
Click to expand...

Wow thanks Vyv, I iknew I had seen that somewhere and even searched for it without success! It looks like a good idea. the PO of our latest had another brainstorm over the loo, by a) converting it from manual to electric and b) plumbing it to run off freshwater. It now weeps yucky stuff at the conversion pump base and our poop specialist engineer says it is cheaper to replace than rebuild the pump at his rates, plus it is bacterially dangerous to connect to the freshwater system the way it is. We have a smallish holding tank of around 20 US gallons or 75lts 'ish with a diverter for where allowed ( which has to be locked in US waters or the Poop Police shoot to kill. our engineer man says we need a proper non-return valve in the outlet pipe to the tank too as the joker valve is allowing dribble back which is leaking out of the electric add-on conversion. He wants to replumb to use raw water only and suggests the regular Jabsco electric loo we were used to on our mobo but that was a bit noisy and used lotss of wate rto flush, thus a few pees woul fill our limited size tank rather quickly, THE Jabsco Lite Flush seems like a better alternative so thee tank gets the pee and not another bucket or two of flush water on top every time.

According to THE video I saw The LITE fits well in a smaller space well so would fit our space OK, but presumably the mounting holes are in totally different places? I don't know what is under the mounting surface ( it is a Benny internal moulding)and access may be difficult to put backing washers and nuts on. in one video of installation I saw they used hex head screws like big self tappers, I'm not doing the install myself but awkward translates in Mercan to bags of bucks!
 
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vyv_cox said:
The LITE base mounting holes are exactly the same as for the Jabsco manual. There is a small amount of flushing water, a litre from memory, which is probably why we get salts in the joker valve.
Click to expand...

Good news, manufacturer forethought for once! Would some white vinegar/freshwater mix left in the bowl occasionally then dumped overboard via the diverter maybe help with preventing excessive joker valve salting?
 
I'm not much of a believer in the descaling properties of vinegar, I find hydrochloric acid far more effective. It is used by millions of people throughout the Mediterranean countries for exactly this and is on sale in almost every supermarket and hardware shop. Far better used as a preventive than a cure, as you suggest. Putting it in the bowl won't do much, it's the joker valve that suffers, so a couple of pumps with a manual toilet or a brief spin with the LITE is what's needed.
 
vyv_cox said:
The LITE base mounting holes are exactly the same as for the Jabsco manual. There is a small amount of flushing water, a litre from memory, which is probably why we get salts in the joker valve.
Click to expand...

Sorry to disappoint you but that is not completely true. Although the holes have the same spacing relative to each other, there is an offset of the whole template compared to the manual version. When I installed the LITE toilet I was not able to use the original mounting holes as it would result in a unacceptable shift of the bowl to the right (in my case, depends on the location of the pump on the manual one).
 
aluijten said:
Sorry to disappoint you but that is not completely true. Although the holes have the same spacing relative to each other, there is an offset of the whole template compared to the manual version. When I installed the LITE toilet I was not able to use the original mounting holes as it would result in a unacceptable shift of the bowl to the right (in my case, depends on the location of the pump on the manual one).
Click to expand...

It doesn't disappoint me in the slightest. Jabsco say:

Connections: - 19mm ( ¾”) bore inlet hose, 38mm (1 1/2“) bore discharge hose
Dimensions: - 373mm high, 401mm wide, 402mm deep
Fuse Size: - 25amp
Lightweight and compact
Slow close seat and lid
Low power consumption
NEW quiet and efficient flush pump technology
Low water usage - 1.2 litres (1.3 US Quarts) per flush
Designed to Retro-fit in place of your existing Jabsco manual toilet
Non-clogging large bore flush pump macerates waste
One touch' control pad offering two options - 'Fill' & 'Flush'
Uses less than 1.0 amp/hour per day
 
aluijten said:
Sorry to disappoint you but that is not completely true. Although the holes have the same spacing relative to each other, there is an offset of the whole template compared to the manual version. When I installed the LITE toilet I was not able to use the original mounting holes as it would result in a unacceptable shift of the bowl to the right (in my case, depends on the location of the pump on the manual one).
Click to expand...

Which side was your manual pump fitted on the original toilet, left or right?
 
>>>>>>>>
We have had a couple of incidents of salt encrustation in the joker valve housing, probably because the flush water throughput is so low.
>>>>>>>>
I'm not trying to wind you up Vyv - Honest. But wouldn't your salts problem be solved by fresh water flushing!:rolleyes:
 
PCUK said:
>>>>>>>>
We have had a couple of incidents of salt encrustation in the joker valve housing, probably because the flush water throughput is so low.
>>>>>>>>
I'm not trying to wind you up Vyv - Honest. But wouldn't your salts problem be solved by fresh water flushing!:rolleyes:
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I'm sure you are right but it would be totally impractical for us. Any spare fresh water is used for additional showers! Unlike many practical boat owners I don't mind working on the toilet occasionally, and I don't even own a pair of Marigolds.
 
I think i saw somwhere, maybe in the manual or on a dealer catalogue page where it said not to be used for freshwater flushing. Maybe just a USA thing as they like to cover arses threefold here and there might be a risk of bugs getting into the freshwater system. and they could get sued.
 
PCUK said:
Robin, Just as I said in my original post! but they don't say why not, so I'm assuming it's technical rather than hygienic - deja-vu here we come.
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our poop engineer who is an acknowledged and acclaimed specialist loo and tank man in SE USA says there have to be proper non-return valves in any such freshwater system to prevent bacteriological contamination. I saw one install sheet somewhere that said it must have a separate freshwater supply tank not connected to the potable freshwater tanks. Our existing manual loo had been re-plumbed by Dumbo the PO to be switchable from raw water to fresh which until our poop man looked over the system seemed like a good idea, now it is on the list of stupid 'improvements Dumbo did that we are gradually having to remove along with a bunch of electrical AC shore power wiring described as a 'fire waiting to start'.

I'm currently wonderin if the KISS method should apply and we just fit a new manual twist 'n lock toilet just like wot we were used to for many years in the UK and buqqer going up market, it could save us around $300 even if we buy a complete spare pump assembly to keep in reserve just in case.
 
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PCUK said:
Robin, Just as I said in my original post! but they don't say why not, so I'm assuming it's technical rather than hygienic - deja-vu here we come.
Click to expand...

Technically, I imagine it's because it's a pump operated rather than a solenoid type which are designed to be used from a pressurised system, the pump would probably have issues if it were pressurised. I have seen them used with a small tank and ball valve fed from the main supply so they pump from that, it also covers the concerns (real or perceived) of contaminating the potable supply as it provides an air break, those were all on pretty large still water live aboards though.
I have a solenoid operated Sani Marin toilet waiting in my workshop to install on my own boat and will be using a simple double non return valve to combat back contamination as I have done with customer installs.
 
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Just one word of caution.You may find that depending on your length of waste pipe that the fixed electrical pump period may not get your discharge out of the pipe.On my boat the exit and inlet pipe are in a weird position under the bunk in the main cabin.This means that there is about 5m of pipe between the toilet and the exit stopcock.(Why it was designed like this who knows).On my boat it is a standing order that a minimum of 15 pumps of the handle of the Jabsco to make sure it is clear.I asked about this at the Boat Show and was told that the Electric Lite on may need 4 or 5 flushes to clear that distance.As we reach the age where night time trips are usual I decided to stick with the manual pumped one.
As it happens since converting to the lock down pump it has performed faultlessly
 
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