New Heads

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So, please explain why that is a problem? The design has been around for years and I have never heard anybody question the boringly simple method.

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Stop and consider the strong statistical correlation between lavac owners and poo paper bags dangling in the heads.

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or stuck flap valves making it impossible to suck in seawater

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That is a £5 fix, the replacement valve gasket now benefits from a weighted metal disk on the intake flap.

Do you bemoan the absence of a starter handle on your car?
 
and the infamous spring 31 that was not fitted to my Jabsco from new
With the spring now fitted I would highly recommend Jabsco as excellent value for money ,without it they are [--word removed--]
 
Jabsco is cheap, easy to fix and maintain, and in my experience will eat most things thrown at it with suitable pumping.....

Only Bog I have had the pleasure of having block was a lavac... which then proved a messy and complex beast to fix....

I can whip out the entire pump assembly on the jabsco and replace it in 5 minutes... I have 2 spare assemblies as well...

The only reservation I have with the lavac is the concept of doing yer business, then adding all the nessecary paper, and hoping it will cope with the entire lot in one go... disconcerting.

Versus the jabsco you can get rid of a bit at a time... lessoning the overall level of risk.... IMO.
 
So, now explain where you get your statistical data. Do you go round inspecting peoples' toilets? Are you inferring that a Lavac is less able to deal with paper than a Jabsco? If so then I think you are on a different planet from Lavac owners.

Also can't see any connection between toilets and starting handles on cars, but maybe I have missed something obvious.

And yes, the valve is cheap to replace because it is a "cheap" bit of kit. Just make sure you don't strip the threads in the plastic housing when you do the job!
 
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and the infamous spring 31 that was not fitted to my Jabsco from new

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Nor mine if I am thinking about the same spring.

I still think the metal weighted flap is the key element of the fix. The swmbo is now more content with life aboard because I have stopped accusing her of being a marine toilet moron, (she never got the knack of the three sharp pumps to encourage the flappy valve bit to close).
 
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Also can't see any connection between toilets and starting handles on cars, but maybe I have missed something obvious.

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It was a reference to the olympian effort required to get a Lavac gasping for air or if you are lucky sea water.
 
Any Lavac you have been using is obviously very different from mine. In fact I have both a Lavac and a Jabsco (in different boats). The Lavac is a new replacement for a Jabsco style. Very pleased I made that decision.
 
There is one simple but crucial design problem in the Jabsco / RM69 / etc-etc style: they use opposite sides of the same piston to pump flushing water in and waste material out. This means that, unless something is done about it, the level in the bowl will never decrease.

What they do about it is generally crude, and involves either restricting the flush side after the pump or adding an air leak before it.

Both of these solutions are unsatisfactory. The restriction increases the pressure on the flush side, increasing wear on the system and in due course causing blowbacks past the piston. The air leak method is an invitation to water leaks when the valves and seals wear.

Simpson Lawrence SL401 myself. God's own toilet, with a full sized seat!
 
As I have 2 SL400s and have them fixed in place with wing nuts to ease removal and dismantling, I can't say they are too reliable.

The one thing that stops problems with a toilet is to 'pump as you go' so they never have to deal with a fat wad of paper and the other stuff but swallow it in easily digestible chunks (forgive the analogy). With a Lavac that is one thing you can't do, unless you want to risk being sucked down the hole.

The Lavac itself is very reliable but there are areas of weakness - the pump (some types can fail to cope) and the seacock (a large wad of paper can fail to get through the narrowing where the pipe meets the spigot of the seacock).

The crucial test of a marine loo is - can it cope with the 48-hour problem? When you set off on a long passage your system tends to shut down for the first 48 hours, then tries to catch up. What the head has to cope with 48 hours out is the severest test there is.
 
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The Lavac itself is very reliable but there are areas of weakness - the pump (some types can fail to cope) and the seacock (a large wad of paper can fail to get through the narrowing where the pipe meets the spigot of the seacock).

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I wonder if my favourable experience of the Jasco operation is partly down to the holding tank. I don't empty this when it is under 50% full so everything has a chance to macerate through tank wave action or to just dissolve over time.
 
"I can whip out the entire pump assembly on the jabsco and replace it in 5 minutes... I have 2 spare assemblies as well..."

Practise makes perfect, I guess. Add in the spare pumps and the evidence points to the fact that your Jabsco need lots of TLC. My Lavac, OTOH, just gets a wipe down with a damp cloth.
 
My Lavac & Primary Bilge Pump are both Henderson Mk5 so onlt one spares kit needed o/b.
the Lavac has a "trailing" hose that pushes into the bottom of the bowl thereby giving another bilge pump.
its a no brainer /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
What's the name of the loo where you close the lid and use a Henderson pump to create a vacuum?
I've had one of those for many years, it's very good.
 
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What's the name of the loo where you close the lid and use a Henderson pump to create a vacuum?

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If it plays Rule Britannia from a hidden MP3 player every time the occupant on the throne performs then it is definitely a Lavac.
 
Actually they no longer play Rule Britannia as they are made in Taiwan and the pump in Denmark! (At least my 2008 model is)

So users can now feel part of the international community.
 
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the Lavac has a "trailing" hose that pushes into the bottom of the bowl thereby giving another bilge pump.
its a no brainer /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Don't start a career in the risk assessment business!

In a personal lifetime of yachting what is the probability that a reserve bilge pump will save a foundering boat more effectively than a bucket? Effectively zero %.

What is the probability that a lavac owner will suffer a brain aneurism while desperately pumping away on the henderson hand crank while attempting to maintain a vacuum? Answer: a lot higher than the foundering scenario.
 
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