The Best Marine Toilet

[Stukauf]

New to site and hoping I'm doing this right. I have a Beneteau 423 and considering switching to electric toilets. Raritan Elegance seems like the best choice but I wondering what the group's thoughts are on going with a Vacuum Toilet instead. I was on a much larger boat with vacuum toilet and they seem to work really well. Just not sure if it requires too much room and plumbing for my boat. The Rattan seems to be self-contained and should fit without any problem.

[malbert73]

Raritan elegance rocks. Second season on mine and it's great. Easier to teach guests also


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[SecondBase]

Originally Posted by Mule

Two words, Natures Head. No electric anything, no pump, no maserator, no holding tank, no hoses and very easy to maintain.

I'm torn between giving frequent and often new guests that "home like" experience vs the simplicity you mention.

Is the Natures Head generally ranked above the Air Head? Open on cost.

[lancelot9898]

Originally Posted by David M

I would not dare have anything but a Wilcox and Crittenden Skipper head onboard with the number of strangers that I have onboard. It's a real shame it has been discontinued. The last price I saw was $1000 for one. It has no plastic parts to break or small orifices to clog. Pretty much the whole thing is silicon bronze or porcelin.

You might be able to find one used. There are rebuild kits still available.

I will second that conclusion however I did have a bronze part to break after 12 or more years of use. That particular part was going to cost $160 and adding all the other replacement parts, I decided just to buy a cheaper brand new toilet until I found a place in CA selling that part for 65. There was a youtube video showing how to replace and rebuild the thing and the parts guy was helpful too. So maybe another 12 years of use.

[Pendragon35]

I have a Groco K that doesn't seem to fully draw down. In messages with Peggy Hall and others, the opinion seems to be that the piston needs new plastic rings, which I have. However, I'm wondering if installing these doesn't cure the problem, one of the others would fit the bowl so I could just buy the pump part.

[HopCar]

Originally Posted by Pendragon35

I have a Groco K that doesn't seem to fully draw down. In messages with Peggy Hall and others, the opinion seems to be that the piston needs new plastic rings, which I have. However, I'm wondering if installing these doesn't cure the problem, one of the others would fit the bowl so I could just buy the pump part.

The Groco K uses a bowl that is made just for it and the Groco EB. The EB used a big rubber diaphragm instead of a piston. It was less expensive than the K but unfortunately it hasn't been made in a long time.

I'm sure your K can be repaired. Get a complete repair kit and put it in if you're going to the trouble of taking it apart. Be careful to put the shaft seals in facing the right way. It's easy to get wrong.

You can get the instructions and parts list on the Groco website. They are also very helpful on the phone if you run into a problem.

Now that the Wilcox Skipper is out of production, I think the K is the best manual toilet on the market. Peggie says it's the Baby Blake but I've only seen a Baby Blake once and that was more than thirty years ago. It struck me as very complicated. It doesn't mater, I think Peggie and I agree it's not worth the several thousand dollars it costs.

[peghall]

A kit may or may not solve the problem....it can depend on what's causing it and the age of the toilet (even bronze has a lifespan). Call Groco...Patrick is their tech guru...you'll like him. 410-604-3800.

[Pendragon35]

Thanks for the help, I'll give Patrick a call. It's a 1965 boat; who knows how long this head has been in it? I know the PO didn't use it much and we haven't either. As far as I can tell, using the tests you suggest Peg, the piping is sound, it's been renewed recently. I replaced the flapper and joker valve last year but didn't put the rings on the piston, so I have th rest of the rebuild kit including the rings, I can do that.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by SecondBase

...Is the Natures Head generally ranked above the Air Head? Open on cost.

I'd rank them as pretty much equal. That said, I went with the NH ove AH. Reasons, as I recall, was a slightly better fit for my space, slightly bigger holding capacity and slightly better cost. NH has an integrated seat which I've heard say is more standard-like than AH, but I think both are very similar.

[botanybay]

Originally Posted by Stukauf

New to site and hoping I'm doing this right. I have a Beneteau 423 and considering switching to electric toilets. Raritan Elegance seems like the best choice but I wondering what the group's thoughts are on going with a Vacuum Toilet instead. I was on a much larger boat with vacuum toilet and they seem to work really well. Just not sure if it requires too much room and plumbing for my boat. The Rattan seems to be self-contained and should fit without any problem.

I have two of the Marine Elegance toilets aboard, with 4 years of liveaboard use no issues!