R25 Head Replacement

[JerryJohnEagle]

Well our original 2008 R25 Marine Head is in need of replacement and I have a question regarding the bolt system. There are 4 bolts that hold the fixture to the raised bathroom deck. These 4 bolts seem to be machine type bolts and not lag bolts as I assumed they would be. I started to loosen the bolts and it seems like the nuts underneath the loosened and are not secured to the underneath of the floor. Then I looked for access hole and I cannot find one.
So my questions are;
#1. Are the nuts secured to the underside of the floor?
#2. If not is there an access port somewhere?
Thanks again for everyone's help as always

TEHAMA

 

[John Shea Jr.]

I just finished converting from a hand pump toilet to an electric. The bolts securing the original toilet were lag bolts, no washers or nuts. The platform the toilet sits on is pretty thick plywood. New one is held down with three lags and is secure.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

I second the lag bolts. If the impeller on the pump that fits under the toilet has broken (it was plastic on my original) you may be able to just replace the complete pump assembly rather then the entire toilet. The new pump assembly has a metal impeller. Worth looking into however you will not know until you disassemble the toilet from the base. This happened to us on our prior R27 when the boat was almost 5 years old.

Jim F

 

[DBBRanger]

JerryJohnEagle and John Shea:

May I ask what unit are you installing to replace your old unit? I assume your old one is a manual Headmate. Which, by the way, was obsoleted in 2006 and all replacement parts including maintenance kits are now totally discontinued according to Thetford.

Is the new installation straightforward?

 

[BB marine]

I just moved the head in my Cutwater. I assume the same build procedure as Ranger. There is plywood backing the fiberglass under the floor that the lag bolts screw into. When I moved the head I was concerned that the wood was just inserted in the foot print of the head and mounting the head in a new location would present an issue. Not the case, I moved the head in the corner and drilled new holes all hitting 1/2" plywood. I filled the old holes by inserting wood bungs epoxied and then gel coated to match the floor. If you find that the new head doesn't match the old mounting foot print you will be ok in drilling new holes to mount the head.

 

[John Shea Jr.]

I replaced the original head with a DOMETIC MODEL 7120 from Marine Sanitation and Supply, Seattle, WA. Nice feature of the model is that it is a two piece unit which allows you to align the base unit and the seat top. The feature made it easy to reroute the fresh water and waste plumbing then attach the top unit. I gained a little better seating position and it hides the plumbing from the base unit to the existing access hole for the pipes and electrical wiring.

 

[Salty7]

John, I am wondering if the Dometic 7120 is deeper (greater diameter) than the old toilet? I have a 25SC and don't want the head to intrude into the shower space but want to go to an electric toilet.

 

[John Shea Jr.]

The replacement was almost the same dimensions. If you go to the Marine Sanitation site, you can get the dimensions.

 

[JerryJohnEagle]

Thanks everyone.
Tomorrow I will start the process of removal, and keep you posted as to progress and surprises.