Raritan Head

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

allanrs74@gmail.com

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Messages
109
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Vessel Name
Cherokee Rose
I have a 2016 R-27C with a salt water Raritan head that has not supplied sea water from the sea strainer for flushing since I purchased the boat in 2018. The equipment is all standard with no modifications. A simple work around has allowed me to use the head by using fresh water from the sink/shower faucet. I now have time to try to trouble shoot the problem but I've been unable to find a model name or number on the toilet to research online at Raritan. Does anyone know what the model number is?

Thanks,
Bob Allan
 
Hi Bob,

My 2014 R27C has a Raritan SeaEra Model 160MI012FM Sea Water Model - Integral Pump.

Curt
 
Curt,
Thanks so much. That looks like the same model I have. I found some good videos on disassembly and assembly.

Best regards.
 
I have a 2014 Cutwater with the same head.

I installed the Raritan head freshwater change over kit. Easy and less instructions for visitors. Change over kits and prices are listed on their website.
 
I have a 2015 r 27 with the SeaEra head. It quit pumping water also. I removed the seastrainer (after closing valve) and force fed the supply line. Then had helper flush the head and here comes the water. After not using it for a month or so it quit pumping again. Repeated the process again and all is good. I believe if we were on a cruise, it would be fine, but it seems to lose prime when not used for a while. If you find a solution, please post it.

Kent
 
So, I did a little fact finding today. I removed the sea water supply hose from the sea strainer and hooked it up to city water with a garden hose. With city water pressure water flowed into the bowl so the line is not blocked, I flushed it several times and water filled the bowl after flushing. In fact, I think it would have over flowed the bowl if I hadn't shut off the city water. I then hooked everything back up as originally installed and flushed the toilet with no water entering the bowl after flushing.

In looking at the assembly drawing for the toilet I see there is a macerator motor and a water supply motor. I hear the macerator working and a suction noise when I push the button to flush, but when I remove my finger from the flush button all goes quiet. Is the water supply pump supposed to run for a certain period of time to put water into the bowl? If so, how does it know when enough water has been pumped? Maybe my problem is simply a blown fuse on the water supply motor/pump? Are the macerator and supply motors fused separately, as the macerator works just fine.

I've sent a similar note off to Raritan Tech Support asking for their help and guidance.

I'll keep you posted on what I find out.

Bob
 
I rebuilt the head on my CW thinking that was the reason the bowl was not filling. It is an easy job and Raritan rebuild kit has everything you need. I found the diaphragm was hard and the edges worn . After rebuild it sounded like a different pump and increased the volume of water being pumped. The only problem was the bowl would not fill with water. Also, while under way the head would lose its prime. I ordered a different style of check valve from McMaster Carr and installed in the factory location . Still had the same problem. The solution was to relocate the check valve right above the sea strainer. Mine ended up at about a 45 degree angle. Completely cured all problems. These type of swing check valves need enough head pressure to keep them closed. the factory location placed the valve close to the same height as head laying horizontal.The water would leak past and siphon water out of bowl because the was not enough head pressure to keep it shut. Another benefit is the main strainer no longer has air in the cap while underway because it can't suck air back through the water supply to the head. Head works the same engine off. idling , or 2700rpm

Britt
 
I confirmed with Raritan today that I have the integral pump model. Seems like this problem is not uncommon. As it is now prime boating and fishing season in SE Alaska I am going to live with the problem as it really isn’t hard to pull the sink faucet out to add water to the bowl. I do think I will look into converting the system to fresh water next year. Thanks for all your help and suggestions.
 
Did they suggest a remedy?
 
They suggested to remove the hose from the sea strainer and put it in a bucket of water to see if that would work as a starting point to see if it might be sucking air. I had a number of questions for them about how the system functions and when I learned that a single motor runs both the water supply pump as well as the macerator pump and is operated by a single push button, I struggled to see how you can get any water into the bowl when a pump is pumping it to the waste water tank. I like the idea of the fresh water conversion where you control the amount of water going to the head under pressure with a solenoid valve. We
 
Try to find the check valve on the supply line. They use a swing type valve which is closed by the water trying to flow back down the line. There is no spring in a swing valve to close it. On my Cutwater the supply line comes out of the engine strainer which makes it worse. The check valve on my boat was basically at the same level as the pump on the head. The valve was positioned horizontally. With this setup there is very little head(pressure trying to flow back) and the valve leaks and the pump loses it prime and the bowl will not fill. I moved my check valve as close to strainer as possible which put it about 10 inches below the pump. The valve is now is at approximately 45 degree angle. Remember these are swing valves basically a free floating gate with an Oring or rubber flapper to seal the valve. With the valve more vertical and more head closing the valve it now seals completely and prevents back flow. Even while cruising head does not lose prime and the bowl fills. This solved all problems.


As far as the integral pump goes it is one motor driving 2 separate pumps. The macerate has an impeller behind the blades. The supply is a diaphragm pump.

Britt
 
I thought the diaphragm pump was self-priming.
 
It is. Problem is if the check valve leaks the pump has to pull through 10 ft of 3/4 empty line. In my case it would not self prime with engine running at anything above idle . Since I made the simple change mine has been flawless .
 
Makes sense. I don't know just where my check valve is so I think I will place a Jabsco In-Line Check Valve right before the strainer. It has an Adjustable Port Configuration for Convenient Hose Angle.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

  • Tugnuts.com is the community hub for Ranger Tug, Cutwater, and Solara owners. Since its inception in 2008, the Tugnuts forum has grown into an active and thriving community of more than 9,000 members. It serves as both a meeting place for the best boating community online, and an invaluable archive of information.

  • User menu
Back
Top