Replacing R25's manual head with an electrical head

[JerryE]

Baz,

Arghhh! I've become the toilet expert of the non-flushing variety! And, all thanks to you! Well, the debate will carry on (good naturedly I'm sure) and the questions seemed almost posed from a plant in the audience as they used to say–they were perfect to hold forth against. More to come on the subject I suspect! Jeeze, I could be obsessing over something useful, like work. .......Nah... this is better

 

[baz]

OK -- I'm all set now I have the Tecmar EasyFit ECO fresh-water head on hand. Will be installing next Wed and suspect it will be an all-day task. Will take pics as best I can and post back the experience of the installation.

 

[JerryE]

While we await Baz's description of his install, I put up some pictures of the Air Head in Alto in her photo album: gallery2.php?g2_itemId=27807 for any interested in this approach.

 

[baz]

Our fresh water Thetford Tecmar EasyFit ECO series electric head has now been installed. It works and 1st mate says it's wonderful. 🙂

It took some 7 hours to install. Hardest part was snaking the electrical lines from the forward 12v breaker panel to the head compartment. Wires were pulled through a hole cut in floor of cubby under sink in head room. (see photo)

Installing a new circuit breaker in the 12v circuit breaker panel is a dog as the complete bus bar has to be loosened just to insert a new breaker.

The original raw water hose was capped off with a stopcock valve. This was done to allow a raw water pickup for some other use later on.

The fresh water was teed off with a 90 deg elbow using PEX tubing attached to cold water line under sink in head room. (see photo)

A small bus bar was installed under the sink in the head room to gather and connect all the wires nicely/neatly. (see photo)

A 40amp circuit breaker was used although I could have got by with a 30amp. (see photo)

A small two position rocker switch operates a quick flush or fill bowl with water and then quick flush. (see photo)

See photos at http://gallery.me.com/barrysharp/100471

One item/task is left for me to do. This is to obtain a label for the new 40amp circuit breaker. I will obtain this from http://bluesea.com/files/resources/instructions/990010170.pdf

 

[doke01]

Nicely done Baz! $5 per label + $5 shipping, wow!

 

[South lake]

Just want to say that I had a Tecma toilet installed following Barry's approach. Freshwater flush vs. the raw water was a great choice. Very happy with it. Works very well and doesn't seem to impact our freshwater tank usage significantly.

I've had a Airhead on a previous boat (a C-Dory 25) and they work exactly has been described above. Chose it to replace the C-Dory toilet which had a smalll holding tank and was more like a PortiPotty on steroids. I was happy with it but the Tecma is perfect for our needs now.

Thanks Barry for providing such complete information!

 

[The Masons]

Knotflying speaks the truth. We have had an Airhead on our old sailboat for a year and have really appreciated the simplicity and ease of use. I just completed installing one yesterday on our new R27. The 12V fan draw only 1.44 amps over a 24 hour period and is virtually silent. There are no odors (which compared to boats with a holding tank in the cabin as our sailboat had is wonderful), no pumpouts - we empty the waste into a garbage bag and dispose in a dumpster, and no plumbing to deal with. On the sailboat I ran the exhaust hose up to the roof (dorade), but on the new Tug I utilized the existing hose and vent out the old macerator outlet. I went through the expense and work of removing a brand new electric head, macerator pump and y-valve because I know the long term benefits were worth it as liveaboards, plus gained an additional 30 gallons of fresh water (our holding tank was brand new). Everyone has a different opinion as to what they like best - in our case the Airhead wins hands down.

P.S. my wife chimed in and said once out cruising you can empty the contents in the woods - and/or a flower garden. It looks like and smells like compost because it is.

 

[South lake]

You're right, the Airhead is an excellent product and works just as advertised. My comments were more to express gratitude to Barry (Baz) for the excellent writeup and photos that I think were in another thread.

Thanks again Barry. Much appreciated.

 

[Levitation]

I'm thinking that the initial 'yuck factor' on hearing of the Airhead is more the human resistance to change than any actual issues.
The urine odor due to drops clinging on the mouth of the urine receptacle is an 'opportunity' to have a spray bottle in the head with a 50:50 mix of vinegar and water with 1 or 2 drops of dish soap, mixed. A quick spritz when done and go on your way.
So far we do not anchor out more than part of a day (dog issues) so the factory toilet is satisfactory for us. But an Airhead will be the choice when that changes.