Toilets

[TrevorAndDeirdre]

This may have been asked before but here goes. 

Both about the same thing what are the main differences between Jabsco and Mansfield  good and bad points. With regard to the flush the pros and cons re river water flush and fresh water from on board tank 

 

Trevor and Deirdre

[Hockham Admiral]

. With regard to the flush the pros and cons re river water flush and fresh water from on board tank 

 

Trevor and Deirdre

 

There is an unlimited amount of river water!

[Mowjo]

Trevor! I had Jabsco's on a few boats now never had any problems, the only thing was they were river fed, and if you left the boat for a few days, on your first few pumps the water wouls stink, and I mean stink, I think it's where the water lays in the flush pipes, Jabsco do a de-odouriser kit for about £40, personally If I ever fit a new one I'll have a seperate fresh water tank for flushing,,,

 

Frank,,,,, 

[Baitrunner]

Had a Jabsco sea toilet and frank is correct that when left- first one in gets a lot of blame!!

 

Ours had one of these fitted and they really do keep the smells down - you know when it runs out.

 

http://www.force4.co.uk/682/Force-4-Head-Cleaning-System-Replacement-Cartridge.html

 

Current boat uses fresh water which if you only have a small fresh water tank you will empty it fairly quickly. But then you dont need the freshener thing.

 

Other tips - Vinegar is handy for descaling the loo and does help with keeping any smells from the tank down as well. Coke also works as an excellent descaler on the loo or your cups (cheap stuff will do). Doesn't help the smells though.

 

I also use a tank additive to reduce smells, but if you aren't going to use your boat for a while best to get it emptied.

[Mowjo]

This was the deodoriser thing I was trying to think of http://www.brianwards.co.uk/toilets/maintenance/jabsco-toilet-fresh.html,

Dave! the problem with mine was it was a two or three metre run from the stopcock to the loo and it was the water left in the pipe that stank and would be full of black bits which I've been told are dead bacterior, never had it on any other boat and I've always used Jabsco twist locks, like you I'd turn the stopcock off and give it a few pumps to get the water out, but the pipe run from the loo to the stopcock was always short, so I think the answer is either fresh water flush or make sure if river water the pipe run is as short as possible,, 

 

 

Frank,,,,,,,

[Baitrunner]

If you could fit that as close to the seacock as you can, that would probably work - just depends how much room there is near the seacock.

[Oddfellow]

"Mansfield" type toilets need to be mounted to the top of the holding tank as the waste is a "straight through" affair. This is clearly not a simple fit unless your boat has this arrangement already. 

 

The Jabsco and Johnson toilets can be remotely fitted away from the holding tank and plumbed using sanihose. 

[Mowjo]

I wondered what the difference was, I call them Dump Throughs, I had one on the Hampton I think the seals were worn and boy did that thing stink the boat out, I had to open the door and windows then spray to get rid of the smell, even the it stank all the time, luckily the holding tank was half in the floor so I converted it to a Jabsco, all I had to do was make a plate up to cover the hole and drill a small hole in the tank for the waste inlet, one thing I learnt is that stainless steel is a b****r to drill, but the conversion was a good choice, when I had the boat out I was going to fit a seperate hull inlet for it as the hose run was too long, I could have got the inlet and stopcock directly behind the tank, but as I decided to sell the boat I didn't bother, but don't tell Trevor that!

 

Frank,,,,,

[Oddfellow]

A bit drastic, replacing the whole toilet system (which is no simple task) for the sake of a couple of seals. 

 

Stainless is easy to drill if you keep three things in mind. 

 

1) A decent drill bit.

2) Low Speed

3) Cutting lubricant

[MauriceMynah]

Advantage of the "dump through" system is that you can easily see when the tank is getting full.

One disadvantage that I have found though is flies.

If the blue isn't strong enough (seems to be a problem with the powdered blue) and flies start to breed in the tank, it can be most unpleasant when you open the trap and a dozen or so of the little chappies fly up into your face.

Some form of insecticide is needed to be blended with the blue!

[Mowjo]

Andy! it was more of a woman thing, as soon as we bought the boat the first thing Judi said was! I don't like the toilet someone else has used it, but she also said that about the almost new cooker and fridge on her, not bad £1200 out of pocket in just one sentence, but hey ho! thats why we love them! I think,,,,

 

Frank,,,,

[TrevorAndDeirdre]

Thank you for the replies so far this is helpful.

[LondonRascal]

I’ve had boats with ‘Mansfield’ type toilets and with the Jabsco type along with more modern electric sort that macerates the waste.

 

Of course it depends on your boat – many hire craft that have done their time end up in private hands and the larger of these boats often have two (sometimes three) toilets – while some may empty to a central single holding tank, they may not and I am sure in such circumstances the owners would tend to use one rather than all their toilets (thus also avoiding further costs for pump outs from the other toilets).  However of course then some will not get the use they should and further problems may occur.

 

I do not like the Mansfield type – while it might be easy to look down the hatch to see when a pump out is due, once the rubber seal goes on the ‘trap door’ in the bowel then smells really become an issue.  Also because they have to be mounted on top of the holding tank, they can be uncomfortably high off the ground!

 

The Jabsco style clearly have more moving parts and seals and such to consider – their costs having a look about for the kits seem reasonable though and it would not be a once per season thing to strip down and replace them all – but with the costs of the toilets not stratospherically expensive for a nice pristine loo on an older boat it might be worth considering these of course can be put some way from the holding tank meaning they can be lower down and their scope for placement increased.

 

Personally, and of course again boat size dependant -  I’d go for an electric toilet – sure things can wear, motors may burn out or fuses blow, they may be prone to blocking more but the simple convenience to press a button and things be gone is so much nicer. 

 

If the boat was larger and had more than once toilet I’d like to get rid have just the one (I get by at home just fine with one) and then consider a larger holding tank with a gauge to show what the approximate level was inside it since your charged for the pump out not the volume of waste that is emptied.

 

Then there are vacuum toilets...

[Baitrunner]

See London Rascal you have started another topic on here - tank gauges.

 

Have had varying success with them, but a common problem as most of them don't have moving parts is "muck" or other such matter getting stuck on them. After a recent pump out my gauge still showed the tank as full. Took a few flushes to "clean" the sender. Current boat just has a warning light when the tank is 80% full.

 

Old boat I fitted proper senders/gauges to both tanks as it gives you a bit more warning of impending doom!

 

Having said that, would always have a gauge on both fresh and waste tanks.

[Matt]

A good idea with toilets is bucket of hot soapy water down the toilet just prior to the pumpout- you pay to pumpout the tank, not how much is in it!

[ExSurveyor]

Flies in the bombs away holding tank, MM , you really need to reconsider your diet. I have a Jabesco and a Mansfield, of the two I do prefer the Mansfield type. Never hada problem with it in 3 years. The Jabesco has had a few problems with flushing out over the last 4 years but this was fixed with a new hand pump unit.

As Robin. ( LR ) says, a new pan is not horrendously expensive. The main advantage of the Mansfield is the lack of pipes and moving parts, the disadvantage is the difficulty of retro fitting with the tank below.