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Raritan PHII head, conversion to electric

Skip Gunther

Junior Member
The time has come to rebuilt the pump on our Raritan PHII manual head. While browsing the Port Supply catalog, I noticed there is an electric conversion kit available.

Given that I'm willing to part with the $$$, does anyone have any coments about doing this.

We have an E34 and do mostly racing and day sailing. Visits to other marinas are usually to slips. Overnights on the hook are rare and are usually last no more than a week.

I'd appreciate hearing of any expreiences anyone has had with electric heads.
 

Ray Rhode

Member III
Skip,

I installed the Jabsco electric conversion on Journey's PAR head early last year and suggest you look into the Jabsco conversion for the Raritan head. The Raritan electric unit merely substitutes an electric motor for the handle. The Jabsco unit repalces the old pump with a raw water pump and, more importantly, a macerator for the discharge. This thing really flushes.

I believe that you wind up using less water per flush (fewer pumpouts) and the grinding of the waste and paper before it gets to the tank seems to allow the holding tank chemicals to do a better job of controlling odor. It also makes overboard pumpout easier.

One caution, it is noisy. The macerator can be heard all over the boat. Really bad at night. Will try wrapping the motor with some engine sound deadening foam/foil when I really get tired of the noise.

I believe the Jabsco unit is more expensive but feel the simplicity and the included macerator make it worth the extra dollars. You also get away from the seal replacement requirement.

Ray Rhode
S/Y Journey
E35-III, #189
 

cruis-n

Member II
The people I know that had electric heads got rid of them. They are noisy when in operation and the bigger problem is that they use a lot of water. This means that the holding tank fills quickly. Estimates are 2-3x faster than when using the manual pump type.

Something else to think about, if you have guests, they will flush like at home. This could cause overfilling the tank and possibley rupture the tank cuz the water is going in faster than the vent could discharge it. Not a pretty sight.
 

Skip Gunther

Junior Member
I hadn't concidered replacing the pump. The Jabsco Conversion Kit is about $100 more than the Raritan plus a Service Kit. I like the idea of having a macerator, but how noisy is noisy? Is it loud enough to drown out the auxilliary?

OTOH, I'm alarmed by the idea that the holding tank might fill up twice as fast, but Ray's experience seems to indicate the opposite.

Anyone else want to chime in?
 

Ray Rhode

Member III
Skip,
The noise is not enough to drown out the auxillary. It can be heard from the cockpit while motoring. It's only really a problem at night while anchored. I tested it with a towel strapped around it and it did reduce the sound level so I think using the engine sound proofing will be effective.

On the subject of water usage, I don't know what systems others were using but I know that the Jabsco does not use significantly more water than a hand pump and I believe I use less water with the Jabsco. It is possible to use more water than necessary as it is so easy to let the pump run. I can flush with about 3-5 seconds of water. This also addresses the other complaint some people have and that is battery drain. The pump uses about 5 amps (I think) but as it only runs for a couple of seconds the total battery drain is very small.

Ray
 
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