Head

A forum for discussing boat or trailer repairs or modifications that you have made or are considering.
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Kelly
Just Enlisted
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2016 7:49 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X

Head

Post by Kelly »

Can any one give me some ideas on how to install a jabsco head in my 26x. Any info will b appreciated.
Tx
Kelly
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Tomfoolery
Admiral
Posts: 6135
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:42 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Rochester, NY '99X BF50 'Tomfoolery'

Re: Head

Post by Tomfoolery »

I had a Jabsco in my last boat, with the holding tank in the stern. For the X, you could use the area under the seat where the cooler normally goes. Or tuck a tank in the space behind the head enclosure, which is mostly dead space anyway. Not as easy to run pumpout and vent lines, but doable. And it won't take away prime space under the seat.

A through-hull for flushing water can probably be run next to the cooler 'bucket', with a ball valve of course (and double hose clamps). It wouldn't be too difficult to get to, either, or at least no more difficult than some I've dealt with.
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Starscream
Admiral
Posts: 1388
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:08 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Montreal, Quebec. 2002 26X - Suzi DF90A

Re: Head

Post by Starscream »

Kelly wrote:Can any one give me some ideas on how to install a jabsco head in my 26x. Any info will b appreciated.
Tx
Kelly
I installed a Jabsco water-flush toilet with macerator in the head of my 26X. It was actually a very easy install. Here is from my previous post:


The best mod I ever did was to add a Jabsco electric flush potty and two holding tanks. I have 2 nine-gallon tanks (flush water and storage water) under the forward dinette seat, and a pump-out and vent in the heads roof. I posted the links to the models I used in a previous thread...just have to search. 9 gal is not terribly much but easily get the five of us through 4 days on the boat with occasional access to land-based heads for the more serious events. I sealed the already-airtight connections with plumbers' putty and there is no smell whatsoever.

Budget $1,200 for all the bits, plus about a day to install. Running the wiring was the hardest part by far since on the X you have to run 10 gauge wiring from the panel all the way around the bilges to the head. I actually changed my panel from a four switch to a six switch one and added a "water system" tag while I was at it.

I thought the 9 gal flush tank was a better option than adding a through-hull to suck up lakewater and weeds...besides the fact that I could not bring myself to drill a hole below the waterline.

The only thing that I sometimes think I should have added was a Y fitting in the pumpout line and a dedicated macerator to discharge through the hull (above the waterline...YUCK). From what I understand, though, that is not legal in Ontario and maybe other jurisdictions so for now the only way for me to empty the holding tank is at a marina pumpout.


This is from another post I made:

Since I did not want to cut a through-hull, I added two 9 gallon water tanks, one for black water and one for toilet supply, which also allows easy addition of anti-freeze to the system in winter. This is the model I used: http://www.entrepotmarine.com/fr/plombe ... s-ca41209h. They happen to both fit perfectly side-by-side in the storage area below the forward table seat without any cutting at all. I took out the old porta-potti and bolted the jabsco http://www.entrepotmarine.com/fr/plombe ... o-ca37010h electric potty in place. The hardest part of the whole job was running the 10 gauge wires from the electrical panel on the starboard side all the way around the bilge to the heads on the port side. Lots of cursing there. Then it was just cut a 3" hole in the floor to run the pipes, plug the pipes in the right holes, a few bits of hardware, and bingo: flush toilet almost like home. The PO had already added a pumpout fitting and vent in the heads ceiling, so I just had to re-plumb those to the right spots. There is a fair amount of hose installed to link everything together, but at least that helps to increase the capacity since 36L ain't really that much. We usually combine a few #1's before flushing so it takes some family coordination. 36L was fine for four days...aided by our preference to use shore-based heads where possible.

In retrospect I SHOULD NOT HAVE RUN THE 10 GAUGE WIRES from the main panel. They should come directly off the battery selector switch, with a fuse. The wires supplying the main panel from the battery selector switch CAN'T HANDLE the current required for the electric flush. If I had done that originally, the wiring job would have been MUCH easier, only requiring them to be passed through the bilge with the appropriate wire holders.
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Tomfoolery
Admiral
Posts: 6135
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:42 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Rochester, NY '99X BF50 'Tomfoolery'

Re: Head

Post by Tomfoolery »

Starscream wrote:The only thing that I sometimes think I should have added was a Y fitting in the pumpout line and a dedicated macerator to discharge through the hull (above the waterline...YUCK). From what I understand, though, that is not legal in Ontario and maybe other jurisdictions so for now the only way for me to empty the holding tank is at a marina pumpout.
Since you brought it up, it's not legal anywhere in Lake Ontario. Or any of the Finger Lakes. And my FIL got a fine (something like $400) in Lake Champlain because his trawler's Y-valve, though closed to the overboard through-hull with the handle removed, was not fully disconnected and capped at both ends, so there's no chance of turning the handle and pumping overboard. Police or Coast Guard said something about 'being able to pass my hand between the Y-valve and the through-hull'. If he hadn't had it shut and/or with the handle removed, it would have been a huge fine, whether or not he actually pumped anything. He still talks about that.
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Starscream
Admiral
Posts: 1388
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:08 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Montreal, Quebec. 2002 26X - Suzi DF90A

Re: Head

Post by Starscream »

It's about 10 years after my original head install, and the maceration pump was starting to malfunction. It wouldn't engage right away when the button was pushed, but the lights dimmed and the wires got real hot. So I took the cover off the Jabsco toilet pump and found....a TMC macerator. So either Jabsco was selling a branded Tmc toilet or the marine store somehow pulled a fast one.

I bought a replacement Tmc macerator off of Amazon two days ago. Arrived last night installed this morning, $237 for the replacement, a little more than half the price of a whole new toilet unit.

The replacement took a bit less than two hours, including pumpout, setup and cleanup. I flushed a bunch of clean water through the system, took out the four pump mounting screws and removed the two hoses. The main waste hose exits through a joker valve and I didn't need to touch that one. I had to remove only the fresh water intake line and the line that delivers the fresh water to the bowl. Two pipe clamps to remove, heat the barbed connection, and they popped off easily. The Tmc macerator has two impellers that are isolated from each other: one to move flush water and the other to macerate. I was worried about backlog through the joker valve but thankfully that didn't happen.

Four screws and the old unit popped right off. Minimal leakage, and all clean water. Didn't even need to wear the silicone half mask and combo carbon filter that I brought to limit the gagging. No smell at all. New unit slid right in, bolted up, and now it flushes like a champ again.

Next toilet task is to combine the two 9 gal tanks into an 18 gal holding system. Will add a flexible water tank for flush supply, and Y the vent and Y the pumpout line. That's gonna be a gross one.
Last edited by Starscream on Sat Oct 02, 2021 6:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sheppie62
First Officer
Posts: 351
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2017 1:04 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Mission Bay San Diego

Composting toilet

Post by Sheppie62 »

We got a nature’s head composting toilet a few years back and love it! Yes, there is a learning curve how to use/ maintain it. Easy to install, I drilled vent hole thru window, 1 dc wire, or ac with transformer. https://www.shoptinyhouses.com/products ... ing-toilet Dump composted waste in any trash can, but it’s not very often. Urine container is most the work, we have 2, dump in toilet in marina.
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