Does a Raritan Marine Elegance use less water than a Vacuflush?

[Comodave]

Glad you like your new ME. We put one in a previous boat and I have a new one sitting in our current boat waiting to be installed.

 

[Rockport]

90 angles ok for M/E seawater supply

Installing a M/E Head in my Nova 44. Raw water feed from thru-hull to strainer to pump to head. Space is tight. Using 3/4" sanitary hoses, they don't bend as well as Raritan Saniflex, which isn't avail.in 3/4".

What do folks think about using right angle fittings on the seawater side of things instead of trying to get the relatively inflexible hose to bend as tight as I want it to. I was warned against angle fittings, and I would get that for waste lines. Any issue with them on lines before the head?

If consensus is angle ells ok, I might be tempted to fab a PVC manifold setup for bulkhead under sink with strainer/pump setup. ('Manifold' might be wrong word here, only 1 possible path for the raw water). Thoughts on this?

Great thread, BTW...

Thanks

 

[Ken E.]

"I had a VacuFlush system on boat for the last year (the boat was new to me a year ago) and switched to Raritan Marine Elegance about 2 months ago. I had two heads, and switched both heads at the same time.

With the VacuFlush system, I had smells almost constantly, mainly due to the tiny size of my tank, and filling it up more often than I'd like. It used a lot of water, IF the crew used it right. That is part of the problem - you have to train them that for solids, they need to give it 7-10 seconds of water to ensure things get where they are supposed to go, and not gum up the works. After a year of use, things were starting to show issues which would have required more maintenance than I would have wanted.

With the Raritan system, I am 100% using less water, as I can go almost 3x as long without pumping out. Not only that, it is dead simple for my crew to use - I even put little colored stickers on the smart toilet control panel buttons that they should use the most often, and matched the colors to... well the input if you know what I mean.

Peggie was instrumental in providing data to help me make this decision.

I also installed a similar system on my previous boat (a sailboat) although I think it was the SeaEra model, but it still used the same control panel. Had it for 4 years with little or no maintenance."


+1 for the Raritan SeaEra model which I installed about 5 years ago. Perfect performance and never a problem of any kind. No smells either.

 

[Comodave]

Installing a M/E Head in my Nova 44. Raw water feed from thru-hull to strainer to pump to head. Space is tight. Using 3/4" sanitary hoses, they don't bend as well as Raritan Saniflex, which isn't avail.in 3/4".

What do folks think about using right angle fittings on the seawater side of things instead of trying to get the relatively inflexible hose to bend as tight as I want it to. I was warned against angle fittings, and I would get that for waste lines. Any issue with them on lines before the head?

If consensus is angle ells ok, I might be tempted to fab a PVC manifold setup for bulkhead under sink with strainer/pump setup. ('Manifold' might be wrong word here, only 1 possible path for the raw water). Thoughts on this?

Great thread, BTW...

Thanks

On the supply side fittings should be ok. But what about using 1” Saniflex with 3/4 step down fittings. Personally I would use freshwater fot the supply side though.

 

[GB32Patience]

ME Head 90 degree fitting

@rockport, I Installed my ME head two seasons ago and love it! Regarding the use of a 90 degree fittting, Raritan themselves sells a 90degree "kit" in order to bring the water supply directly into the back of the unit vs. coming from below which is the default position. Essentially this "kit" is a 90degree elbow and a short length of pressure water grade hose (4" or so) to connect to the existing male connector at the head. As suggested on other threads, these parts are readily available on the general market substantially less than Raritan "kit" pricing. The "kit" adds a level of convenience...

I too, vote for a freshwater feed. Good luck with your install and enjoy!

 

[GB32Patience]

@rockport, apologies, looking at your diagram, a bit different from my set up as I use "house" FW pressure supplied to the head. When all is said and done, the addition of an additional 90 should not be a substancial element, but that being said, what does Raritian say?

 

[Comodave]

@rockport, I Installed my ME head two seasons ago and love it! Regarding the use of a 90 degree fittting, Raritan themselves sells a 90degree "kit" in order to bring the water supply directly into the back of the unit vs. coming from below which is the default position. Essentially this "kit" is a 90degree elbow and a short length of pressure water grade hose (4" or so) to connect to the existing male connector at the head. As suggested on other threads, these parts are readily available on the general market substantially less than Raritan "kit" pricing. The "kit" adds a level of convenience...

I too, vote for a freshwater feed. Good luck with your install and enjoy!

The Raritan 90 degree discharge kit it a 90degree barb connector, a couple of hose clamps and a short piece of hose about 4”. I think I paid about $45 when I bought one. Had I known what was in the kit I would have just bought the parts myself and saved $30. But the head is outstanding. We just came back from a month long cruise and absolutely loved the head. We have the Bluetooth Smart Panel and it was great selecting exactly how we wanted to flush the head. A true water saving feature.

 

[Rockport]

Hi, yes I'm also using house water system for the fresh supply. My Q pertains to the Sea side, my picture pertains to the raw coming in thru the thruhull and then strainer and pump...
Q is are rt angle fittings ok for seawater? Or will they gunk up?

 

[Comodave]

As long as you get adequate water flow there shouldn’t be a problem. If you don’t get enough water then change it. It should not hurt anything.

 

[Rockport]

Hi Commodave
Yes, with SeaFresh system, supply side is both house pressure fresh water and Sea Water, SeaFresh switch selects which plumbing line is used. My Q pertains to the seawater side, are there any issues using 90's on raw water side; will they gunk up? It shld I endeavor to use sweep bends in the 3/4" sanitary hose that I'm running on the Sea side?
Thanks for your input, BTW

 

[Rockport]

Thks ��

 

[Comodave]

I guess that it could depend on the length of the intake hose. If it is really long the 90 could be a restriction. But just pumping water I don’t think it would matter that much. But then again I am not a plumber…