Toilet Installed and Works Great
I installed Raitan's Marine Elegance model 220HS012: 12v, smart toilet control, standard height, angled back. I’ll use it mostly with fresh water but the raw water option will get used when we are away for a week or more and fresh water gets precious.
Using a Dremel with a carbide grout I enlarged the opening for the existing waste hose to allow the sides and back the toilet to slide in. The hole ended up larger than in the picture I uploaded. The "step" under the toilet is very solid and didn't seem to need any added support. I located the forward edge of the toilet base flush with the edge of step, which leaves some space behind the toilet. That carbide grout bit really cuts fiberglass and stays sharp, maybe cuts a little too well: in addition to covering the open back of the toilet I’ll need to trim where I went a bit too wide.
I enlarged the Jabsco push button switch’s hole to accommodate the Touch Plate control. It’s not an ideal location, but as Peggy noted, it’s easy to see when seated.
There’s space between the outside and inside vanity walls, with some plywood in there. I cut an an opening inside the vanity wall to mount the sea/fresh switch where it easily accessible but is a little hidden. I fished a line to inside the vanity and pulled the toilet wires, as well as wires added for the pump and tank full sensor.
The existing waste hose runs from the tank, along the aft side of the compartment under the helm, then along the stb hull and through an opening under that head to under step the toilet sits on. I replaced it just a couple of few years ago so I left it for this toilet. Before removing the Jabsco I flushed diluted muriatic to clean the hose and old toilet. With the Jabsco out I could see the was just a little scale in the hose.
We used a fish tape to pull line next to the waste hose, and then pulled ¾” hose for the raw water, ½” hose for the fresh, and two wire pairs for the pump and the tank sensor. It wasn’t an easy pull, but we eventually got them through.
The freshwater supply hoses to the head's sink/shower run through the compartment under the helm next to the waste hose. In the under helm compartment connected the fresh water supply line, adding a tee, stem elbow, valve and stem to ½ barb.
The reused waste line is medium quality 1” that doesn’t like a short radius bend so an elbow was required. The elbow doesn’t seem to be a problem for the discharge pump. Rairitan and Shields sell premium waste hose that make a tighter radius more like a sweep than an elbow which I’ll use if/when I replace what’s there.
I mounted the Control Box and sea/fresh relay up high on the inside wall of the vanity, partially covering the large 3” opening that was there on the inside for the old push button.
The existing 25-amp main panel breaker feeds the toilet with 8awg wires; 6awg would be better, but I chose not to run new wire. I used the + and – studs in the control box to connect the wires for the relay and pump.
I haven’t installed the tank-full sensor, strainer or the raw water pump yet, and left old toilets raw water hose in place for now (in the pictures it looks like it runs to the Elegance, but it's not connected). The thru hull and seacock that supplies the toilet is a little too green for comfort. It’s connected with a bonding wire, but is the farthest metal from the transom zinc. We need bottom paint so I’ll replace it when we haul out before very long.
With hoses connected, wiring connections triple checked, I opened the fresh water valve, flipped on the breaker and cycled the toilet and it works perfectly. I tested the discharge with a couple cans of dog food (a trick airplane factory uses to test their toilet installs) and it cleared fine.
The install was a lot of work, and in the end it’s still just a toilet. But it’s a mighty fine and elegant toilet! It’s quieter and should smell a lot less, which will make the Admiral and our other guests happy.
The expense and hours of labor will fade into satisfaction over time.
