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wrote:
To Peggie and the head heads:

I am intrigued by the vacuum method of Lavac heads: they seem simple
and efficient compared to the frankly sub-par (pun intended) majority
of marine heads I've seen. Peggie, I know you vend and prefer Raritan,
so feel free to make a case.

Hold the phone...I don't "vend" ANYTHING...I sold my company to Raritan,
but I have no relationship with them or any other company. I call 'em as
I see 'em (which is why I don't have a relationship with any mfr...they
all tend to get just a wee bit testy when an employee recommends a
competitor's product over their own). I do like MOST Raritan products,
but I'm not alone in that...PS and everyone else who tests equipment
rates 'em the best bang for the buck too, especially the manual PH II.

Most people are day and weekend sailors: most people use the low-end
Jabsco, etc. brands. Myself, I have a Bryson from the '80s with parts
salvaged from another Bryson.

Not that it matters, but you mean Brydon--a version the Jabsco manual
that was made in Canada under licensing agreement. If today's Jabsco
toilets were built even half as well as the Brydon Boy was, they'd
outlast most PH IIs.

planning for next season a complete overhaul of my heads installation
and I am interested in Lavacs. The price is higher, but the logic
seems sound, and frankly, I value well-built and reliable over cheap
and cheerful.

The Lavac is an excellent toilet...made by Blake, whose "Baby Blake"
compact toilet is one of the best in the world--arguably better than the
W-C Skipper...both built to have lifespans measured in centuries if
maintained--and with price tags to match...about $1000.

But as Jeff said, the Lavac is NOT child/landlubber
guest-friendly...instead, about as intimidating to 'em as the toilet on
submarine would be. So while it's an excellent choice for adult
blue-water cruisers, I can't recommend it for the typical "weekend
warrior" sailor.

...I have
heard that Lavacs use too much water and are only appropriate for
"weekending". Why?

It's true that they do use a bit of flush water, but I dunno where
anyone got that idea...'cuz it's just the opposite--they have no moving
parts...the pump is a diaphragm bilge pump, and requires no more
maintenance than any other diaphragm bilge pump--occasional lubrication
and a new diaphragm every 5-10 years....compared to the average
piston/cylinder pump toilet, they're virtually maintenance-free. Which
is WHY they're so popular with blue water cruisers.

Lots of British distance cruisers use Lavacs with
no complaint, or so I hear.

The Lavac can use a lot of flush water...but that doesn't matter to
blue water cruisers because they don't have to worry much about filling
up holding tanks...they flush directly overboard at sea and in many
foreign coastal waters too.

If not Lavac, then, why, and what are good alternatives.

If it weren't for the relatively small holding tank on a very big "no
discharge" body of water...and if there's never (ok, rarely) anyone on
your boat but you and other well-seasoned sailors, I'd say go with the
Lavac. But if you're the typical weekender who only takes occasional
long cruises of a week or more, and frequently have guests aboard, I
don't think it's the right toilet for your boat.

The only
heads firm I have heard nothing but praise for is W-C...

That depends on which model. Their low end Headmate doesn't get very
high marks...their top of the line Skipper and now discontinued Imperial
and Winner models are the best toilets you can buy. But they'll cost you
$700-$800 at discount. If you're planning to keep this boat for the rest
of your life, that's a worthwhile investment...but if you're like most
people who trade up or down (or into a trawler) every 3-10 years, I
think you can be just as happy with a toilet that costs about $250 at
discount-- the Raritan PH II. Lever action pump instead of the typical
"bicycle pump" allows it to swallow amounts of solids and TP that would
choke any other toilet under $700. Exceptionally durable...keep it
properly lubricated and rebuild it about every 5 years or so, and it'll
last at least 20 years before any hardware needs replacing.

Stay away from the electrified version, though--the PHE II...the motor
does nothing but replace the pump handle, pumps it faster and with a
shorter stroke than pumping manually, which wears out seals and o-rings
twice as fast and causes it to choke on anything much more than 3 sheets
of TP. IMO putting a motor on a PH II turns a fine manual toilet into a
very poor excuse for an electric toilet.

Feel free to blast away. I want the benefit of experience beyond
wanting for Practical Sailor to revisit the topic.

They just did, about this time last year or the year before...and the PH
II came out on top...again, as it has every time for a couple of decades
and its predecessor PH did for a decade or two before that.

You asked for my $.02 worth...that's it.

Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html