Replacing Head With Electric - Recommendations

[Captain Coyote]

Me again...

Our original manual head pump has gone out. The rebuild kit is $130. But I see a lot of electric heads in the $250-300 range, which I'd prefer on a number of fronts. Does anyone have one of the Albin or Johnson Pump Aqua T units or some other in that price range that you recommend?

Cheers-

Chris

[Dale Tanski]

I will tell you that the more money you spend, the quieter and tolerable an electric head will be.  The less expensive units will sound like a rock crusher bolted to a section of sheet metal, something a late night visit will regret.  The big money units are almost tolerable.  They all do the deed with the push of a button which meets your first criteria.  Electric heads are also nice for "visitors" that can't or refuse to read the operating instructions of a typical manual pump head. 

Some of the units on the market now or that have been sold over the past several years have the "electric upgrade kit" available for them.  You could start out riding a plane jane and update it at a later date if you feel so compelled.
Don't forget that you will have to run suitable sized wire as per the manufactures specifications and add another breaker for that electrified wonder if you head that direction.

No... I will not make a recommendation of make/model or brand as I have not experienced enough of them to be helpful.

Dale

[S/V AMITY]

  Concerning visitors aboard, it isn't the pumping that's the problem, it's what they attempt to flush down the head.  Aside from T.P., our standing order is to put in the head only what one has already eaten.

[SV Azimuth]

Hey Chris,

We experience similar failure of our aged manual Raritan earlier this year. We decided to splurge on a new Raritan Marine Elegance electric toilet and have been very happy with it. Yes there is a pump noise when it flushes but no it's not worse than a guest or visitor trying to figure out the hand pump system at 3am.

I'm happy to answer specific questions as you've got 'em and/or provide some photos of our installation.

Cheers,
Scott

[SVJourney]

Raritan Marine Elegance electric toilet

+1 for this.  Simple and it works well.  That said, they are easier to jam than a pump toilet.  Relatively simple to tear down and clear out obstructions though.