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I have a Willcox-Critenden Headmate head fitted to my sailboat.
It has been a nightmare.
With poor performance, it had a full service with all service parts replaced at New York on passage down the ICW - Maine to N Carolina. At Anapolis I replaced all the hoses.
Still poor performance, so I bought a replacement head the following year after a 11 month lay-up. Given my large investment in Heatmate spares, it was another Headmate - all brand new.
After another 9 month lay-up, the new Headmate was fitted for a trans-Atlantic passage and the old pump fully serviced as a ready-to-fit spare.
On passage, the new Headmate leaked, became hard to pump and the plastic "T" broke, so a new pump was fitted.
This pump lasted a bit but eventually started to leak and had to be serviced. This was successful for a bit.
Later the second "T" handle broke. Epoxy repairs did not last long.
SInce then I have serviced the pump twice and have reverted to the original aluminium "T" handle because I have run out of plastic ones.
Other than the 3-person trans-Atlantic passage, the boat has not had much use sincce the brand new Headmate was fitted.
Does anyone have any advice on how to keep a Headmate going reliably.
Do I carry on trying to fix it or do I float test it and install a Jabsco one?
Jabsco heads are even worse than the WC Headmate 90.
What I would highly recommend you do is buy a Raritan PHII or PHC LBA kit. It is basically the entire head except for the bowl. That would effectively give you a Raritan PHC or PHII head for a good deal less money, and the Raritan PHC/PHII are the most reliable manual marine head for under $500 according to Peggie Hall.
You can get them at SBO... $220 for the PHC LBA and $290 for the PHII. I know the bowl off the Headmate fits, since this is what I did with my Headmate last season. Also, the headmate 90 was discontinued by WC about three years ago, so getting parts and such for it will just become more difficult as time goes on.
Completely disassembled and installed all new components from a rebuild kit. Got it working but it leaked nasty from around the base of the bowl. Also leaked seawater from the pump.
Re-packed the packing gland on the pump and sealed up the base of the bowl. Still leaked from around the pump. The bowl doesn't leak anymore, but the flapper valve on the bowl doesn't close quite properly so now some "Stuff" squirts back up at you when you pump out.
Poor mans bidet, I guess.
The Lavac is on the sort list of things to buy and install.
I'm pretty sure that the Skipper and Headmate are like night and day. I had a Skipper on my last boat and it is truly a beautiful thing. That's the one they used to flush a Navy Pea Coat down for demonstrations. Too bad it's discontinued. Cherish your Skipper.
I replaced my Headmate with a Lavac. It is a dream. It also gave me a second emergency bilge pump. I installed a Y that selects either the bowl or the bilge.
Follow SD's advice and when it fails and you run out of spare parts, replace it with a Raritan PHII. That is what I'm going to do as soon as mine dies again. I've never seen such a lousy design that seems to be meant to fail. The only problem I have is that the PHII is a bit larger than the Headmate so it will be a bit of a tight fit in an already small head.
True, but the LBA kit that SD refereed is less. I'd love a Lavac, but really can't figure out where I'd be able to install the pump in this tiny head. Hence the PHII or PHC.
I got rid of my Willcox-Critteden and replaced it with a Lavac years ago. Best thing I ever did! It's nothing more than a big manual bilge pump and seals. No moving parts / flaps to break, etc!
The biggest issue determining installation is where to put the pump. My boat has a compartment behind the head which the pump could be fitted with the handle protruding out through a bulkhead. Go to Lavac's website and look at the schematic and measurement to see if it works for you.
The biggest issue determining installation is where to put the pump. My boat has a compartment behind the head which the pump could be fitted with the handle protruding out through a bulkhead. Go to Lavac's website and look at the schematic and measurement to see if it works for you.
I could put the pump in behind the head, but it would take up limited space in an already tight locker. I've checked out the Levac website and installation information. It just isn't going to work.
Now, I could probably put one in the forward head. I have a bit more options there.
I wish this post was a few weeks earlier. I just bought the full kit for my Wilcox Crittenden. I haven't replaced everything yet but this is certainly not sounding too promising. Damn
Have you ever considered a composting head ? Absolutely NO pumps, NO hoses and it can be installed in a very short time. It also clears up space where the holding tank used to reside and gets rid of smelly hoses that have to be replaced.
So will the PHII and PHC both fit a Wilcox Crittenden Head Mate? The only advantage of the PHC is that it takes up less room in the head and is a bit cheaper?
I liked our WC Headmate(s) for many years. Finally got a PHII. As far as "rathings" go, from worst to better to best: Groco, Jabsco, Headmate, PHII and then the Lavacs and electrics.
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