I hadn't planned on doing the VF conversion any time soon, but I got steal of a deal on two complete, independent VF systems, so I dove in. The systems were the perfect match, but for the price, I chose to make it work. They were 12v vacuum generators which was not love at first sight with my 32v boat. I bought a Newmar converter (10 or 15 amp - can't remember, but it is oversized for the job and I got it for around $100 I recall)and stepped down the power for both of those vacuum generators through that one converter.
The third head I'm doing is getting the 24v vacuum pump and traditional vacuum tank. Sealand (and others) says the 24v will work just fine in that application. I've not done the 4th head yet, but I will - it's the crew head and right now, having VF for my guests is more important.
I really like the fact that they flush with just a pint of [FRESH] water which is a vast improvement over the water-consuming GalleyMaids.
There is maintenance with everything whether is a $600 vacuum pump or a $600 GM pump, or a $12 duckbill or a $78 stator - like everything else, they all give up the ghost at some point and need some attention.
For me, I like the VF because it uses fresh water and only a miniscule amount of it; it does not smell like salt water can do after a period of time; it's easy for guests to use and there is no guessing on their part as to how long they have to flush and the flush is simple - no guessing which direction to turn the lever or for how long to flush to make sure it's all gone from to it needs to go; the time between pump outs is vastly extended; the VF is much, MUCH easier to service than those GM pumps and they weigh only a fraction of the GM pump. These are some of the reasons why I did the conversion to VF. Had it not been for the deal I got that got me started, I would not have done it.
Once the entire boat is done, I will have the pleasure of removing 7 thru-hulls, filling in the holes, and eliminating 7sources of potential disaster on my boat. That makes me feel good. Every thru-hull is a point of maintenance, potential point of failure, followed by potential disaster. The less of those I have, the better I will sleep, no matter how well I take care of my boat.
On another happy note, I just got a great deal on some FV accessories. I picked up 32v monitor switches for $32 each. Best price I found online was $146 each. I got four of them. These are the indicators that tell when it's OK to flush - red light, no; green light, yes. This will be useful for charter guests who are unfamiliar with these systems. For me, I can usually hear the pump going ching, ching on Ed's boat and know to wait until that's done to flush, but with our pumps going in the engine rooms, I don't think the guests will hear them, nor do I expect them to have an "ear" for it. It takes about a minute to 90 seconds to rebuild the vacuum after a flush. So, it's easy for me to tell guests who may be using the head one right after the other on occasion to simply wait for the green light. I'm quite happy with my recent find on those monitors.
