Raritan PHll part #1203W

[justsomeguy]

The problem: air valve broke off while unscrewing from old pump body. What the...!


The fix:


No dry flushes until I pay them $29.00 plus shipping for a new part.
Upsides: thank goodness Raritan doesn't use proprietary threads on this, and no leaks!

Rant off.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

It appears that a PO had jury rigged the air valve (prob'ly 'cuz he didn't want to pay$30 for a new one), 'cuz if you look at part # 1203W in the exploded drawing on page 9 in PHII owners manual PH II Owner’s Manual you'll see that there is no black piece TO break off...the air valve is complete in the white nut. I think you'll find this bit of info from Raritan useful:
_________________
PH II Air Valve problem/cure
The air valve is part #1203W...the little square plug on the front of the pump. It has has a check valve inside that opens on the downstroke of the piston to allow a little air to come into the (unused) top half of the pump cylinder to stop the "vacuum kick." If this check valve doesn't open to allow air into the top half of the pump cylinder, the handle becomes very difficult to pump in the dry mode and wants to jump back and smack you in the face. This ONLY happens in the "dry" mode. When it happens it means that little check valve is stuck.

The cure: Straighten a paper clip and poke the wire into the hole in that little plug to push it loose...it's spring-loaded and you should feel it move in and out when you press the wire in there. If that doesn't fix it, remove the square plug (it threads into the pump) and clean it. Wrap some teflon tape around the threads to seal it when you put it back. If THAT doesn't fix it, replace the air valve.
____________
Which is prob'ly what you'll have to do, thanks to the misguided efforts of the PO 'cuz what both of you have done is no longer an air valve or any other kind of valve, it's just a plug. The good news is, air valves typically have about a 10 year lifespan.
--Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein

 

[justsomeguy]

you'll see that there is no black piece TO break off.

That was my temp fix, not the POs.

Hoping to find a local with an easy-out to borrow. Will save the old body as a spare.

 

[justsomeguy]

If that doesn't fix it, remove the square plug (it threads into the pump) and clean it.

Yah, that's when the square part broke off the threaded body.
It was hell.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

I've never heard of that happening before...how old IS that pump???
--Peggie

 

[justsomeguy]

I've never heard of that happening before...how old IS that pump???
--Peggie

Could be 28 YO. Still...
[shrugs shoulders]

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

20-25 years is the average lifespan of a PHII... 'cus over time the pump cylinder wears out of round and plastic, unlike bronze, doesn't last forever....as illustrated by your crumbled air valve. So you might want to consider replacing the entire pump assembly. If your budget can stand doing that I'd spend a little more for the PH SuperFlush, which is the newest version of the PHII. When you consider that at the very least yours needs a rebuild kit (about $60) and a new air valve ($30) with no guarantee that nothing else will break soon....and a new complete pump assembly averages between $225-275, $300 for a whole new toilet that'll last at least another 20 years is worth considering.

--Peggie

 

[justsomeguy]

So you might want to consider replacing the entire pump assembly.

That's exactly what I'm doing.

$300 for a whole new toilet that'll last at least another 20 years is worth considering.

No, it's not. The bowl's fine, and I've got spare parts up the wazzoo, except for an air valve.
I probably threw out a perfectly good valve with that old
cracked pump last year.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Aha...you failed to mention that you'd already replaced the pump housing. That puts a whole new light on the subject.

--Peggie

 

[justsomeguy]

I fail to mention a lot of stuff. Heading out now to borrow that easy-out so I'll have a spare pump body for the future.
Can't get a delivery of the part here in MX, dagnabbit.

 

[jssailem]

@justsomeguy You could always find a 3D printer, reverse engineer the part, print it out and voila save the $30 cost for a replacement.

 

[justsomeguy]

@justsomeguy You could always find a 3D printer, reverse engineer the part, print it out and voila save the $30 cost for a replacement.

I've been known to re-invent the wheel a time or two.
I could make one from a half-inch threaded plastic plug, reusing the actual valve too.

Welp, easy-out quest success.


We'll limp along okay for now though.
Edit- with the bazillion spare parts aboard for this toilet (at least 8 joker valves, 4-5 wet/dry flush valves, springs, balls, O rings and Superlube) I should probably lay in a small supply of part #1203W for foolish consistency.