Bowl not emptying

[ctj]

My new to me boat came with a Raritan Crown head and a Lectrasan. I’m in a NDZ so I’m replacing the Lectrasan with a holding tank. I bought a holding tank from Ronco and installed it behind and above the toilet. The tank has a 1” vent and a standard pump out setup on the top. The intake for the tank is on the side at the top, about 40” above the toilet discharge. The toilet and tank are both above the water line, so no vented loop between them. I have everything hooked up and now find that the bowl fills up faster than it empties. The bowl never really empties. I filled the tank with water last week and left it sitting all week and didn’t see any leaks or back flow into the bowl. So I don’t think it’s the joker valve.

Is the problem that I’m pumping up hill? The original installation had a vented loop at the same elevation as my tanks intake. So I didn't think it would have been a problem. Should my toilet be able to pump up 40 inches?

The toilet is probably at least ten years old. Should I do an exchange and get a new bottom end? I'm considering replace it with a manual one. Will a manual one that will work with my setup? Pump up the 40"?

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Two choices...

Rebuild the toilet or replace the bottom end with the SeaEra bottom end.

From your description it sounds like the pump wall has failed. That sounds like a disaster, but actually isn't. The pump wall is just a plastic piece about the size of a CD...part #CH120 on the drawing here: http://www.raritaneng.com/pdf_files/crown_head/L193crownheadv0900.pdf It's in the rebuild kit...the correct kit for your version of the Crown Head is CDRK. Cost: about $50. Downside: the Crown Head is prob'ly the best work horse on the planet...if you were running a "Deadlist Catch" trawler or a NY harbor tug, it's the ONLY toilet you'd want. But what makes it such a work horse also makes it a real dinosaur for a recreational vessel...it draws a whopping 35 amps/flush and uses an even more whopping 1-3 gallons of water/flush...which will really fill up a tank in a hurry. And, as I'm sure you've already noticed, it also makes enough noise to wake the dead!

The SeaEra, otoh, only draws 15 amps and needs only about .5 gal water/flush. It's also a LOT quieter. The only downside: the SeaEra lower base is will cost you a lot more than rebuld kit for the Crown Head.

However, your plumbing arrangement isn't helping the situation either...we really need to improve on that!

Btw...the Bay is NOT an NDZ...the only NDZ on it is Herring Bay ( and a couple of marinas who don't know any better), which makes your LectraSan legal everywhere else in the Bay. So ADD a tank, but don't remove the LS, 'cuz even if you ARE in Herring Bay or one of those marinas...unless you plan to a LOT of your time in the slip, you'll get a lot more use out of the LS than you will the tank. If you also add the "hold 'n' treat" controls http://www.raritaneng.com/pdf_files/hold_n_treat/holdntreat.pdf you'll never even have to worry about pumpouts if/when you do have to use the tank...'cuz you'll be able to empty the tank legally through the LS.

If you'd like some help to spec all this out, send me an email (thats' EMAIL, not PM pleeeze!)