I am having some problems with my Par 37010 electric head. the intake is greater than the outake. The bowl fills faster than it goes out. I have been closing the intake seacock to empty the bowl but it takes a few minutes. Besides the intake seacock is in a locker in the main cabin. Par Jabsco says on their website that this is a normal procedure. I also seem to get some sewage from the flush back into the bowl as I flush. Is it a clog in a line? A bad pump? I haven't had the boat too long and I can't say the head has ever worked well. I was about to take the thing apart when I found this forum so I am humbly asking for advice before I dive in. Should I simply inspect the macerator, hoses, tank (flexible), vent etc? Or do I need a kit, or a new head? BTW it doesn't smell great either. Thanks Michael
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
P
Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
Possible causes
First--and easiest--thing to check is the tank vent. If it's clogged, it creates backpressure which pushes back against the flush. Low voltage to the toilet is the most common cause of slow discharge in electric toilets. Put a volt meter on it WHILE flushing...if it's not getting a full 12v, it could be due to corroded terminals, wrong wire size or a weak battery. If neither of those are the culprit, and if the toilet is more than 5 years old, I wouldn't try to repair it...whether manual or electric, the average lifespan of Jabsco toilets seems to max out at about 5 years. After that, they start having problems that are more aggrevation and expense to repair than they're worth. Yours is the second one this week...the other one worked marginally till he rebuilt it, then quit altogether. The Raritan SeaEra is a much higher quality identical replacement (all the bolt patterns match) for 37010, and is available as either a conversion kit--which will allow you save money by keeping your bowl--or a complete toilet. Check it out at the link below. As for your odor problems, you'll find the causes and cures for those in the articles in the Head Mistress forum Reference Library...just click on the link to it on the forum homepage.
First--and easiest--thing to check is the tank vent. If it's clogged, it creates backpressure which pushes back against the flush. Low voltage to the toilet is the most common cause of slow discharge in electric toilets. Put a volt meter on it WHILE flushing...if it's not getting a full 12v, it could be due to corroded terminals, wrong wire size or a weak battery. If neither of those are the culprit, and if the toilet is more than 5 years old, I wouldn't try to repair it...whether manual or electric, the average lifespan of Jabsco toilets seems to max out at about 5 years. After that, they start having problems that are more aggrevation and expense to repair than they're worth. Yours is the second one this week...the other one worked marginally till he rebuilt it, then quit altogether. The Raritan SeaEra is a much higher quality identical replacement (all the bolt patterns match) for 37010, and is available as either a conversion kit--which will allow you save money by keeping your bowl--or a complete toilet. Check it out at the link below. As for your odor problems, you'll find the causes and cures for those in the articles in the Head Mistress forum Reference Library...just click on the link to it on the forum homepage.
M
Michael Brassert
Electric head problems 2
I checked the voltage, OK. I checked the vent which is on top of the disharge loop. It the valve seemed sticky so I lubricated it and then I could hear it when I flushed.OK. It seems that the head flushes better when routed to the holding tank than when going directly overboard. I dismantled the head and could see no problems. Since it seems that waste is being pumped back into the bowl I suspect that there is a leak from the flush pump to the discharge pump. Thereby recirculated the waste back into the bowl. Is this possible? Thanks for your help so far.
I checked the voltage, OK. I checked the vent which is on top of the disharge loop. It the valve seemed sticky so I lubricated it and then I could hear it when I flushed.OK. It seems that the head flushes better when routed to the holding tank than when going directly overboard. I dismantled the head and could see no problems. Since it seems that waste is being pumped back into the bowl I suspect that there is a leak from the flush pump to the discharge pump. Thereby recirculated the waste back into the bowl. Is this possible? Thanks for your help so far.
P
Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
Is there no vent off the tank?
Vented loops only allow air INto a line to break a siphon...so the vent on it has nothing to do with your holding tank. Holding tanks must be vented to the outside of the boat...so there should be a hose coming off the tank that goes to a thru-hull. However, some bladders aren't vented--which is ok if the bladder is only used for fuel or water, just not for waste holding--'cuz methane is flammable and waste produces gasses as it breaks down. So find the vent or determine that there isn't one. If there is a vent, and it's clogged...or there isn't, that can create backpressure. There's no way there can be a leak betwen the "flush" pump (by which I assume you mean the flush water intake pump) and the discharge pump...so there's no chance that it's recirculating waste, it has to be either backing up or failing to discharge. It's possible that sea water calcium carbonates have built up in the head discharge hose enough to significantly reduce the diameter...which in turn would restrict the flow of waste through the hose. While you had the toilet apart, did you inspect the inside of the head discharge hose? Unless you know what you're looking for, you aren't likely to see the cause of the problem when you take the toilet apart. Impellers can LOOK ok...but you can't see that the edges of the vanes have worn past the point of being able to move any waste. How old is the toilet?
Vented loops only allow air INto a line to break a siphon...so the vent on it has nothing to do with your holding tank. Holding tanks must be vented to the outside of the boat...so there should be a hose coming off the tank that goes to a thru-hull. However, some bladders aren't vented--which is ok if the bladder is only used for fuel or water, just not for waste holding--'cuz methane is flammable and waste produces gasses as it breaks down. So find the vent or determine that there isn't one. If there is a vent, and it's clogged...or there isn't, that can create backpressure. There's no way there can be a leak betwen the "flush" pump (by which I assume you mean the flush water intake pump) and the discharge pump...so there's no chance that it's recirculating waste, it has to be either backing up or failing to discharge. It's possible that sea water calcium carbonates have built up in the head discharge hose enough to significantly reduce the diameter...which in turn would restrict the flow of waste through the hose. While you had the toilet apart, did you inspect the inside of the head discharge hose? Unless you know what you're looking for, you aren't likely to see the cause of the problem when you take the toilet apart. Impellers can LOOK ok...but you can't see that the edges of the vanes have worn past the point of being able to move any waste. How old is the toilet?
M
Michael Brassert
There is no vent.
There is no vent off the tank. The holding tank is not original equipment on a 1966 Hinckley Pilot and was added later to be compliant. There are two y valves one to direct waste to the tank or overboard and another from the holding tank to a manual pump or from the overboard discharge from the head directly. I didn't inspect the impeller ( a possible culprit?) I don't know how old the toilet is as I bought the boat two years ago. There is some corrosion on the motor so I suspect it is not too new. I inspected the hoses which are all clear inside. As I seem to have more problems flushing directly overboard (which I rarely do) than to the tank (BTW I have no problem manually pumping the tank through the same discharge hose overboard) I suspect that the worn impeller might have a tougher time pumping through the discharge loop (head is below waterline) since it is a much greater distance than going to the tank which is only 1 foot away. Also if a vent in my bladder tank is necessary is it best positioned on the hull or on deck? Michael
There is no vent off the tank. The holding tank is not original equipment on a 1966 Hinckley Pilot and was added later to be compliant. There are two y valves one to direct waste to the tank or overboard and another from the holding tank to a manual pump or from the overboard discharge from the head directly. I didn't inspect the impeller ( a possible culprit?) I don't know how old the toilet is as I bought the boat two years ago. There is some corrosion on the motor so I suspect it is not too new. I inspected the hoses which are all clear inside. As I seem to have more problems flushing directly overboard (which I rarely do) than to the tank (BTW I have no problem manually pumping the tank through the same discharge hose overboard) I suspect that the worn impeller might have a tougher time pumping through the discharge loop (head is below waterline) since it is a much greater distance than going to the tank which is only 1 foot away. Also if a vent in my bladder tank is necessary is it best positioned on the hull or on deck? Michael
P
Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
Corrosion on the motor is your best clue
There shouldn't be any. It means the toilet is leaking internally. I don't think it's worth putting ANY money into...if it were mine, I'd replace it. As for your tank vent, the thru-hull just has stay above the waterline at any angle of heel. You might spend some time reading the articles in the HM forum reference library...the link to it is on the forum homepage.
There shouldn't be any. It means the toilet is leaking internally. I don't think it's worth putting ANY money into...if it were mine, I'd replace it. As for your tank vent, the thru-hull just has stay above the waterline at any angle of heel. You might spend some time reading the articles in the HM forum reference library...the link to it is on the forum homepage.
M
Michael Brassert
Thanks for your help
Thanks Peggy. With your help I really understand now how a head works and realize that there is no hope for this one. Michael
Thanks Peggy. With your help I really understand now how a head works and realize that there is no hope for this one. Michael
- Status
- Not open for further replies.