OK, after fixing or replacing almost everything on my new used boat, I now have a toilet issue. PEGGY HELP! My manual Jabasco toilet pumps dry, but shortly thereafter water rises about 4 to 6 inches in the bowl. It looks bad and stinks! Whats going on and do I need to replace? Greg W
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Check your tank vent for a blockage
A blocked tank vent would pressurize the tank, creating backpressure that prevents bowl contents from getting to the tank...so it backs up into the bowl. Check the vent thru-hull for a dirt dauber nest. And don't use the toilet again till you're sure the vent is clear...'cuz contining to pressurize the tank can crack it, if it doesn't cause a full blown eruption in the toilet first. If the water is backing up into the bowl immediately, the joker valve is also worn out...the slit isn't a slit any more, it's a hole. But even a brand new joker valve won't prevent slow seepage, so if it's taking a while for the toilet to rill up, the joker valve is ok. When the water rising in the bowl is dirty, the most likely assumption is that it IS a backup...but if the water in your marina is foul, if there's no vented loop in the toilet intake, what you're seeing could be water outside the boat rising in the bowl to the waterline via the toilet intake. To rule this out, close the intake seacock. If water still rises in the bowl, it's a backup...either a blocked tank vent, or--if it's uphill to the tank or there's a loop in the head discharge line, you just aren't flushing long enough in the dry mode to move the waste all the way to the tank or over the top of the loop. Since water runs downhill, it's ending up back in the bowl.
A blocked tank vent would pressurize the tank, creating backpressure that prevents bowl contents from getting to the tank...so it backs up into the bowl. Check the vent thru-hull for a dirt dauber nest. And don't use the toilet again till you're sure the vent is clear...'cuz contining to pressurize the tank can crack it, if it doesn't cause a full blown eruption in the toilet first. If the water is backing up into the bowl immediately, the joker valve is also worn out...the slit isn't a slit any more, it's a hole. But even a brand new joker valve won't prevent slow seepage, so if it's taking a while for the toilet to rill up, the joker valve is ok. When the water rising in the bowl is dirty, the most likely assumption is that it IS a backup...but if the water in your marina is foul, if there's no vented loop in the toilet intake, what you're seeing could be water outside the boat rising in the bowl to the waterline via the toilet intake. To rule this out, close the intake seacock. If water still rises in the bowl, it's a backup...either a blocked tank vent, or--if it's uphill to the tank or there's a loop in the head discharge line, you just aren't flushing long enough in the dry mode to move the waste all the way to the tank or over the top of the loop. Since water runs downhill, it's ending up back in the bowl.
what boat?
Greg, it's important to specify the vessel on this site, because not all Hunters are built alike. On some Hunters, such as the 380, the holding tank is higher than the head and there's a long uphill sewage line back to the transom, which means that anytime the tank gets a bit full it's going to want to back up into the toilet unless the joker valve is new within the last year. The good news is that joker valves are relatively cheap and it only takes 5 minutes to replace one. But other owners who may have solved the same problem can't help you UNLESS YOU SPECIFY THE MODEL.
Greg, it's important to specify the vessel on this site, because not all Hunters are built alike. On some Hunters, such as the 380, the holding tank is higher than the head and there's a long uphill sewage line back to the transom, which means that anytime the tank gets a bit full it's going to want to back up into the toilet unless the joker valve is new within the last year. The good news is that joker valves are relatively cheap and it only takes 5 minutes to replace one. But other owners who may have solved the same problem can't help you UNLESS YOU SPECIFY THE MODEL.
Replacing the joke valve is NOT the solution
Because even a brand new joker valve won't stop slow seepage for longer than the first few flushes through it. It's not supposed to. The real problem is, most people don't know how to flush a manual toilet...they stop pumping as soon as the bowl is empty, and they only use the dry mode to pump the last of the water out of the bowl. So they fill up their tanks with flush water and leave waste sitting in the line to permeate it and/or run back into the bowl. Any manual toilet that's working anywhere near spec can move bowl contents up to 6' in the dry mode...so if the tank is within 6' of the toilet, the solution is: flush longer in the dry mode. If the distance from the toilet to the tank is an uphill run that's much longer than 6', the solution is: replumb it to put a loop in the head discharge line--not necessarily a vented loop, just an arch that's above the toilet at any angle of heel--that is within 6' of the toilet. Then toilet will only have to move the bowl contents over the top of the loop...gravity will move it the rest of the way to the tank. If you use the wet mode ONLY to bring in a little water to wet the bowl ahead of use and to bring in a little more to rinse out the hose behind the bowl contents...AND flush long enough in the dry mode to move it all to the tank, you'll double or even triple the number of flushes your tank will hold compared to using the wet mode all the time...your hoses won't permeate nearly as fast...and your joker valves will only require replacing every 2 years.
Because even a brand new joker valve won't stop slow seepage for longer than the first few flushes through it. It's not supposed to. The real problem is, most people don't know how to flush a manual toilet...they stop pumping as soon as the bowl is empty, and they only use the dry mode to pump the last of the water out of the bowl. So they fill up their tanks with flush water and leave waste sitting in the line to permeate it and/or run back into the bowl. Any manual toilet that's working anywhere near spec can move bowl contents up to 6' in the dry mode...so if the tank is within 6' of the toilet, the solution is: flush longer in the dry mode. If the distance from the toilet to the tank is an uphill run that's much longer than 6', the solution is: replumb it to put a loop in the head discharge line--not necessarily a vented loop, just an arch that's above the toilet at any angle of heel--that is within 6' of the toilet. Then toilet will only have to move the bowl contents over the top of the loop...gravity will move it the rest of the way to the tank. If you use the wet mode ONLY to bring in a little water to wet the bowl ahead of use and to bring in a little more to rinse out the hose behind the bowl contents...AND flush long enough in the dry mode to move it all to the tank, you'll double or even triple the number of flushes your tank will hold compared to using the wet mode all the time...your hoses won't permeate nearly as fast...and your joker valves will only require replacing every 2 years.
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