Peggy, I should have listened to your advice. Lots of factors, the big one being the budget at the time. Penny wise and pound foolish. We replaced our old Groco last year with a Jabsco. We are now occasionally getting back flow into the bowl, changed the joker valve, helps alot but occasionally still get some backflow. In the dry bowl position get a pressure build up in the pump handle on the down stroke. Holding the wet/dry lever hard over in the Dry bowl position helps, but doesn't remove all the pressure. When the bowl is finally dry, pumping complete, a few seconds later get air bubbles back flowing into the bowl. Seems to work as advertised in the wet bowl position. Level of the holding tank seems to make no difference and the vent line is open. Am I overlooking anything or do I have a case of the "bad Cam" you so frequently talk about.
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Sounds like the "cam" AND something else
If holding the wet/dry lever down hard helps, it's definitely the wet/dry cam that's creating the backpressure, but that doesn't explain the backflow/bubbles unless it ONLY happens after flushing in the dry mode. If you only have backflow/bubbles ONLY after you've tried to flush it in the dry mode, it's most likley only the wet/dry cam that's creating backpressure in the pump. But if changing the joker valve helped, that's an indication that something downstream of the toilet is also creating backpressure...'cuz the joker valve isn't in the pump, it's in the discharge line. Something seems to be pushing liquids back through it. If you only made sure the vent thru-hull is clear, you also need to check the vent line connection to the tank--both the fitting and that end of the hose. If you've already done that and you're sure that both ends of the vent line are clear...is there a sag in the vent line where water or waste can pool? The solution: straighten out the line. If you can eliminate the tank vent entirely, that leaves something in the head discharge line creating backpressure. Unless you've had a guest abooard who's flushed a wet wipe or something else they shouldn't have, the most likely culprit is sea water mineral buildup in the discharge line that's reduced the diameter enough to cause backpressure. You're just gonna have to do a bit of exploring to determine what's actually causing the problems. Meanwhile, jiggling the wet/dry lever and then holding it hard over can sometimes get the cam to work as it should.
If holding the wet/dry lever down hard helps, it's definitely the wet/dry cam that's creating the backpressure, but that doesn't explain the backflow/bubbles unless it ONLY happens after flushing in the dry mode. If you only have backflow/bubbles ONLY after you've tried to flush it in the dry mode, it's most likley only the wet/dry cam that's creating backpressure in the pump. But if changing the joker valve helped, that's an indication that something downstream of the toilet is also creating backpressure...'cuz the joker valve isn't in the pump, it's in the discharge line. Something seems to be pushing liquids back through it. If you only made sure the vent thru-hull is clear, you also need to check the vent line connection to the tank--both the fitting and that end of the hose. If you've already done that and you're sure that both ends of the vent line are clear...is there a sag in the vent line where water or waste can pool? The solution: straighten out the line. If you can eliminate the tank vent entirely, that leaves something in the head discharge line creating backpressure. Unless you've had a guest abooard who's flushed a wet wipe or something else they shouldn't have, the most likely culprit is sea water mineral buildup in the discharge line that's reduced the diameter enough to cause backpressure. You're just gonna have to do a bit of exploring to determine what's actually causing the problems. Meanwhile, jiggling the wet/dry lever and then holding it hard over can sometimes get the cam to work as it should.
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