I have a Lavac in my new old boat. I assume it's a "Popular". It was working so-so to not at all so I rebuilt the pump and now it works great, except that it also leaks around the base somewhere. I think the new super suction blew a seal. The people at Lavac said that it was more likely that the base is cracked. (Probably not pumped out last winter). In any case it is a small leak and I can't really tell where it is coming from. I ordered a new seal. I thought maybe I could repair the base with epoxy if it was broken, it is made of plastic. Anyway I would be interested to hear some advice from those with more experience.
Lavac problem
- Thread starter ehh
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Anything worth doing is worth doing right...
And "gluing"a cracked toilet base ain't the right way to fix it.
First thing I'd do is find the leak. Put a little red food coloring (I just did this on a boat in Seattle using red wine!) in a pint of water...flush. You should see a red stain where the leak is located. If it's just out the base a new seal should fix it...if you see a crack, replace the base.
And "gluing"a cracked toilet base ain't the right way to fix it.
First thing I'd do is find the leak. Put a little red food coloring (I just did this on a boat in Seattle using red wine!) in a pint of water...flush. You should see a red stain where the leak is located. If it's just out the base a new seal should fix it...if you see a crack, replace the base.
I would think that if we trust epoxy to fix a hole in the boat we would trust it to fix a hole in the toilet...but I'll take your advice...thanks...and good tip about the dye.
If function is the only thing matters,..
Old tires make much better fenders than any you can buy, and you can find those cheap or even for free. They'd fit right in with an epoxy glued toilet base.:dance:
Old tires make much better fenders than any you can buy, and you can find those cheap or even for free. They'd fit right in with an epoxy glued toilet base.:dance:
Perhaps a more direct answer is that the boat is made of polyester, which is chemically not too different from epoxy. With the correct surface prep,it is possible to get a good secondary bond. Even then, you can't simply squirt Captains Tolley's Crack Cure in and hope for the best; generally grinding and glass are involved.
The toilet is probably either PVC or PE (polyethylene) and neither react well to epoxy. Some plastics (PVC) can be repaired with the correct glue, but you must learn the exact plastic and have a good repair process. Others, like PE, don't respond well to any glue and are generally welded.
Additionally, if it was a freeze crack, the damage could be more invovled than is apparent.
Or as Peggy suggested, you're better off with a replacement, in term of long-term value.
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