Not a Joke, er... ideas?

[jonelli]

Sorry. that was really bad. lol

So, my head pump seems to be acting up, and not sure what it is just yet. Ruling some stuff out, so I thought I'd ask a few opinions before I tore stuff apart.

So, between the two pump positions (pull outside water into bowl, and flush only) when it is in flush only, the pump handle has lots of resistance going down.

The other position that pulls water into the bowl works and feels just fine in both directions of the pump. And, in flush-only mode, pulling up has little resistance and bowl contents get sucked up. And if I push down slowly, it will go down and the contents to do go away.

(This is where I feel everybody about to say it's my vent)
I recently checked and cleaned out the vent (there was no immediate problem at the time) and in fact, plenty of smelly odor is emanating from that vent when I attempt the flush.
I also opened my waste discharge cap to see if that made any difference, and it didn't, which tells me it's not a vent problem.
The tank should be fairly empty, as there's probably 2-3 #1's and maybe a #2 stored inside since I last emptied it.
To me, all things point to a blockage. I've never had to deal with this problem yet, any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this further?
It's really perfect timing since I'm taking the boat for 4 days starting today.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

You neglected to tell us the make/model of your toilet.. but I'd bet it's a Jabsco. If it is, it's a good bet that you have problem that's very common in Jabsco manual toilets--a failed wet/dry cam. The wet/dry "valve" is actually just a little "gate" (the cam) that the lever swings to block or unblock the flow of incoming flush water. Due to either a tooling or mfr'g flaw, it hangs up...creating back pressure that feels like pumping against a clog or blocked tank vent, except it only happens in one mode--usually the wet mode.

The cure: replace the wet/dry cam assembly. Jabsco often sends out a new one for no charge...but then you have to take the pump apart to replace it, which can be a PITA and really messy because you can't flush water through the pump to clean it out before you take it apart.

So my advice: just replace the pump instead. It's prob'ly overdue for a rebuild or at least a joker valve --and besides, modern Jabsco toilets have fairly short lifespan--they're purposely made to be "disposable" like everything else today. A service kit (which doesn't include the part you need) costs almost as much as a pump, which doesn't cost that much anyway...and swapping it out only requires removing and replacing the 4 bolts that hold the pump on the base and two hoses, which beats the socks off taking the pump apart!

And now that I've typed all that...if it turns out your head is NOT Jabsco, please tell us what it is.

 

[jonelli]

Peggie,
As usual, you are 100% correct. It is a Jabsco, and it is acting exactly as you described. Just got back from 4 days out of the dock and every now and then it would almost work then act up again. In my case, it is only on the down stroke of the dry setting where it feels like a blockage.
I will look into all of the options you mentioned! Thank you again!

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

If your budget can stand it, now would be a great time to upgrade your toilet to one that's made in the US (Jabsco now makes everything in Mexico with parts and components sourced from China and other similar sources), is designed and built to last at least 20 years with minimal maintenance and has a pump that's been top rated for more than 30 years: the Raritan SuperFlush, which is the newest version of the PH II. The base has been redesigned to make the mounting bolt pattern match the Jabsco, so you'd still only have to remove and replace a few bolts and a couple of hoses to switch it out. Apparently Defender is the only retailer that has it yet--and for a great price: $271 (July 4 sale price) Raritan PH SuperFlush Manual Toilet at Defender
Or, if you carry enough fresh water to spare some for toilet flushing and can stretch your budget a bit further...the Raritan Fresh Head is the only MANUAL toilet designed to use pressurized fresh water, which means it can be safely connected to the fresh water plumbing. Available from the sbo.com online store as either a complete toilet or a "conversion" that will allow you to re-use your Jabsco bowl, seat and lid. Its mounting bolt pattern also matches Jabsco manual toilet. FRESH_HEAD Promo Sheet

 

[jonelli]

Those are some cool toilet options. Not that I couldn't, but I'm more likely to spend $300 on something else on the boat over upgrading the toilet. I'll give fixing it a go first. The entire toilet was replaced new within the last 6 years by the PO (maybe less, can't remember).

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

6 years is about twice the average lifespan of a Jabsco manual toilet...which makes replacing the pump the ONLY thing that makes any sense if you don't want to spend the money to upgrade it. I just googled it for prices..Best price I found was on Amazon--the complete pump for $82...the lowest price I found for the service kit was $62, and you'd need a wet/dry cam assembly in addition to that. I didn't check the prices for it, but at best the total cost would be a wash with the cost of a new pump.

 

[jonelli]

Yes Peggie,
That's what I'm looking at right now.

 

[jonelli]

I found a site online that sold the replacement pump for $72+$8 2-day shipping . I would post the link but after I purchased it they bumped the price to $92!

It was about as much dirty I would've wanted to do and it works beautifully now.
Thanks Peggy!