one, but I could not find any information by researching the various topics in the Archives. So, please forgive me if this is redundant, but I have encountered this on my boat in the past two weeks. First of all, I want to mention that we did a complete kit replacement on the head earlier this summer due to problems with sticking and hard to use plunger. However, now we have a problem with the dry bowl not remaining dry. It slowly comes back up into the bowl and has, actually, reached about 3 inches from being full. We have "back washed" the vent to work on anything that may have been blocking that, as we thought this could be a part of the problem. Can you suggest anything else (short of a new head) that we might try? We are open to any and all ideas, as it is not useable at this juncture. Thanks for the advise!
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More detail Jay.
I think Peggy will require more information. It sounds like it was working OK and just started to do this. Is the stuff in the bowl definitely coming back from the tank? In that case it is a bad joker valve. But there should also be a vented-loop(see picture) in the output. Then very little would come back into the bowl even with a bad joker valve. A clogged vent on top of the vented-loop might also be part of the problem. If the bowl is filling up with seawater then you are leaving the wet/dry valve on 'wet'. That is only safe if you also have a vented-loop in the input(above the waterline). That is when I took the picture, as I was installing that second vented-loop. I was having the same problem with my new Cricket head.
I think Peggy will require more information. It sounds like it was working OK and just started to do this. Is the stuff in the bowl definitely coming back from the tank? In that case it is a bad joker valve. But there should also be a vented-loop(see picture) in the output. Then very little would come back into the bowl even with a bad joker valve. A clogged vent on top of the vented-loop might also be part of the problem. If the bowl is filling up with seawater then you are leaving the wet/dry valve on 'wet'. That is only safe if you also have a vented-loop in the input(above the waterline). That is when I took the picture, as I was installing that second vented-loop. I was having the same problem with my new Cricket head.
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It's a common problem...
And you're finding out first hand why relying on the dry/flush valve to keep water out of the boat is a very bad idea. Your toilet is below the waterline...when the dry/flush valve fails, there's nothing to prevent water outside the boat from seeking its own level INside the boat. Ideally, the head intake seacock should always be kept closed except when the toilet is actually in use, but boatbuilders now put 'em in places that make that pretty much impossible. The cure is both a new dry/flush valve and a vented loop at least 8-12" above the waterline the head intake. That doesn't go between the thru-hull and the pump 'cuz it'll interfere with the toilet's ability to prime...It has to go between the pump and the bowl.
And you're finding out first hand why relying on the dry/flush valve to keep water out of the boat is a very bad idea. Your toilet is below the waterline...when the dry/flush valve fails, there's nothing to prevent water outside the boat from seeking its own level INside the boat. Ideally, the head intake seacock should always be kept closed except when the toilet is actually in use, but boatbuilders now put 'em in places that make that pretty much impossible. The cure is both a new dry/flush valve and a vented loop at least 8-12" above the waterline the head intake. That doesn't go between the thru-hull and the pump 'cuz it'll interfere with the toilet's ability to prime...It has to go between the pump and the bowl.
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