Welcome back, Peggy. Firstly, thank you for all of your years of service here that have certainly served us well on Starbright. On your recommendation, we installed the PHC LBA from this site on our old Jabsco bowl with beautiful results. Maintenance over the last 5 years has gone well, with the only regular replacement being the Joker Valve every 2 years. Following the recommendations in v1 of your book.
Last year I sprung for the full rebuild kit. The rebuild went well, but only a few months into use, we began to experience the dreaded burbling back into the bowl symptom. At first, I concluded there must be a blockage in the outlet line or tank vent, but before going there, I removed the LBA to look at the flapper. It was horribly distorted in shape after only a few months and not seating well, and the new Joker was also distorted beyond normal. So, I have replace them to good effect - everything working well. The question remains, though, what might have caused the premature failure of the flapper? It was installed in the correct orientation, the nylon spacers were in place, and PTFE lube was used liberally throughout the pump re-assembly. The only thing I can think of is maybe I overtightened the LBA hold-downs, but it seems the nylon spacers would protect against that being a problem.
Anyway, fingers crossed, but would be interested in your opinion.
Last year I sprung for the full rebuild kit. The rebuild went well, but only a few months into use, we began to experience the dreaded burbling back into the bowl symptom. At first, I concluded there must be a blockage in the outlet line or tank vent, but before going there, I removed the LBA to look at the flapper. It was horribly distorted in shape after only a few months and not seating well, and the new Joker was also distorted beyond normal. So, I have replace them to good effect - everything working well. The question remains, though, what might have caused the premature failure of the flapper? It was installed in the correct orientation, the nylon spacers were in place, and PTFE lube was used liberally throughout the pump re-assembly. The only thing I can think of is maybe I overtightened the LBA hold-downs, but it seems the nylon spacers would protect against that being a problem.
Anyway, fingers crossed, but would be interested in your opinion.