Strange Head Issue

Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
Good morning all,

We started having a strange Head issue about two days ago and I'm a little baffled by this one. Looking for some collective wisdom from the forum.

The boat is a 2001 Catalina 310. Two people live aboard full time, so the head gets a lot of use. It's a Raritan PH Superflush manual head connected by about 8 feet of hose to a holding tank that is discharged through a macerator.

With liquid in the bowl if you flush in dry mode, nothing happens. The handle moves up and down way to easy and nothing leaves the bowl. No vacuum is created. If you switch to wet mode then water comes and and will leave the bowl. So currently the only way to empty the bowl is to switch to wet mode, pump 3-4 times, switch to dry where you will get about 6 flushes before it starts not creating a vacuum again. So you switch back and forth 3-4 times to empty the bowl.

The first thing I suspected was a clogged vent but that appears to be fine. The hose and head is approximately 1 year old and I don't believe there is any blockages.

I am beginning to suspect the O ring on the plunger maybe bad and I need to replace it.

I was hoping to get some feedback before I bust into my one rebuild kit. Currently in Bequia in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the chandleries here are small and don't carry Raritan spares.

Thanks,

Jesse
 

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Last edited:
Dec 2, 1997
8,708
- - LIttle Rock
This may be one of the few times when replacing the joker valve may be the solution.
Most people think that the only thing the joker valve does is acts as a check valve to stop backflow from returning to the toilet...But that's a joker valve's LEAST important function...in fact, it's THE single most important replaceable part in a manual toilet.

Here’s why: On the upstroke of the piston, a vacuum is created in the area beneath the piston. This causes the joker valve to close tightly, and the flapper valve beneath the pump to open, allowing some of the contents of the toilet bowl to be drawn into the bottom half of the pump. Then, on the down stroke of the piston, the flapper valve is slammed shut, and the effluent is forced out of the bottom of the pump, through the joker valve, and off down the line. But when the joker valve becomes worn and/or there's a buildup of sea water minerals on it, it can no longer seal tightly on the upstroke of the piston...less vacuum is generated when you pump it. And as it becomes more worn less and less vacuum, till finally the bowl contents simply move up and down a bit, but don't go anywhere. Sometimes the flapper valve needs to be replaced too, which is why toilets should also be rebuilt at least every 5-6 years as PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE.
--Peggie
Btw...this is the short version of "Joker Valve 101" in the "Flush With Success
section of my book (see link in my signature below).
 
Last edited:
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
Thanks Peggy. That makes perfect sense. The joker valve is over a year old. Guess I know what I am doing today. Yum!
 
Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Flapper valve too, as Peggy says, should be a suspect.. I have had one fail because the weight (a Jabsco) on the flapper corroded and fell off.. Normally the toilet is flushed with bayou water which is fresh, but the boat spent several months in a salt water marina before that happened..
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,708
- - LIttle Rock
The toilet is new enough that I doubt if it needs a flapper valve too...Raritan toilet parts don't corrode! But it is prob'ly past time to lubricate the pump. You can do it the never-ending way--flush "head lube" or veggie oil every couple of weeks, or you can spend about 15 minutes once every 6 months (once a season is often enough for "weekend warriors"):
Buy a tube of thick SuperLube teflon grease--the same grease that's in it when it leaves Raritan...available from Ace Hardware and Home Depot, not sure where else. Remove the screws that hold the pump onto the base...lift the pump just enough to be able to stick the tube nozzle up into it and give it a healthy squirt--at least a tablespoon. Replace the pump...pump a few times in the dry mode to spread the grease all over the inside of the cylinder...you're done. Lubing the pump twice a year when you replace the joker valve will keep it pumping smoothly...put a rebuild kit in it every 5-6 years (kit for your pump is PHIRKC...the kit without a C in the part # is for PHII pumps made before 6/92...some of the parts in 'em are NOT interchangeable)...your toilet will provide at least 20 years of reliable trouble-free service with only one or two minor part replacements.

Btw...the SuperLube grease works great on winches, y-valves, seacocks and anything else that needs a grease that doesn't just wash out when it gets wet.
--Peggie
 
Nov 18, 2010
2,441
Catalina 310 Hingham, MA
Just wanted to follow up on this. I changed the joker valve. It didn't look too bad. Nothing changed. Then I tried the flapper valve. No change. So I just rebuilt the whole pump. It works fine now. Don't know where the actual issue was as all the o rings looked fine.