HI Peggy,
Thanks for your work on this. I had called the Ann Arbor office (where, two years ago, I bought a set of two joker valves) and learned that the Tecma Comfortmate had been discontinued, and is no longer supported. There was no suggestion of a replacement / substitute, and nothing they could do for me. I think i have already called Grand Bay Marine, but will try again.
A guy at HeadSync.com has been the most helpful, and recommended the Jabsco 1.5 in. valve. However, the outer flange is so close to the “flaps” (I don’t know the term) that, once I cut that flange off, I think the valve would distort within the tube and then block everything up. The only solution I can think of is the Raritan 1.5 in “vortex” (I think it is called), because it has a longer body between flaps and flange. So, I could perhaps install it (with the help of a heat gun) over the Tecma hard plastic fitting and then the waste tube over the valve body. (Tecma is apparently metric, and its valve part has an OD of 1.41 in.) However, the Raritan is reported to be a bit more sturdy than a Jabsco, and so the force of the Tecma pump becomes an issue again.
The other possibility is to get a smaller size valve and use some sort of plumbing tape (self-adhesive) to “fatten” the OD of that smaller valve so it fits within the existing apertures.
Or, I could step the waste tube down (or up) to fit a more standard joker valve.
And all this to save having to buy a completely new head, for want of a joker valve. (The joke being on me, I guess).
I was hoping that I was not alone in this quandary and that somebody else had figured this out. But that is where things stand.
Any help, again, is greatly appreciated.
cheers
Dan
