Very hard to pump dry

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TONY A

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Mar 7, 2005
30
Hunter 30_74-83 JACKSON, NJ
My head is extreamly hard to pump in the dry mode. What might be the problem? My wife must use all she has to pump dry, I get a good workout too. I won't mention I think the whole system is plumbed wrong to boot. Waste runs from the head to a Y valve, which runs A-to holding tank, B-overboard. (I run to holding tank, the overboard section is closed and locked.) There is no vented loop anywhere in the system. Thank you.
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,959
- - LIttle Rock
Nothing wrong with your plumbing

If there were, you'd have problems in both the wet and dry modes. But there are a couple of possible causes for your problem: 1. When--if ever--was the lst time the toilet was lubricated? If it's been a while--or never--and it's also a bit stiff in the wet mode, put a couple of tablespoons of mineral oil (baby oil) in the bowl and flush it. If that cures the problem, keep it lubricated. 2. If the toilet is a Jabsco that was mfr'd in the last 7 years, the problem is the wet/dry valve...which isn't a valve, but just a little "gate" (Jabsco calls it a cam) that the lever swings to block or unblock the flow of flush water. Due to either a design or tooling defect that Jabsco apparently doesn't intend to correct till the mold for that li'l doodad wears out--if ever, it hangs...almost always in the "dry" mode, creating backpressure that feels like a clog. Jiggling the wet dry lever sometimes frees it, but a replacement wet/dry cam assembly and some surgery--or better yet, a better quality toilet!--is the only permanent fix. Meanwhile, continuing to apply a "gorilla" flushing technique is likely to break it off or break something else in the pump.
 

TONY A

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Mar 7, 2005
30
Hunter 30_74-83 JACKSON, NJ
Wilcox

This head appears to be a Wilcox Head-Mate Md# 1460. The head instruction on the inside of the seat lid say "Wilcox" the only place I find a name on it. Looking at the Wilcox web site sure looks the same as the Head-Mate.
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,959
- - LIttle Rock
If it's a Wilcox. it's HeadMate

Headmate is the only manual toilet W-C makes that costs less than $700. In that case, I'd try lubricating it. If that doesn't work, and if the toilet is more than 10 years old, it may be time for a new toilet. 'Cuz although the Headmate is considerably above jabsco in quality, it's still a "budget" model with a lifespan of 7-10 years.
 
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