Free maintnace advise from a pro

They are fairly easy to change ,that is if your pump is easy to get to. They are located behind the fittings going into and out of the pump. Be sure to remember the orientation of the duckbill when you remove them to be sure you replace in the same direction.(opposite sides of pump have duckbills facing different direction.Pointing in on one side and out on the other)
 
There is a third possibility that is more expensive and hopefully will not come into play. The rubber diaphram mechainism that activates the microswitch that causes the pump to cycle. If something has been flushed down the head that is sharp it can damage the rubber (think small hole) and the system starts to cycle for short periods of time that gradually become longer and eventually it will not shut off. The part is a little pricey and the change out is messier than duck bills. Start with the easy stuff.
 
MC- they are are fairly easy (even if unpleasant) to change. I recommend flushing with a lot of water first. It's an initiation of sorts. Have fun.

As far as cheap - I think they are about $30 for a set, but I can't remember for sure.
 
Pirate said:
MC- they are are fairly easy (even if unpleasant) to change. I recommend flushing with a lot of water first. It's an initiation of sorts. Have fun.

As far as cheap - I think they are about $30 for a set, but I can't remember for sure.
Click to expand...

It doesn't look like the system has really been used all that much. Heck, when I bought it, the guy had conditioner in the tank, and there's not even a perceivable odor when you open the waste cap topside.

I haven't had a chance to check the manual on this yet...but I suspect I just:

1. Shut off power to the pump
2. Remove hoses going in and coming out of the pump (I presume I should have some towels and a bucket standing by?).
3. Find and replace the 4 duckbills
4. Reassemble??
 
Yes that is the procedure. However the advice to flush water through the system is very important for "working conditions." Even if it smells very little you will be glad you used lots of water to clean things out. I generally flush until the tank is full and then pump the tank. A bucket and a sponge are good to have on hand as well. It would not hurt to take a digital pic or at least draw a picture of what things look like the first time you do this so you remember if you get interupted while working on this and come back to it later. Once you've done a change out it's a "piece of cake" assuming you have the room to work which can be a whole other story.
 
Be sure to remember the orientation of the duckbill when you remove them to be sure you replace in the same direction.(opposite sides of pump have duckbills facing different direction.Pointing in on one side and out on the other)
Click to expand...

I just want to clarify this, because I think it could be taken either way.

The duckbills are installed in the same direction on both sides of the pump: they point "downstream"
 
Good postings on this one...
Duckbills are the most likely culprit when you have a "short cycling" vacuflush pump.
Bowl seals, also cause the same problem. What we usually do is ask if water is staying in the bowl. If the bowl is going dry, then the bowl seal is leaking. If the water is staying in the bowl but the pump is still cycling then change the duckbills. If the duckbills don't fix it then you have a vacum leak somewhere. These can be difficult to find. I remember one where the leak was actually the plastic nipple on the bottom of the toilet itself.
Took quite a bit of "process of elimination" :) to find that one!
 
RollerCoastr said:
I just want to clarify this, because I think it could be taken either way.
The duckbills are installed in the same direction on both sides of the pump: they point "downstream"
Click to expand...

You got it. The stuff goes through the big holes and out the slits. Can't back up that way.
 
MC1600 said:
Heck, when I bought it, the guy had conditioner in the tank.
Click to expand...

Conditioner? That could be good, or he may have been trying to fix a leak.

If it's not actually conditioner, it may have dried the bowl seal out. The tests listed above (holding water) would answer that question.
 
Four Suns said:
There was a thread last year on this and I posted how I change the valves on my 480...

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2319&highlight=juice&page=3
Click to expand...

Gary and others - THANK YOU for your very good explanation on how to get through this job. I just finished it, and it really wasn't that bad at all.

Now for the bad news...neither the new duckbills or vaseline on the bowl seal fixed my problem.

So what should I look to next?? Again, when I turn the pump on, it goes on and off in about 10-15 second increments. It appears to be holding water in the bowl, and I am not hearing any air leaks or anything around the pump (shouldn't be either with the teflon tape I used when putting it back together).

Any other thoughts on what to look at next??
 
Wow. If it is cycling every 15 seconds it has to be a pretty substantial leak. You are going to have to inspect every single connection for tightness. Maybe fill a hand sprayer bottle with water and spray all possibilities,water might exagerate a small hiss. This is how I found a leak that was on the botttom side of the bowl to pedestal gasket.Bowl was holding the water but air was leaking underneath. Loosened bowl clamp,twisted bowl, and retightened. When I sprayed it with water you could see the water dissappear from around seal ring.

hope this helps good luck
 
Just remembering back to a previous post, it sounds like it might be the diaphragm.
 
Assuming you changed all *FOUR* duckbill valves, you now have to find the leak elsewhere. It could be a number of things ranging from a crack in the small tank the pump is mounted on to a loose clamp to a loose or bad PVC fitting on the duckbill valves to a leaking hose to a etc. etc...

Your boat isn't that old though...

I would invest in a vacuum gauge and test one section at a time. Look at the bottom of this page:

http://www.sealandsanitation.com/vacuflush_parts.htm

I've never used one as my issues are usually from debris going down the system and are easily fixed.
 
Four Suns said:
Assuming you changed all *FOUR* duckbill valves, you now have to find the leak elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Are you sure all these systems have 4? My dealer told me I only had 2 - one on either side of the pump. I'm thinking it might be time to just take the dayum thing in and hope that Passport will cover part of it.
 
MC1600 said:
Are you sure all these systems have 4? My dealer told me I only had 2 - one on either side of the pump. I'm thinking it might be time to just take the dayum thing in and hope that Passport will cover part of it.
Click to expand...

I think it's one pair on either side of the pump.
 
I went and looked at the parts manual (the one online at the Sea Ray site) and you have two pumps on top of your tank. One is the overboard discharge pump and one is the vacuum pump for the toilet. Are you sure you changed the duckbills in the right pump? The overboard discharge pump is the one that pumps the sewage overboard and has a single duckbill valve on each side. The vacuum pump for the head, however, has two duckbill valves on each side... If you only had one duckbill valve on each side, you changed the wrong ones (although it didn't hurt) and your problem could still be the duckbill valves on the vacuum tank.

Go here:

http://www.searay.com/Archives_Manuals/Sea_Ray_Archives/parts_manuals/2005/2005 260DA.pdf

And look at page 63 and tell me which pump you changed the valves on.
 
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