Free maintnace advise from a pro

I wouldn't start swapping the expensive parts out until you know where the problem is.... That could be frustrating and it would be cheaper to get someone else to track the real problem down and fix it.

I'm not convinced the duckbill valves can be ruled out since he said he only put one on each side of the pump.... I wonder if he changed them on the wrong pump....

If you have a vacuflush system on a boat, knowledge of those pumps and how to change the duckbill valves is a requirement...
 
I had to replace my vacuume switch on my VacuFlush a few boats back. It was a few years ago but I remember calling SeaLand Co. direct and a very nice women talked me thru how to "test" if it was the switch or not. I remember unscrewing it (after removing leads marked A & B) and something about the spring on the underside turning or not turning decides if thats your problem or not. I know I had the SAME symptoms as you and I changed duckbills and bowl seal, then called Sealand Customer Service-I wish I had called them first! If I remember right the part was 100 bucks or so but It did the trick. Beats using a Bucket! Good Luck.
 
I wouldn't start swapping the expensive parts out until you know where the problem is.... That could be frustrating and it would be cheaper to get someone else to track the real problem down and fix it.

I'm not convinced the duckbill valves can be ruled out since he said he only put one on each side of the pump.... I wonder if he changed them on the wrong pump....

If you have a vacuflush system on a boat, knowledge of those pumps and how to change the duckbill valves is a requirement...

Well at this point, I'm going to let the pros figure it out, and maybe I'll get lucky and get some Passport coverage (though, I'm only mildly optimistic).

I am sure I changed the duckbills on the right pump. It's the one with the macerator on top of it that sits above the small tank right behind the main tank. When I went to get the parts from MM, I confirmed there were only 2, and even went through the change-out procedure with a mechanic that was there.

Could mine be a different pump given the size and year differences in our boats??
 
We are in the process of buying a 2006 290DA. It was sold at last years boat show in January 2007. Can you tell me if it would be worth buying a comprehinsive warranty or what kind of problems we might expect? The boat has less than 50 hours on it.
 
The "macerator" pump is also called the overboard discharge pump. That is the wrong pump.... If you in fact changed the duckbill valves in the macerator pump, there are only a total of two duckbills. That will not fix your problem though. I've never heard of a vacuflush system's vacuum tank with just two valves but I may be wrong (I doubt it).

Good luck... I wouldn't let the "mechanic" at my dealer touch my vacuflush system as they couldn't even fix the catches on my fishbox lid let alone take apart or identify a duckbill. Let us know what he finds.
 
We are in the process of buying a 2006 290DA. It was sold at last years boat show in January 2007. Can you tell me if it would be worth buying a comprehinsive warranty or what kind of problems we might expect? The boat has less than 50 hours on it.

You will want to make another posting to get advise on this one. Most people skip over threads that are on page 5.

Edit: correct in a new thread
 
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The "macerator" pump is also called the overboard discharge pump. That is the wrong pump.... If you in fact changed the duckbill valves in the macerator pump, there are only a total of two duckbills. That will not fix your problem though. I've never heard of a vacuflush system's vacuum tank with just two valves but I may be wrong (I doubt it).

Good luck... I wouldn't let the "mechanic" at my dealer touch my vacuflush system as they couldn't even fix the catches on my fishbox lid let alone take apart or identify a duckbill. Let us know what he finds.

Gary - I have 2 pumps on my tank. One is for the macerator. The other is my vacuum pump. My vacuum pump has a motor that rotates the plunger/bellow. I understand that inside that pump is a diaphragm that macerates whatever goes through there. I assure you what I'm talking about is the main vacuum pump. From the picture you posted, I am talking about the larger pump just to the left of the "Holding Tank" label.

If there are, in fact, 4 duckbills in there, they escaped me. I completely removed the pump from the top of the tank, and only found the 2 duckbills.

Either way, I guess we'll see what I find out at this point. I really wanted to try and do this myself, but by the time I "try" a new vacuum sensor, or "try" a new plunger/bellow, I will have paid for the repairs twice.

Thanks again for all your help!
 
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OK... I'm convinced you got the right pump...

But.. I still think you have more duckbills on your vacuum tank than you found. There is a duckbill on directly on each side of the pump but there is also another a few inches upstream and downstream as well... they help hold the vacuum...
 
I'm watching this carefully. My Vacuflush is new to me, but I know that it has not been used much at all. When pumping out is there any trick? It seemed like a very slow flow. Do I need to open anything to pump out and increase the flow?
 
I'm watching this carefully. My Vacuflush is new to me, but I know that it has not been used much at all. When pumping out is there any trick? It seemed like a very slow flow. Do I need to open anything to pump out and increase the flow?

You don't have to open anything.
Normally the system breaths trough the filter etc.

Maybe the dirt is a little old and thicker..... :grin:

How do you know it's slow?

Peter
 
You don't have to open anything.
Normally the system breaths trough the filter etc.

Maybe the dirt is a little old and thicker..... :grin:

How do you know it's slow?

Peter
I'm talking about emptying the tank, pumping that out, seems to be much slower than the port-o-potty with pump out hose I had in the old boat. That's why I was wondering if there was a step I was missing.
 
OK... I'm convinced you got the right pump...

But.. I still think you have more duckbills on your vacuum tank than you found. There is a duckbill on directly on each side of the pump but there is also another a few inches upstream and downstream as well... they help hold the vacuum...

Well, much to my chagrin, looks like I'm gonna try and take that pump out again. :smt021
 
If you don't find the duckbill and end up paying a tech, plan on being on the boat to watch the repair process. If it's not the duck bills, the tech will pull out his vacuum leak testing kit which is interesting to learn about. I've seen techs sit in the bilge and get on the horn to Vacuflush and get technical advice as was suggested earlier.
 
If you don't find the duckbill and end up paying a tech, plan on being on the boat to watch the repair process. If it's not the duck bills, the tech will pull out his vacuum leak testing kit which is interesting to learn about. I've seen techs sit in the bilge and get on the horn to Vacuflush and get technical advice as was suggested earlier.
My current issue is that I have to gently tap the side of the vacuumflush generator tank sitting underneath the pump motor about every 4 or 5 flushes in order to trigger the pump motor to come back on to build a vacuum. I'm leaning toward a defective vacuum switch but was curious if anyone else has ever experienced this before and have any recommendations for fixing? Thanks
 
I need some advise. I have a new boat and there is an orange discharge coming from one of the foam plugs. Is this normal?
 

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Yes, totally normal.
 

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