another vacuflush question

I

IslandTime

Member
May 18, 2013
96
USA
Boat Info
Boatless
Engines
Boatless
As always thanks for the great advice here, in advance.

260DA - 2011 vacuflush system very LIGHTLY used for 3 years since boat was purchased new. liquids only!
system starts up great, pulls great pressure after running less than a minute. vacuum pump will then continue to cycle every 1-2 minutes for another 30 seconds - will not stop and is a battery draw problem when not on shore power.

I can hear light "hissing sound" in / around bottom of toilet but bowl holds water very well and no sign of leak.
no bubbles, no hose leaks, did the soapy water test,etc,... Vacuum pump is working great. pulled cover to vacuum swith and adjusted/ tightened it slightly but still same problem ..

Only way to stop the Hissing sound (air I presume) is very precise adjustment by hand to the flush pedal which is impossible to emulate by adjusting the water valve / screws...

I can also hear waste water trickling (what sounds like back down the system towards the toilet in the large sanitation hose) after the system is pressurized after a flush...

went to boat today and thoroughly cleaned / lubed the seal and flush ball which were clean to begin with.

I am perplexed as this system is very clean and lightly used, seal and ball seemed fine, no water leaks.

any advice/ guesses as to what this is - still maybe seal or pressure switch? possibly water valve or duckbills?

my marina mechanic is not real versed in vacuflush so i'm hoping to narrow this down myself..

thanks guys and someday I hope to give back more than I take from this forum !
 
electricaldoctor said:
If you leave water in the bowl for an extended period of time, will it maintain it's level?
Is it possible that your bowl is cracked?
Click to expand...


water will not leave bowl at all ...stays put months at a time

no signs of a crack ( parden the pun). I was up close and personal way too much today.
 
Take soapy water in a old spray bottle and spry it around where the noise is coming from. I'm thinking a hose on the rear of the head, under the bowl?
 
Last edited:
Did you try cleaning the bowl seal (open the ball valve and run a soft towel around the underside of the rubber seal)? I had similar symptoms with the run on pumping, yet no loss of water in bowl. I ended up replacing the bowl seal and that fixed it.
 
ZZ13 said:
Did you try cleaning the bowl seal (open the ball valve and run a soft towel around the underside of the rubber seal)? I had similar symptoms with the run on pumping, yet no loss of water in bowl. I ended up replacing the bowl seal and that fixed it.
Click to expand...

sure did..cleaned it very good and seemed to be in good shape.

certainly probably a good spot to start with replacing the bowl seal and could eliminate that if it does not solve the problem.. just seems unusual that would be causing a pressure loss with no water leaving the bowl.
 
This hissing sound that you are describing sure sounds like the cause of your vacuum loss which will tell the pump to keep cycling. Double clamp the discharge hose behind the toilet. It it continues, then perhaps there is a pin hole leak in your hose?? You have to get your hand around the hose back there to stop the hissing noise.
 
Island time, apologies I did not respond sooner. I believe your problem will be solved with a flush ball replacement kit. There are two rubber gaskets around the brass foot pedal shaft connected to the flush ball. Most likely those are leaking and that is where you are hearing the hissing sound. The replacement kit should have the shaft with it in addition to the flush ball. While you are doing this project, you should also consider replacing the spring cartridge for the foot pedal as well. Because this is a vacuum on this side of the duck bills, you would have to be able to see on the inside of your system identify bubbles. So that test will not work until you get to the pump unit itself.....good luck!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Maybe we use the head differently than others. We only turn the "key" on when flushing then turn it off until the next use.
 
thanks for all the replies! going to get back down in the next few days and hopefully trace it down...
 
on my head there are four places that can leak air near the bowl but not drain the water

Spring flush cartridge
ball valve shaft o rings
bowl to base seal
hose and connection at back of base

All four have been mentioned individually above. The first three can be serviced with the seal kit and a service kit

You could check the fit an alignment of the bowl seal first but I do not see how that would change if it was not leaking before.

You could turn off the system and fill the bowl and hose (all the way back to the pump) with water. You might be able
to spot the water leaking where the air leak is although it is tough to see a little leak on a white surf without food coloring.

Be careful if you try coloring, I do not know what surfaces it may stain if any.
 
Happy Hour IV said:
on my head there are four places that can leak air near the bowl but not drain the water

Spring flush cartridge
ball valve shaft o rings
bowl to base seal
hose and connection at back of base

All four have been mentioned individually above. The first three can be serviced with the seal kit and a service kit

You could check the fit an alignment of the bowl seal first but I do not see how that would change if it was not leaking before.

You could turn off the system and fill the bowl and hose (all the way back to the pump) with water. You might be able
to spot the water leaking where the air leak is although it is tough to see a little leak on a white surf without food coloring.

Be careful if you try coloring, I do not know what surfaces it may stain if any.
Click to expand...


Thanks for all the feedback again!

I also called and troubleshot with Dometic and Northeast Sanitation this am.

They are thinking ball valve shaft O Rings because I can slow / stop the hissing sound by manipulating the foot pedal sideways - anyway- ordered that replacement kit, new toilet seal, and also a new vacuum switch for the pump as I stupidly went in and adjusted it manually- i'm told it comes factory set and I've probably messed up the calibration... so install a new one... Also, i'm told the silicone grease loses its viscocity around the shaft O rings over a few years and this is a common problem with the vacuum leak. Many people live with the pump cycling on and off, guess i'm just too OCD for that.

i'll try this on Thursday and see if we can nail it down.
 
Quick update - installed new ball/ shaft kit - new seal new vacuum switch on tank and problem seems to be solved. likely culprit was vacuum loss through shaft running from pedal to half ball. hopefully this will hold - definitely noticed all silicone grease gone on old O rings on shaft and around housing -guess this is a 2-3 year maintenance item now.
thanks for all the great advice here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,187
Messages
1,428,227
Members
61,099
Latest member
Lorenzo512
Back
Top