Ronxxx
Member
VacuFlush Saga
Sea Ray 400DB
If you have never had a problem with your Sealand Dometic Vacu-Flush System, don’t bother reading this but if you think you may ever have a problem, read on…
About a year ago we had friends visit, man, woman and two daughters. The boat systems got a pretty good work out, especially the VacuFlush black water system. Unfortunately, the Vacuflush system failed the final exam and one of the two independent systems started running (the vacuum pump in the VG2 Vacuum Generator) about every 5 minutes.
Yachting is an interesting thing and you can generally find an expert for every phase and system in the boat – except the black water systems. Just try to find someone that a: does not mind grovelling around in the muck and smell and b: actually knows something about the systems so that you are not paying for the learning curve. That combination certainly does not exist where my boat is so it was time to learn the system first hand…
I went to the wise men, West marine, a few friends and the internet. It was pretty obvious and simple that my duckbill valves had worn out and had to be replaced. I bought a set of four and set about replacing them. After a fun filled few hours getting the tank out of its hiding place (I am sure that Mr. Sea-Ray’s daughter had been knocked up by some boat mechanic and he spent the rest of his life designing boats that would challenge and try to kill anyone that worked in them), pouring some really interesting looking stuff all over the dog and I (the dog loves me now) and discovering some new and exciting smells, a very brave friend and I got the tank out, cleaned up (sort of) and sanitized (sort of too), we changed the Duckbill Valves and spent a couple of fun hours (although not so dirty and smelly) putting it back where we found it… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
The wise men said it was a simple matter. Either I had replaced the Duckbill Valves backwards or had tightened them so tight that they were forcing themselves open. They figured that either way, I had probably ruined them so I bought another set and got to repeating the procedure (the dog loves me even more now with all the great smells coming from me). After another fun and exhilarating experience, got it back… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
I have stopped talking to the wise men.
I started thinking that maybe it was not the duckbill valves but maybe the toilet was allowing air into the system somewhere between the underside of the ball in the toilet (the toilet held water with no problem but the vacuum tank kept its five minute vigil) and the tank so I pulled apart the whole toilet, the 1 ½ inch hard rubber hose all the way to the vacuum tank, replaced o-rings, greased all rubber to plastic fittings (plumbers silicone grease). I didn’t think this would help since everything looked pretty good throughout the pre-vacuum system but I did not have the heart to take that damn box out again even if the dog loved me… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
I read somewhere from some expert that the problem obviously had to be the bellows. The duckbill valves were pretty fool proof but bellows go bad and when they do… air all over… so I bought the bellows and all the associated o-rings and clamps and stuff, got that damn box out again, changed them, got it back in and… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well… I hate experts…
The dog stays close – it’s much more fun than chasing cats. We put the boat up for the summer on the dry then so I gave up and went back north to wonder about it.
Well here we are back about a month ago and there it is… the same problem and so much for ignoring the problem and maybe it will go away… I gave a lot of consideration to the idea that we really only needed one toilet (the other one worked great from day one and has never given any trouble) but the admiral said no, she would not have the serfs peeing in her private pool and in all fairness, if you have a system, it should work or you are starting out with strikes against you – and besides, the dog was having too much fun. Back at it - but this time I had a few more smarts (a few months away from the smells cleared my brain). I took the system out, blocked the inlet port and ran a power line directly to the battery so I could fix it and test it before putting it back… haha
The dog went back to chasing cats because, since it had not been used since the first re and re it was actually pretty clean and odor free (sort of). I checked it all over, loosened and retightened the duckbill valves, poured a gallon of water into it, crossed my fingers, toes, eyes legs and everything else that could be crossed hoping against hope for a miracle… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well… sigh
Now that I had it out on the deck, I noticed that every time it built up a vacuum, I could hear the bloop-bloop of air bubbles coming through the water which narrowed down the vacuum leak to the polypropylene box under the water level, the (pesky) duckbill valves, the inlet elbow area or the dip tube assembly area. I ordered the o-rings for the dip tube assembly, and the 1 ½ inch seal where the inlet elbow fits, changed them and with great optimism (after all I have replaced every o-ring and seal in the whole system)… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well… sigh ^%$&*
Now I am looking for somewhere to buy a stick of dynamite… I went over every millimeter of the polypropylene box with a magnifying glass looking for a crack or blemish, pressurized the tank and poured dish soap all over it looking for the soap bubbles… nothing. Even though the vacuum pump came on every five minutes regularly pretty well negating the possibility that the vacuum snap action switch is bad, I pulled it off anyway, cleaned and greased the rubber gasket and put it back in. I inspected the inlet elbow and the dip tube with a magnifying glass looking for cracks… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
By now I am thoroughly impressed at how stubborn this ship can be and have decided to give up boating and take up knitting. The admiral is not talking to me because by now I am inventing new Chinese words for everything about this barge and the dog is hiding behind the admiral…
I have replaced everything in the system except the pump motor, the polypropylene box itself, the inlet tube and the dip tube assembly. I took another real close look at the dip tube assembly and decided that it did after all look a little aged and there were hairline cracks in the glue seam so I ordered the dip tube assembly and replaced it. Of course we know what happened… flicked the switch… but wait, it did not reactivate for ten or 15 minutes – wow, progress – a year down the line and about $300 lighter in the wallet – but progress…
The only thing left now was the inlet elbow. I had been blocking it with a plug and duct tape so I bought a foot of 1 ½ inch PVC pipe and glued a cap on it, put it in the inlet seal and plugged it in … 5 minutes, ten minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, two hours, a whole day, the vacuum box held its vacuum – I had tears in my eyes.
Duct tape is great stuff but it is not air-tight and that was the final step, making the plug air tight so I could test it properly. I did not even mind the couple of hours in the smelly black hole where it hides reinstalling it and with a light heart and the promise of calm seas and fair skies ahead… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
I had tears in my eyes again and I simply ran out of names to call Sealand, Dometic, VacuFlush and Sea Ray but after all, the problem was not bad at this point and the solution was easy (sort of). When I replaced the tank and hooked up the waste hoses I forgot that the 1 ½ inch hard rubber waste hose has virtually no flexibility and the inlet hose was torquing the inlet tube at a weird angle allowing air to get through the seal. I rerouted the hose so that there was no force at the inlet elbow and everything worked – sort of. The vacuum pump still comes on about every 2 hours but I am pretty sure that is simply that the inlet elbow (the only thing in the system not changed) is wearing and scored a little on the tube so I have ordered a new one and will replace it – some day - but for now, every two hours is ok, I can sleep through that…
When I first saw the VacuFlush system I was pretty impressed by the way everything disappeared so definitely, suddenly and completely when you stepped on the pedal. I even made the dog wait outside in case it sucked her down with it but after this adventure I am not so impressed with the faster-than-light-turd-travel.
Sea Ray 400DB
If you have never had a problem with your Sealand Dometic Vacu-Flush System, don’t bother reading this but if you think you may ever have a problem, read on…
About a year ago we had friends visit, man, woman and two daughters. The boat systems got a pretty good work out, especially the VacuFlush black water system. Unfortunately, the Vacuflush system failed the final exam and one of the two independent systems started running (the vacuum pump in the VG2 Vacuum Generator) about every 5 minutes.
Yachting is an interesting thing and you can generally find an expert for every phase and system in the boat – except the black water systems. Just try to find someone that a: does not mind grovelling around in the muck and smell and b: actually knows something about the systems so that you are not paying for the learning curve. That combination certainly does not exist where my boat is so it was time to learn the system first hand…
I went to the wise men, West marine, a few friends and the internet. It was pretty obvious and simple that my duckbill valves had worn out and had to be replaced. I bought a set of four and set about replacing them. After a fun filled few hours getting the tank out of its hiding place (I am sure that Mr. Sea-Ray’s daughter had been knocked up by some boat mechanic and he spent the rest of his life designing boats that would challenge and try to kill anyone that worked in them), pouring some really interesting looking stuff all over the dog and I (the dog loves me now) and discovering some new and exciting smells, a very brave friend and I got the tank out, cleaned up (sort of) and sanitized (sort of too), we changed the Duckbill Valves and spent a couple of fun hours (although not so dirty and smelly) putting it back where we found it… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
The wise men said it was a simple matter. Either I had replaced the Duckbill Valves backwards or had tightened them so tight that they were forcing themselves open. They figured that either way, I had probably ruined them so I bought another set and got to repeating the procedure (the dog loves me even more now with all the great smells coming from me). After another fun and exhilarating experience, got it back… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
I have stopped talking to the wise men.
I started thinking that maybe it was not the duckbill valves but maybe the toilet was allowing air into the system somewhere between the underside of the ball in the toilet (the toilet held water with no problem but the vacuum tank kept its five minute vigil) and the tank so I pulled apart the whole toilet, the 1 ½ inch hard rubber hose all the way to the vacuum tank, replaced o-rings, greased all rubber to plastic fittings (plumbers silicone grease). I didn’t think this would help since everything looked pretty good throughout the pre-vacuum system but I did not have the heart to take that damn box out again even if the dog loved me… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
I read somewhere from some expert that the problem obviously had to be the bellows. The duckbill valves were pretty fool proof but bellows go bad and when they do… air all over… so I bought the bellows and all the associated o-rings and clamps and stuff, got that damn box out again, changed them, got it back in and… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well… I hate experts…
The dog stays close – it’s much more fun than chasing cats. We put the boat up for the summer on the dry then so I gave up and went back north to wonder about it.
Well here we are back about a month ago and there it is… the same problem and so much for ignoring the problem and maybe it will go away… I gave a lot of consideration to the idea that we really only needed one toilet (the other one worked great from day one and has never given any trouble) but the admiral said no, she would not have the serfs peeing in her private pool and in all fairness, if you have a system, it should work or you are starting out with strikes against you – and besides, the dog was having too much fun. Back at it - but this time I had a few more smarts (a few months away from the smells cleared my brain). I took the system out, blocked the inlet port and ran a power line directly to the battery so I could fix it and test it before putting it back… haha
The dog went back to chasing cats because, since it had not been used since the first re and re it was actually pretty clean and odor free (sort of). I checked it all over, loosened and retightened the duckbill valves, poured a gallon of water into it, crossed my fingers, toes, eyes legs and everything else that could be crossed hoping against hope for a miracle… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well… sigh
Now that I had it out on the deck, I noticed that every time it built up a vacuum, I could hear the bloop-bloop of air bubbles coming through the water which narrowed down the vacuum leak to the polypropylene box under the water level, the (pesky) duckbill valves, the inlet elbow area or the dip tube assembly area. I ordered the o-rings for the dip tube assembly, and the 1 ½ inch seal where the inlet elbow fits, changed them and with great optimism (after all I have replaced every o-ring and seal in the whole system)… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well… sigh ^%$&*
Now I am looking for somewhere to buy a stick of dynamite… I went over every millimeter of the polypropylene box with a magnifying glass looking for a crack or blemish, pressurized the tank and poured dish soap all over it looking for the soap bubbles… nothing. Even though the vacuum pump came on every five minutes regularly pretty well negating the possibility that the vacuum snap action switch is bad, I pulled it off anyway, cleaned and greased the rubber gasket and put it back in. I inspected the inlet elbow and the dip tube with a magnifying glass looking for cracks… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
By now I am thoroughly impressed at how stubborn this ship can be and have decided to give up boating and take up knitting. The admiral is not talking to me because by now I am inventing new Chinese words for everything about this barge and the dog is hiding behind the admiral…
I have replaced everything in the system except the pump motor, the polypropylene box itself, the inlet tube and the dip tube assembly. I took another real close look at the dip tube assembly and decided that it did after all look a little aged and there were hairline cracks in the glue seam so I ordered the dip tube assembly and replaced it. Of course we know what happened… flicked the switch… but wait, it did not reactivate for ten or 15 minutes – wow, progress – a year down the line and about $300 lighter in the wallet – but progress…
The only thing left now was the inlet elbow. I had been blocking it with a plug and duct tape so I bought a foot of 1 ½ inch PVC pipe and glued a cap on it, put it in the inlet seal and plugged it in … 5 minutes, ten minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, two hours, a whole day, the vacuum box held its vacuum – I had tears in my eyes.
Duct tape is great stuff but it is not air-tight and that was the final step, making the plug air tight so I could test it properly. I did not even mind the couple of hours in the smelly black hole where it hides reinstalling it and with a light heart and the promise of calm seas and fair skies ahead… flicked the switch and five minutes after it built up the vacuum, it came on again… and every 5 minutes after that as well…
I had tears in my eyes again and I simply ran out of names to call Sealand, Dometic, VacuFlush and Sea Ray but after all, the problem was not bad at this point and the solution was easy (sort of). When I replaced the tank and hooked up the waste hoses I forgot that the 1 ½ inch hard rubber waste hose has virtually no flexibility and the inlet hose was torquing the inlet tube at a weird angle allowing air to get through the seal. I rerouted the hose so that there was no force at the inlet elbow and everything worked – sort of. The vacuum pump still comes on about every 2 hours but I am pretty sure that is simply that the inlet elbow (the only thing in the system not changed) is wearing and scored a little on the tube so I have ordered a new one and will replace it – some day - but for now, every two hours is ok, I can sleep through that…
When I first saw the VacuFlush system I was pretty impressed by the way everything disappeared so definitely, suddenly and completely when you stepped on the pedal. I even made the dog wait outside in case it sucked her down with it but after this adventure I am not so impressed with the faster-than-light-turd-travel.
