Vacuflush Question

M

mawyatt

New Member
Dec 13, 2007
1,001
Clearwater, Fl
Boat Info
2008 Sundancer 38DA
Engines
8.1L Mercruisers
How long should water stand in the toilet bowl in a Vacuflush system. If we don't activate the vacumn pump (power the head up with the DC panel switch) without any vacunm the water stays in the bowl, however if we activate the pump to create a vacunm the water leaks out in an hour or two. Is this normal or is the seal weak and needs lubrication and/or replacement?

Thanks,

Mike
 
Mike ,
Mine stays full untill it evoporates and it is a 2001 system. It may sit for weeks and I will still have water in the bowel, Sounds like you have a leak. Some folks put a small amount of mineral oil in a flush or two for the valves...this may help your problem short term
 
i have a question too...
my pump will kick on about every hour and a half for about 20 "ka-dunks." water does NOT get sucked out of the bowl so i'm not losing vacuum through the commode (at the 1/2 ball). not sure what duckbill valves do but is this likely a problem at the pump? i've had this boat for almost 4 years and have never had a problem with the vacuflush.
 
After a flush we never hear the pump again until the next flush and the water does not drain/leak away between flushes.
 
mine USED to be like that too. i love the vacuflush system but as complicated as the system is, it's a wonder they work as well as they do. there are just so many points for failure. i knew this day would come, esp in a 19 yo boat. i'm sure all the components are not original but almost 4 years of trouble free use exceeds my expectations. it's gonna happen to all of us sooner or later :smt009
 
Every so often take a rag to the inside of the bowl and, while the pedal is depressed, wipe the underside of the opening. Then quickly apply a small amount of petroleum gel (or plumber's grease?) to that seal area. It should hold water for quite a while. Also flush a capful of heavy mineral oil (available at pharmacies) to keep the flapper valves soft. (There are four per system.) Do this once or twice a season.

I found this helpful on the previous boat after completely dismantling the whole system.
 
Mawyatt,
You have a leak somewhere. Vacuum is pulling the water out of the bowl. Your sig indicates a 2008, so it's most likely not going to be from old parts. Something may have went down and is now caught somewhere. Possibly at the duck bill valves. You will have to take the hoses off at the pump to check them. Make sure that the seal at the ball valve is OK. I had a small wad of TP get between the two bowl seals once that caused a leak.
 
The leak MUST be at the bowl - he's losing water. There are abrasive swabs that can help smooth the seal. Vacuflush specialists may be able to supply them for you. Lubricants are cleaning are also good suggestions. The bowl seal may be distorted or defective and if that's the case it may need to be repositioned or replaced.

The duckbills however, shouldn't come under fire unless water is staying in the bowl, but the pump is running too often.
 
Your bowl seal is leaking and you can try and fix it as others have suggested. You may need to have it replaced as it may be defective. You can get one here:

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

but being as your boat is new, the Sea Ray dealer may fix it. When my boat was new (i.e. 2 weeks old), the port side head would not hold water and they put a new bowl seal on it. I replace all my bowl seals last year... it's an easy job... there is a big hose clamp on the bottom of the bowl that basically comes off and you lift the bowl off and replace the rubber seal. They are two piece designs and if you ever have had someone leave their waste in the toilet for an extended period of time, that seal can hold oder. Because they are two pieces, air can leak out the bottom and water can leak out the top and waste can soak in between the two pieces... That whole "if it's yellow let it mellow and if it's brown flush it down" ruins those seals.
 
Very true. (some time ago, Gary took offense to the "if it's yellow, let it mellow" philosophy. He was correct, but of course, back then he knew how to spell "odor") :grin:

But I digress...

At any rate, Vacuflushes are simple and reliable, but whenever possible, the bowls, hoses and pumps should be dealing with WATER, not waste. Holding that pedal for a few extra seconds will shorten the time between pump-outs, but extend the time between nasty maintenance jobs.
 
ok - so what's the proper way to flush these babies? i've been told to step on the pedal and let it snap back into position. didnt know to hold the pedal down. what's protocol for a simple #1 deposit?
 
That's ok for liquids, but before leaving the boat for an extended period, send some water through.

For solids, it's a good idea to add some water by lifting up on the pedal. Then flush and hold the pedal for several seconds before letting it snap back up.

The more solids and paper that you send down, the more water should follow.

I believe it was Peggy Hall who recommended releasing pressure from the system before leaving for extended periods. I've been doing that, and I have 4 duckbills that are working perfectly after 12 years. It's not a big deal, most people will encounter a jam way before that, but if a 5 second effort extends their life, it's worth it to me.
 
WOW! 12 years. i called northeast sanitation on long island today. mike over there was very helpful. he says you'll normally get 3-4 years out of duckbills - i'm on my 4th season at least (i dont know when the previous owner changed them but i'll own this boat for 4 years at the end of july). he feels this is most likely my problem. so i ordered a set. we'll see how it works out.
 
Ron,

A cycling pump is a classic symptom of worn or clogged duckbills. Note though: they're packaged in sets of 2, but the pumps have 2 of them on each side, so you'll need a total of 4. I also keep a set of spares.
 
Changing duck bill valves every 3 years under *your* terms (i.e. a clean flushed system) and not the terms of "honey, the toilet is backed up" is much better. I've gotten 4 years out of my master head but my guest head (kids and guests) seems to have issues every year with other stuff going down (AA batteries, dental floss, cloth rags, cigarettes, etc.)
 
RollerCoastr said:
You're not suggesting pro-active replacement of duckbills though, right?

AA batteries? Is there a good story behind that one?
Click to expand...

Changing duck bill valves is a 15 minute job if you can do it when you have flushed some clean water and soap through the system first. So yes... I say change them out every 3-4 years on your terms... not the toilets. Waiting for them to fail is not fun.

I got offshore last year to dump my tank and the duckbills in the macerator pump were not working and all it did was slosh the waste around... what a mess.

I don't have any stories behind stuff that goes down the toilet because no one admits to it so it never really happens. It's gremlins in the bilge adding the stuff I guess.
 
Dang, I was looking forward to hearing how batteries got down there. You're not even going to guess? The old Gary would!

It's rare for duckbills to fail suddenly. It's much more likely that something gets stuck in them, in which case they could be brand-new and that won't help at all.

Anothey likely scenario is Ron's. They'll starting taking longer to build a vacuum, and/or begin to lose vacuum.
 
I still have nightmares about retrieving paper towels and plastic applicators.
 
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