vacuflush shutdown

[kenman]

the vacuflush on my 2000 310 engages for about 15 seconds until the breaker trips. the filter has never been changed & the tank has been pumped out. the dealer blames it on the pump motor. anybody have a similar experience?
$700 is hard to part with--I keep hearing a flushing sound

 

[CRUZ'N]

Ken, One obvious sign that your filter is shot,is the smell adjacent to your exterior hull vent. The other is , after opening the pump out cap, you'll think you were standing next to Mount Vesuvius. On line, filter can be $ 67 and IF your pump motor is shot, the rebuild kit is @ $ 229 before labor , good luck...

 

[bahamabreisus]

They will trip breakers if there is a clog in the system. Is it pulling water down when flushing?. If not you have clog somewhere in it

 

[Air O'Nautical]

Sounds to me like you need to dissemble the vaccume pump.
It's possible that some paper or other stuff is stuck in the pump or around the plunger.
If that's the case the pump has to work much harder to overcome the resistance of the foreign debris in there and will over heat the breaker and trip off.

This happened to mine a while back due to using the wrong type of paper in the system.
I was able to reuse all (2) o-ring seals but, replaced the duckbills (4) with new ones.

Good luck,
Mark

 

[Air O'Nautical]

Also, of course the dealer is going to blame the motor.
Why repair or clean it out....if you can replace it and just charge the customer!
Dealers will not take the chance of cleaning it, in case their is something wrong with it.
They don't want you back again with the same problem next weekend.
They will take the sure thing or safe way out....they are good at spending your money.

Mark

 

[Turtlesboat]

These pumps are very reliable and durable. Someone probably flushed something foreign. Grab some gloves, have a puke bucket nearby, and take the sucker apart.

 

[markrinker]

this thread jinx'd me...read it yesterday, and today the fwd system had no vacuum. panel switch on, not tripped. there is power at tank vacuum switch, but even when I bypass it, the motor doesn't even make so much as a click. aft system normal. holding tank <50%. only previous anomaly was fwd system would sometimes run on excessively, but shut off about the time I was ready to investigate. probably taxed the motor, or system was left on and let the motor and pump run against a big vacuum and use itself up when nobody on the boat. next time i'll fix the vacuum switch, pronto - and always shut the head systems OFF.

 

[markrinker]

Update - removed motor from pump and tested. DOA. Pump can be manually actuated, but emits a foul tank smell.

Hypothesis: A leak developed in the "bellows" seal at the pump and caused the tank to slowly lose vacuum. This is why the motor would kick on from time to time when system was not in use, and occasionally to run excessively (not making peak vacuum that the switch wanted) and eventually, the motor gave up the ghost.

Hopefully I can buy a few cheap parts to rebuild the pump head, and same with the motor...investigating...(there must be hundreds of these units going to the scrap yards near Hurricane Sandy!)

 

[markrinker]

Replaced motor and pump assembly, new duckbills. All is happy now. Not a job I want to do again...14yrs on the first unit, hopefully as many on this one.

If I were to do this again, I'd locate a five gallon pail of the blue stuff used in PortaPotties, pump the tanks, and flush 2.5 gallons down each toilet BEFORE beginning the work. At least the smell would be better, and any leaks would be immediately apparent from the presence of the blue...

 

[kenman]

Replaced motor and pump assembly, new duckbills. All is happy now. Not a job I want to do again...14yrs on the first unit, hopefully as many on this one.

If I were to do this again, I'd locate a five gallon pail of the blue stuff used in PortaPotties, pump the tanks, and flush 2.5 gallons down each toilet BEFORE beginning the work. At least the smell would be better, and any leaks would be immediately apparent from the presence of the blue...

eventhough my wife swears her poop don't stink, I'll take your advice on the blue stuff!