DIY Vacuflush Toilet Repair
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- Full time liveaboard, non-mechanic, figures out how to replace the half ball, spring unit and toilet seals … saving hundreds in labor costs! This is not a complete ‘how to’ video, but will hopefully inspire some other captains to dive in, get your hands dirty, and take a shot!
I think this content is so important for folks like us who think it's all sand bars and bikinis! Thanks!
Thank you Patrick, I so agree!
I just fixed a vacuflush on my boat. First I thought it was plugged up. Apparently not, but it wasn't until I'd taken most of the system apart three or four times, and got my arm inside the vacuum tank that I realized there was no blockage. Second, there are no good troubleshooting guides anywhere on line that I could find. (Google used to be the best, but not having improved in the past 20 years it basically sucks. I've been looking for information on safety shock absorbing material and Google only finds the same stuff over and over and over again. And it and Amazon finds all manner of stuff that for a safety use is dangerous and wrong. They're monopolies, they don't have to care.)
So the things that can go wrong. The four duckbill valves. The Dometic OEM ones are closed tight when they come out of the package, the cheaper ones always show a little light. Conventional wisdom says you have to use the OEM. I've got two of each and my system works fine. Initially I put in four knock offs, and had problems. Then replaced two with OEMs same problem. So they weren't the issue. I replaced the bellows. I had a spare onboard, no clue if the old one was a problem.
Removing the hoses. The inlet hose - from the toilet where it connects to the right hand elbow into the tank is hard to get off. You end up wiggling the press in fitting to the tank and wrenching the swivel connection between the Elbow and that tank fitting.
So here's my recommended Trouble shooting. Your primary symptoms are A. The vacuum pump turns on every couple of minutes. B. The toilet won't flush, or slowly removes the waste water. Backed up (The vacuum pump should be able to hold a vacuum without cycling for 8 hours.)
Backed up is easiest. The whole system is a series of 2" hoses, but right at the bottom of the bowl below the half ball, is a 1" hole. This is not a mistake. If everything is working fine, but then someone drops a large load or uses a lot of toilet paper --this is where it's going to choke. Turn off the fresh water pump, get something like 1/2" PVC. Step on the lever and poke straight down. This should clear it. (A plunger doesn't seem to work very well at all. This is probably because the vacuum forms a tight 'plug' at this hole that the plunger can't dislodge. Trust me I know how to use a plunger.) Best to try out your probe when the water is clear just to make sure it fits.
1. Check the seal at the toilet ball -- right on the bottom of the bowl. This can happen at any time and usually is just a misfit this time, some toilet paper.. If it doesn't hold water, flush it a couple of times and fill the bowl a bit. If it siphons the water out of the bowl, that seal to the ball is the issue. First, make sure it's clean. Get in there with toilet paper and wipe it. Use 303 on a rag to wipe that rubber seal. (Amazing stuff on rubber/vinyl. Rejuvenates it. )
2. Is there a vacuum leak? Listen for it.
3. Is there a clog? A clog could block the hose from the toilet to the vacuum tank. This may make the waste water slowly slowly drain from below the bowl ball (but it won't suck the water out of a just flushed sealed toilet.) Get a cheap toilet snake at Harbor Freight and run it down. Doesn't hurt it.
4. No clog? Not flushing may not be a clog, it may be an inability to hold the vacuum. This won't suck water out of the bowl, this just won't flush period, or it may slowly slowly remove the water that won't flush. The duckbill valves might be worn out, etc..
The way to check this is to remove the hose that goes into the waste tank. Use a heat gun to soften it up. Block the elbow on the tank side, flip the breaker so the vacuum pump will turn on. If it holds the vacuum for at least an hour, then the problem is back at the toilet. If it doesn't hold the vacuum, then the problem is on the vacuum tank.
The idea set up would be an easy to remove union between the toilet hose and that elbow on the tank. Otherwise you will damage that stupid elbow and press fitting into the tank. Then step one or two would be to undo the Union, plug the tank and see if it holds a vacuum. (Truth. I tried doing this an never succeeded. Complexity interferes with your best simple step. )
5. Change or at least inspect the duck bill valves. Does the bellows work?
6. As you check these components you will now run into O-Ring problems that you create taking these things apart and putting them back together.
7. If you suspect it's that crappy elbow. Take it apart gloop it with 5200, put it back together run the pump a bit so it sucks it in, but not too long. Let it sit and cure.
Now mix up the order of all this, do it four times over two weeks and... that's what happened with me. A new Vacuflush system costs about $1400, when it works, there's no smell it's efficient. A hand pump sea water toilet costs about $120 complete. You pump instead of press foot switches. I was worried that maybe I used too much toilet paper. Didn't find any sign of that inside. Be careful. Amazon will happily sell you some scammer's 'RV' TP that has to be cheap institutional TP. It doesn't dissolve in water. It would plug up an RV system if you only had a family of three and one lasagna meal on a trip. Hope this helps.
Good job, its always helpful to watch someone do it. Rather than just explaining it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in my book!
Awesome, thank you!
Great video! Diving into my repair right now. Thank you
Paul, thank you! Most things on the boat that I feared fixing, were not as bad as I thought. The toilet and vacuflush system is really fairly simple. Good luck!
I'll be doing ours next week. Gotta get some silicone grease!
Don't forget the gloves!! :)
where do you buy cheap sealand toilets at
Any ideas for lack of suction?
sorry, Larry, just seeing this comment. Hopefully you are fixed now, but if not, lack of suction is very often the four duck bill valves. Even if one fails, suction the system will not create the vacuum.
@@ourfloatinghome8940 Many thanks, I have made progress but based on your response I will check all valves.
@@larrybowleg1839 sounds good. wear gloves!! :) My email is on our blog, feel free to email any questions, I will see them sooner than through this comment page
Keep flinging the springed toilet flush lever and it Won't be long before you're going to be fixing it again.
Brought the following thought to my head from those College days some 45 year's ago :: A whole new meaning of making love to the porcelain goddess....
Thank you for all your videos... Safe travels 🙏
Now that is funny! Glad you're enjoying our videos - we're launching one this morning! :)
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