beaufortnc wrote:
We have a Raritan PHE II head that has worked fine since owning this
boat - almost 2 years.

First sign of trouble was that the head would not evacuate in the 'dry'
position, but we found if we switched to 'flush' for a couple of
strokes, and then back to 'dry' that that would make it start working
correctly again. This happened more and more frequently.

First thing I'd do is take the motor off and turn it back into a manual
toilet. The PH II is an outstanding manual toilet...putting a motor on
it--which only replaces the pump handle, it's still a manual pump--turns
it into a poor excuse for an electric toilet. 'Cuz the motor pumps the
toilet with a much shorter and faster stroke than pumping manually,
which makes the toilet much less efficient than pumping it manually.

That won't solve your problem, though...nor will rebuilding the toilet
as Roger suggested--although, if that hasn't been done in at least 5
years, it should be done anyway.

You don't say how old the toilet is, only that it's on the boat you've
only owned for two years...but unless your tank vent is blocked, I
suspect your culprit is the air valve on the toilet--especially if
you're experiencing any "backpressure" when you flush. The air valve is
the little flat nut with a hole in it on the front of the "dry/flush"
valve housing that looks like it's molded into the housing, but is
actually threaded in. Remove it...clean it...put it back (it'll prob'ly
leak a little). If that solves your problem, remove it again...wrap the
threads in Teflon tape and put it back. If it doesn't solve the problem,
order a replacement air valve from Raritan.

I've used my inflatable pump to force air down the vent from the
outside trying to be sure it's unclogged. Can't really tell if it is
that way - next step will be removing the vent hose from the tank and
pumping air to the outside - that should give the answer.

If you're referring to the tank vent, the two most common places for a
blockage are the vent thru-hull and the connection on the tank. Check
the thru-hull...scrape it out with a screwdriver blade. And don't worry
about destroying any screen in it...you're better off without it. Pull
the vent line off the tank, scrape any material out of the fitting and
the end of the hose.

If that doesn't solve your problem, let me know.

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304