beaufortnc wrote:
Peggie,
Did as you said for the air valve. Still having problem.
Hmmmm...that means the air valve isn't the culprit. And you've also
verified that the holding tank vent is clear.
Without being able to do any "hands on" trouble-shooting, my psychic
powers aren't working very well on this one. But there are a couple more
possibilities I can think of before you rebuild:
1. Sea water mineral buildup in the discharge hose...I've seen it reduce
a 1.5" hose to less than 1/2"...which would make flushing difficult.
Pull the discharge hose off and take a look inside...if you see a lot of
buildup, several doses of undiluted white vinegar through the hose will
dissolve it. A cupful of it flushed through the head discharge hose once
a week will prevent it.
2. The same buildup can clog up a joker valve too...so check that. If
you haven't replaced the joker valve since you moved aboard, you need to
do that...joker valves should be replaced at least every two
years...annually if you live aboard.
If mineral buildup isn't the problem, it's time to bring in the big gun:
Call Vic Willman at Raritan...800-352-5630 x 6. Don't talk to ANYONE
else. Don't order anything except a joker valve (which is in the
rebuild kit) till you've talked to him.
One more thing just occurred to me...if you have a y-valve in the
discharge line, is it possible that it's failed? That's it's only partly
open to the tank, making it hard to flush?
Let me know what you find and/or what Vic has to say?
Peggie
Peggie Hall wrote:
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
--
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