When you mentioned a failed joker valve, my brother-in-law recently
had a JV failure mid-cruise (naturally). Not only was it ugly to
replace, he and his wife had to "visit" our boat regularly for the
last half of our 2-week cruise.

Replacing a joker valve is one of the easiest jobs, Bob...you don't even
have to remove any hoses...just the two bolts that hold the discharge
fitting on the base. Nor should a joker valve failure prevent the head
from being used...If it WAS a nasty job and/or they couldn't use the
toilet, replacing the joker valve didn't cure the real problem...it just
hid it.

Which brings me to two questions: Do you recommend preventive
maintenance (Ugh!) on joker valves?

What's to maintain? A joker valve is just a rubber "cup" with a slit in
it and "lips"--a one-way valve. Over time, waste going through the slit
stretches it to the point where the slit is no longer a slit, it's a
hole...and useless any longer as a one-way valve. Then you replace it.
That's it. I'd flush a lot of clean water through it first, though.


And how reliable are Vacuflush
systems (more preventive maintenance?) My boat/Vacuflush is 13 years
old.

VacuFlush toilets are very reliable and require no preventive
maintenance...they're fine toilets (they just cost FAR more than ANY
marine toilet is worth). When it develops a symptom--pump starts cycling
for no reason between flushes, or won't shut off, or the water valve
leaks--fix it. If you don't have an owners manual for it, call SeaLand
and get one (800-321-9886)...'cuz every symptom, probable causes and
cures that it can develop is covered in it. The VacuFlush hasn't changed
enough to notice in the last 20 years, so just ask for the current
manual. And keep it on the boat so you can refer to it if/when it does
develop a symptom...'cuz blind seat-of-the-pants trouble shooting can
cause additional problems instead of solving the one you have.

I had VacuFlush toilets on two of my own boats, btw, and we were dealers
for nearly 10 years...so I'm intimately acquainted with it.

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://www.seaworthy.com/html/get_ri...oat_odors.html