"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
. com...
1. Manual Jabsco head isn't working properly. The pump doesn't bring
water in or out. Checked the seacock and the handle is vertical,
indicating open (I think).

There are a couple of possibilities...the easiest one: there's a lever
at the top of the pump...when it's pushed to the "wet" side, it allows
the pump to bring in flush water...when it's in the "dry" mode, it
doesn't, but still allows the pump to evacuate the bowl.

If moving the lever to the 'wet' mode doesn't solve your problem, the
next most likely scenario is a failed flapper valve in the pump. Or, if
you feel any backpressure when you pump the toilet, a failed wet/dry cam
in the pump...it's hung up in the "dry" mode. It's a VERY common problem
in Jabsco toilets made in the 5-8 years.

I was hoping you'd reply, Peggy. Read about you first in Norwester, then
within this forum.

Wet mode doesn't solve it. I suspect it's a failed wet/dry cam. The
pumping action is reminiscent of a air pump with a broken seal.
Nothing much.

Unless it's as simple moving the lever to the "wet" mode, I'd replace
the toilet, 'cuz Jabsco toilets have a VERY high failure rate. The
service kits (which don't include the wet/dry cam, btw) cost almost as
much as the whole toilet...which give you an idea of the quality of the
toilet. I wouldn't put ANY money into it...replace it with one that's a
bit better quality.

And your suggestion as to a better one? Our previous head was a portapotty
which disposed into a holding tank. Quite easy.
Should we get one of those? Any specific product/price?

In the meantime, I suppose we can just pour water into it, when we have
to....right?

2. Macerator. My boat has one. Where is the waste pumped to? A broker
said it goes into the waste tank but I want to be certain of this.
Disposing it directly into the Columbia River is illegal (and
disgusting). If it goes into the waste tank, then what is the purpose
of it?

You toilet does flush into the tank. If you check your plumbing, you'll
see that the macerator is in the TANK discharge line...there's a tee in
that line...one side goes to the deck pumpout fitting...the other side
goes to the macerator and then to a thru-hull. It's used to dump the
tank at sea. It's most definitely illegal to flush a toilet directly
overboard OR dump a tank in the Columbia River...to dump a tank legally
you must be in open sea at least 3 miles from the nearest point on the
whole US coastline.

Ok, since flushing into the pond is illegal, is there any reason to turn it
on?

-Greg