Alan Gomes wrote:
Peggy,

What preventive maintenance do you typically recommend?

I'm also using the Groco HF. Every time I'm through using it for several
days (e.g., at the end of a trip), I flush it thoroughly with fresh water
and run some head lube in it. What else do you recommend to avoid problems?

That's a beginning... Once a week, or last thing before the boat is to
sit unused, a quart of clean fresh water, followed by a cupful of white
vinegar will help to prevent mineral buildup and odor permeation in head
discharge hose.

And it's VERY important to keep the pump lubricated. Many people just
wait till the toilet starts to squeak and become hard to pump, then pour
some mineral oil or vegetable oil down it. That’s ok in an emergency,
till you can get home and do it right, but it’s not the way to maintain
the toilet. Not only is this very hard on the toilet, but it’s a
never-ending job because anything poured down the toilet washes out in
just a few flushes.

Why is it hard on the toilet? Because a toilet doesn’t squeak UNLESS it
needs lubrication; that squeaking is the sound of seals rubbing against
the inside of the housing, being worn away. Waiting till it squeaks to
lubricate it is like waiting till an engine starts to smoke to add oil.

There are two ways to approach it...the way you're doing it (the
never-ending job of pouring something down the toilet every week or
two), or you can do it just once a year.

Ever wondered why a new toilet doesn’t need any lubrication for at least
a year? It’s because every toilet leaves the factory slathered with
thick Teflon grease that takes a full season or more to be flushed out.
Replacing it just once a year as preventive maintenance is all it
takes to keep a toilet pumping smoothly. And it’s only a 15 minute
job—just open up the top of the pump and put a healthy squirt of it into
it…pump the toilet a few times to get it all through the pump, and
you’re “good to go” for the entire season. And, by keeping the pump
lubricated this way, you extend the life of the seals and valves,
reducing the need for rebuilds and repairs.

Believe it or not, most people don't know how to flush a marine
toilet...they stop pumping as soon as the bowl is empty, which leaves
whatever was in the bowl sitting in the pump and hose..each flush pushes
it a little further while adding another "batch" behind the last one.
They're afraid to flush longer because they think that'll fill up their
holding tanks too quickly. That's because they don't know how to use the
dry mode. What they don't realize is, any marine toilet that's working
even close to factory specs can move bowl contents up to 6' in the dry
mode...that it's really only necessary to bring in flush water to rinse
BEHIND the bowl contents...and rinsing out the discharge hose is
important to prevent clogs.

And finally, no matter how careful you are about keeping the toilet
lubricated and keeping the head discharge hose rinsed out, sooner or
later every pump has to be rebuilt. You can either wait till the bowl is
full and won't go down (which is what most people do), or you can do it
on a schedule as PREVENTIVE maintenance. A toilet that's kept well
lubricated and flushed out should be rebuilt about once every 4-5
years...the joker valve replaced every 2 years. It's much more pleasant
job if you do it when the toilet is clean and dry than it is to take a
pump apart when the bowl is full, plus it all but eliminates the
potential for clogs and backups.

There's a lot more information that should go a long way toward
preventing most "head aches" in my book (see link in my sig)...but those
are the basics.

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