Electric toilet problem flushing

[Freebooter66]

Jabsco Lite flush Heads
Last year I installed two Lite Flush Jabsco toilets which worked perfectly for about a month. Then the drive belt on the macerator flush pump started to slip first on one, then on the other toilet. I replaced the drive belts on both only to experience after 3 weeks the repeat of the same problem.

Then I tried two cam belts in tandem on the each toilet. Still the problem persisted after 2/ 3 weeks the belts slipped again

I then tried fitting a wider cam belt same problem 3/4 weeks the belt slipped again on both Heads.

This was getting expensive as the service kits which included belts and pulleys are £36.00 each. I had spent nearly £200 trying to fix the problem

Finally the problem was solved. It is the tension of the belt. I increased the tension and the current belts that were fitted year ago and are still operating

So if any of you have experienced a similar problem with your Jabsco Lite Flush just 'Tighten your Belts' !

How do this ? Refit the position of drive motor, tricky but possible, or fit a slightly different belt, Simple, find a supplier that can supply a Cam Belt with one less tooth

If you do not know or cannot find a supplier that can do this let me know and I will send you one for the cost of the postage only (While Stocks Last)

Happy Flushing

Freebooter

[GreenWave]

My Raritan PHEII toilet went tilt today on my newly acquired boat. Worked fine yesterday in electric mode. Today I pushed the button and nothing. Removed the pin and connected handle to convert back to manual. Pumping the handle was tough and the had leakage at base and under the actuator.

Think it has blockage on the outflow? Or is the motor all frozen up?

Edit to add that I just found in the maintenance records that this head was rebuilt in May 2019. Note: it was for sale and on hard from July 2019 until I bought it this month.

[peghall]

Adding an electric motor to a PHII turns one of the best manual toilets into the worst excuse for an electric toilet on the planet..'cuz all it does is replace the pump HANDLE with the motor...you still have a manual toilet pump, but one that pumps the toilet much faster with much shorter strokes, resulting in clogs that shorter more deliberate pumping could easily "swallow." Most people who've added a motor end up "converting" back to manual in a very short time.

However, I don't think the electric conversion is the source of your problems.

I suspect that a lack of lubrication is the reason the handle is tough to pump. So lubing it is the first thing I'd do...and it's not difficult: buy a tube of SuperLube thick grease (the same grease that's in all Raritan toilet pumps when they leave the factory), available from Ace hardware and some Home Depot stores. Remove the 4 screws that hold the pump onto the base...stick the tube nozzle into the bottom of the pump and give it a healthy squeeze--about a tablespoon. Replace the pump onto the base, pump the toilet a few times to spread the grease all over the inside of the pump...you're done, and it should last several months...up to a season if you only use the boat on weekends.

The leaks are a strong indication that the pump is in serious need of new seals, o-rings and gaskets--iow, a rebuild kit--about $60 from Raritan...and btw, Raritan includes a one-use tube of the SuperLube kit in the kit. They've all dried out from sitting on the hard. Lubing it MAY solve the problem, but I'd put a rebuild kit in it anyway.

If none of the above solves the problems, give Raritan tech support a call...they actually answer the phone and are VERY helpful! 800-352-5630.

And if you think you really have to have the "push button convenience of an electric toilet, consider replacing the manual pump with the Raritan SeaEra "conversion" (everything but the bowl, seat and lid) Raritan SeaEra Conversion Promo Sheet No...you won't be able to convert it manual in the event of a power failure, but if you don't even have enough power to flush a toilet, you have much more serious problems--lack of nav equipment, running lights, communications etc) to deal with...and you'll still have a bucket and a long line to put it over the side to "flush" it.

--Peggie

[GreenWave]

Thanks Peggy. Ordered the rebuild kit today (which was a bit of an adventure giving current state of the retail world). Will know more Thursday when I tear it down. My other head on board is a Raritan Marine Elegance. She is great!

[OneHullPaul]

I think your vent hose is blocked and you are pressurizing your holding tank which may be full. STOP PUMPING. EXTREMELY CAREFULLY go and unscrew your deck pumpout cap while holding a large old towel over it and your hand/tool. You'll know if I'm right or not if it pumps with the cap off. I bet you a beer :-)

Originally Posted by GreenWave

My Raritan PHEII toilet went tilt today on my newly acquired boat. Worked fine yesterday in electric mode. Today I pushed the button and nothing. Removed the pin and connected handle to convert back to manual. Pumping the handle was tough and the had leakage at base and under the actuator.

Think it has blockage on the outflow? Or is the motor all frozen up?

Edit to add that I just found in the maintenance records that this head was rebuilt in May 2019. Note: it was for sale and on hard from July 2019 until I bought it this month.

[GreenWave]

Originally Posted by OneHullPaul

I think your vent hose is blocked and you are pressurizing your holding tank which may be full. STOP PUMPING. EXTREMELY CAREFULLY go and unscrew your deck pumpout cap while holding a large old towel over it and your hand/tool. You'll know if I'm right or not if it pumps with the cap off. I bet you a beer :-)

Hmmm, while I have heard about that problem I didn’t consider it here because my tank monitor shows this tank is nearly completely empty. The other head has its own tank and it is half full. Easy to test your theory though so will check it out. Wish I had a face mask 🤪 except those cannot be found. I will cover the cap and close my eyes!

[peghall]

The tank vent could very well be blocked..it's something I failed to consider and should have when I read that the toilet has gotten harder to pump...'cuz a pressurized system creates backpressure that makes toilets harder pump.

However, although opening the deck pumpout cap will relieve the pressure, that's unlikely to provide the source of air needed to permit pumpout or dumping at sea because the pumpout line discharges from the bottom of the tank where there's little or no air if contents are more than a couple of inches deep. Plus, connecting a pumpout to the fitting closes off what little air might be pulled in through it.

As for your tank gauge...if it's one that has senders inside the tank, a buildup of the animal fats in waste on the senders can prevent 'em from reading anything, so it may not be a reliable indicator of the level in either tank.

Whether opening pumpout cap can let you pump out or not, any pressure in the tank has to be relieved and that's the easiest way to do it. I'd put on foulies that can be hosed down if necessary...open the cap very slowly, holding on to it very tightly (there's no chain on it), making sure to be UPwind of the fitting with a hose at the ready.

The most common locations for a vent blockage are the vent thru-hull and the other end of the vent line--that end of the hose and the vent fitting on the tank. Start by cleaning out the thru-hull...use a screwdriver blade, ice pick--whatever works. Then remove the vent line from the tank and clean out the tank vent fitting and that end of the hose. If there's a filter in the vent line, remove it 'cuz if it's ever gotten wet, the charcoal has swelled up and created a blockage.

--Peggie

[SVZara]

Originally Posted by Freebooter66

Jabsco Lite flush Heads
Last year I installed two Lite Flush Jabsco toilets which worked perfectly for about a month. Then the drive belt on the macerator flush pump started to slip first on one, then on the other toilet. I replaced the drive belts on both only to experience after 3 weeks the repeat of the same problem.

How did you know they were slipping? I have the same toilet and when we flush the macerator makes a rattling sound. I checked with a scope if there was something hard in the bowl getting bounced around by the macerator, but there was nothing.

Could this be a slipping belt?

[peghall]

I learn something new every day!


--Peggie