Jabsco Quiet-Flush Electric Toilet leaks like a seive

[CRM]

I purchased a new boat with a factory-installed Jabsco Quiet-Flush Electric Toilet Model 37245. Almost from the beginning, we have had a problem with it leaking grey water onto the floor surrounding the toilet. The leak comes from the discharge/macerator assembly connecting the discharge motor to the side of the toilet base assembly.

I have replaced all of the rubber parts several times, with only short-term relief on some occassions, and no relief at all on other occassions. I have also replaced the Macerator Housing and the Seal Housing with no improvement.

One problem is that the O-rings provided by Jabsco that are meant to sit in the face of the Seal Housing are all too big to fit the groove in the Seal Housing (many different ones have been tried). Even if the O-rings were the right size, they wouldn't stay in position when reinstalling the assembly because the face of the Seal Housing is vertical with no way to keep the O-ring in position. I have had some partial success in stopping leakage at this point by using plumber's putty to augment the O-ring, and also using rubber/fiber sheet material to make a gasket that fits across the face of the Seal Housing.

After much trial and lots of error, I have come to believe that the principle source of the grey water leakage is around the seal that presses into the center of the Seal Housing through which the motor shaft must pass to drive the Centrifugal Impeller and Macerator/Chopper. The grey water appears to be finding its way past this seal and then draining out through the bottom of the Seal Housing in front of the motor. An accumulation of 'brown stuff' on the back side of the housing seems to confirm this diagnosis.

I have been given an ultimatum: either the toilet goes or my wife goes. I have decided to keep my wife and get rid of the toilet. Before taking that final step, however, I am seeking input from any other readers that have encountered this leakage problem and, hopefully, found a solution. PLEASE share it with me.

[ranger58sb]

Call Jabsco?

I've received excellent service advice from their support folks.

Our problem was two-fold: The "Quiet gradually went away, and then a slight leak started. The solution in our case was simply (eventually) a new motor/pump assembly, but their tech also explained why my earlier attempts to rebuild the original pump didn't work... and what more I could try if I wanted to have another go at it. (It was related to the shaft seal, IIRC.)

Anyway, the new assembly was about a 10-minute install, the "Quiet" returned, all good. It wasn't particularly expensive. Would have been a better first step, in our case, and it was much less "messy" than the rebuild attempt.

-Chris

[hellosailor]

New boat?
No warranty? No assistance from manufacturer? Or from Jabsco?

[CRM]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

New boat?
No warranty? No assistance from manufacturer? Or from Jabsco?

Boat's builder only offered Jabsco's warranty. This was not an installation problem that could be blamed on the builder. Of course, the problem started just as the manufacturer's warranty expired.

[CRM]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Call Jabsco?

I've received excellent service advice from their support folks.

Our problem was two-fold: The "Quiet gradually went away, and then a slight leak started. The solution in our case was simply (eventually) a new motor/pump assembly, but their tech also explained why my earlier attempts to rebuild the original pump didn't work... and what more I could try if I wanted to have another go at it. (It was related to the shaft seal, IIRC.)

Anyway, the new assembly was about a 10-minute install, the "Quiet" returned, all good. It wasn't particularly expensive. Would have been a better first step, in our case, and it was much less "messy" than the rebuild attempt.

-Chris

Were you able to purchase a fully assembled motor/pump assembly, or just a collection of loose parts? If fully assembled, where did you get it?

I have not yet had success in getting support from Jabsco, but based on your positive experience I'll give it another try.

[hellosailor]

You never know. Even if Jabsco only offered a 90-day warranty, they might be generous enough (and smart enough) to know that going the extra mile for a new boat owner, is a cheap investment in good PR and future choices. Or they may say "Ergh, yes, we had a seal problem, sorry about that. Give us a few days and we'll send you a new (whatever)".


A number of companies have pleasantly surprised me with going beyond what they were "required" to do. There's a slightly longer list of the ones that haven't been willing to make any accommodations at all. (G)

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by CRM

Were you able to purchase a fully assembled motor/pump assembly, or just a collection of loose parts? If fully assembled, where did you get it?

I have not yet had success in getting support from Jabsco, but based on your positive experience I'll give it another try.

Yep, it was a piece of cake. Just called Jabsco for help/insight/etc. -- this was after trying a rebuild kit -- and after the discussion, bought the pump/motor assembly directly from them (I think). Think they were in one of the NE states, RI or CT or somewhere like that. Two days later, about 10 minutes of work (mostly the electrical hook-ups), fixed.


Might take longer to ship to your location, though

-Chris

[katsumi]

I have a few of these toilets and they work very well, not really quiet though. The motor shaft seal is a lip seal, it is easy to replace, you can usually get them from a store that sells bearings.

[BobH260]

We have a Quiet Flush on our boat. It is about 6 years old I think (I didn't install it, came with the boat). We have had one leak from the macerator pump shaft seal. I ordered the kit from Defender, about $26, put the new seal in 2 years ago and so far so good. We live aboard 4 to 6 months of the year. Be sure the new seal is being installed properly, they are easily damaged and lip seals are often installed backwards.

I always laughed at the Quiet Flush name when I flushed the head, anything but quiet. This winter we had a friend stay on board for a week, he raved about how quiet the head was on our boat. He has a Raritan electric head. I was shocked, I always looked down on the Jabsco and looked up at the Raritan as a much better product.

When we bought the boat I thought if this Jabsco head gives me any trouble I'll pull it out and put in a Raritan. Four years later it is doing well and we are quite pleased with it. We flush TP and never have had a problem. We flush lots of water through each time so nothing sits in the pipes, I think that plus the macerator eliminates any clog issues.
Bob

[captmikem]

Just a couple of things:

Make sure when you install the motor the little opening in the plate is down, if it is up, any leaks get into the motor and rust it up very quickly.

Use silicone grease or if you do not have it Vaseline on the o-rings, they will stay in place as you install them.

Look for rough places in the mating surfaces or in the o ring channels , that is normally the problem, someone scraping it clean creates a rough surface that leaks, us light sandpaper to make them smooth. Also make sure the o ring is thick enough, you have to squash it a bit when you tighten things for it to seal.

When you assemble it, wrap a paper towel around it and look for the first sign of a leak, then you will know exactly where the leak is and can deal with it.

By the way, that is black water, grey water comes from sinks and showers.

These are good heads, I have two on my boat and have few problems with them.

Good luck,

Michael

[svmidnightsun]

We have a Quiet Flush I replaced the replacement motor twice before I came up with the idea of using Jabsco's commercial duty motor (same bolt pattern) cut the macerator and a small portion of the shaft made a coupler and bolted it to the new motor and it has worked fine for years and now I can interchange motors. But fix the leak with a Nature Head

[HopCar]

CRM, Call Paul Campagna 978-282-5246 at Jabsco. He is their head guy.
No, seriously, he is.

[trishark]

When we left to go cruising almost a year ago, I had a long list on spares which included a rebuild kit for our electric head. Unfortunately the head parts did not get ordered. 2 days into the trip, I managed to plug the head and I thought I had burned up the motor. Used portable drill with 1/4" hose slipped over the end of the motor shaft to spin the head motor and impeller. Worked as temporary method of flushing head. When we got to land, I called Jabsco. They were very helpful in discussing head. Turns out I was checking for voltage at the rocker switch, not at the leads going to the motor. There was a second fuse in the line going to the motor that was hidden. The fuse was blown and the spades had a lot of corrosion. Replaced fuse, cleaned off corrosion within fuse block, and motor spun much faster, and noisier. Pulled motor and macerator housing off base to check all was OK. oring used to seal face had grown in length. could not get unit back together with oring staying in grove, Vaseline would not work. cut oring on diagonal and removed about 1/8" of length and re-glued with super glue. has worked within out issue for 7 months. have rebuild kit and spare oring for next time it comes apart.

[Moody46CC]

I'm in league with BobH260. I put a JABSCO Quiet Flush on my older boat and two on my current boat, with the help of a friend. Easy to install-after the first one. I have had no issues with the toilets, but like Bob said, I do not think they are terribly quiet. I used to worry about waking my wife if I used the head late at night, but she says she does not notice the noise. Guess you get used to it.

[hellosailor]

Hidden fuses:
You know, under federal and international law, you are allowed to take that fuse and relocate it somewhere where the sun don't shine, in the offices of the company that designed it that way.


I found one once, about five feet behind an access port in a boat. Totally redundant, too. It killed one of the gauges, offhand the fuel gauge, which really wasn't polite. That's when I learned about the relocation rules.(G)