Oil in the head?

[mestrezat]

I know there is bound to be a "thread" on this somewhere but, as with most of us out here, we pour a bit of cooking oil in our heads about once a week or when the plunger feels a bit bound up while pumping(don't forget the vinegar) Is there something out there that I can coat the insides of the plunger assembly so I don't have to keep pouring oil in the head. I've got a Jabsco head that's been on the boat for about 9 years.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by mestrezat

I know there is bound to be a "thread" on this somewhere but, as with most of us out here, we pour a bit of cooking oil in our heads about once a week or when the plunger feels a bit bound up while pumping(don't forget the vinegar) Is there something out there that I can coat the insides of the plunger assembly so I don't have to keep pouring oil in the head. I've got a Jabsco head that's been on the boat for about 9 years.

Convert over to a Jabsco electric macerating head, and you'll never need to bother with that nonsense ever again. I think they sell a conversion kit for relatively short money. I converted one of ours that was also 9 years old just two seasons ago, makes life much, much easier. No clogs, no pumping, no aggravating tennis elbow. Just push a couple of buttons.

Life's too short to waste time and energy pumping some schitter by hand. Besides, by the time you rebuild that manual thing a few times, it'll end up costing you the same money as the electric macerating type. Been there, done that.

Ken

[mestrezat]

I just checked West Marine. An electric conversion kit goes for $580US!!! Heck, they sell the entire head for just $600--$20 more. Can we say "Profit"?
I tied putting Lanocoate inside the tube and it lasted for a while but in the end, I was still back to pouring in the good old oil like always.
Any other suggestions?

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by mestrezat

I just checked West Marine. An electric conversion kit goes for $580US!!! Heck, they sell the entire head for just $600--$20 more. Can we say "Profit"?
I tied putting Lanocoate inside the tube and it lasted for a while but in the end, I was still back to pouring in the good old oil like always.
Any other suggestions?

Check around, but I strongly recommend changing out the head for an electric macerating Jabsco. You'll be so glad you did.... Even for $600. What's $600 compared to the cost of your boat? Pocket change.

No more hand pumping or plugged up leaky schitter. Plus, no issues with guests or family not flushing with enough water, since all they need to do is hold down the button long enough to clear the hoses. We found that with the hand pump model, most people only pumped until the visible contents in the bowl disappeared from sight... Which left most everything sitting in the hoses. Which let to other costly stinky issues like smelly hose replacements and premature through hull skin fitting replacement due to corrosion.

Ask yourself... At home would you be dealing with this crap? Oil in the toilet, hand pumping, stinky hoses, plugged up hoses etc. The answer is probably No. So why waste time and energy dealing with it on a boat?

[Delancey]

I drilled a tiny pilot hole for a small screw in the top of our pump cylinder.

The hole is just big enough for the long red tube the fits on a can of Fluid Film (spray lanolin) I have on board.

Little squirt every now and then does the trick. Didn't cost me anything. Haven't had to rebuild that pump in a long time.

Just don't forget to replace the screw before you start pumping!

[colemj]

The proper lube for this head is a synthetic PTFE grease like SuperLube. Just pull out the plunger, smear a bit around the inside of the cylinder and around the plunger o-ring seal and you will be good for several months.

SuperLube is what the manufacturer sells the pump loaded with.

Cooking oil is pretty much worthless, regardless of its popularity meme.

Super Lube 21030 Synthetic Grease (NLGI 2), 3 oz Tube: Science Lab Cleaning Supplies: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Mark

[Sailmonkey]

I've been using super-o-lube for years. About once a year with full time use I smear a blob into the pump through the selector valve ( raritan phII) and it's silky smooth again. This lube is just silicone grease.


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[Delancey]

Ours is a Raritan which is a bit of a mess to break down. Drilling a hole took longer to think about than to do. Relube requires only backing the screw out and replacing it when done. And of course does not require breaking down the pump.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by colemj

The proper lube for this head is a synthetic PTFE grease like SuperLube. Just pull out the plunger, smear a bit around the inside of the cylinder and around the plunger o-ring seal and you will be good for several months.

SuperLube is what the manufacturer sells the pump loaded with.

Cooking oil is pretty much worthless, regardless of its popularity meme.

Super Lube 21030 Synthetic Grease (NLGI 2), 3 oz Tube: Science Lab Cleaning Supplies: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Mark

If your pump uses flat rubber gaskets (not O-rings) then DON'T grease the gaskets. It can cause them to slip out to the side under normal pumping pressures and leak. The cure is to disassemble, clean the rubber gaskets and mating surfaces with solvent and reassemble. I ran into this problem when I greased my Raritan PHC head pump.

[colemj]

The OP said he had a Jabsco, which I have a lot of experience with. It is dead-simple to remove the plunger (just unscrew it and it's out), and the plunger seal is an O-ring.

I like the screw hole mod, but this isn't necessary with the Jabsco, and may actually be problematic because of the design in that area.

Unlike sailmonkey, our Jabscos require re-lubing twice each year (full-time use).

Mark

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by mestrezat

we pour a bit of cooking oil in our heads about once a week or when the plunger feels a bit bound up while pumping(don't forget the vinegar) Is there something out there that I can coat the insides of the plunger assembly so I don't have to keep pouring oil in the head. I've got a Jabsco head that's been on the boat for about 9 years.

1) yep, i use vege oil too. The cheapest type.
2) vinegar does nothing. Bleach is good but pump it overboard not into your holding tank.
3) i use silicone grease in the plunger.

Jabsco is great. I replaced both pump assemblies 5 years ago and one a few months ago. The whole pump assembly is quite economical so swap it if it gets too hard to work. Price is about $100 where the pump rebuild kit is $80 so its better to go the whole pump.

[monte]

I use marine grease. Finger a bit around the shaft and on the o ring. It makes it super smooth but begins to stiffen up a bit after a month. I heard Vaseline is an ok cheaper alternative.

[HopCar]

As Colejm said, Jabsco recommends Super Lube grease. Silicone grease is good as well.
Pouring salad dressing (oil and vinegar) in the toilet doesn't do much for the toilet and is bad for the good critters living in your holding tank.

If you want to switch to an electric toilet, you can buy a Jabsco for less than $400.
Jabsco 12 Volt Toilet - 37010-0090

Another option is to get a Raritan Sea Era conversion kit for a little over $400. It's quieter than the Jabsco and you can use your Jabsco bowl with it.
Sea Era Conversion Kit - 16LI012

[Duchie]

DON'T USE PETROLEUM BASED GREASE LIKE VASELINE , IT MAKES THE RUBBER GROW , SAME WITH WASHING RUBBER COMPONMENTS IN PETROL .

[wunderluster]

Originally Posted by HopCar

As Colejm said, Jabsco recommends Super Lube grease. Silicone grease is good as well.
Pouring salad dressing (oil and vinegar) in the toilet doesn't do much for the toilet and is bad for the good critters living in your holding tank.

If you want to switch to an electric toilet, you can buy a Jabsco for less than $400.
Jabsco 12 Volt Toilet - 37010-0090

Another option is to get a Raritan Sea Era conversion kit for a little over $400. It's quieter than the Jabsco and you can use your Jabsco bowl with it.
Sea Era Conversion Kit - 16LI012

It seems the Sea Era kit is only if you already have the electric Jabsco, right? So, if you now have a manual Jabsco one would need to buy the Jabsco electric conversion and the Sea Era kit?