New to Sailboats

[icravewaves247]

Hello everyone,
I just bought a 27 ft Catalina and i still haven't been able to flush the toilet of all things.
It just fills up half way and stays there when i pump it.Some how its not going into the black water tank.I dont see any. Y valves going to the tank,like someone suggested to look for.
Any suggestions?

[grantmc]

Welcome to CF.
There will some valves there, experiment.
Normally you can bypass the tank too.

[Allied39]

OK, new boat.... time to learn.
There's about 10 different ways to connect the head, tank, overboard and pump out lines.
Step one. Follow every hose, know what goes where and why.

step two. is everything set up in a manner that the toilet should pump, ie; valves open, y valve not stuck etc.
If it is, then go to your head. Loosen an outlet hose (catch all you can} and pump. Pumping? yes, then problem (might be blockage) is further down the line. No? then your head is the issue.
New head like that is pretty cheap, nice to start new if the one you have is getting tired.

And keep in mind, just because it's done a certain way, it does not mean it is the right way.

Have fun.

[icravewaves247]

Thanks! I dont see the "Y Valve" that everyone keeps telling me about,but i will keep looking.
Im learning slowly but surely.I really appreciate your response!

[icravewaves247]

Thanks so much for the response!I will do those steps Monday.
Im still learning slowly but surely ��
Cant bring the girlfriend onboard until i figure this out!��

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, icravewaves.

[boatman61]

Have you tried flicking the lever on the actual toilet across.. One position for fill.. across to other side to empty. Is your through hull open..
Could just be the lazy fit.. direct to tank with hold and drain controled by the hull valve.

[sailorboy1]

Is it not not pumping, or not emptying? As Boatie said, are you leaving the lever in wet bowl?

[Ex-Calif]

Looking at your picture the pump valve has 2 positions "Flush" and "dry bowl."

The pump is dual action - in flush mode when you press down water is sent to the bowl. When you lift up the bowl should evacuate some and the pump draws a new slug of water for the next down stroke. In flush mode the water will end up rising somewhat in the bowl but the bowl should evacuate the waste on every up stroke.

Dry bowl simply cuts out the drawing of new water and should evacuate the bowl to just about dry.

So what's happening?

[Tetepare]

Two common issues with that toilet. First the lever may want to be hard over on dry bowl. It may slip out of position when you start pumping so make sure it is pushed hard right. Second the seal won’t prime so pour a little veggie oil in the bowl. And, they prime best on pumping all they way to top and bottom, kind of hitting harder than you’d like on the up pump. Once primed and the lever is correct it should work fine.

If that doesn’t work skip the rebuild kit and buy a new toilet the difference in price isn’t worth the hassle.

[icravewaves247]

It pumps but doesnt empty��
I feel sooo dumb

[bensolomon]

No issues! are you sure you're holding tank is empty? If it is not, then obviously you can't put any more else in the holding tank. If the holding tank is empty, it may be that your Joker valve needs to be replaced. It is allowing the reflux of sewage back into the bowl.

[icravewaves247]

Thanks!
Yes the holding tank is empty and ive only used the toilet one time so far
I will check it out when i get on my boat next week.

[icravewaves247]

It was hard to push down all the way at first ,then it freed up ,im think maybe some toilet paper made it hard to push down and then broke through?
I didn't use toilet paper but maybe the previous owner did.

[bensolomon]

Sorry for my poor spelling and grammar, earlier. I didn't proof the dictated text. As far as the "freed up" thing........If the previous owner (PO) used sea water, you may have a significant narrowing of the hoses because the sea creatures like to live in the hose and significantly reduce the diameter on the inside. You can figure this out by taking the hose clamps off the hose, and using a gloved hand, put your finer inside the hose, and inside the Jabsco pump elbow. You will be able to feel what I am talking about. You may need to replace the elbow, which you would do at the same time you put in a new joker valve, anyway. This is very easy. But......you must make sure the bowl is on the dry flush mode, and you must make sure the handle is down and in the the locked position. Have some towels that you can throw away underneath to catch the effluent so you don't have to clean the floor in the head or the showere bilge after it all drains everywhere (I know because I spilled urine and poop water in my head the first time I did this).