elusive issue on Vacuflush head

[sailing_gal]

I am baffled. My vacuflush S type is recycling about every 90 minutes. I have replaced all joker valves, replaced the baffle (which was indeed split at one of the foldings) and have now completely taken apart the switch and inspected the diaphram, which is fine, and cleaned those parts and put it carefully back together and reinstalled with adequate pumping time, so the spring is in the right place. The elbow that goes into the tank has been removed, cleaned and reinstalled with a silicone sealer just to make sure there are no leaks. All hose clamps are tight. Problem will not go away. Is there anything I could have missed? It seems no matter what I do, the symptom stays- no better, no worse.

[peghall]

Does the bowl hold water? If you haven't filled the bowl about half way and then waited to see whether it holds it and how long, that could be the source of your problem.



Fwiw, one of the most common things that many people do wrong is easing the peddle back up instead of just letting it go to snap back into place with enough force to seal the dome....it's spring loaded for a reason. Over time that'll cause the bowl to leak--so slowly at first they don't realize it's happening--creating a slight air leak. There's always about half a cupful in the bowl after each flush...it could easily take about 90 minutes to completely drain. So when the pump cycles, listen for a very slight hissing in the bowl...too slight to notice if you're not listening for it.

--Peggie

[sailing_gal]

Sorry, Peggy, I should have mentioned the bowl is holding water, I do not think that's the problem. I am now suspecting the O rings around the switch fitting could have become flattened and may need replacing.

[peghall]

We...it was a sudden top-of-the-head wild guess...you'd already tried everything else I'd have suggested. If the o-rings aren't the solution, try to find a VF dealer/service center in Europe. Dometic is a European company so surely they have dealers there.


--Peggie

[s/v Thea]

I had leak at o-ring between flush peddle and housing, fixed that, starting leaking somewhere else which I could never locate. Eventually I gave up, took it out and replaced with Raritan Marine Elegance, very happy with it.

[Startracker]

Originally Posted by sailing_gal

I am baffled. My vacuflush S type is recycling about every 90 minutes. I have replaced all joker valves, replaced the baffle (which was indeed split at one of the foldings) and have now completely taken apart the switch and inspected the diaphram, which is fine, and cleaned those parts and put it carefully back together and reinstalled with adequate pumping time, so the spring is in the right place. The elbow that goes into the tank has been removed, cleaned and reinstalled with a silicone sealer just to make sure there are no leaks. All hose clamps are tight. Problem will not go away. Is there anything I could have missed? It seems no matter what I do, the symptom stays- no better, no worse.

One of the most useful tools for troubleshooting this stuff is the sealant vacuum gauge. It has a cone shape on the end, so you put it in the bowl and see if the vacuum is holding, and if not how much it is leaking. This can be used on the elbow into the tank as well for example. No leak anymore? The problem is located between the intake fitting and the bowl of the toilet. Still leaking? Problem is on the vacuum pump or tank.

Takes a lot of the guesswork out, and they're quite cheap.

[Kd9truck]

I can commiserate, but unfortunately I do not have a solution, I offer my recent experience in support of the “your not going crazy” category .
I was helping move a vessel this past fall, we worked on the two VF heads. My bunk was right over the fwrd pump and it was cycling every 15 to 20 min. We changed wire connections, rings, baffles, pump arms and cleaned everything. The noise reduced and it did get to a 90 min cycle but we could not get it to operate as designed. We ended up putting a switch with the VF light panel because the constant cycling was waisting water and energy, and I was loosing sleep with the constant cycling.
This being my only experience with VF system and reading your post as a second source supports my gut that a VF will not be an up grade in my future.

Cheers and good luck

PS: I have 3 heads, a “not so quiet flush” Jabsco electric I run with freshwater, a Jab, manual freshwater and a dormant Jab, salt water “off shore” head. Not a single issue in 7+ years.

[Windpilot]

I actually had a crack in the base the bowl sits on once. Took a long time before I found it.
I have 2 separate systems as of today forward head never loses vacuum, aft head cycles on if I leave the boat for a few days or week and then turn on power.