Holding Tank filling very fast ??

[S/V Adeline]

We just installed a new Jabsco Twist-Lock toilet. When selector is set to drain bowl, each upstroke of the handle removes water from the bowl as expected. When selector is set to fill, the downstroke seems to add water to the bowl, but the reset stroke is still removing water from the bowl. Visually it appears that about 75% of the water added by each intake stroke is removed when handle is cycled to intake more water. Is this normal operation? Our only experience previous was with a much older Jabsco which allowed water to be filled to desired level, if water was removed on reset stroke, it was not this noticeable.
The end result is each stroke when set to *fill* bowl is sending water to the holding tank and it filled unreasonably fast, less than 2 full days.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
SV Adeline

[Sailmonkey]

The selector isn’t fill and drain, it’s wet flush and dry flush.

The selector simply closes the incoming seawater. Has nothing to do with the bottom of the piston that pumps the waste.

[thinwater]

^^ This. The flush rate is not changed.


How big is the tank and how many uses? Also, was the tank fully empty (blockages may prevent full draining)? If so, clean it out by blasting water in the fill and them pumping back a number of times.

[S/V Adeline]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

The selector isn’t fill and drain, it’s wet flush and dry flush.

The selector simply closes the incoming seawater. Has nothing to do with the bottom of the piston that pumps the waste.

Thank you for the response. You are of course correct, but I am at a loss as to why our previous Jabsco (ancient and in a different boat) allowed us to raise the water level in the bowl and this one does not. Do all manual toilets work in this same manner? At sea it would not be an issue but inside the closed head zone it presents a major problem. Pumping out every two days is not practical.

[S/V Adeline]

Originally Posted by thinwater

^^ This. The flush rate is not changed.


How big is the tank and how many uses? Also, was the tank fully empty (blockages may prevent full draining)? If so, clean it out by blasting water in the fill and them pumping back a number of times.

Tank was emptied Tuesday morning, visually verified. Following basic directions, add water to bowl before use(for solids), clear bowl after any use. Two adults one child, no excessive use or pumping. Maybe it's just a learning curve but we will definitely monitor usage more closely. 30 gal holding tank, but a drip occurs at 25+/- gal (it's on top of the priority *to do* list) Sizing for larger replacement tank but that is just more weight in the bow...

[peghall]

If you're always flushing in the "wet" or "fill" mode, you're bringing water in with every pump. The average adult uses the the toilet 5x/24 hrs, so on average, always flushing in the wet mode puts about 3 gal/person/day into the tank. That means 2 adults and a child are putting about 8 gal/day into the tank.

The solution: learn to flush in the "dry" mode. You toilet isn't designed to bring water in and hold it in the bowl, so use a cup from the sink to add water to the bowl ahead of solids. For urine only, just a couple of pumps in the wet mode, switch to dry to pump bowl contents to the tank, then back to wet for a couple of pumps to rinse behind the flush.

That's not gonna extend your time to between pumpouts to a week, but it should give you a couple more days.

_peggie

[S/V Adeline]

Thinwater, Peggy, thank you both for the replies. While we are at the marina, the head has been designated *emergency use only* as it's only 100 yards to the facilities and walking is such good exercise!! We will monitor usage closely and learn the most efficient ways to use our head with the least amount of water as practical. I can only assume relationship to waterline and possibly plumbing could account for our previous vessel's head being able to *fill* to a more adequate level for solids.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by S/V Adeline

Thank you for the response. You are of course correct, but I am at a loss as to why our previous Jabsco (ancient and in a different boat) allowed us to raise the water level in the bowl and this one does not. Do all manual toilets work in this same manner? At sea it would not be an issue but inside the closed head zone it presents a major problem. Pumping out every two days is not practical.

They all work this way.

[peghall]

If the discharge line on your previous toilet went straight up to a loop immediately after the toilet, that would allow water to stand in the bowl.

You could replumb your current toilet dsicharge that way...in fact it should be if you're plumbed to flush overboard or the tank...you'd just have to put the y-valve after the loop. It has a couple of advantages: 1. you only have to pump enough times to move the bowl contents over the top of the loop...gravity gets it the rest of the way to the tank (a solution when the tank is further from the toilet than it should be and/or it's a long gradual uphill run to the tank. 2. it conserves flush water, increasing the number of flushes a tank can hold by as much as 50%.

And btw...there should also be a vented loop in the toilet INTAKE...see Figure 1 on page 3 of the owners manual for correct location of both loops.

Jabsco Manual Twist & Lock owners manual



--Peggie

[sail sfbay]

Consider replacing holding tank with a larger one?

[S/V Adeline]

Peggie, she came to us plumbed with a loop before the y-valve in the discharge line, no loop in intake.

sfbay, since I have to replace the holding tank I am looking into a larger one

[peghall]

Originally Posted by S/V Adeline

Peggie, she came to us plumbed with a loop before the y-valve in the discharge line, no loop in intake.

A vented loop in the intake as shown in that drawing is NEEDED on every toilet installed at or below the waterline. Without it, water outside the boat can flood and overflow the toilet if the inlet thru-hull is open and the toilet is left in the wet mode. That has sunk many a boat in its slip.

[/QUOTE]sfbay, since I have to replace the holding tank I am looking into a larger one[/QUOTE]

Ronco Plastics Ronco Plastics Home Page Ronco Plastics marine Tank drawings is your best source for a tank. They make TOP quality thick-walled water and waste tanks for a very reasonable price and have more than 400 shapes and sizes, over 100 of which are non-rectangular, and they install fittings in the sizes and locations specified by the customer when they make the tank. There are retailers who sell Ronco tanks, but Ronco sells direct for a much lower price...and they're great to work with.

When looking at drawings it's important to know that there is no top or bottom until the fittings go in, and YOU decide where they go. So rotate, flip in any orientation to find the tank that fit your space.

--Peggie

[anacapaisland42]

our 4 year old daughter filled tank in one weekend! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Two adults one child, no excessive use or pumping.

[bensolomon]

I have the same toilet. Here is what I do. Dry flushing for all urine. I rinse the bowl at the end of each day with fresh water, maybe 12 oz, to get rid of the urine smell and leave just enough water to cover the bowl orifice to. No TP in the head, period. This eliminated the need to "rinse" the TP down.

For feces, fill bowl about 1/2 way with water prior to defecating. Makes it MUCH easier to flush, and again....no TP! As a side note, I have a wet head, so I use fresh water (shower spigot is in the sink fixture). Keeps the sulfur smell at zero.

Also, as captain, I relieve myself topsides whenever feasible. Daytime in a marina....not so much. Nighttime.....yes (me and the air conditioner discharge from my all of my neighbors sounds the same [emoji23]). At anchor and while sailing (clipped in, of course), frequently.

I sail with....Admiral, two daughters, and my son. Doing all of thevabov gets me 5 to 7 days. If it's just the admiral and I....one week between pump outs easy. Oh....20 gal holding tank, 1990 Hunter Legend 37.5 in the Chesapeake bay.

[bensolomon]

I should have added that my family has been very comfortable, at least in warmer climates and in the summers, to go for a swim and urinate while swimming reducing the volume deposited in the holding tank.

I suspect if you eliminate the toilet paper from the head, your fill rate will drop precipitously.