Jabsco Head Problems . . . Again, Me Thinks

[anjou]

Aarrghhh ship mates, I write thee as I languish herein, anchored to the sofa whilst I watch the antics of the gorgeous Jack Sparrow and Miss Swan upon the gogglebox

Yet my mind wanders to the problems in the head. The khazi is somewhat reluctant to flush properly, the main syptom being that of limited water and uneven distribution around the bowl, with the greater part concentration towards the back.

Now I know it says in the pirates code that said electric Jabsco must not be plumbed to the pressurised supply as the head has its own pump, but its clearly evident that said pump is not delivering sufficient water.

Not withstanding that, I have already attached an inline solenoid valve for the purpose of regulating the flow, so what might be the adverse affects of coupling to the pressurised ships supply?

What say ye me hearties?

[doug86]

I would yank the bowl and clean with CLR first, just to be sure that the water isn't restricted by salt deposits. Don't always assume that if a pump isn't putting out, that it's the fault of the pump (anymore than you would blame the wench if the pirate lacks a certain .... output.)

[cal40john]

If it's a head where the pump is connected to the bowl by a hose, disconnect the hose from the pump and see if there is good flow there.

[anjou]

Aarrghhhh

Wise words ye say there Doug, wise words........'cept the head never saw action of a salty nature, not yet, for we are marooned on this cursed yard and the only tide this hull has seen be that of heavy rain, Thursday last.

[Artif]

Throw it over the side and fit a Lavac.
The yard where we had our boat had hundreds of Jabsco toilets (they bought and sold 2nd hand boat parts). The charter companies would renew Jabsco heads every couple of years rather than rebuild them.
We threw out a Blakes head in favour of the Lavac, and never regretted it once.

[doug86]

well, not sure that putting the pump into the pressure system will solve the problem, but now I'm curious to see what happens if you do.

[Intentional Drifter]

Electric Jabscos are accursed beasts. Designed and built by Yugo rejects. Best thing you can do is toss it, while you're still at the yard. With Peggie Hall's guidance, I recently tossed (the important parts) of mine and replaced with a Raritan Sea Era conversion kit. A good price and you can save your old bowl (the bolt patterns for both bowl and platform are identical). The difference in quality and design is immediately apparent.

Having said that, though, a question: is yours a fresh water system (such that the pressure comes from your pressure pump/accumulator) or sea water (with a separate thru hull and pump)?

If sea water, the first place I'd check is the sea strainer on the pump. Those things aren't very big so they're easy to clog. Also, the basket could be rusted up, too. But, Cal40's got the first step right -- disconnect the feed hose from your toilet and see if you get good pressure. If you do, and you have a sea water system, then you might have little beasties that have died in your bowl and started clogging it up.

ID

[nigel1]

Hi ID
Dont think Anjou's boat has even been in the water yet, still at the fitting out stage, and I'm guessing the head and the fittings are pretty new.
Best thing to do is disconnect the flush hose from the bowel, check the water flow, and from there, either work back to the pump or go the other way and check the bowl.

[Intentional Drifter]

Ah, I didn't pick up on that. Then, I agree. She's got either a blockage in the line, or the pressure is too weak. Same strategy, though; work the problem back until she finds where it stops flowing.

There is that caution that always comes with toilets connected to freshwater systems: always have a check valve of some sort so you can't get toilet water flowing back into the freshwater tanks. Uggh, just the thought.... Of course, if there is a checkvalve in the system, that could also be the source of the problem.

ID

[peghall]

You THREW OUT a $3500 Baby Blake--or worse yet, a $10,000 Blakes Victory--(no, those prices are not typos) for a $300 toilet???? Granted the Lavac is a great toilet (also made by Blakes, btw), but JEEEEEEEEZE!!

[peghall]

Originally Posted by anjou

Aarrghhh Wise words ye say there Doug, wise words........'cept the head never saw action of a salty nature, not yet, for we are marooned on this cursed yard and the only tide this hull has seen be that of heavy rain, Thursday last.

You're on the hard in a yard??? Wellll...no WONDER your toilet isn't bringing in any water! It might improve if you stick the intake line into a bucket full of water.

Do NOT connect it--or any other sea water toilet--to your fresh water system...it cannot be done without risk of e-coli contamination of your potable water, damage to the toilet, or both...and EVERY toilet mfr specifically warns against it.

Sea water toilets are designed to PULL flush water in...pressurized flush water PUSHES flush water into the pump, which misaligns seals, o-rings, valves and gaskets in manual toilets. So you'll not only put your health and that of your crews and guests at risk, but you'll compound your toilet problems.

I do agree that replacing the toilet is the best solution...with a Lavac Lavac Marine Toilets or a Raritan PHII Raritan PH II or PHC. Raritan PHC

You can do that fairly reasonably by buying only the pump and base, recycling your bowl, seat and lid.

[HopCar]

You mentioned that the water doesn't come out evenly around the rim of the bowl. I have seen the holes under the rim get clogged by sea grass. As I understand it your boat has never been in the water so that is unlikely. How are you supplying water to test it? If you are sure there is no blockage then it's likely to be a bad impeller. They are cheap and easy to change. If you want to throw money at the problem, you can buy a complete pump and motor assembly for about $160 if it is the toilet I think it is. What's the model number?

[callistov42]

For years and on multiple forums I have heard Peggy rail against Jabsco heads. During our recent refit we installed two new manual Jabsco heads. They are SO MUCH SUPERIOR to the old Wilcox-Critton heads we had that here is no comparison. The Jabsco manual heads seem to work fine, flush well with little effort. The admiral wanted electric heads but even she is happy the new heads. Did we just get lucky or are these going to be problematic in the future as they age?

[anjou]

Avast my hearties, it looks like ive only told half a sorry tale

Im marooned in this yard and the flush water is sweet, from a 50 gall barrel which is slightly higher than the head, and fed through a half inch hose by gravity to the impeller pump which pulls it through and pushes it out around the rim.

I know the pump works fine cos I put a finger over the hose spigot and it sucked well. just before the pump is a solenoid valve to prevent syphoning and this opens when flush is pressed.

I would like to see more water but more importantly, I would like to see it distributed evenly around the rim, not just at the back where the inlet is.

Its only been in use 6 weeks and pumped @ 30 galls of waste in that time, so im guessing 10 - 15 galls of fresh water.

Not even run in yet and I sure aint tossing it ashore.

[HopCar]

Calistov42 I've been selling and servicing several brands of marine toilets since about 1970.
The Jabsco manual toilet has evolved from a Canadian design that Jabsco bought in the early seventies. They have done at least three major redesigns and several smaller changes. The current production toilets with locking handles have proven pretty reliable based on replacement part sales. Most people with older Jabsco manual toilets are buying replacement pumps with locking handles when their old ones need fixing. That said it is a moderately priced head and there are better ones on the market but I think it is a good value.