Manual Toilet Backflush?

[turkish6]

hey everyone,
So we have a jabsco manual toilet and yestarday when i went to the boat the toilet was half filled with backwash (not clear). So i pumped it back up and figured it happened because we were pretty full but never was able to call the pump out boat over. So this time i called them but they were closed for the day so I had to wait till today. When i got to the boat it was even worse..... toilet all the way full and about 1 inch of waste water puddled on the ground. (smell and looked awful) So i rolled up the sleeves and got to work. I had it pump out and everything was good. Again I figured it happened because it was full. During the day we used the head and everythng was fine. I went to use it before I left and I noticed that the toilet was half full again. So i pump it back up and I can hear it empting into the holding tank. I wait for like 30 minutes and again it filled up to about half. So i pump again but this time I noticed that once it's fully dry there is no water sound. after about 15 seconds if I pump again I can here some water... It makes sense that not all the water can make it into the tank but why is it coming back intot he bowl. We dont use seawater to flush. We put in fresh water from the sink..


What could it be???

[h20man]

anti syphon valve clogged?

[forsailbyowner]

Vent plugged. As you flush pressure builds in holding tank with nowhere to go. Often the head will bubble after flushing. Happens often when tank is full, forces solids up vent line.

[swagman]

My votes on the blocked holding tank - more likely both vent and outlet than just vent.
Nothing for it but a set of rubber gloves and a nose peg.
Enjoy.
JOHN

[captain465]

Does your Jabsco use a "joker" valve?? If so it probably needs to be replaced. The joker valve is a one way valve that is the last thing the waste water goes through before it goes into the hose on it's way to the holding tank.

[gonesail]

if the system was under pressure due to a plugged vent the anti-syphon valve (if there is one between toilet and tank) may be plugged as well but easy to clean.

[swagman]

Originally Posted by captain465

Does your Jabsco use a "joker" valve?? If so it probably needs to be replaced. The joker valve is a one way valve that is the last thing the waste water goes through before it goes into the hose on it's way to the holding tank.

All the Jabsco pumps have such a joker valve and if you get backfill either it is not seating / working or the pressure in the system is too strong to for the flap to seal as it should.
But be aware the newer Jabsco pumps (and if you ever chose to buy a reseal kit maybe buy the whole pump assembly instead so you get this also for not much more money) have a lock down facility on the pump handle.

When fitted this new pump handle can be turned and locked, meaning nix product can come back up it. IMOH worth its weight in gold.

JOHN

[turkish6]

thanks for the replies..
the parts book does not list a the anti-syphon valve but it does list a joker valve. I guess i will clean the vent first and try it. if not I will replace the joker valve. Thanks for the replies

[Badsanta]

Let us know what you had to fix. Thanks

[motion30]

If you have a charcoal filter in the vent line then that is the problem, do a search , you can recharge that filter yourself with a few$ of pvc fittings from home depot and a box of charcoal from the pet store. Other wise the filter is $80

[MorgaNado]

We had the same backwash on our new boat. Michael Irving @ Jabsco helped us get the lock-down replacement kit. All is well.

Contact Info: michael.irving@itt.com

Michael is a get example of customer service.

[donradcliffe]

The joker valve is the most common cause of backflow in saltwater flush systems, because it gets covered in the crystals formed when uric acid mixes with saltwater and loses its flexibility. Sometimes you can fix the problem by flushing vinegar down and letting it dissolve the crystals. lFreshwater flushes should eliminate this problem, but other things can cause the joker valve to leak, like women flushing down bits of long hair...

[nautical62]

You won't find the anti-siphon loop in the Jabsco parts kit as it is not a part of the toilet itself. Placing a vented loop between toilet discharge and the holding tank stops swage from back siphoning from the tank back into the toilet, should the level in the tank get high enough.

Even wtih an anti-siphon loop, it is possible for the water contained within the hose between the pump and the top of the anti-siphon loop to slowly flow back through the pump and into the bowl. As mentioned this is likely because the one way Joker Valve is not getting a proper seal. It could be the valve is old or it could be there is a bit of toilet paper or something else preventing it from making a complete seal.

Given the cost of a rebuilt kit, I also think it's good just to carry a complete spare pump. It's much easier to replace the whole thing that trouble shoot all the parts. You can then trouble shoot the old pump at your leisure and replace what ever is necessary so it becomes your spare.

Most toilets I've had loose the joker valve seal fairly easily. It's a good reason to make sure your anti-siphon loop is not higher than needed. The less volume, the less that can drain back into the bowl. When I'm in a discharge area, I also tell people to pump quite a bit, to ensure all sewage has been flushed from the hose. Not only does this prevent sewage from backflowing, but means it is much less nasty to trouble shoot the pump if necesssary.

[H/V Vega]

Just could not resist this. Talk about in the Sh*t ! Oh well happens to us all just keep loads of rubber gloves and a few properly sized nose pegs aboard.

[GeoPowers]

I'm betting Joker valve! Very easy to replace, fairly inexpensive, not too messy to do, so I'd start here. We had a similar issue, figured with the price of the new Jabasco locking heads if that didn't work we'd just replace the whole thing....but it worked.