Toilet Won't Flush

[Tom and Maje]

Less than a week after we got the boat one of our toilets stopped working. The pump handle will initially pump, but then stops and won't depress to pump out the waste. I've had the tanks pumped out, disassembled the pump, checked the lines, there are no apparent blockages. Does anyone have a clue as to what could be wrong?

Tom

[peghall]

Originally Posted by Tom and Maje

Less than a week after we got the boat one of our toilets stopped working. The pump handle will initially pump, but then stops and won't depress to pump out the waste. I've had the tanks pumped out, disassembled the pump, checked the lines, there are no apparent blockages. Does anyone have a clue as to what could be wrong? Tom

Sounds like a blocked tank vent. The vent provides an escape for air displaced by incoming waste...when the air can't get out, the system becomes pressurized, creating back pressure that makes the toilet increasingly harder to pump. The pressure can dissipate while the boat sits, allowing the toilet to pump normally for the first flush or two after you come back aboard...till it repressurizes. The vent also provides a source of air to replace tank contents as they're pumped out...when the vent becomes blocked, the pump pulls a vacuum that prevents it from removing more than a gallon or two. You've had it pumped out...but if the vent is blocked, the pumpout wouldn't have been able to get much, so your tank won't be empty.

Step 1. Open the deck pumpout fitting to relieve any pressure.

Step 2. Using a screwdriver blade--or whatever works--clean out the tank vent thru-hull. If there's a screen, knock it out...screens cause more problems than they solve.

Step 3. Remove the vent line from the tank and clean out that end of it AND the fitting on the tank.

If that doesn't cure your problem, the next most likely cause is mineral buildup in the toilet discharge hose that's all but completely blocked it.

If neither of those, the problem is prob'ly in the toilet. But my money is on the tank vent.

[Terra Nova]

Could be clogged, or a Y-valve, ball valve or seacock shutoff inadvertently. This is a good opportunity for you to get to intimately know your waste system, in and out.

[hlev00]

Just to check, this is a symptom also of the Y valve set in pump over and the overboard seacock closed.

[SimonV]

Check the strainer on the inlet for weed. If there is weed it will still let water in when not under pressure. When you pump the weed is compressed and feels like a blocked outlet side.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[simonpickard]

What actually was the issue with this? Did you solve it?

[Arthur Garfield]

When my toilet doesn't flush I call the super.

[MarkJ]

There is a very good starvation diet called the Starvation Diet... Start now.







I am not helping you. This is your delightful introduction to your new Thunder Throne.


I hope you enjoy it


Perhpas you could switch your Y Valve to pump directly overboard and then you will know where the blockage is.

What brand of toilet?

Mark

[Terra Nova]

We had just completed the holding tank installation, prior to a weekend trip, when the owner asked me "What do we do if the tank fills up?" I told him "Quit eating immediately!"