Jabsco manual head problem.

S

SCORPIO

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Jun 1, 2001
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4810
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When we bought our boat in the spring, the surveyor noted that the head would pump out but not bring in flush water. The seller had a kit installed in the head and the problem was solved, at least until now. Recently I've noticed that the head doesnt't fill as well as it did a few weeks ago. It still pumps out OD but will gurgle and have a bit of back flow. I found the kit the yard used when they worked on the head in the springa and it looks like they only changed a few o-rings and the top cover gasket, they didn't replace the Joker valve. I'm guessing that the top cover gasket and the o-rings are damaged again (by what I don't know as we don't use the head that much) and that the Joker valve is weak allowing the back flow. Am I on the right track? I'm thinking of waiting until spring to do a full rebuild on the pump including the Joker valve.
Will the purple tiolet chemical from Thetford damage the rubber parts of the head? I usually put some down the head after every pumpout to keep the head smelling better. I also put some dwon the deck fill.
 
If it's not filling with water, check your seacock to make sure it's not plugged and is still open. There is a strainer that could be full of "stuff" from the intake. If that's not plugged, the Jabsco uses little balls as a valve in the mechanism. It's possible something got through the strainer and has settled where the ball valves seal. I don't think the intake water is impacted by the joker valve. It pretty much handles everything on the outbound side. The rebuild kit is available here on BoatFix and a WHOLE lot cheaper. I think I paid $49 vs. $69 or $79 at WM. It took about an hour or so to pull the head and rebuild it. I do it in the spring since it's dry from winter storage. There are fewer surprises and less stench that way.

I'm not familiar with the Thetford stuff. We use Odorlos, which helps feed oxygen to the little critters in the holding tank. That keeps the odor down. I am embarrassed that I haven't look to see if I have a charcoal filter! If so, there are some creative ways to refill the charcoal that don't include buying the $80 replacement filter!
 
Hey Jim, where is your water inlet for the head? My surveyor told me that mine is fed from the fresh water system, using a backflow preventer. I think my backflow/gurggling is a weak Joker, but I'm not certain. I'm going to wait til spring for the reasons you mentioned. Your filter should be on the port side up under the deck on the bulkhead that seperates the fresh water tank from the bilge. I'm going to do the DIY refil on mine.
 
So with the backflow preventer, is the toilet under pressure or is it split and gravity fed somehow? I wonder if that has something to do with the gurgling?

Our seacock is in under the midcabin berth, in the next compartment over from the bilge pump. We boat in pretty clean lake water, so we don't worry about getting stuff in the toilet that adds any odor. When we were in the San Juans, we still used water from the ocean. I did notice it stunk pretty good when we came back. It took a good pumpout or two before we got rid of the stench. I think it was the conversion from salt water to fresh combined with the fact that we ran out of Odorloss at the same time.

I figured that charcoal filter was up under there somewhere. I think that will be a spring project as well.
 
There is no pressure on the toiletfeedwater. It has some sort of restrictor or pressure reducer. Your head seacock is exactly where my A/C seacock is located. Do you have A/C? Maybe they put raw water heads on boats without A/C? The gurgling is definately waste water back flowing after flushing. I've never had one of these apart but the new valve looks like a heart tricuspid valve. So I guess you could say my head has a regurgitating valve?!LOL.
OH wait, I reread your post. Is your seacock under the center cushion with the bilge pump or is it in one of the compartments on either side of that? My A/C intake is located in the small sump with the bilge pump about six inches up from the keel.
 
OK, I see. I think you are right and it probably is the joker valve. It's probably shot and needs to be replaced. That will be a good thing for next spring! There could be something caught in it, but you might as well just rebuild it while you are there.

Our seacock is under the starboard compartment and the line feeds up to the head. We don't have A/C and really don't need it out here. It cools off at night. I'm thinking they put a seacock in when they are built and it's either used for the A/C or for the head.
 
If you want to stay with the Jabsco manual head, why not just get a whole new pump assembly for it? Then your problems should be over:

http://www.boatfix.com/catalog/597.pdf (see lower left corner)

Then order from here (top item):

http://www.boatfix.com/bypage2index.asp?page=597

BoatFix gives you a $20.99 discount, and for all intents and purposes, you'll have a brand new head. The pump is actually the heart of the toilet. Plus, you'll get their latest, updated pump for the head.
 
quote:
If you want to stay with the Jabsco manual head, why not just get a whole new pump assembly for it? Then your problems should be over:

Click to expand...


I agree but rebuild the old one and keep it handy. I keep one in service and one rebuilt on the boat just in case.
 
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