Vacuflush doesn't flush

D

DLL

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We have a vacuflush in the fwd head that does not flush. If you try to flush it in a normal manner, it will spit water straight up. Grrrrrrrr No vacuum that I can tell. The motor runs, the bowl holds water, it sounds like it is flushing, but does not
Ideas??

We considered pulling the hose off and draining any liquid into a 5 gallon bucket....just in front of the vacuum tank.

Any ideas appreciated.

Oh yeah, no smell, etc.
 
sounds like the duckbills went bad, do you have another head on board that works? Do it have vaccum?
 
One or two VacuFlush heads and if so do they share the same vacuum pump?
If not you could have a clog between the VF head and the Vacuum pump. The pump if the newer style with a pump mounted on the canistor could be clogged. There is another recent thread on this problem, I donb't remember the resolution.
You could also have bad duckbills but normally the vacuum pump would be cycling or running constantly.
It sounds like a clogged hose between the head and the vacuum source.
Bill
 
I'll ring in on the liklihood of bad duckbills, too. If the duckbills aren't functioning correctly, there's a possibility that the line between the head and the vacuum pump has become pressurized, instead of containing a vacuum.

Also, you could have a clogged vent line on your holding tank. If the air inside the tank can't escape as the tank fills, the tank becomes pressurized.
 
bad duck bills causes the pump to cycle or not built a lot of vacuum, they will still allow for flushing. Since the pump is running, then the clog is not at the bottom of the bowl either. i doubt it's a clogged filter on the vent line, these pumps will really pressurize the tank if the vent is clogged, but it's easy to open the pump out fitting (CAREFULLY) to eliminate that.

soudns like someone flushed something they shoudlnt' have and the clog is at the pump inlet. Start there... pull the hose off the pump inlet (catch any spill...), unscrew the fitting on the pump and pull/ clear the DBs. If they are more than 4 or 5 years old, you may as well replace them while you're in there, you need 2 on the inlet, and 2 on the outlet side of the pump

if you have one pump for two heads, then you also have a DB inline between each tank and the Y before the pump. something could have gotten stuck in there too.
 
X3 on the duckbill. I had the same symptoms last week. When I removed them, they "looked" fine, but I think they just harden up a tiny bit and quit working.
 
it takes more than a little bit of hardening up to make them stop working...

here is a pair of 7 or 8 year old duckbills i took out of one of my 3 VFs... believe it or not, the head was still working, just cycling every once in a while.

they were more than a tin bit hard and certainly didn't look fine!

badduck.jpg
 
Okay. I'll go reinstall the old ones then. It must be something else wrong with mine. It's funny though, I instlled the new ones and the constant cycling stopped. Hmmm
 
I don't know why anyone would have a vacuflush. If we sat around a table and said, What is worst way to flush a head, more working parts, more ways to go bad, just worst, I could not have come up with a vacuflush. Sounds good going in but that is where it ends.
 
Again Jim, your off base.

My vacuflush system has been on board for 30 years. It has been the most reliable head I've ever had. They have stood the test of time, so its not an opinion at this point.
 
I gotta say I'm siding with Jim. Also, the vacuflush is violent. That loud WOOOSH followed by the WAKA WAKA WAKA for 30 seconds, is anoying. Plus If I get up in the middle of the night to "go" the flush wakes up my fiance. I liked my electric toilet on my old boat better.
 
You are the only one I know of, I've replaced many duck values in them, not been able to fix many. I've had a Crown for years no problem, and so do many people in the marina, no problem, time after time the people that are having problems, vacuflush is number one on problems.
 
BS Jim, you haven't been paying attention then, and when it comes to replacing the valves seemingly don't know what you are doing. We live aboard full time and have three of these systems on the boat. I have spent much less time fiddling with these in the last three years than any toilet we ever had on land or sea, and it has been easy when I have. They are extremely simple. Fresh water, minimal water use, no smells. I wouldn't own anything else.
 
I wouldn't have any other type. My fwd head has fallen victim to foreign objects from time to time, but the fix is always simple. My aft head on the other hand, is on the duckbills that were installed at the FACTORY 14 years ago. It flushes perfectly and never, ever cycles.

They're also quieter than the electric heads I've used because the VG's are in the engine room, where they're easy to service and hard to hear. I know many boat mfr's put the VG's near the living spaces, but I'd still prefer that to those clunky electrics.

For anyone who is bothered by the "whoosh": simply add water to the bowl by lifting up on the pedal. That uses more water of course, but it also helps rinse the system and delays permeation of the hoses.
 
count me as a fan as well... (can't believe i said that of a marine head!)

simple, few parts and like an old Detroit they will get you home! my theory is that they are so bullet proof that often people don't maintain them or ignore warning signs because even if they cycle on and off, even if the vac switch fail, even if the DB are as bad as ones shown above... tehy will still be usable!

not much you can do about the flushing sound, although many will see their fiancee waking up in the middle of the night as a good thing :)

but the pumps are usually installed where they can' be heard and the new upgaded motor/gear is virtually silent.

I had one on my previous boat, 3 on my current boat for 7 years and woudlnt' have anything else. we have 4 on the boat i captain, and even with charter guests they are basically troublefree.
 
risingson - we have an aft head that works fine. It is on a totally separate system.
BillyIII - The fwd head (VF) runs constantly. IF we leave it on for a very long time, it will turn itself off. No one has "used" the fwd head for a few months. If you flush it, the water will shoot up in the air a few feet. With the fresh water pump and all external water shut off, you can "flush" it and see water standing inside the ball. I don't know if it is a clogged hose or not. I was wanting to get a 5 gallon bucket, put it under the end of the white hose, then take it loose and drain it. Then take the vacuum holding tank apart to clean it. Vacuflush Model #548, Serial #1070252, Manufactured 7/26/91 ---- if that helps the experts know which type of unit I have and what parts I should buy to fix it.

I used a wet/dry vac to suck as much water out as I could, made no difference, it filled again and is still inop. The units were installed in the early 90s.

Vic, it could be bad duckbills. I have not changed them in 8 years. But with me being sick for much of the time, we did not use the boat too much.

PascalG - Two heads, two pumps. Located about ten feet apart, in separate bilges. My duckbills could be as much as 18 years old. I have not changed them in 8 years. I looked at the various kits available for the VF, not sure which one to purchase. If I do one VF, I will do both.

Some discussion as to whether the VF is a good system. I was on very high doses of opiates for years. The VF did NOT handle my problems at all. I quit going to the boat for long periods of time because of this limitation. If you don't understand what I am alluding to, please PM me.

I also agree the loud sound at flushing is not desirable. My aft head's pump, etc. is located in the engine area. The fwd head pump is located under the galley area.

My fwd VF is located directly over the fwd holding tank. Wish we could toss the VF and run the line directly down. Like in our Monaco MH. Anyone ever do that?

If your system is working well, great. I like simple and quiet. Please don't get me wrong, this system serves a good purpose for most of you. Now that I am off the opiates I will try to repair the fwd head and continue using it.

Any specific suggestions appreciated, once I know what to get, I will see if Les carry's it.
Thank you for your ideas. Suggestions on which parts or kits to buy would be good.
 
lack of use is always a silent killer for any system. not just heads. replace the duckbills and see what happens. no need to pull the head itself, just pull the hose at the pump inlet.
 
Thanks for the suggestion, I looked for the parts on here and did not find VF parts, yet it seems like Les used to carry them.

Anyone know??
 
Thanks Vic, I called Sealand for a part number (to make sure I am getting the right parts for my old system) and was told the "gulper" pump I have is not the correct pump. They said I need an S-12 pump. I am going back to the boat tomorrow, will pull the gulper off and then order an S-12 I guess.

It seems there are more than one model of S-12, another phone call to Sealand I reckon.
 
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