Vacuflush System question

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danielcooper9

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I have a 1999 Wellcraft Martinique 2600 that has a vacuflush head. In the bathroom, there is a switch on the wall that can flip up for "head" and flips down for the water pump to pressurize the water system. The owners manual doesn't explain very well the toilet operating system. Before flushing the toilet, are you supposed to flip that switch to the head position? I'm new to this boat and haven't really played around with it too much but it seems odd to have to put the switch down in get water pressure to fill the tank and then flip the switch up to operate the toilet. What is that switch actually turning on, the vacuum for the toilet?
 
well... what happens in either position ? what do you hear runing? the vac pump or the water pump?

most VF have a switch in the head to turn the system off, but usually it's a simple on / off switch. nothign to do with the water...
 
When down, you hear the water pump run until the system is pressurized and then it shuts off. When switched up to head, there is another "pump" (I actually didn't take the time to try and find where exactly the noise was coming from) that runs. When switched up, it didn't shut off although I did not leave it on that long. I assume that it either powers the vacuum or it is a seperate pump that is evacuating the waste to the holding tank? I guess that is my basic question about how the system works. Does the vacuum take the waste from the toilet all of the way to the holding tank or is it a 2 stage process that the vacuum takes it from the toilet and then there is a secondary pump helping to take it to the holding tank.
 
Back in that general time frame, approximately 10 years ago, VF was having problems with their switching systems, and they added what they called a "night switch" to many of the installations. This was a switch that you operated manually to turn off the vacuum pump when you went to bed, so that it wouldn't come on by itself and run all night. It sounds like this is something similar to that.
 
yeah but then why the extra position for the water pump?

daniel, the way a VF work is very simple.

you have a Vaccum pump (very simple, just a bellow with a pair of duck bill on each side) which pulls a vaccum in a vaccum tank. When the vacuum reaches a preset level, a switch turns the pump off and the system is ready. takes between 15 and 30 seconds. When you flush by pressing the pedal (or holding the small home like flushing lever down on the fancy models), the ball valve in the head opens and pulls the waste down. It passes thru a venturi at the bottom of the head which breaks down solid, then it is sucked into the vac tank. From there the vac pump pumps it thru and into the holding tank. very few moving parts.

so it's ... Head Vac Tank Vac Pump holding tank.

they have variations where the pump is mounted on the tank or separate.

To add water to the bowl, you raise the pedal. otherwise there is connection to any water pump...
 
Thanks for both of your replies. I will play around with it more this weekend. Maybe that switch is so you can power the water system without powering the vacuum. Then when it is in the head position both the vacuum and the water pump are on. I will leave it in the head position and make sure the pump shuts off and I still have water pressure.
 
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