HyFive578

iTrader: (3)

Thanks mittens. Worked on this over the weekend, the good news is the vacuum tank was empty at least. Here's what I did. I held the toilet ball valve open for a while and plunged like crazy. For a short period of time, I was able to get some of the water in the bowl to drain. I ran the vacuum pump for a while and could hear it running, but I never got the "whoosh" and the water in the bowl just kind of fizzled down rather than get sucked out by vacuum. I tried a few more times and the water just seemed to build up in the bowl again without going down. I then disconnected the line that runs from the head to the vacuum tank, placed the open end into a bucket and plunged some more. There was very little water/antifreeze in the bucket which leads me to believe that the line between the head and the vacuum tank is clogged. I forgot to bring a snake with me, so I couldn't try that but that's next. Also, when I removed the lines from the vacuum tank after running the pump, I expected to hear some sort of hiss from the vacuum being released, but I didn't so I think I have a few things going on. I think the line is clogged and the vacuum generator is probably not working properly either. And I'm not certain if the holding tank is empty although the indicator in my cabin says it is.

I've ordered a new pump, bellows assembly and duck bill valves. I'm going to replace all of those, try to snake the line and see what happens..

mittens

good luck man. I know If i have to replace my lines, I am going to be screwed,, so be carefull with the snake, its not hard PVC like a house. just hard rubber hoses.

HyFive578

iTrader: (3)

A bit of an update. I completely rebuilt the pump assembly.. new bellows, new duckbill valves, new O-rings, and new pump. Re-installed, ran and still cannot get the toilet to drain. I disconnected the inlet hose, plugged the inlet tightly and ran the vacuum pump which shut off after about 60 seconds, so I now know the vacuum is working. However, when I reconnected the inlet hose, I could hear a hiss when the pump was running which suggests there is a vacuum leak at the inlet fitting. I replaced that O-ring as well, tightened as much as I could and still hear the hiss. So not sure if the line between the toilet and vacuum tank is clogged or is it just the vacuum leak and if the latter, how can I fix that?

HyFive578

iTrader: (3)

Replaced the inlet fitting, swivel lock nut and o-ring.. Mission accomplished!!!

Quinny

Where is the swivel lock nut & o-ring you mentioned? I'm having the same problem in my 35 Lightening. Marcerator runs but no flush. Getting ready to tare into it. Thankks.

HyFive578

iTrader: (3)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]524137[/ATTACH]

It's the elbow fitting attached to the corner of the tank. See parts (1), (3) and (14) in this diagram. When the pump runs, it should shut off after around 90 seconds.. If it doesn't or you hear hissing, there is a vacuum leak. The way to isolate it is to remove the inlet hose (from toilet to vacuum tank); plug the inlet port on the tank with a 1 1/2" rubber cap / hose clamp and run the pump. If the pump stops running, its holding vacuum and the leak is in the inlet fitting. If not, then the leak is in the pump housing and is most likely the duckbill valves or the bellows. Any other questions, let me know.. I've become an expert on this in the last two weeks...LOL

Quinny

[ATTACH=CONFIG]524142[/ATTACH]Thanks for the help. My system looks different than the diagram but same idea. I started by pulling my pump of & ran it. No suction at all. When I pulled it apart it looked like a science project inside. My guess is the previous owner filled the tank & pulled some stuff thru into the pump if that's possible. I cleaned everything & put it black in. Toilet flushes now but the pump wont kick off. I can press the pressure switch next to the pump & it then shuts off. I ordered a rebuild kit for the pump. If that doesn't work I will be doing the duck bills next.

HyFive578

iTrader: (3)

Fortunately, the head in my boat had rarely been used if ever, so wasn't too bad working on it but it's nasty business no matter what..