Vacuflush woes

Irie308

Irie308

Well-Known Member
May 28, 2013
2,598
CT
Boat Info
2004 420 DB, GHS Hydraulic Lift
Garmin 8600/Garmin 1222 plus
AB Mares 10 VSX with 30 hp Tohatsu
Engines
Cummins 450C 8.3 L Turbocharged
So we get to the boat yesterday to find one of the head has a clog. I think it’s down in the line somewhere because the vacuum indicator is green but when flushed there is no suction. Over time a little water will go down but no swoosh from a good vacuum flush. Added some no flex hoping it’s biological but fear it may be something that should not be flushed. Any tricks on clearing a clog in these systems? Tried a plunger with no luck as it seems the vacuum on the other side of the clog is working against me. Any way to break the vacuum from the pump side?
 
Irie308 said:
So we get to the boat yesterday to find one of the head has a clog. I think it’s down in the line somewhere because the vacuum indicator is green but when flushed there is no suction. Over time a little water will go down but no swoosh from a good vacuum flush. Added some no flex hoping it’s biological but fear it may be something that should not be flushed. Any tricks on clearing a clog in these systems? Tried a plunger with no luck as it seems the vacuum on the other side of the clog is working against me. Any way to break the vacuum from the pump side?
Click to expand...
To break the vacuum on the pump side shut off the breaker to the vacuum pump and then crack the nut that holds the line going to the pump from the toilet. Before you lose the Vacuum, if the clog is down the line then the plunger will not have enough force to move it alone with just air. Try filling up the toilet with water half way so that the plunger is submerged and that way the force of the plunger is acting on the water which then acts on the clog down line.
 
Jeremygavin said:
To break the vacuum on the pump side shut off the breaker to the vacuum pump and then crack the nut that holds the line going to the pump from the toilet. Before you lose the Vacuum, if the clog is down the line then the plunger will not have enough force to move it alone with just air. Try filling up the toilet with water half way so that the plunger is submerged and that way the force of the plunger is acting on the water which then acts on the clog down line.
Click to expand...
Thanks Jeremy, will give it a shot.
 
I have one of those accordion style plungers. And as Jerry said, put water in bowl. I also try to tilt the plunger to the side to get water inside of it. As was said, this allows the water to part of the force of pushing clog downline. Also, I would leave vacuum hooked up to help it "pull" the clog while you "push" it. Hope it works!
 
Ok, so took the hose of the tank side and plunged from bowl. Tried with the vacuum and hose on as well. No progress. Whatever it is its clogged past the guest berth and pretty far down the hose. Next step will have to be a bit more aggressive. Can i put a small snake down the toilet without damaging anything? Seems once I'm past the first elbow a the bowl its all hose to the tank.
 
Wrap male end of garden hose with electrical tape so that it seals against 1 inch hole at bottom of toilet base. Turn off all water and fresh water pump coming into boat. Give your garden hose set up 3-4 quick blasts with vacuum pump running and it will clear.
 
marty51 said:
Wrap male end of garden hose with electrical tape so that it seals against 1 inch hole at bottom of toilet base. Turn off all water and fresh water pump coming into boat. Give your garden hose set up 3-4 quick blasts with vacuum pump running and it will clear.
Click to expand...
Great suggestion Marty! That’s the way we have always been able to unclog the vacuflush. It works every time
 
Irie308 said:
So we get to the boat yesterday to find one of the head has a clog. I think it’s down in the line somewhere because the vacuum indicator is green but when flushed there is no suction. Over time a little water will go down but no swoosh from a good vacuum flush. Added some no flex hoping it’s biological but fear it may be something that should not be flushed. Any tricks on clearing a clog in these systems? Tried a plunger with no luck as it seems the vacuum on the other side of the clog is working against me. Any way to break the vacuum from the pump side?
Click to expand...
Just had the same experience after we had guests on the boat, spent 6-7 hours getting the clog out. Between my master head and pump tank there was a union that I was able to disconnect the sanitation line and eliminate half the run, then disconnected the other end of the hose by tank, use a metal fish tape for pulling electrical wires and had to jam that about a hundred time before I could get it past the clog then I could bend a hook and pull back. Once it started to free up I used my shop vac and pulled out a ziplock baggy.
Never underestimate what guest flush !!
 
Thanks all will give those ideas a try when back at the dock tomorrow.
 
Was able to really tackle the clog this morning and success! What worked was removing the waste line from the vacuum tank and hooking up a shop vac to the hose. Next as mentioned above I put a garden hose in the toilet with some duct tape around the male end to make it a snug fit. In unison we turned on the hose and fired up the vacuum. Less than 20 seconds later the clog was free. The shop vac saved me from one hell of a mess in the bilge. Now someone has some splaining to do! pulled out a wad of wet wipes which I was certain wasn't onboard.
 
Irie308 said:
Was able to really tackle the clog this morning and success! What worked was removing the waste line from the vacuum tank and hooking up a shop vac to the hose. Next as mentioned above I put a garden hose in the toilet with some duct tape around the male end to make it a snug fit. In unison we turned on the hose and fired up the vacuum. Less than 20 seconds later the clog was free. The shop vac saved me from one hell of a mess in the bilge. Now someone has some splaining to do! pulled out a wad of wet wipes which I was certain wasn't onboard.
Click to expand...
God job, Mr. Rooter! :) Good thinking with the shop vac.

The wipes may have been in someone's purse.
 
Lazy Daze said:
God job, Mr. Rooter! :) Good thinking with the shop vac.

The wipes may have been in someone's purse.
Click to expand...
That’s good you got it cleared up with little Mess. It reminds me that I have been lazy with my head use explaining to guest this season. We didn’t have many guests on the boat last season due to Covid so I am out of practice but this reminds me to get Me act together.
 
It's great having so much knowledge here, folks! We've had septic systems in our homes for the better part of our married lives so the transition to the boat was easy. I sometimes forget that it's not second nature for guests to not flush anything down the toilet that they haven't first eaten. I need to hang a sign on the head saying such...
 
Irie308 said:
Was able to really tackle the clog this morning and success! What worked was removing the waste line from the vacuum tank and hooking up a shop vac to the hose. Next as mentioned above I put a garden hose in the toilet with some duct tape around the male end to make it a snug fit. In unison we turned on the hose and fired up the vacuum. Less than 20 seconds later the clog was free. The shop vac saved me from one hell of a mess in the bilge. Now someone has some splaining to do! pulled out a wad of wet wipes which I was certain wasn't onboard.
Click to expand...
Lazy Daze said:
God job, Mr. Rooter! :) Good thinking with the shop vac.

The wipes may have been in someone's purse.
Click to expand...

Yep and now that you have the incriminating evidence I'll bet you can narrow it do to just a few suspects.
 
Gary B said:
Great suggestion Marty! That’s the way we have always been able to unclog the vacuflush. It works every time
Click to expand...
Gary/Marty
Do I need to remove the toilet to do this? Sounds like I do. Thanks in advance.
 
Back in post #8 I mention using a wire fish tape to get a clog out of my master head waist pipe, this past weekend head stopped working again, pump would not stop running, the wire must have loosened sediments in the line because now my duckbill valves are getting chunks of hard deposits stuck in them.
I’m getting good at replacing duckbills :)
 
Update
My woes were solved with a plunger!!!!!
If you've got a clogged toilet system, a plunger should be the first thing you try. After six or seven times plunging it, it broke free and I was back in business. I was told that I had to remove the toilet disconnect lines, replace my pump, and a bunch of other things that had me cussin and fussin. Of course these things work if you do them. They may not be necessary. Do not pull up when you Plunge! Only push down then tilt it to break the seal. Otherwise you may suck your duck bills inward and have a bigger problem. Hopefully this saves you the headache that I thought I was going to have. You're welcome.
 
Joker66 said:
Gary/Marty
Do I need to remove the toilet to do this? Sounds like I do. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Hi, sorry for the delayed reply. I have not logged in. No need to remove the toilet to use a garden hose to unclog a line. Put on a pair of gloves, wrap a hand towel around the end of the hose, press the Vacuflush pedal down and insert the hose into the bowl opening. Use the towel to somewhat seal the opening and have someone turn the dock water on. The pressure from the hose should push the clog to where the waste line is free. Have the person on the dock turn the hose off once the waste goes down. This may put a lot of water in your holding tank and have a large rag towel on the head floor for any water that spills. We have used this technique several times and it always worked. Hope this helps if you need it down the road.
 
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