I bought a 2000 410 nov.2009 and was able to use it very little befor I had to winterize it. But I noticed that the vacuflush would not stop running most of the time unless I lightly touched the spring on the switch on top of the tank then it would stop. Some times until it was used again and sometimes it would start back up on its own. Is this because the switch is bad or could it be something else like duck bills. I bought a new switch from marine max and the spring on the switch was much larger than the origanal and the pump still would not shut off on its own.:smt100
toilet running
- Thread starter beachnut
- Start date
Jack380AC
Member
- Jan 28, 2008
- 878
- Boat Info
- 2000 380 Aft Cabin
- Engines
- Twin 454 Mag MPI Horizon MerCruiser
Sounds to me like the seal at the bottom of the bowl where the flap opens and closes is not sealing properly. We get the exact same symptom if there is a an obstruction preventing the flap to re-seal when you release the foot pedal.
I would clean and lubricate that seal first; then replace if necessary.
I would clean and lubricate that seal first; then replace if necessary.
And that's pretty easy to test - does water stay in the bowl?
The other main culprit is, as you thought, the duckbills (especially if they're 10 years old)
Sounds like you have a good idea of what to do - but if you need more info - there is a crap load of info on this forum about duckbills and whatnot. :smt001
The other main culprit is, as you thought, the duckbills (especially if they're 10 years old)
Sounds like you have a good idea of what to do - but if you need more info - there is a crap load of info on this forum about duckbills and whatnot. :smt001
tdschafer
Well-Known Member
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No, absolutely, positively not at all... :lol:
rondds
Well-Known Member
- Oct 3, 2006
- 8,859
- Boat Info
- 2001 380DA
- Engines
- Merc 8.1s (2008)...Hurth ZF 63 V-drives...WB 7.0 BCGD (2013), Garmin 8208 & 740 MFDs, GMR 24xHD dome
If the bowl holds water and the vacuum tank holds vacuum, you need to replace the vacuum pressure switch on the vacuum tank. I had the same problem and the diagnosis is fairly simple. Put some water into the bowl and shut the power to the vacuum pump. Wait a while and check to see if the bowl water. If it does, your 1/2 ball seal is OK. Now flush the toilet - if there's a good WHOOSH, it means the system is holding pressure. Now power up the pump again. There has been some argument about how long it takes to reach pressure and shut down, but it should take about 25-45 seconds to reach pressure and stop. If it keeps running play with the spring you mentioned before. You can then go shut the power to the pump and flush again to see if you have adequate whoosh. If you do you likely have to replace the switch, which is very simple to do if you can access - BUT it's an expensive part - around $160.
It could be duckbills but it's not likely. You may want to replace the duckbills first and see if it remedies the problem. Probably not a bad idea anyway since the boat is new to you. If you evenutally isolate the problem to the pressure switch, you can still use the head - you just have to manually shut power to the pump about 45s after a flush. Kind of a pain but I had to do it until the part arrived. Here's what you'll need. I think West Marine stocks duckbills if you wanted to try that too. They might set you back around $50 - you need 4 duckbills but since they come in a package of 2, get two packages.
I dealt with these guys on Long Island. They are very knowledgable and if you describe to them your symptoms, they'll tell you what you need.
http://northeastsanitation.com/vacuum_tank_vacuum_switch_assembly.html
It could be duckbills but it's not likely. You may want to replace the duckbills first and see if it remedies the problem. Probably not a bad idea anyway since the boat is new to you. If you evenutally isolate the problem to the pressure switch, you can still use the head - you just have to manually shut power to the pump about 45s after a flush. Kind of a pain but I had to do it until the part arrived. Here's what you'll need. I think West Marine stocks duckbills if you wanted to try that too. They might set you back around $50 - you need 4 duckbills but since they come in a package of 2, get two packages.
I dealt with these guys on Long Island. They are very knowledgable and if you describe to them your symptoms, they'll tell you what you need.
http://northeastsanitation.com/vacuum_tank_vacuum_switch_assembly.html
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