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Jabesco craps itself or: Toilets compatible with a pump-out tank...


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No, I'm not swapping out the tank for a standalone unit.

 

My Jabsco (58040 series I'm told) has crapped itself. Fills with water no problem, but it won't empty. The pump kicks in, the water whirls, and tries to do it's bit, but I don't think it's pulling the water down. I've checked the one way valve (separate from the pump) and the rubber in it seems OK. I think the pump is at fault. Taking the pump separate from the pan I can put water down it, 'flush it', but I don't see much pressure from the pump outlet.

 

Anyway, I'm having trouble finding replacement parts for the Jabsco (ones that won't take weeks to get here) and was wondering if it's probably just better, and cheaper, to buy a new pan and flush mechanism. Are manual/electric marine/sea toilets compatible with a pump-out tank? Things like the Jabsco manual twist and lock ones?

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5 minutes ago, ronnietucker said:

Are manual/electric marine/sea toilets compatible with a pump-out tank? Things like the Jabsco manual twist and lock ones?

 

Generally yes (ours - manual pump - are)

 

You will need to check that the models you are looking at will be OK - there are hundreds of models between £200 and £3000 (yes - just the toilet part)

Sea toilets are generally plumbed in to take water from the outside (hence the integral pump) how they would be plumbed in to work with a pressurised water supply I have no idea.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Generally yes (ours - manual pump - are)

 

You will need to check that the models you are looking at will be OK - tghere are hundreds of models betweem £200 and £3000 (yes - just the toilet part)

Sea toilets are generally plumbed in to take water from the outside (hence the integral pump) how they would be plumbed in to work with a pressurised water supply I have no idea.

Thanks for the advice. I was looking at this one (since the place is local): https://www.duncanyacht.co.uk/098637-Jabsco-Manual-Twist-nLock-Compact-Toilet

 

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Similar to ours but ours are a Dutch manufacturer.

Yes the toilet will work on a pump-out tank but, I repeat, how do you plan to get the flush water to the toilet - I cannot see an easy way of getting it to work with 'pumped' water, when the handle has to be pumped to get water into the bowl.

Or, just take the water from the River / Canal and save the potable water for drinking etc - It'll last you longer - win win.

 

If you can crack that, the rest is easy.

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5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Similar to ours but ours are a Dutch manufacturer.

Yes the toilet will work on a pump-out tank but, I repeat, how do you plan to get the flush water to the toilet - I cannot see an easy way of getting it to work with 'pumped' water, when the handle has to be pumped to get water into the bowl.

Or, just take the water from the River / Canal and save the potable water for drinking etc - It'll last you longer - win win.

 

If you can crack that, the rest is easy.

I have water pipes beside the current pan. Currently it uses an electric flush to get water into the bowl. I could use that to get water in? But, yeah, it might take a bit of Macguyvering to get to work properly.

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Lavac are good. 

 

I fitted one on a boat used by 4 people 365/24/7 for several years and it was a good unit. 

 

I made a little cistern system with float switch and solenoid valve so it flushed with fresh water. Discharged to holding tank. 

This was on a mooring with fresh water and pumpout service so the water use didn't matter. 

 

To be fair it did not use all that much. 

 

I do prefer the shires household toilet with raised cistern and U bend which I have on the current boat but that -does- use a lot of water! 

 

Suitable for overboard discharge where allowed or pumpout if one has that option without paying through the nose for it. 

 

 

Edited by magnetman
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Is there a way to use the water pipe I currently have for the flush with the Jabsco manual pumps? As in: hook the water pipe to the new Jabsco toilet and use the current electric flush to supply to the new Jabsco? Then use the twist lock pump thing to shove the 'goods' to the tank.

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It's a bit dodgy attaching the domestic water directly to the double acting toilet pump. Better to do it via a self-filling cistern of some sort I think.

 

Might be okay but I think there is a route for bad things. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I repeat, how do you plan to get the flush water to the toilet - I cannot see an easy way of getting it to work with 'pumped' water, when the handle has to be pumped to get water into the bowl.

Or, just take the water from the River / Canal and save the potable water for drinking etc - It'll last you longer - win win.

 

If you can crack that, the rest is easy.

 

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2 hours ago, ronnietucker said:

Are manual/electric marine/sea toilets compatible with a pump-out tank? Things like the Jabsco manual twist and lock ones?

That what I have 

Why would they not be compatible ?

 

I swapped my electric Jabsco toilet pump for a manual pump .

Great improvement . No intention of  going back.

 

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4 minutes ago, MartynG said:

That what I have 

Why would they not be compatible ?

 

I swapped my electric Jabsco toilet pump for a manual pump .

Great improvement . No intention of  going back.

 

 

What is your source of flushing water ?

 

From the river, or from the boat water tank pumped by the boat electric pump ?

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1 hour ago, magnetman said:

It's a bit dodgy attaching the domestic water directly to the double acting toilet pump. Better to do it via a self-filling cistern of some sort I think.

 

 

As long as you fit a NRV between the water feed and pump I don't see a problem. 

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12 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

What is your source of flushing water ?

 

From the river, or from the boat water tank pumped by the boat electric pump ?

Yeah. What he said.  ☝️

I was thinking from the boat water tank like my existing electric flush.

19 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Why would they not be compatible ?

It's just that some of the Jabsco leaflets make it look like they're for marine/sea use where you're dumping your dumpings overboard.

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3 minutes ago, ronnietucker said:

I was thinking from the boat water tank like my existing electric flush.

 

As has been said - it wont work unless yiu run a totally separate feed from the tank (not from the pipe already coming from the tanks) so your manual pump can suck what it wants from the tank - your existing electric pump will be trying to pump water thru the manual pump - it won't work.

 

As Tracy suggests you also have the possibility of a syphon effect and you could end up with toilet water running back into your water tank.

 

You either :

 

Install a new water tank just for the toilet, or, drill thru the hull and use the river / canal as the water supply.

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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

What is your source of flushing water ?

 

From the river, or from the boat water tank pumped by the boat electric pump ?

River water causes odours - we learned that many years ago.

The tap head in the wash basin  is also a shower head as it is on a long hose , like this.........

image.png.758f6529393ad258b75e53bc79958c31.png

So we use that to flush the loo

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8 minutes ago, ronnietucker said:

 

It's just that some of the Jabsco leaflets make it look like they're for marine/sea use where you're dumping your dumpings overboard.

Well I have a Jabsco loo and a holding tank . Its quite common in lumpy water boats.

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Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

Well thats another alternative - why not just keep a bucket of water next to the toilet and use that to flush ?

Could do but the toilet /shower compartment is not so spacious .

We are rarely far from a tap to top up the water tank  so the water use is not an issue .

You don't need much water to flush a pee.  We are  are often not far from shore facilities so use this mostly for  2's.

 

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6 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

As has been said - it wont work unless yiu run a totally separate feed from the tank (not from the pipe already coming from the tanks) so your manual pump can suck what it wants from the tank - your existing electric pump will be trying to pump water thru the manual pump - it won't work.

 

As Tracy suggests you also have the possibility of a syphon effect and you could end up with toilet water running back into your water tank.

 

You either :

 

Install a new water tank just for the toilet, or, drill thru the hull and use the river / canal as the water supply.

I see, sorry, I get you now.

I might just use the existing water source (with a little tap or something) to top up a flush tank or something.

Although, I do like the shower as flush water idea.  :D

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Going back to the original post, the symptoms of pump running, but nothing much happening apart from some water disturbance, could be the impeller in the pump getting stuff stuck on it. When our one did the same, I found that this could be cleared by reversing the power to the pump. As it's a centrifugal pump, it won't pump backwards, so no danger of turning the loo into a fountain :) . Since the first occurrence, I have fitted a reversing switch to the pump, which makes switching to "reverse" much easier, saving fiddling around with a screwdriver.

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21 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Tank the grey water from the basin  with the excess going over board and pump that into the loo.

Yup. Before we got rid of the pumpout our boat had a small tank (actually a 5 l polyethylene bottle from something) in-line with the washbasin drain. Worked fine.

 

I fitted a Sanimarin electric bog to our boat on the mainland, lovely to use but might be a bit generous on its water consumption for use with a holding tank.

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A sea toilet works fine with a holding tank as long as the flush water is coming from a separate tank and not direct from the main domestic supply.

 

I used a small nylon header tank available at chandleries, float switch in the side near the top and a pipe coming in from above to top it up with a 12v solenoid valve connected via the float switch.  The draw to the toilet flush was from the base of the tank. 

 

This introduces a proper disconnect between the fresh water and the toilet water. 

 

You might have to put little holes in the toilet inlet pipe and adjust the size of the holes accordingly, or alter the height of the float switch. Otherwise you can end up with the toilet bowl being too full of water after use. 

 

It does work. Takes a bit of playing with.  Holes in pipes (the top so it doesn't leak) can always be made smaller using cable ties poked into them. 

 

 

 

 

Edited by magnetman
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