Jabsco Manual Flush Head

[Elizabeth Ann]

Hi All,

It's been a very long time since I've been on this board and I am looking forward to visiting more often now that life has settled down a bit.

It seem that my manual flush has started to give me fits. I replaced the entire pump mechanism and that did not resolve the problem. It seems like I cannot bring enough water into the bowl or that the bowl will not hold the water (i.e. it drains on its own). I am able, or so it seems, to pump water out (flush). Yes, my seacocks are opened and after replacing the pump it felt like I hand to prime the line so I believe the pump is working correctly up till it reaches the head itself.

I did google search the board on this topic and the closet thing I found was this classic thread

viewtopic.php?p=10968

which toward the end describes a problem someone had with flushing, the opposite of what I am experiencing.

Any suggestions? The only thing I can think about is running a new intake line from the seacock to the pump but I really don't think that is it. Am I looking at total head replacement?

Best.

[Russell]

This sounds like it could be the joker valve, a large rubber one way valve just below the pump piston. If it has hardened and does not close completely the pump will not work effectively and water wil siphon back through it. Did you replace it when you replaced the pump mechanism?

[Elizabeth Ann]

I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to, is this on the head itself or the mechanism? I'll guess the head itself. I should probably call Jabsco to see what they say. Thanks Russell.

[Elizabeth Ann]

Yes, the joker valve was part of the pump.

[DougSea]

EA! I have no info on the head but I wanted to say hello! So funny that just last night I was looking at members and when they were last active, especially some of the "old hands". I remember specifically looking at your entry with the LI and FL "ports" and thinking about how active you used to be.

Hope all's well. Looking forward to hearing about your continuing Albin adventures.

[Nancy]

EA, do you think there's a blockage on the intake side? There's not much to go wrong if you replaced the entire pump assembly (Jabsco #29040-3000).

But with that said, I did that replacement in spring 2012. By this spring, it had malfunctioned: worked fine on wet side, but there was great resistance for several strokes on dry side. Finally, last week, no water would come in the intake and the pump handle moved freely with the lever in both positions. With the rebuild kit at $56 (and then someone other than me has to work on it) and an entire new assembly at $70, I went for the new assembly. I think it's pretty bad that the components don't last more than a year.

I'd love a new toilet, but it's not a simple swap-out.