Head problem, check valve

C

Connerkip

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 26, 2015
Messages
290
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Non-Fluid Motion Model
Cutwater 30 (2014)
Vessel Name
Going Coastal
After a flush of my electric Tecma head, the water level is at the bottom of the narrow throat of the bowl. It then very slowly fills to about an inch up the wider part of the bowl. Is this normal or might I have a leaking check valve, allowing black water to seep back into the bowl?
If it's the check valve, does any one have experience getting to it to work on or replace?
I have a 2014 Cutwater 30.
 
I had a concern when I replaced the check valve on our R27, Jabsco 58500 series. I found the manual online and saved it to my computer for that replacement and future reference. I would guess you'd be able to find one for your Tecma online as well. As far as the replacement I'd have to say it was rather straight forward. When I got to it (the check valve) it was corroded enough that the valve was deformed into an open position. This situation was not letting clean water rest in the bowl, therefore letting odors return into the head area. I don't think black water is able to re enter after it has been flushed away, at least that was our experience. Good luck,

Jim F
 
On our last trip ours did something similar to yours, we leave just a bit of clea water in the toilet (about an inch), but later on, there is about 3-4 inches of water... The waves were at 4-5 feet, I wonder if it had anything to do with that... I shut the valve when not in use for the rest of the trip. Will have to investigate this matter this spring... The water in the toilet is manually pumped unlike yours, I wonder if it is just a comeback from the manual pumping action?
 
I had the same problem but found it it not happen if I turned the handle into the lock position.
 
I'll keep an eye to this on the next trip, if the winter can be over with...
 
I connected my toilet from seawater supply to fresh water supply. I do have similar problem,s if I overfill the fresh water tank, It seems the expanded plastic freshwater tank forces water into the toilet. Perhaps it is similar on your boat if water is supplied by the water tank. I am not sure of how things are in the Cutwater's, but in my tug the waste tank is low in the boat, the only possible way to get water from that tank into the toilet would be for the tank to be completely full....which one should avoid if at all possible
 
I had the same problem with our electric head. The leak went on for months. After replacing the check valve a couple of times it was removed again. I believe at this point I had three non working check valves so bad luck is the wrong answer. We cut open all three valves to find they each had a couple of grains of what appeared to be sand. The sand was not allowing the valve to seal fully.

The fix was to place a little filter in the Water line to the head. Problem solved. It should be noted that we have another filter on the main supply line so the junk must have been introduced further down the line during assembly.

Hope this helps.
 
We have the electric Tecma toilet also. I have noticed that when we are out and about .. waves... there is more water in the toilet bowl. It hasn't overflowed and goes back to normal behavior at the dock. It is an unsolved mystery, so far. :roll:
 
Well got it fixed. Not a pleasant job. The check valve shown in the literature is also known as a joker valve. It is located just behind the toilet at the entry to the black water hose to black water tank. In my case the valve was quite crusted, not allowing full discharge from the pump, over the upside down goose neck to the discharge hose. When the toilet cycles it first pushes the waste over the gooseneck, refills, then flushes clean water over the gooseneck. Remaining clean water on the pump side, or uphill side, of the gooseneck then falls back into the toilet bowl. The restricted joker impeded the discharge and would leave water also on the downhill side of the gooseneck, which would then syphon back into the toilet bowl as the uphill side fell back into the toilet.
All fixed for now. I believe the joker valves primary purpose seems to be to prevent black water sloshing back into the line to the toilet, in rough seas.
 
Thanks for the update. Do you feel this is just a wear item that everyone will need to replace at sometime ? Or do you think there was a problem caused it to fail ? Do you use any cleaning products that might have caused this ? And finally do you use your boat full time or part time? Just trying to get an idea on the cause.
Thanks for sharing as this will help everyone. Must feel good to put this problem to bed
Mark
 
Irish Mist":c83mygsd said:
.....
Thanks for sharing as this will help everyone. Must feel good to put this problem to bed
Mark
Click to expand...

I wouldn't want to put this problem to any bed. But I am sure you are glad it got flushed out 🙂
 
In past on sail boats we changed the joker valve every year. It acts like a simple check valve and wears out over time. It also can be messed up by small particles that stick to the inside. I always keep a spare on every boat. They are possibly the cheapest part on the boat to replace.
 
I hear it's pretty much a frequent maintenance item. I can see why. I am going to carry a spare
 
The recommended operation is to pump a few extra pumps of clean water into the holding tank after each use to ensure that clean water is left on the black water side of the joker valve and to ensure there all the bad stuff is in the tank. If not it will eat into the hose and joker. The bad stuff is hard on rubber products. But not everyone does that as it fills the tank too fast. In that case change the hose often, five years at least, and the joker every spring. That way the smell will stay out of the boat.
 
We have a Raritan electric head and recently noticed the bowl will not hold fresh water or any other type of water. I called a Raritan technician that thought it may be clogged vent line. After flushing, there usually is a small amount of fresh water in the bottom of the bowl, it leaks out. Has anyone experienced similar issues? Thanks.
 
recray":bgpgecr0 said:
We have a Raritan electric head and recently noticed the bowl will not hold fresh water or any other type of water. I called a Raritan technician that thought it may be clogged vent line. After flushing, there usually is a small amount of fresh water in the bottom of the bowl, it leaks out. Has anyone experienced similar issues? Thanks.
Click to expand...






I experienced that on our 26 Cutwater. I'm not sure if yours is plumbed the same. Our Sea strainer feeds thee things ,Engine ,Head and raw water wash down. There is a check valve in line between the sea strainer fitting and the head. When we are in the slip the head bowl holds water. When we are running the boat the bowl eventually goes dry. I took the check valve out to inspect it and it looked and operated fine. My thought was the check valve had debris in it and the engines water pump was sucking the out of the head line ( fouled or bad check valve) After inspecting it and reinstalling the bowl still ran dry and if the engine was running it was hard to get it to pump and flush. I recently converted the head over to using fresh water and not raw water. I did this for a few reasons the bowl going dry and hard to flush was one, odor, and the water pump was very loud.
Brian Brown
Cutwater26
PORT-A-GEE
 
Unfortunately this is normal for the Raritan. It is specifically stated in the manual that is is not designed to hold water in the bowl. I called Raritan and they confirmed this.
 
Thanks Red Raven and BB Marine for you input...I'll take a look at the sea strainer and check the vent...It was odd that the Raritan did hold a small amount of raw water after flushing in the bottom of the bowl and worked this way for six months and now the small amount of water drains out...hmmmm...There are no other indications of a problem...Will monitor and proceed accordingly...Thanks again for your input...Ray
 
If you winterize your boat it's been recommended to not use antifreeze containing alcohol because it can break down head components. Better to buy the more expensive antifreeze.

Wrackline
 
My 2013 C28 has a Raritan head. It started leaking black water back into the bowl. Obviously a bad check valve. Replaced that and then took it a step further and installed a shutoff valve in the exhaust hose just downstream from the check valve. It was not an easy job but I'll never have to worry about changing the check valve. Having done that, the last time I took her out I noticed 2-3 inches of water in the bowl. Calm conditions but we were running 17-18 knots. I think clean water gets forced into the bowl when running fast or in waves.
 
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