Joker valve

[jimschu]

We bought a 2017 Cutwater 28 earlier this year from Matt at Bellingham Yacht Sales. As we were not returning to Washington until late April Matt offered moorage until our return.
I took delivery in late April and moved it to our new moorage at Edmonds Marina. As we were in the middle of a
condo remodel we did not use the boat for about three weeks.
So, first time out with family we soon noticed a problem with the head. After some research and poking around the
boat it became obvious that when we flushed the electric head the bowl filled up with what was just flushed.
Determined the joker valve was defective and ordered two from Fisheries Supply and they arrived in the mail the
next day. Installation was actually quite easy. Plan on having some rags or lots of paper towels handy.
Flushed toilet and all is good.
Things I learned..................with the electric head flush for several seconds as this allows the waste to get past the high point in the line. Raritan cautions that waste water that has urine will deteriorate the joker valve. I am keeping a spare joker valve on board. In over 50 years of boating this is the first issue I have had with a head. I am also going to change the setup so it will use fresh water rather than salt water.
Just glad that problem is resolved.

JIm....................Seascape Too...........................

 

[sjreib]

Thanks Jim,

Good to know. Will always flush a little more water through from now on. I always rinse the bowl with fresh water from the sink after flushing. Be interested to see your fresh water hook up.

Steve

 

[knotflying]

Always thought it was a cruel industry implementation of the name "Joker Valve". Depending on the situation it isn't very funny. :lol:

 

[baz]

Jim: If you tap off the head/sinks fresh water line then you will need to activate the fresh water pump prior to flushing the head. This what I had to do on my previous R-25 (Classic) when I replaced its marine head with a Thetford Tecmar EasyFit ECO series electric head.

Good luck and thanks for your Joker explanations the other day at your boat. 🙂

Ref: http://www.tugnuts.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4861&p=35384&hilit=ECO#p35384

 

[baz]

Maybe RT can produce a Joker replacement video for us. 😱 ...and how to replace a new blade in a Stanley 'sharp knife' 😉 (a private joke(r) with Jim)

 

[Brunski]

Raritan cautions that waste water that has urine will deteriorate the joker valve.

Who designs a waste management system that is deteriorated by the very waste it is intended to handle? Asking for a friend...

 

[jimschu]

Raritan cautions that waste water that has urine will deteriorate the joker valve.

Who designs a waste management system that is deteriorated by the very waste it is intended to handle? Asking for a friend...

Wondered about myself.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[baz]

Read this for some evidence about Raritan "stale urine" testing

Raritan

This red-nitrile duckbill valve demonstrated Excellent chemical resistance. While it wasn’t as stiff as the Groco valve, it did create some resistance in the flush cycle. The Raritan valve is generally considered to be the most durable, but in our testing, it didn’t resist stale urine as well as other valves. It became stiff, lost resilience, and leaked (in the lab and on the test boat).

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Urine: Urine was the most damaging off all the chemicals tested, inducing minor leaks in the Raritan valve. The fix is obvious: Flush the waste clear to the tank.

https://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/37_31/features/Joker-Valves-for-Marine-Heads_11065-1.html

 

[HRowland]

That same article that Barry referenced like the Jabsco valve the best. It is made of neoprene. One drawback of neoprene is that it is sensitive to damage from propylene glycol, used in non-toxic antifreeze for winterization. Jabsco admits that Ethylene glycol is better for winterizing as this will not damage neoprene. Note that some other plastics are also damaged by propylene glycol, such as some impellers and clear filter covers.

Howard