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[…] White vinegar is also a great item to use to freshen the air.  I like a sponge soaked in vinegar in a non-breakable container to sit out and grab the smelly stuff.  Also don’t forget to pour a bit of vinegar into the toilet and pump through to the holding tank.  Looking for more information on managing that toilet?  Then you might want to read my post about marine toilets. […]

My marine electric toilet when flushed is very very slow to take water. The from the lake enter just fine, but I must cut it off because it feels up with water faster than the toilet can discharge it. The toile was replaced with new unit but it has the same problem. The toilet is a very common install, water enters in from just below toilet, discharge enters in to a loop about 7 feet from the head and from the loop to the holding tank. From the tank it is equiped with a Y-Value connecting to another pump and through the hull. Anyone have any clues as to why the water would discharge so slow. Some the toilet must be cycled 30 times or more to drain plain water. Thinking about changing all hoses and vents.

Mike C

Hi Mike,

I think I’d start with the vent. I’ve seen bees muck up the intake vent before. I’ve also seen it plug up due to an overly full holding tank. Can you reverse pressure wash the vent? Then pump out and see if it works.

Also check the Y-valve to be sure it’s completely open.

If you’re still having problems, I’d suspect a restriction in the hose. Muriatic (hydrochloric) acid would be the next thing I’d try.

If none of these thoughts work then I’d replace the lines. Best of luck!

I bought my first boat last August and have not used it yet (I live in northern Canada and winter comes in September). I winterized everything properly, but now as I get it ready for summer use, I find that the manual marine toilet will not pull water from the tank thru the toilet to the holding tank when I use the pump. Its an older toilet, but everything has been looked after. What could cause this and how do I fix it? Also how much does this cost approx?

Thanks so much for visiting and congrats on the boat!

Let me ask some questions about your toilet problem and see if maybe we can help.

1 Did it work properly last year?
2 Is it pulling up water into the bowl, meaning: is the through hull open?
3 Is the holding tank empty? Pull off the deck plug where you would pump out and look to see if there’s anything plugging that.
4 Is it really hard to pump into the holding tank or does it just do nothing?
5 Is the vent for the holding tank plugged?
6 How are the hoses?
7 When you turn the valve to direct the pumping into the holding tank does it turn easy or really hard?

Any thing else you can tell us? We’ll be happy to try to help. Just remember the old adage. Cruising means fixing your boat in different locations. Welcome to boating!

We have a 89 Doral Cavalier and it is our first big boat, we tried out toilet out when it was in the water and it work for the first two or three times,now it will not draw water in to fill the bowl, we can pump out the water but when you pump the handle there is no water coming in, the only thing that it is doing is sucking air. Please help

Did you winter over on the water? If you did, did you winterize the head? If you did, have you opened the seacock? If you’ve opened it then try closing and opening a couple of times. Sometimes the ball inside doesn’t move.

If it’s open then is there a filter? Ours has a filter and that could get plugged and need cleaning.

Have you checked the hose from the seacock? Is it in good shape and is the clamp tight?

If all that seems good then I’d start a system check by closing the seacock and removing the hose. Then I’d open the seacock briefly to be sure water is able to come through to the hose. If it does then check the hose for blockage.

If there isn’t a blockage then you probably need to replace the rubber parts and O rings in the pump unit. So you’ll need a rebuild kit.

After some discussion with buddies (particularly those with the Jabsco toilet) the consensus is…a re-build kit will cost nearly what a new toilet on sale will cost.

We’ve not had to decide this on our boat yet as the PO replace the head a couple years before we bought it, but a few buddies have said they don’t mess around (no pun intended) with the re-build kits any more, they just replace the entire toilet. They’ve used the same model as before and the bolts are already in place from the old unit.

If you replace be sure to clean all old gasket or sealants away and be sure to use sealant on all gaskets to prevent them from weeping. When you tighten the bowl be sure to tighten all four nuts evenly and not too tight or you may crack the ceramic. Also, wait until you’ve reinstalled the head to tighten the pump rod and then only tighten enough to keep it from leaking.

If you opt to rebuild just remember you’re working with sewage; be careful and clean. I understand it generally takes about 3-4 hours this includes clean up time, use lots of bleach when you clean up.

All in all I think I like my buddies idea best of just replacing the entire unit.

Once you get things working again be sure to use head lube once a month to keep everything working at its best.

Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

HI MIKE i JUST CHANGED THE MASARATOR AND NOW WHEN i TRY TO GET A PUMP OUT NOTHING HAPPENS ANY IDEAS

Hi George,

Thanks for your visit! The first thing that comes to mind is for you to check the ‘vent’. If the holding tank vent is plugged you won’t be able to pump out.

We used a fresh water hose and sprayer on the ‘jet’ setting and back flushed it. After that we could pump out fine. A buddy’s boat had a plugged vent from bees!

I just purchased a 1994 250CR I’m not sure how to flush out the toilet holding tank.

Hi John,

I appreciate your visit! I’m not sure exactly what you mean by ‘flush’ out the holding tank.

If you mean how to pump it out, then here’s a link to that:

http://pacificnorthwestboating.com/2007/12/17/pump-out-marine-head/

If you mean being sure it’s all cleaned out then I’d suggest pumping a bunch of water into the holding tank and then sail or motor over some chop for an hour or so and then head to the pump out.

Then too, here’s a link to a story of what kind of paper to use:

http://pacificnorthwestboating.com/2007/05/31/the-perilous-potty/

Hope this helps! You can always leave more to your question or email me if this doesn’t help…maybe I’ve a better answer.

Good info thanks. I have a Jabsco manual flush onboard my steal Stevens Kruiser is located in Europe. I’ve lived aboard for the past 5 years with no toilet problems. I regularly use white vinegar and also sunflower oil as lubricant. This is a direct discharge into the sea. (there is no pump-out stations here so I decided not to continue using the holding tank and electric pump-out). Last night I experience resistance to pushing down on the plunger but with menacing grunts and pushing my full weight on it I was able to flush. I added a shower/toilet cleaner and was able to get total flow both ways with no back up. I had no problems today then this evening the resistance happened again but more so. The toilet was cleared with no back flow but the plunger is now fully extended and I can’t move it down in either position. I’ve just removed all of the water that I can and added a couple of cups of white vinegar which I thought I would leave over night. I’m holding back on the hot water. There have never been any smells associated with this toilet - thank goodness. I’m just surprised that this could happen so quickly! So my plan is to wait over night. If no success buy some hydrochloric acid and try it tomorrow with hestitation because of my boat being steel. Am I on the right track?
Thanks Carol

Hi Carol,

First off…I’m filled with envy at your living aboard!

I haven’t used the hydrochloric acid so I’m afraid I’m no help there, buddies at the club gave me information on it. It seems to me I remember reading about someone having a similar problem and it turned out to be some sea creature that took up residence.

I’ve been on my boat over the weekend so I’m a bit late getting back to you, maybe you’ve already tried the acid. I’d sure like to hear what you do to get things working.