We have a 4 year old Raritan Crown Head it has all of a sudden not wanting to flush out. We know It has not been stopped up with paper as my husband and I have been the only ones to use our head, holding tank is also empty. We tried using a plunger, the water and waste will eventually go down on its own but will take awhile just to fill the bowl up again on the next use or flush. Any suggestions or help would be grateful.

Sounds like your holding tank vent is blocked, If air displaced by incoming flushes can't escape out the vent, the tank become pressurized, creating backpressure that feels like a clog and prevents flushes from getting out of the bowl. Check your tank vent thru-hull...scrape out whatever you find in it with a screwdriver blade or similar tool. If there's a screen in the thru-hull, knock it out...screens cause more problems they solve. 

If you have more questions, I'll be glad to answer 'em.

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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

Go to the Raritan site and read the manual page 5. I'm hearing 2 things from you 1. it doesnt pump out. 2. its slow to fill with water. You must have water to pump out.

If nothing is plugged I would guess the dam (wall) is out of place. This is easy to check out, pull the front cover off and look inside. the wall is a resiliant ring that is snapped in place inside the housing. If this is degraded or out of place you get very little pumpout action.

Heres a link to the book.

http://www.raritaneng.com/pdf_.../L91crownheadv1002.pdf

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OLD HOUSEBOATER

Edited: 01/01/2009 at 07:27:18 PM by OLD HOUSEBOATER

Thank You for the replies from Peg and Old Houseboater It has given us somewhere to start. We have already checked the holding tank vent, husband has been under the hull and removed all the hoses to make sure there was not a clog. So I guess our next step is to go directly to the head. Thanks again guys I will keep you posted as to what we find.

The most common problem when a newer model Crown Head doesn't want to pump out is that part # CH120, Discharge Pump Wall, needs replacing. This is a part that is behind the macerator (cutter blade). It is a flexible disc, similar to a large washer (with a hole in the center), that directs the flow into the center of the discharge pump impeller. The discharge pump impeller is a centrifugal impeller that can only draw from it's center. However, the discharge pump wall that directs the flow to the center of the impeller is a consumable part - meaning that it doesn't last forever. They will often come unseated when you try to flush a "large load" and when it becomes unseated, the cutter blade chops it up, along with everything else it is chopping up. The net result is that it won't discharge solids at all, and will only discharge water very slowly.

Replace the CH120 discharge pump wall, and that should restore the head to its former glory. Center column, 18th item down: http://www.raritaneng.com/store/page1.html (comes with instructions)

Well we decided to buy a rebuild kit. Husband put all the new parts that came with the kit. Head seems to be doing fine now. Thank you for all the input you guys are great.

TNhuntress

Was the rebuild a very *Messy* job?

We just bought a 1998 boat and both heads seem to be working fine right now. (We too do not use TP, but that is because we prefer Charmin)

Since I do not know the actual condition of many of the systems of the boat, I have been going over them to ensure that 2009 boating is issue-free as much as possible. Re-building the heads is on my list, but it falls into one of those things that I have never done before and the *messy* part of it is concerning.

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Will change my name to Casting Away

If you are able to flush fresh water thru it prior to rebuilding it is not a big deal. A shop vac to suck up the small amount of water when you pull the cover off to replace the wall will reduce the ick factor to almost zero.

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OLD HOUSEBOATER

Ive often wondered what kinda job that is but I think our heads are set-up a little different than most. We just have a pump under the floor that sucks it all out and pumps it to the tanks and pumps fresh water out of the lake into the head. Wouldnt be hard to unhook the lines and take it off the boat then rebuild.

Im confused why you said you dont use TP since you like Charmin?? Peg said that was a good type to use since it breaks down.

http://www.houseboatmagazine.c...id=12829&enterthread=y

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1990 16x78' stardust
Eastern Ky

The rebuild was not fun to do. Messy and smelly.

Jeepster I didn't say I like Charmin...there's more than one Charmin and they aren't the same. Charmin Ultra seems to dissolve quickly enough to be useable onboard...but plain Charmin doesn't.

What's the make model of your toile that has a pump below decks to suck out the bowl? If you don't know, you should, 'cuz you'll never be able to replace any parts if you don't know what to buy. And sooner or later you will.

TNHuntress, rebuilding a toilet doesn't have to be a smelly messy job if you run plenty of clean water laced with distilled while vinegar through it before you take it apart. Ok, so yours was a bit balky when it came to flushing it...but water DID go down. A little effort and a little patience would have made the job a lot more pleasant.

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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

Edited: 01/28/2009 at 06:27:18 PM by peghall

Its a Delta Marine DHE Galley Maid Head. I had some pics of the pump but they must be on another computer, cant find them. Here is a pic from their website.



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1990 16x78' stardust
Eastern Ky

Ooooooo, that's a pretty potty!!!

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Riverliver

I have the Galley Maid manual. They're mostly a "megayacht" toilet. Because it IS an all china "pretty potty," they had a brief run of popularity on houseboats in the '90s, but use so much water and power, plus they're expensive to repair and parts are almost impossible to find anywhere except directly from Galley Maid that when Raritan introduced their Atlantes, most builders switched to it.

There are a bunch of all china "pretty potties" now..

.the Atlantes
http://www.raritaneng.com/products/toilets/electric/atlantes.html

the Tecma
http://www.tecma.net/nautica/prodotti.html

Jabsco has several http://www.jabsco.com/products/marine/toilet_waste_systems/electric_toilets/index.htm

And the latest model from Raritan, their new Elegance http://www.raritaneng.com/products/toilets/electric/marine_elegance.htm

All are quiet, can use little or no water, and can be bought for well under $1000.

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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

Edited: 01/30/2009 at 02:14:43 PM by peghall

I have a question about the quitness of heads. I hear several folks speak about how their heads being quiter, I have a newer models, on my 2007 Lakeview with 2 raitan heads, electric's that are very noisey, I mean loud, you can her them running 3 slips down from our slip. They are mounted to ceramic bath room floors and seen to vibrate loundly. any suggestion on how to make the quiter? everyon know within 3 slipd when you flush on. It scares the guest the first time they flush one, we try to prewarn of the nosie. Any input is greatlt appreciated!!!

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Docktails
Center Hill Lake, Tennessee

All raw water electric toilets are noisy, 'cuz contrary to what most people think, it's the intake pump that makes most of the noise...however, some are noisier than others...which is why toilets designed to use onboard pressurized fresh water are VERY quiet. They don't have intake pumps, they have solenoid valves instead.

You don't say which model Raritan you have, but if it makes enough noise to wake the dead, I'm guessing it's the Crown Head...which is prob'ly the most durable electric macerating toilet on the planet, but uses more current, needs more flush water and makes more noise than any other make/model. I knew one guy who told his kids that if they flushed a toilet while he was asleep, they wouldn't live to see their next birthdays...and MEANT it!

However, any toilet vibrating on tile is likely to be pretty noisy. Mounting 'em on about an inch of an insulating material should quiet 'em down a lot, although not as quiet as toilets that use pressurized flush water, but enough to make 'em bearable.

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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

Edited: 01/31/2009 at 11:08:09 AM by peghall

Is it possible that you could give me a link to that manual to down load peg? I emailed them awhile back about a manual and they sent me some stuff but its so small I can hardly read it. It looks like they tried to scan it or something.

The heads in our boat are pretty quiet. You just hear a dull roar of the pump running, which isnt loud at all. Both heads are hooked to a D-8 battery along with all the DC lighting in the boat. Weve never had power problems when out on the lake for a weekend, etc.

It has two 90 gallon black water tanks and we can go a good 3-4 weeks without getting a pump out. Were usually only on the boat on the weekends though.

I found a part the other day on the boat which I think was on the side of the pump coming from the toilet. It was a big rubber bushing with a screw drive going through it. Pretty sure that is what grinds up the 'stuff.'

Another thing I thought was neat is the little control panel has a timer that you can set depending on how long you want it to flush. I took it out of the wall the other day and checked it out. Right now it shuts right back off as soon as you let off.





ohh, what I meant by that was I was confused why TNhuntress wouldnt use toilet paper in his head since he likes charmin. I guess he doesnt use the Charmin Ultra. I should said that in my first post..

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1990 16x78' stardust
Eastern Ky

Edited: 01/31/2009 at 02:04:37 PM by Jeepster04

I can't give you a link to the drawings 'cuz they don't seem to be anywhere on the web. My manual is a 15 yr old hard copy...I can fax pages from it to you. Meanwhile, they may have just compressed the pages they sent you turn 'em into files that can be emailed easily. clicking on a page to see if that enlarges 'em to a readable size. If that doesn't work, forward 'em to me and I'll see what I can do enlarge 'em...and if THAT doesn't work, I'll fax what I have to you.

Btw...I think that part you call a "big rubber bushing" is a stator. If so, it's not a grinder, it's  a pump.

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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

Yup, you were right. Got to looking at them and the program I was using to view them wasnt showing their full size.

Just to make sure, is your manual 13 pages long? I would post what I have here but dont want to totally take the thread OT, couldnt find an email in your profile. Does your book(Get rid of boat odor) have anything in it about Galley maid?

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1990 16x78' stardust
Eastern Ky

If you have 13 pages, you have at least as much as I have, and what you have is prob'ly more current than mine.

If you still want to email, send me a PM and I'll give you my email address.

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Peggie Hall, Moderator
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987, Author: "Get Rid of Boat Odors--A Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor."
[L=http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books/detail-books.htm?sku=66438&cat=1304[/L]

Edited: 02/02/2009 at 06:22:19 PM by peghall