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Raritan flushing issues

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by incoming, Jan 19, 2025.

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  1. incoming, Jan 19, 2025
    #1
    incoming

    incoming Member

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    Started having problems with the control board in my 25-year-old raw water fed Raritan so I just replaced it with a brand new Atlantes.

    It seemed to flush fine at first but after several successful “liquid” flushes, it won’t flush “solids”

    This happened once with the old unit as well just before I pulled it out. Then, I fixed it by flushing while running the boat on plane. I thought maybe the discharge/macerator pump was going bad.

    But I also had a few instances with the old unit would bowl would fill with water while running.

    Looking at the troubleshooting guide, it looks like both of these problems can be caused by a clogged vent. I pumped air through my vent line with the dinghy foot pump. It felt a bit restricted but the air did move through and it seems normal that it would be hard with a high volume low pressure pump to get a lot of air through a 3/8” vent line or whatever it is.

    I tried closing the overboard discharge and routing discharge to the onboard tank. No change.

    note I’m fairly certain at least most of the toilet bowl is below the water line.

    Any other suggestions for troubleshooting? The bowl is so full now I’m afraid running the boat is going to make a huge mess, so “fixing” it the way I did before (by flushing while on plane) isn’t a great option. Clearly there is something wrong with something other than the toilet since this has happened with both the old and new heads.
  2. Capt Ralph, Jan 19, 2025
    #2
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Everybody is gritting their teeth on this one.
    We all know what is is, just don't want to think about.
    Calcium build up to start, lots of other debris gets caught in it; total clog.

    Scoop out what you can. Drain the other end in a bucket in the bilge.
    By the time you get some parts disassembled and find the restriction, you will see the big project...
    Start replacing hose from the head to the tank.

    LOTS of ventilation, NOT AC fans.
    When done, wash the bilges out with vinegar.
  3. incoming, Jan 19, 2025
    #3
    incoming

    incoming Member

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    Well, good news is I waited 3 hours, tried it again and it flushed right out. Which I feel like seems to point to a slow vent, right? A vacuum lock that releases as it slowly vents over time? Perhaps this was what solve my problem before - it wasn’t that I was running on plane, it was just that I’d waited a couple of hours?

    At least I got the “stuff” out of the bowl and I can get it most of it out of the lines as well now by flushing a bunch of fresh water (and bleach?) through
  4. Capt Ralph, Jan 19, 2025
    #4
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    IMO, the debris finally got soft enough to flush thru. Somewhere there still may be a crystalline (calcium, sodium) buildup that may haunt you again.
    Short term, lighten up on big jobs and debris between complete flushes.

    Tank ventilation is important. Bugs luv to nest up in the hull vent. Usually a water hose can blow this dirt and bug stuff out.
    Also, those in-line odor filters along that vent hose (if equipped), they do clog up.

    IMO, bleach may help on odors but is not going to fix anything.
    Vinegar may help dissolve some of the crystalline but loosened chunks may clog back up further down the hose and will destroy your black tank discharge pump.
    I have never witnessed tank treatment fix any build up. Maybe help slow it down from accumulating.

    Correct fix; hose replacement.

    Also, I recall some new heads coming with 1 and 1.5 inch discharge fittings. I hope you kept the 1.5 inch schema when installing your new head.
  5. Pascal, Jan 19, 2025
    #5
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    A clogged vent is unlikely to prevent a single flush but it s easy to be sure : open the pump the pump out d ck fitting and try.

    do you have a carbon filter in the vent line?

    That said I agree with Ralph. Chances are the hose between the head and the tank are clogged with calcium Deposits. That can happen even with fresh water flush as I experienced some years ago especially with heads like vacuflush which use very little water. When I replaced the hose, the opening was just about 3/4” and would catch solids.
  6. Capt J, Jan 19, 2025
    #6
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    How long do you expect rubber hose to last? It's lifespan is 7-10 years. If it's origional change it, before you have a much bigger issue and crappier job to fix.
  7. incoming, Jan 19, 2025
    #7
    incoming

    incoming Member

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    Alternated high pressure water and vacuum through the vent line. System seems to be working now.

    But I know better than to ignore wise counsel. I’ll change out the discharge hoses next. When I was talking about flushing bleach, it was to eradicate the smelly stuff so I could open up the system, I realize it won’t clear calcium deposits.

    Thanks team!
  8. Capt J, Jan 19, 2025
    #8
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    DON'T, bleach mixes with the ammonia in urine and creates mustard gas and also is very corrossive to aluminum tanks. Use some holding tank deodorizer if you want to know the smell down.
  9. Capt Ralph, Jan 19, 2025
    #9
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Metal black water tanks are a no-no. Incoming has a plastic tank.
    It is amazing what gasses can be generated in a black water tank.
    Mustard Gas is another fine example, past methane. One customers black tank blew up from a lightning strike. UG..

    Further reminders not to ad clog cleaners also (more chemicals).

    Another reminder, wear latex gloves under mechanics gloves. I cut my hand thru a latex glove and got blood poisoning a few years ago.

    On a lighter note; I remember my high school experiments turning fermented liquids into ammonia.
    Teacher did not appreciate my personal contributions.
  10. ranger58sb, Jan 20, 2025
    #10
    ranger58sb

    ranger58sb Senior member

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    I had good luck once with Sew Clean, from Trac. Actually, all I had on hand was Barnacle Buster that day, but the Trac guy told me to just dilute it to Sew Clean proportions instead... and that BB is mostly the same as SC but with more "marine" retardants included.

    Anyway, it cleared a hard uric acid clog -- that I'd sorta enabled by exposing the waste hose (during a different but related project) and letting the thing dry out. Plumber's snake didn't do squat.

    -Chris