Crappy situation - update!

[family affair]

The PO of my boat claimed he never used the head. I assumed the holding tank must be empty. I've had some issues with backflow into the bowl, but I have not yet checked the joker vavle. I know the system has at least a gallon or 2 of water in it. Went to pump the tank (vacuum system) out and nothing is coming out. I have not checked the vent yet because I don't know where it is located on a 270. I would have thought the tank would still vacuum out even if the vent was blocked, but can't verify this.
Thoughts

 

[seasick]

You say you "went to pump the tank and nothing is coming out". Did you go to a pump out station? In order for pump out to work, you need to make sure that the selector valve for overboard/dock pumpout is in the correct position.Some Y valves are counter-intuitive as to which direction is correct. One way to check is to put water using a hose ( at low pressure) into the pumpout fitting. If the valve is in the wrong position, the water will quickly fill the hose and overflow out of the fitting. You also need venting for the pumpout to work.

 

[wspitler]

The PO of my boat claimed he never used the head. I assumed the holding tank must be empty. I've had some issues with backflow into the bowl, but I have not yet checked the joker vavle. I know the system has at least a gallon or 2 of water in it. Went to pump the tank (vacuum system) out and nothing is coming out. I have not checked the vent yet because I don't know where it is located on a 270. I would have thought the tank would still vacuum out even if the vent was blocked, but can't verify this.
Thoughts

What type head is it? Different designs very considerably. Domestic Vacuflush? If so, it needs a vent which is typically on the hull on the side where the holding tank is. If the vent is clogged and you try to vacuum it you can damage the check valves (duckbill). If it is like my 330, there is no Y valve and the only seacock is for overboard discharge.

 

[Fishtales]

Usually no y valve. Just a discharge valve. You should be able to pump out with the valve closed.

 

[family affair]

I'll recheck the manual, but I'm reasonably sure there is no Y valve. This is a Jabsco manual to electric conversion system. Same as our 248. The 248 had no Y valve.
I'll need to check where this thing vents. The gas is obvious, but I'm not sure where this one comes out.

 

[Hookup1]

I have a 268 Islander. Not sure if the system is the same. There is no y-valve. Macerator is a Groco which is in the tank. You should be able to pump out thru the deck plate. You can back flush the vent to be sure its open but I doubt it is the problem. My head is a manual pump but the electric doesn't really change anything except you down't need to use the handle.

I have a lot of experience with waste system and problems with a Egg Harbor that I previously had.

What I would do is go to the pumpout station and add water to the waste tank thru deck fill. Then pump it out. Several times. Get the tank clean. Then fill it again and try to pump out overboard (only if its clean). Alternative is pull the overboard hose and put in a 5-gallon bucket (remove panel behind head, pull hose and use another piece of hose to get to the bucket). See if the Groco macerator works.

The Groco pump work well but they are in a hostel environment sitting in a rubber case in the waste. I re-designed mine (posted on this site) but it was a project.

PM me if I can help.

 

[family affair]

Hookup,
Thanks for the offer.
I looked at my owner's manual and I'm perplexed. What I thought was the fuel tank vent on the side of the hull is (according to the manual) the vent for the head. The perplexing part is that the manual shows the fuel tanks venting at the caps!?? How are your vents setup?

 

[wspitler]

Almost all newer boats have fuel tank vents integrated into the fuel filler/cap.see my previous reply about your holding tank vent.

 

[family affair]

Huh. Looks like I need to look more closely at that side vent.

 

[seasick]

The PO of my boat claimed he never used the head. I assumed the holding tank must be empty. I've had some issues with backflow into the bowl, but I have not yet checked the joker vavle. I know the system has at least a gallon or 2 of water in it. Went to pump the tank (vacuum system) out and nothing is coming out. I have not checked the vent yet because I don't know where it is located on a 270. I would have thought the tank would still vacuum out even if the vent was blocked, but can't verify this.
Thoughts

Just want to comment on something.
If the holding tank vent is blocked, there is a good chance the the toilet will not flush correctly

 

[family affair]

Hopefully the issues are related and the fix is as easy as unclogging a vent.

 

[family affair]

Found my problem! WTF is this?!?

This was blocking the pump out line! Looks like a capacitor. Could it be from the Groco macerator?

 

[Legend]

Here a pic of the Groco - nothing even close to that - the pump is sealed - maybe something flushed by PO?

 

[igblack87]

Found my problem! WTF is this?!?
View attachment 27318
This was blocking the pump out line! Looks like a capacitor. Could it be from the Groco macerator?

M80

 

[family affair]

Here a pic of the Groco - nothing even close to that - the pump is sealed - maybe something flushed by PO?

Uh, it would have to go through the electric macerator in the head. No way that made it through!

 

[Hookup1]

Not buying that. I doubt it would even fit in the hose. Are you telling us everything is now your pump is working?

 

[family affair]

Hookup,
I'm not exactly sure what you are implying. The issue was I could not get anything out of the holding tank. We sucked this up from the tank to the gas dock pump-out nozzle. It was stuck in the nozzle. We removed it and suddenly we were able to suck the tank clean.

 

[Hookup1]

Hookup,
I'm not exactly sure what you are implying. The issue was I could not get anything out of the holding tank. We sucked this up from the tank to the gas dock pump-out nozzle. It was stuck in the nozzle. We removed it and suddenly we were able to suck the tank clean.

That makes more sense. Someone dropped it into the head or tank and flushed it.

I thought you were talking about the macerator and overboard hose.

So what works now? Deck pump out? Overboard macerator pump out?

 

[family affair]

That makes more sense. Someone dropped it into the head or tank and flushed it.

I thought you were talking about the macerator and overboard hose.

So what works now? Deck pump out? Overboard macerator pump out?

Yeah. Sorry. I used the wrong terminology in my update.
I can now suck the tank out from the deck.
Owning a used Grady with a functional Groco macerator is like owning an 80's car with a functional parking brake. It just doesn't happen!
As much as I'd love to have that working, it's on the to-do list right after sell the boat.

 

[Hookup1]

I replaced the Grocco macerator with a Jabsco. It works well.

The Grocco is great when its working. Sitting in the tank makes it a terrible job. But it doesn't have to lift". The Jabsco uses silicone hoses to maintain a good seal yet allow things to be taken apart.