Jabsco toilet joker valve

[Peter Morgan]

Seeing a previous post on these toilets reminded me of an on going issue I have. The joker valve seems to fail quite regularly, last one lasted about 4 months. The fault allows water to back fill the toilet. No problem changing or getting spares but they seem to fail quite regularly. Any clues, ways to stop, extend life as not cheap to buy.

Thanks

 

[7Cboy]

They only reverse if there's back pressure. maybe your outlet pipe is a bit clogged?

 

[pvb]

Do you flush sufficiently? Any "debris" which isn't flushed away can allow the joker valve to leak.

 

[pvb]

They only reverse if there's back pressure. maybe your outlet pipe is a bit clogged?

The joker valve doesn't have to reverse to allow backflow.

 

[LadyInBed]

The joker valve seems to fail quite regularly, last one lasted about 4 months.

They normally last several / many years, there must be either debris in the pipe or a flap valve not sealing.

 

[neilf39]

Replaced one in the last 5 years. They can get a bit of debris/deposit build up. I find that a brief tweak to the right on the handle of my henderson pump puts a bit of back pressure on the valve and seals it if there is a bit of a leak.

 

[xcw]

I had the same problem, needing to change the joker valve at least once a year. I mentioned it to the people on the Jabsco stand at the SBS and they said it was down to using domestic cleaning products which according to them rots the rubber. I asked what I should use and they suggested their own cleaning product which predictably was about 10 times the price of supermarket products. No idea whether this is correct or not but there may be an element of truth in it.

 

[ctva]

When we got our current boat 16 years ago, toilet wouldn‘t work. Stripped the toilet to find the joker valve had been fitted back to front, it is possible.... , check the direction.

New valve. Still not working with not emptying, stripped the entire 6’ of 2” outlet hose that was calcified and a 10mm hole through the pipe! ? Check the pipe.

Is only pre eaten stuff being flushed along with bog roll only? Debris getting caught as previously mentioned.

Cleaning products, yes watch the domestic stuff. We have the wee blue/white bottle in-line with the inlet pipe (Yachticon Purytec,), lasts maybe 3/4 of the season and only a tenner or there about s. We also flush through with fresh water from the shower tap when we leave the boat, keeps smells away. On our second valve in 16 years.

 

[thinwater]

The lips must be vertical.

If the hose routing has a long up slope, rather than quickly up to a high point and then draining to the tank, back flow is more likely.

Chemical exposure or winterizing procedures can be a problem.

Most likely a combination of several the factors that have been mentioned.

 

[Plum]

Seeing a previous post on these toilets reminded me of an on going issue I have. The joker valve seems to fail quite regularly, last one lasted about 4 months. The fault allows water to back fill the toilet. No problem changing or getting spares but they seem to fail quite regularly. Any clues, ways to stop, extend life as not cheap to buy.

Thanks

In my experience the joker valve lasts more than 10 years! so I suspect your backflow is a function of your installation and/or usage rather than a failure of the valve. I assume you have the appropriate loop in the outlet hose if the heads is below or near the waterline.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[vyv_cox]

I have had the same experience with the Jabsco Lite flush. Almost certainly because the volume of water flushed is low to avoid filling the holding tank to rapidly, there is a tendency for carbonate salts to accumulate on the lips of the valve. This soon allows leakage. I found this happened at about monthly intervals.

The answer is to flush a lot more if possible. The good news is that the deposits can be cleaned off quite easily, upon which leakage will stop. At the same time clean the deposits off the housing as when they accumulate enough they can press on the outside of the rubber, opening the lips. I have used the same valve for years between cleans.

 

[TheBomber]

As another sufferer of this problem (new valve fitted just before winter lockdown and leaking already) can I ask the experts here: once the bowl is empty of flushing water, is there any benefit to further pumping? My setup probably fits the scenario described by thinwater of a long upslope but I get the feeling the pump doesn’t push the pipe contents with air, so I’m doomed to never be able to fully empty the pipe.

 

[johnalison]

As another sufferer of this problem (new valve fitted just before winter lockdown and leaking already) can I ask the experts here: once the bowl is empty of flushing water, is there any benefit to further pumping? My setup probably fits the scenario described by thinwater of a long upslope but I get the feeling the pump doesn’t push the pipe contents with air, so I’m doomed to never be able to fully empty the pipe.

There is a good reason to pump copious amounts through because salts in urine come out of solution in seawater and deposit themselves in the outlet piping. As for pumping air, I do it to break the syphon when the holding tank is not in use, which otherwise acts as a syphon break. I doubt if it is ever possible to empty the rising part of the outlet fully.

 

[vyv_cox]

As another sufferer of this problem (new valve fitted just before winter lockdown and leaking already) can I ask the experts here: once the bowl is empty of flushing water, is there any benefit to further pumping? My setup probably fits the scenario described by thinwater of a long upslope but I get the feeling the pump doesn’t push the pipe contents with air, so I’m doomed to never be able to fully empty the pipe.

No, just as with continuing to pump air into a calorifier the air just bubbles through the water. The only answer is to keep pumping clean water. The pump barrel is near enough the same diameter as 1.5 inch discharge hose, so divide its length into the length of hose to the top of the loop. This is the minimum number of pumps needed to flush through, although more would be better. But as said earlier, not a good idea if it fills your holding tank in a day!

 

[ctva]

No, just as with continuing to pump air into a calorifier the air just bubbles through the water. The only answer is to keep pumping clean water. The pump barrel is near enough the same diameter as 1.5 inch discharge hose, so divide its length into the length of hose to the top of the loop. This is the minimum number of pumps needed to flush through, although more would be better. But as said earlier, not a good idea if it fills your holding tank in a day!

We don't use a holding tank, but require about 8 pumps to clean any poo out of the pipes. Maybe about 2-3' of poo pipe.

 

[LadyInBed]

If salts are clinging to the joker, maybe a couple of kettles of boiling water tipped into an empty bowl and pumped a little way up the pipe then left for half an hour or so might help.
I've always put an egg cup full or there abouts of Harpic in the bowl and given it a couple of pumps just before I leave the boat. It's never caused the joker to fail.

 

[pvb]

The lips must be vertical.

I really don't understand this comment.

 

[TheBomber]

Thanks for the replies. At least I needn't waste effort trying to create aerated effluent then!

The pump barrel is near enough the same diameter as 1.5 inch discharge hose, so divide its length into the length of hose to the top of the loop. This is the minimum number of pumps needed to flush through, although more would be better. But as said earlier, not a good idea if it fills your holding tank in a day!

Particularly useful - I'll have a look and measure up. The tank can fill in a day so I'd like to know the minimum even if the ideal is more than this.

 

[pvb]

The tank can fill in a day so I'd like to know the minimum even if the ideal is more than this.

My holding tank is plumbed so that everything goes into it. It would rapidly fill up with copious flushing. My solution is minimal flushing. For pees, I just empty the bowl, rinse with fresh water from the shower, and empty again. For poos, I flush minimally, then rinse with fresh water and empty. The fresh water bit is important; most of the deposits people find in toilet pipes are the result of urine acting on seawater. With fresh water, deposits are much less likely to occur. My boat's now 7 years old, and I've never had a problem with the toilet plumbing.

On my last boat, the holding tank was plumbed differently, and it was possible to flush direct to sea (for pees) or to flush into the holding tank (for poos). I think this was a preferable system.

 

[kacecar]

I seem to remember the Jabsco manual recommending that, after the bowl is empty, flush 7 pumps per metre of exit pipe, the distance being measured from the pump to the exit point (the holding tank or through-hull). On my boat that's about 3 metres, so I do a lot of pumping. However, the advantage is an apparently clean exit pipe and very little trouble with the joker valve.