Sealand vacuum pumps, in two heads , both motors burnt out at same time ,any ideas why ?

[azzymut]

Hi , I have two burnt out macerator motors from a 42 Azzy been working ok for some years . left the boat for a few hours came back to flat batteries and melted pumps.
Sadly the makers didn't put fuses on them ! Anyone had this happen and where i can get them please ? As a live aboard for some weeks its now a problem !!

 

[rafiki_]

If the flap in the toilet bowl does not seal then the vacuum will not be created, so the vac pump keeps pumping. Only needs a very fine bit of crud like a small piece of toilet paper. I used to regularly clean the rim of the flap with the toilet brush.

LeeSan Marine Sanitation are dealers.01295 770000.

 

[jfm]

Sealand vac systems (work of the devil) do not have macerators.

it’s weird that this happened on two at the same time. They are completely independent so I guess it must just be a coincidence.

Rafiki is 100% right, and the other thing that can make the motors run constantly is a failed vacuum switch. Weird for 2 to fail together. This might be more likely to be your problem because in Rafiki’s “crud” scenario the motor pulls almost no current so should run all day without burning out, whereas with a failed vacuum switch there IS good vacuum so the motor is working hard and pulling perhaps 3x as much current so could burn out. The vacuum switch is easy to see (on the plastic tank) and replace.

Spare parts are very expensive unfortunately.

 

[jrudge]

Replace them. First thing I did on my boat. Tecma silent flush. Vacuum flush is a complex and flawed system.

 

[rafiki_]

Replace them. First thing I did on my boat. Tecma silent flush. Vacuum flush is a complex and flawed system.

Strangely, I never had a problem with them on my Azi. As long as the flap sealed. The other thing to note is use only the LeeSan single ply bog roll. Thicker bog roll can get stuck in the system. I looked after my toilets and they looked after me.

 

[Bilgediver]

Hi , I have two burnt out macerator motors from a 42 Azzy been working ok for some years . left the boat for a few hours came back to flat batteries and melted pumps.
Sadly the makers didn't put fuses on them ! Anyone had this happen and where i can get them please ? As a live aboard for some weeks its now a problem !!
[/QUOTE
I suspect that while you were off the boat the vacuum pumps cut in and due to a faulty valve ran continuously draining g the batteries to the point where the pumps stalled and burnt out.

Lee Sanitation should be your first call if in UK as suggested by others .

Were you using the best toilet paper for this application .The cheapest toilet paper at UK supermarkets is fine compared to the .less suitable and more expensive multyply super smooth etc.

 

[jfm]

I would get spares from Lee sanitation but not ask them for advice because they don’t have (the last time I looked) a tecma or planus franchise so they will tend to advise you to use the stuff they sell, which is inferior stuff.

The only loos that consistently and reliably perform well on the size of boats discussed on this forum are tecma and planus (which are almost identical: separate companies but both product ranges invented/designed by same Italian team)

 

[jfm]

The pumps wouldn’t stall even if the valves were perfect, and are even less likely to stall if the valves are faulty.