Issue with the head

[John&Ria]

Occasionally in the past but more frequently of late, upon returning to our vessel after a period of time (1-2 weeks) we find that the toilet bowl has filled with water. It does not appear to be overflowing (yet), as there is no evident water in the bilge.

All our auxillary systems except the battery charger and the bilge pump are shut off when we are not on the boat, therefore I presume the water is somehow gravity fed from the fresh water tank into the bowl (during the cruising season the FW tank is usually kept at least half full).

We have a Jabsco system. I have replaced the discharge valve for the toilet before, but have never had an issue with the freshwater side. Is there a similar valve in place there, and could it be the source of the problem? If so, is it difficult to replace?

Any advice before I tackle this project would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

John

[John&Ria]

It's probably relevant to note that when our original fresh water pump packed it in we had James Power install a simpler pump combined with an accumulator tank. Upon reflection it has dawned on me that sometimes we leave the boat with the system pressurized (or partially pressurized) and sometimes not. This would perhaps explain why we sometimes return to the boat to find a full bowl, partially full bowl, and sometimes empty bowl.

Following this line of thought a temporary solution to the problem is to ensure the system is not pressurized when we leave the boat. That said, I remain interested to hear from others who may have experienced a similar issue with fresh water filling the bowl and how it was addressed.

Thanks.

[kentmckee]

There is a solenoid water valve located behind the wall that can be accessed by removing the vanity cabinet. It can become clogged allowing water to seep past it. Replacement valves are available from Jabsco. This valve opens to allow fresh water to the toilet during the flush cycle.

[John&Ria]

Thanks for the tip on the location of the valve Kent. I'll have a look at the solenoid when we next get down to the boat.

Cheers,

John

[James Power]

Hi John,

Try remounting the solenoid from below the sink to up high on the aft side of the fresh water tank bulkhead. This stops water siphoning from the tank, thru the pump and toilet solenoid into the bowl. All can be accessed if you remove the toilet paper module and the medicine cabinet. I have done this with a bunch of the fleet with good results.

Hope this helps
James

[John&Ria]

Thanks for the advice James, it's much appreciated.

It seems this issue is not unique to His Idea. Having this forum is a great help!