Vacuflush Pump Rebuild

[JLR]

Well - my excessive cycling has hopefully been solved. I had the vacuum switch replaced two weeks ago. The pump still cycled. The folks that put the new one in came back and replaced the newly replaced switch under warranty and said the newly replaced switch was bad. Hopefully that will do the trick. However, they say that my pump has a loud knock to it and they suggest a rebuild. They say it will cost $450 to rebuild including bearings, o rings, duck bills etc. They say a new pump is $600 but they don't suggest that because the body of my pump is fine. Is it possible that the loud knock they heard from the pump was because I had the fresh water breaker feed off to the head? Also, isn't this something that can/should be done when it goes (ie. like over the winter) if at all. I am all into preventative maintenance but I really don't care how loud the head pump is. Frankly, I never had the loud knock in the pump until they replaced the switch with a bad one which made the pump cycle too often. Any thoughts? Somehow, I don't mind paying about $600 for a Galleymaid pump on my other boat because I can always use it as an anchor if it goes--it is so heavy. Hate to rebuild this sh--y little pump for those dollars.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

I'd run it 'til it dies, then figure out what you want to do after that.

 

[Pascal]

$600 for a new pump ? that's ridiculous...

it's identical to the sealand discharge pump (about $220) except that it has 4 DBs instead of 2 and that it uses opposite threads to make sure you dont' use the cheaper pump...

one of mine (forward head) makes a louder clunk, works fine... they're trying to take you for a ride...

does the $450 include a new motor ? probably not... i don't think it takes more than one hour to rebuild these pumps

http://www.sealandtechnology.com/pdf/600344820 SW pump instructions.pdf

as simple as they get....

 

[JLR]

Sounded like a silly price. Funny thing-- when he quoted it to me, he thought I was the Captain and not the owner. Wonder how much higher he would have quoted if I had told him at the outset that I was the owner. I think I'll sit tight, get some water running through it and see how long it lasts. I am virtually the only one who uses the head on this boat (day boat primarily for fishing) and as long as it flushes, I could care less how loud it is.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

$600 for a new pump ? that's ridiculous...

it's identical to the sealand discharge pump (about $220) except that it has 4 DBs instead of 2 and that it uses opposite threads to make sure you dont' use the cheaper pump...

one of mine (forward head) makes a louder clunk, works fine... they're trying to take you for a ride...

does the $450 include a new motor ? probably not... i don't think it takes more than one hour to rebuild these pumps

http://www.sealandtechnology.com/pdf/600344820 SW pump instructions.pdf

as simple as they get....

Thats the very pump I just installed to pump out the holding tank. I paid about $250 on ebay for a brand new one. Has 2 DBs and left hand threads. ws

 

[Capt K]

One of mine runs a little longer than the other two. When the pressure is pretty much up, it starts to knock until the switch kicks in. I think this is just "slop" caused by pressure and no flow as it dead heads against the pressure.

It should be fine. Also, the pump motor itself is only about $270. If the bellows and body are ok, that's about all you have to change.

K

 

[bobk]

You may have a little 'play' in the wrist bearing that drives the bellows. Open it up and check. I'd just grease it with a thick silicone grease if I were you. It's amazing the price that Sealand wants for their crap. After putting in a lot of parts to try to solve a cycling issue, all I can say is I'm not impressed. Their 'engeneers' ought to have to tear down and rebuild the old ones as part of their design training.

Bob

 

[Capt K]

I agree. I have three of the VF units and did not do much of any service for over ten years! The diagnosis IS a bit of a "black art" though. For such a simple system, you would be surprised at the many options you have when diagnosing a problem. No real heavy work or rocket science involved compared to other systems I've had.

I would still go for them if I had another boat needing replacement heads.

Just my 2 cents.

K

 

[hattitude]

I just recently had a pump fail after almost daily use for 6 years.

The gear drive on the motor stripped out. The new pump was $600 but they had a rebuild kit for $325. It included the bellows, O-rings, and the new motor with drive gears. The rebuild converts the old "S" style vacuum pump to the new "W" style vacuum pump. The new style pump is now half as loud as my other "S" style pump (I have a redundant system).

When I rebuilt it, I didn't notice that there was hard buildup along the bottom of the pump housing that raised the bottom at least 1/4". It wouldn't let the new pump build vacuum and probably led to the stripping of the gears on the old motor. The vacuflush tech didn't even catch it at first.... once the buildup was chipped out, the pump was better than new.

My longwinded point........ the rebuild kit DOES make the old pump better than new, and is not hard to rebuild.

 

[fissioneng]

Resurrecting an old thread here.

I've read all the threads about the W motor upgrade for S type pumps, but that only works on more recent pump bodies (screw down pump top). I have the older circular clamp style and need a bellows and O rings. The motor seems to work fine, the bellows is just old and stiff and the motor can't cycle it.

Does anyone know if parts are still available for the old S type pumps? Sealand (aka Dometic) doesn't list anything but the newer style pump.

 

[hattitude]

My pumps were originally purchased in 2000. My vacuflush dealer listed several rebuild kits when I rebuilt mine in April '07.

Did you check with a dealer or just on the Vacuflush (dometic) website?

That would really suck if they stopped supporting your style pump!

Good Luck...

 

[fissioneng]

I called a local dealer and Sealand. They said the bellows is the same on both pumps and is still available. The bad thing is that the old style motor is not available anymore and the W motor interferes with the band on the old style pump. Fortunately, my motor still works. If I ever need a new motor, I will have to replace the whole pump.

 

[hattitude]

the W motor interferes with the band on the old style pump. Fortunately, my motor still works. If I ever need a new motor, I will have to replace the whole pump.

That's too bad. It was the new motor/gears that made the W series pump much quieter than my S series pump.

Good luck with the repair.......

 

[rmaher]

As suggested here by others, I replaced the pump on my older (1985) Mansfield vacuflush (with the big clamp/band) with the new pump cannibalized from the pumpout pump sold by Sealand for around $200.00 and it works fine (and is much quieter!)

Rob

 

[fissioneng]

As suggested here by others, I replaced the pump on my older (1985) Mansfield vacuflush (with the big clamp/band) with the new pump cannibalized from the pumpout pump sold by Sealand for around $200.00 and it works fine (and is much quieter!)

Rob

So are you running this pump from the toilet with only 2 duck bills? I thought the expensive S pump duck bill adapters are opposite thread from the T pump body. What do you mean by cannibalized?

 

[rmaher]

No, I took the usable parts off the T-series discharge pump and put them on the original, old style (band clamp) "S-series" pump body. I don't readily recall all the parts beyond the pump (and I replaced two of the four duck bills with those from T-series!) but I can check this weekend if that would help you. Regrdless, it wasn't much of a job.