Jabsco Quiet Flush Pump

[clynn]

I have an older Jabsco pump (37010, I think) on my toilet and it wakes the dead when you flush. It works fine, but I'm considering replacing the pump with a quiet flush version. Has anyone else done this? Is it really quiet?

$180 is worth not hearing Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! in the middle of the night when my wife uses the head.

 

[HeadMistress]

You'll hear that noise from any sea water electric toilet. The Quiet Flush is a little quieter, but not much. But you wouldn't be able to replace just the pump...you'd have to go with a "conversion" (everything south of the bowl), which is nowhere near $180. Jabsco Quiet Flush Sea Water Conversion Kits For about the same price, the Raritan SeaEra SeaEra Conversion Kit was rated 'best budget buy' by Practical Sailor in a comparison of all the major macerating electric toilets a couple of years ago.

If you want a toilet that's really quiet, it needs to be one that's designed to use onboard pressurized fresh water. For not much more than either of the "conversions" you can upgrade to the Raritan Marine Elegance Marne Elegance Promo Sheet which is the top rated macerating toilet on the market. Check 'em all out..I'll be glad to answer any questions about any of 'em....and then get some quotes from HopCar (Hopkins Carter Marine) who's a major supporter of this site.

 

[clynn]

Thanks Peggie for the feedback. I serviced my toilets awhile back based on some of your feedback and they work great, but I was hoping to turn down the volume without replacing the bowl and all. I have a few other higher dollar items that need to be addressed before spending that much on a "nice to have" new head.

My temporary solution will be to tell my wife no water 2 hours before bedtime

 

[HeadMistress]

I was hoping to turn down the volume without replacing the bowl and all.

If you go with a "conversion" you can keep your bowl, seat and lid. The SeaEra--both the complete toilets and the conversions--was purposely designed to be a "plug and play" replacement for the Jabsco 37010...even the mounting bolt pattern is a match.

So keep all that in mind when you're ready to upgrade.

Meanwhile, there is one thing you can do that MIGHT turn down the volume: Some boats have "sweet spots" that amplify noise. If yours is one of 'em, a 1/2" foam pad under the toilet can help a lot.

 

[Bendit]

Remove the impeller, which makes 90 percent if the noise, and feed the toilet with your sea water wash down pump though a solenoid valve connected to the operating button.
Solves the problem

 

[HeadMistress]

That is one solution, but not as easy as it sounds 'cuz to remove the intake impeller in a Jabsco, you have to take the whole pump assembly apart to get to it. Raritan puts an intake pump assembly on the back end of their pump assembly.

 

[Pgitug]

Remove the impeller, which makes 90 percent if the noise, and feed the toilet with your sea water wash down pump though a solenoid valve connected to the operating button.
Solves the problem

The guy is giving you good advice. I just replaced my Jabsco Toilet with a new $400+ dollar Jabsco Quite flush that uses fresh water. WHAT at difference. Make no noise. But I could have removed the raw water impeller and fed the toilet with a solonoid plumbed to the fresh water or (As he suggested) an electric pump plumbed to the sea water.
The "Noise" is the raw water impeller in the toilet.

 

[mbevins]

The guy is giving you good advice. I just replaced my Jabsco Toilet with a new $400+ dollar Jabsco Quite flush that uses fresh water. WHAT at difference. Make no noise. But I could have removed the raw water impeller and fed the toilet with a solonoid plumbed to the fresh water or (As he suggested) an electric pump plumbed to the sea water.
The "Noise" is the raw water impeller in the toilet.

Learned something new.
I always assumed it was the macerator that made the noise.

 

[HopCar]

The discharge side does make some noise but very little compared to the intake pump. The discharge pump is a centrifical pump which are inherently quiet. The intake pump has to be self priming and small self priming pumps make noise.

Raritan Sea Era replaced the rubber impeller pump with a diaphram pump which is quieter. Then they came out with the remote pump option which is even quieter because you can mount the pump far from the toilet.

The Jabsco Quiet Flush did the same thing by replacing the rubber impeller intake pump with a remote diaphram pump.

I think Bendit's idea of removing the impeller and supplying the water remotely is pretty clever but like Peggie pointed out it is a real PITA getting to the impeller on the Jabsco toilet. It's not impossible, just time consuming. I've never heard of anyone doing that but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

 

[HeadMistress]

Learned something new.
I always assumed it was the macerator that made the noise.

Most people do. And most people also think that the macerator blade IN the discharge pump IS the discharge pump.

 

[High Wire]

AAA-OOOOO-GG-AAA! Dive, Dive!

 

[Pgitug]

The discharge side does make some noise but very little compared to the intake pump. The discharge pump is a centrifical pump which are inherently quiet. The intake pump has to be self priming and small self priming pumps make noise.



Raritan Sea Era replaced the rubber impeller pump with a diaphram pump which is quieter. Then they came out with the remote pump option which is even quieter because you can mount the pump far from the toilet.



The Jabsco Quiet Flush did the same thing by replacing the rubber impeller intake pump with a remote diaphram pump.



I think Bendit's idea of removing the impeller and supplying the water remotely is pretty clever but like Peggie pointed out it is a real PITA getting to the impeller on the Jabsco toilet. It's not impossible, just time consuming. I've never heard of anyone doing that but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Getting at the raw water impeller is not that much of a job. But lets face it. Any work on a marine toilet makes for a crappy day.

 

[BobH]

I replaced a noisy head with a Jabsco Quiet Flush and it makes ten times the noise of the one I replaced. The noise is from the discharge pump, the sea water pump is so quiet you almost can't hear it. I also thought at first it was the sea water pump and moved it into the engine room but it turned out it was not the problem.
The first discharge pump was so out of balance it just about pulled the toilet off the mounts. They replaced it but is still super loud. I even mounted it with rubber washers above and below the bolts. A real piece of junk. I don't know how they get off calling it "Quiet Flush".

 

[jleonard]

I did the Jabsco conversion to freshwater years ago and it's a very simple easy job assuming you can get to the screws to remove the motor/pump unit.
After removing the impeller I tapped the inlet and outlet water ports and plugged them with 1/8 npt pipe plugs just incase the housing ever leaked.
After 8 years no problems at all.
Of course there is also the solenoid and backflow preventer installation which is easy as well.

 

[Pgitug]

I did the Jabsco conversion to freshwater years ago and it's a very simple easy job assuming you can get to the screws to remove the motor/pump unit.
After removing the impeller I tapped the inlet and outlet water ports and plugged them with 1/8 npt pipe plugs just incase the housing ever leaked.
After 8 years no problems at all.
Of course there is also the solenoid and backflow preventer installation which is easy as well.

Perfect way to convert. ?

 

[Pack Mule]

Is it common for the motor lip seal to go bad in a couple years? I've replaced mine once and it looks like it needs replacing again. It leaks even when not in operation.

 

[ranger58sb]

The discharge side does make some noise but very little compared to the intake pump. The discharge pump is a centrifical pump which are inherently quiet.

Our freshwater Quiet Flush is quiet... compared to the POP! of a VacuFlush at oh-dark-thirty... but I wouldn't say its better than sliced bread. Helps a bit to have the toilet lid down... doesn't hurt to have the door closed.

But also, as they wear, they get noisier. Our first pump eventually got much louder, and then started leaking a bit. The rebuild fixed the leak, but didn't fix the noise.

New pump fixed the noise. Back to my first comments, above.

FWIW, I suspect "quiet" is in the ear of the beholder. Modulated (a useful sound term) by whatever the beholder is used to, or comparing against.

I replaced a noisy head with a Jabsco Quiet Flush and it makes ten times the noise of the one I replaced. The noise is from the discharge pump, the sea water pump is so quiet you almost can't hear it. ...

The first discharge pump was so out of balance it just about pulled the toilet off the mounts. They replaced it but is still super loud. I even mounted it with rubber washers above and below the bolts. A real piece of junk. I don't know how they get off calling it "Quiet Flush".

Freshwater version? Hard to imagine where you put additional rubber washers? The motor attaches with four bolts pressing the seal housing -- and a small gauge/large diameter O-ring in the seal housing -- against the base assembly so it fits flush... Washers in between would disconnect that seal...?

Unless you're talking about washers on the bolts that hold the bowl to the base assembly, and/or the bolts that hold the base assembly to the boat?

Is it common for the motor lip seal to go bad in a couple years? I've replaced mine once and it looks like it needs replacing again. It leaks even when not in operation.

When I rebuilt ours that first time, it did begin leaking again not too long afterwards. Although much of that might have been because it was not an expert rebuild. Still, I talked to Paul at Jabsco at the time, also mentioning the "it didn't get any quieter" issue, and he suggested there comes a time when "you've gotten your money's worth" from one of those pumps.

I think that was when that first pump was about 10 years old, something like that. New pump, no leak, quieter.

-Chris