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Old 02-13-2016, 05:05 PM   #1
High Wire
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City: Cape May, NJ
Vessel Name: Irish Lady
Vessel Model: Monk 36
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,964
Raritan PHCII head mystery- many strokes to empty bowl

So here is the details:
New head, new discharge 1 1/2" hose
Holding tank empty, vent clear
Head is a Raritan PHCII manual head

Hose run: From the head, down about 18" under a bulkhead, then up 3 feet to a vented loop, then down about 2 feet and a 15 foot flat horizontal run then down a foot to the holding tank. The PHCII head is supposed to be able to pump up to 10 feet.

What happens - Knob to FLUSH. Bowl fills faster than pumps out. You can feel significant effort on handle moving seawater side water into bowl. Bowl level will go up as long as you keep pumping.

What happens - Knob turned to DRY bowl. Bowl stops filling. Pumping effort is MINIMAL (can't feel any water moving). Croaking sound from bowl rim. With normal effort the water just sits there with no motion. The only way to make the bowl level lower is use extreme lifting up rapidly as possible on the handle. The bowl will eventually empty after about 20 strokes this way.

What I've done: Completely disassembled and cleaned the flapper valve, the piston, the ball check valve, and the joker valve. Flushed the discharge line with a garden hose to the HT. Other than a little soft piss-crete, no blockages. Everything looks normal.
Calls to Raritan were no help. I can read the troubleshooting section just as good as they can.

What is confusing is that if there was a discharge blockage, the piston would cause high effort, not low. You would have a hydraulic lock. Same if the flapper valve was stuck closed. It acts like no piston at all. Yes the piston rod is connected.
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Archie
Irish Lady
1984 Monk 36 Hull #46
Currently in Cape May, NJ
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