I’ll remember Booker Lagoon for the 37 knot winds that hounded Quadra at anchor one afternoon along the central coast of British Columbia and for a momentary fright of the possible failure of the only marine toilet on board. I’ll ease minds immediately – the VacuFlush system never failed. But that doesn’t end the story.
Somewhere in the plumbing serving the VacuFlush was a persistent inhaling of air – a vacuum leak -that could not be found. Its one effect was to cause the vacuum generator pump to cycle on every four or five minutes. Normally, it kicks on only after the toilet is flushed.
The constant kachug, kachug, kachug of the pump was annoying. It woke us at night and was irritating in its persistent hinting that something was wrong. It was frustrating because it was misbehaving after we had done so much to assure the system’s long-term reliability.
With the help of Bob Dickey, a skilled marine technician specializing in the installation of marine toilets and heating systems, we had put the VacuFlush system in A1 order before leaving Anacortes for a six-week cruise to the central and northern coasts of British Columbia. Technicians like Bob Dickey, chandleries and repair yards are hard to find there.
So, it was up to me.
Flat on my belly in the head, with a mirror, flashlight and screw driver lost under my body, I edged close to the toilet’s underside and concentrated on the connection between a flexible hose running from the toilet base to a PVC elbow. I was sure the pssssh sound came from along that line. Thankfully, it was a vacuum leak and air was being sucked into the hose and pipe. Nothing leaked out.
The hose is connected to the elbow via a short length of pipe, one end of which is glued into the elbow. The sanitation hose is clamped to the other end of the pipe. Pressing on the joint between pipe and elbow, I almost could sense air being sucked into the system and the pssssh became a muted whistle.
What to do? I carry spare parts for the innards of the VacuFlush system, but not PVC elbows, lengths of pipe or flexible hose. That stuff never fails, does it? But what did I have on board that would seal the leak?
Finally, I turned to an old and reliable boating friend – Marine-Tex. I always have a package aboard. A two-part epoxy compound, it is good enough to seal fuel and water lines, repair mufflers and plug holes and cracks. I thought it was worth a try.
It is a bit messy, but I slathered the black mud around the joint between the hose and the pipe. After drying several hours, I turned the power on and let the vacuum pump do its work. MarineTex didn’t work, probably because I missed getting enough of the goo into the leaking area. Kachug, kachug, kachug.
Last winter I took a four-day marine technician training course sponsored by the American Boat and Yacht Council. I learned huge amounts of information about boats and their systems and it has been helpful in my writing for PassageMaker Magazine. I took a test and, surprisingly, was certified by the ABYC. But nothing taught there was of any help. The basic assumption in the class was that one had the right stuff for an installation job or repair. And I didn’t.
After a couple more days of annoyance, inspiration struck.
I stopped the leak using two products probably found in every home and boat – plastic wrap from the galley and duct tape from my tool box.
I cut a strip of plastic film to width and long enough to wrap several times around the pipe and hose. I taped the leading edge to the hose and circled the film around and around. More tape went around the ends and across the center of the plumbing. And, by Neptune, it worked! No more psssht, no more kachung, kachung, kachung. Peace at last.
Made me feel good, too.