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Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: May 20th, 2023, 7:16 am
by Midnightsun
So what is the norm for preventative maintenance on Vacuflush systems? Had to do my forward head yesterday only to find out the bellows was split.
I watched a few videos from however they only recommend changing the duck bills every 3-4 years and every year on a live aboard. Sounds a little to preventative if you ask me.
I am thinking 5 years for the duck bills and 7 for the bellows? Your thoughts?
My original bellows lasted 16 years just for reference. Going to do the rear bellows and duck bills when I get the parts even though she works fine.
Re: Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: May 20th, 2023, 9:12 am
by km1125
I think there would be a LOT of variables that would affect the result too much. Temperature, presence of ozone, types of "fluids" getting flushed, cleaning agents, etc, etc, along with frequency of use.
I think having the spare parts on hand is a bigger issue, as it usually doesn't take that long to repair. The bigger issue is trying to locate and get the parts, because they're usually much harder to get when something comes up unexpected. (one of the corollaries to Murphy's Law).
Re: Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: May 20th, 2023, 9:53 am
by KyleR
When we bought our 396 last August, I replaced a split bellows (and all 4 duckbills) on the forward Vacuflush only to have it split again in 3 months! It was NOT a knock-off brand like you find on Amazon. I bought it from Environmental Marine purposefully because I read bad reviews about the non-oem brands. Anyways, I put another bellows on and it has been going for almost 6 months now with no issues.
But, it does seem like the original bellows from years ago seem to hold up so much better! (surprise, surprise)
I have read multiple accounts of the original bellows lasting 10-15+ years, whereas the more recently made ones seem to fail sooner. For me, I now just keep a spare bellows and 4 duck bills on board.
Since longevity is questionable my plan is just to "run to failure" then replace. YMMV
Re: Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: May 20th, 2023, 10:14 am
by g36
I dont do pms on this. We have 2 heads and as far as vacuflush on my boat I also keep spares on board. 4 duck bills and a toilet gasket set. Never had issues with other parts so far. If parts on hand don't repair we'll just use the other head till I order what's needed. For our needs this has worked fine.
Re: Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: May 20th, 2023, 10:40 am
by bud37
Keep some spares and replace on failure would be my plan, make sure to store rubber parts properly or they will be bad out of the bag....that could be the problem with some store bought that has been in poor storage ( hot/dry) for long periods...IMO
Re: Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: May 27th, 2023, 7:49 am
by Bakoboat
I rebuilt my vacu flush last summer, this spring the bellows was split open at one of the seams. I have a request in to Dometic for replacement. I suspect a manufacturing flaw because of the way it split apart.
Will update when I get a reply.
Re: Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: May 27th, 2023, 7:59 am
by km1125
Curious question for any of you guys with VacuFlush systems... Did you ever have a motor fail? What were the symptoms? Did you take the old motor apart to see what actually failed? What did you do with the old motor?
I have a friend with a VacuFlush and he was having the problem with the breaker tripping frequently and the motor not working. It would start to pump, them jamb and trip the breaker. I had him reverse the leads to have the motor run backwards (but it still pumps vacuum normally) and that got him through until he was able to get a new motor and install it. He gave me the old motor and I opened it up to see what was going on. I suspected there was excess play in the gear mechanism that runs the cam and thought I could resolve that, but that end looked just fine. It was actually a failed bearing on the brush end of the motor. That bearing can be replaced.
I wonder if that's the common failure on these.
Re: Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: May 27th, 2023, 8:12 am
by KyleR
I rebuilt my vacu flush last summer, this spring the bellows was split open at one of the seams. I have a request in to Dometic for replacement. I suspect a manufacturing flaw because of the way it split apart.
Will update when I get a reply.
Please do - as this exact same scenario happened to me. It lasted maybe three months before it split. The current one has been going for six months, but after the early failure of the first replacement I get worried every time someone flushes!!
Re: Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: May 27th, 2023, 8:19 am
by Midnightsun
km1125 wrote:Source of the post Curious question for any of you guys with VacuFlush systems... Did you ever have a motor fail? What were the symptoms? Did you take the old motor apart to see what actually failed? What did you do with the old motor?
I have a friend with a VacuFlush and he was having the problem with the breaker tripping frequently and the motor not working. It would start to pump, them jamb and trip the breaker. I had him reverse the leads to have the motor run backwards (but it still pumps vacuum normally) and that got him through until he was able to get a new motor and install it. He gave me the old motor and I opened it up to see what was going on. I suspected there was excess play in the gear mechanism that runs the cam and thought I could resolve that, but that end looked just fine. It was actually a failed bearing on the brush end of the motor. That bearing can be replaced.
I wonder if that's the common failure on these.
Thanks for posting, good to know the bearing can be replaced. May come in handy one day.
Re: Vacuflush Preventative Maintenance
Posted: June 3rd, 2023, 6:46 am
by Bakoboat
Re the split bellows, I returned it to place of purchase and then had to fill out a request form for warranty coverage. Was informed by retailer Dometec will be sending a replacement free of charge. Initially they stated they never split unless you freeze them or allow something foreign in system. I ensured them none of that had taken place. Suspect manufacturing flaw at seams. Purchased in july 22, in Ontario canada so boat out of water from october to april. Claim sent in may 23.
Hope this helps.