Argh, Dometic is out to get me!

[GaryMartin]

Over the last week and a half I have been rebuilding the Vacuflush on our Trojan. It has the original "Mansfield" name on it, but the parts are all still identical to the current Vacuflush offerings.

I replaced ALL of the 1.5" hose with Trident 101. It used almost the whole 50' roll as we have two heads, two accumulators, etc.

When rebuilding the pump, I checked the first few new duckbills as I put them in. They all looked perfect so I (stupidly) didn't inspect the remaining new duckbills, just put them into place and reinstalled everything.

Well there I was, all scratched up, bruised and sore from crawling around in my bilges that much and I flip on the head switch just to discover that nothing will flush.

*sigh*

So the next day, (once the frustration wore off) I started disassembling everything to see where I messed up. I was rather surprised to discover that the only error I made was to NOT inspect each and everyone of the brand new duckbills!

One of them, brand new from the factory, was sealed shut! Apparently it was never cut after being removed from the mold and the "lips" were one solid piece!!!

One quick slice with an Xacto, reassembly and it's working better than it ever did before.

So take my hassle to heart, NEVER trust that a brand new part is correct and check them out yourself!

 

[caltexfla]

Thanks for the tip Gary; I am duly cautioned, because otherwise I would do the exact same thing.

George
Hatteras 56MY
Boston Whaler 130 Sport

 

[Nautiville]

I fix electronics for a living. Basic troubleshooting says "replace with a known good part." That does not mean one that I've pulled off the van and sliced out of brand new packaging. The only known good part is one that is currently in use somewhere and working.

 

[Vic Willman]

That's very rare, but it does happen. Before putting new ones in, be sure to squeeze each one, to check that the slit is indeed there.