SeaLand toilet varying water pressure

[F341781]

If anyone has any suggestions on what to try next I would be truly grateful. We had a leaking vacuum breaker on our toilet about seven weeks ago and the whole unit, sprayer and all, was replaced at my request, but I don't believe it was the OEM brand.

Long story with that repair, but the first repair was charging me double for a new part and using an old part with dried out seal that also leaked. Shortly after the replacement the water going into the toilet has had a large variation in pressure where sometimes it's ok, but less than usual and then sometimes it's barely a trickle going into the bowl. It fluctuates, but mostly there is not sufficient water coming thru to the bowl.

Had the valve replaced yesterday and when it was taken off to be checked there was some buildup. Have since learned that the screen could have been taken out and cleaned, but I'm at the mercy of an RV repair person and have spent $250 so far on this toilet. Once the valve was replaced, the water was fine for the rest of the day and then then this morning was back to very low water and continues to fluctuate somewhat, but it is definitely not working properly.

It was suggested that it could be dirt coming thru the water line, but this just does not make sense to me. The water where we are is not very good and it's possible for dirt, but the way it's behaving it doesn't make sense. I hesitate to call the repair person without doing research myself as we've spent a lot of $ in the past when they're just guessing at the answers and not coming up with the right solutions.

My husband is away and I don't have the ability to do any repairs myself, so I'm trying to narrow down any possible solutions. I've tried to do an Internet search but can't come up with any information similar to our problem.

Thanking you in advance.

[wolfe10]

Welcome to the FMCA Forum.

If there is a possibility of dirt contamination, buy a 5 micron sediment only filter in reusable canister from any building supply store. They can also sell you adapters for female hose IN and male hose OUT for the filter canister and a short length of potable water hose. Here is an example water filter with replacable element.

Here is one already made up at PPL: http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-pump...ter-filters.htm

Also, does water pressure vary at any other faucets-- particularly at others in the same area as the toilet? If you unscrew the aerator on a sink faucet, is it full of dirt?

I would also give the toilet manufacturer a call. Since you don't say what brand it was replaced with, I can't post a link.

Brett

[tbutler]

I would look at the replacement vacuum breaker. If this was a matter of debris in the valve or screen, it would not fluctuate widely but would gradually decrease. If there is a backflow prevention device, this would be my first suspect. I've had such devices break and give precisely the behavior you describe. I would guess that the vacuum breaker is really a backflow prevention valve as vacuum breakers always drain some water when they function normally. A backflow prevention valve is designed to allow the water to flow only into the toilet and not out of the toilet when the line pressure drops. If this valve does not function properly, it can partially or fully block the line. This would produce the wide fluctuations you describe.

[F341781]

Thank you so much for your input. Firstly, I do have a filter to be put on. Since we have to insulate our hoses for winter it is quite a pain to have it on then, although I should & would like to. Secondly, there is no fluctuation of pressure in any other tap, other than the usual variance in the park.

My original guess was the vacuum breaker but for whatever reason it is being dismissed. I don't have the same faith in new parts that some others do simply because I've had new parts fail too. I will now call the manufacturer to see what they have to say as well so that I am armed with information. It seems that this should be my course of action before calling someone to fix things but you figure that is what they get paid for?

Thanks again!