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Wolfpack Fan · 04-18-2012, 09:14 PM

I've been fighting a leaking toilet for the last couple of days. I've won the battle partially by replacing the flush valve. That was the biggest source of the leak.

Now when I push the pedal or use the spray hose and only when the peddle is pressed, or spray hose is used I get a little tricle of a leak down the hose that goes from the vacuum breaker to the flush valve.

The vacuum breaker looks to be a pretty simple component with no moving parts. QUESTION IS: Aside from cracks, can a vacuum breaker go bad and cause the problem I'm experiencing?

I'm going to just go ahead and replace it anyhow, but I'm curious.

Oh yeah there's another funny part to this. When I was removing the toilet, after unbolting, it I propped it on some 2x4 scraps while disconnecting the hoses. I didn't think they were even small enough to fit down the drain. Oops, I was mistaken. If it was at the correct angle it would fit down the drain. Guess where it fell? Yep! right into the black tank. I knew if it stayed in it would probably cause problems later down the line. It's out now, but boy was that an interesting adventure. Shower needed pretty quick after that adventure.

Oh the joys of RV'ing!!!

Arch Hoagland · 04-18-2012, 10:59 PM

Hope the wife and kids weren't in earshot range when the 2 X 4 fell in the tank!!!

Wolfpack Fan · 04-18-2012, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Hope the wife and kids weren't in earshot range when the 2 X 4 fell in the tank!!!

LOL! Wife was not, and the kid (singular) is 26 and was at class in college. You're right though, the words that came out of my mouth when that thing went into the toilet, though not horrible, were not exactly G rated. I made up for it today though after filling the black tank to capacity 3 times and dumping and seeing that chunck of 2x4 come out of the drain pipe. 50 gallons of water coming out of the drain all at once moves some stuff around. Black tank is clean as a whistle too!

RV Wizard · 04-19-2012, 02:39 AM

Vacuum breakers can and do go bad (leak) if the rubber diaphragm gets hard and the water pressure cannot make it seal. I think longer periods of time not being used or the heat and cold takes it's tole on the seal. I keep one as a spare to have when needed.

Wolfpack Fan · 04-19-2012, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RV Wizard

Vacuum breakers can and do go bad (leak) if the rubber diaphragm gets hard and the water pressure cannot make it seal. I think longer periods of time not being used or the heat and cold takes it's tole on the seal. I keep one as a spare to have when needed.

Thank you Mike, thank you VERY MUCH! That makes perfect sense. I'm still learning about RV's, but I'm pretty mechanically inclined. I didn't realize that the vacuum breaker had a diaphragm in it. You could say the vacuum breaker does have a moving part, since any diaphragm moves when water or air pressure pushes against it. I'm going to go ahead and replace it now. Winters are harsh and summers are hot here in Northern Nevada. Heck! wiper blades don't even last a full year here.