Replace head valves, before....sh$t happens!!

 I have Raritan Marine Elegance heads and they work really well, so no complaints. But we ran into a clog a few days ago and were glad that we have two heads....

So I finally built up the courage to take the clogged head apart to replace the check valves (here is the kit):

The process is a dirty job to be sure, but with the clog and the mess left in the head I was in for it! Replacing the valves is reasonably straightforward, by removing the 2 bolts at the back and 1 screw in the front. Once removed, the head can be moved just enough to loosen the hose clamps:

Now the entire head may be moved, but wait! If you are lucky, the head is located higher than the holding tank and the fluid will not come out of the 2 inch hose. So care should be used. 

The valves can then be replaced and the reason can be seen in the slightly open portions of the old valve on the right compared to the new one on the left:

I was not really satisfied with just replacing the valves, since the head was clogged and not working at all, so I removed the pump. Once the pump was off, you can look into the macerator and pump vanes. This is the second head where you can only see some hair wound around the nut on the macerator:

On my clogged head I had to remove the macerator and pump vanes, because there was cloth wrapped around the macerator (from the previous owner clearly):

So the message and word to the wise is to frequently replace the valves (before there is a real mess waiting in the head) and if you purchased a used yacht, check the macerator and pump vanes for hair and other foreign material that will cause problems later....