Best Portable Macerator

SoundGuy wrote:

azrving wrote:
I just bought a flow jet model 18555-000A and used it the first time today. While not being sure that everything was going to work ok the first thing I did after connecting it and all the hoses was to open the valve that lets fresh water into the housing. This let it have water to lube the pump yet not be black or gray water if anything was wrong and I had to remove it from the dump fitting.

Well, it was a very good thing that I did this because it blew the 20 amp fuse as soon as I tried it.

I rotated the impeller by hand in the direction that I guessed it would go. It started turning but it doesn't spin real freely because the rubber vanes on the pump rub the housing as they collapse and move material. I then reassembled it and bumped the switch quickly to give it a try and it took off.

After connecting my own FloJet I first pull the grey water waste gate to fill the macerator with water to serve as a "lubricant" for the impeller, manually turn the motor clockwise as recommended in the owner's instructions, then turn it on ... works perfectly every time. :B Don't do this and you're guaranteed to blow the fuse in the handle. :(

Works just as designed every time. Amazing what happens when one follows instructions! I blew the first fuse in two nanoseconds then read the instructions and it just works every time.

azrving wrote:
I just went and looked at it and pulled the end cover off. I see what you mean. My plastic case has a white decal with the operating instructions but doesn't show that diagram.

Interesting. Google "FloJet Waste Macerator Owner's Instructions" and this .pdf file is what pops up ... same instructions I have that do make it clear the impeller shaft should be rotated manually before using. Regardless, that's the solution to avoid blowing that 20 amp fuse.

Soundguy
I checked my Amazon order page. It does have a link to an PDF owners manual. More complete than the decal in the carry case. :) Duhhh Thanks

SoundGuy wrote:

azrving wrote:
I just bought a flow jet model 18555-000A and used it the first time today. While not being sure that everything was going to work ok the first thing I did after connecting it and all the hoses was to open the valve that lets fresh water into the housing. This let it have water to lube the pump yet not be black or gray water if anything was wrong and I had to remove it from the dump fitting.

Well, it was a very good thing that I did this because it blew the 20 amp fuse as soon as I tried it.

I rotated the impeller by hand in the direction that I guessed it would go. It started turning but it doesn't spin real freely because the rubber vanes on the pump rub the housing as they collapse and move material. I then reassembled it and bumped the switch quickly to give it a try and it took off.

After connecting my own FloJet I first pull the grey water waste gate to fill the macerator with water to serve as a "lubricant" for the impeller, manually turn the motor clockwise as recommended in the owner's instructions, then turn it on ... works perfectly every time. :B Don't do this and you're guaranteed to blow the fuse in the handle. :(

I just went and looked at it and pulled the end cover off. I see what you mean. My plastic case has a white decal with the operating instructions but doesn't show that diagram.

azrving wrote:
I just bought a flow jet model 18555-000A and used it the first time today. While not being sure that everything was going to work ok the first thing I did after connecting it and all the hoses was to open the valve that lets fresh water into the housing. This let it have water to lube the pump yet not be black or gray water if anything was wrong and I had to remove it from the dump fitting.

Well, it was a very good thing that I did this because it blew the 20 amp fuse as soon as I tried it.

I rotated the impeller by hand in the direction that I guessed it would go. It started turning but it doesn't spin real freely because the rubber vanes on the pump rub the housing as they collapse and move material. I then reassembled it and bumped the switch quickly to give it a try and it took off.

After connecting my own FloJet I first pull the grey water waste gate to fill the macerator with water to serve as a "lubricant" for the impeller, manually turn the motor clockwise as recommended in the owner's instructions, then turn it on ... works perfectly every time. :B Don't do this and you're guaranteed to blow the fuse in the handle. :(

You say you hooked it up to power. Did you have it connected to the dump fitting with water going to it? The rubber impeller must have water on it or it could be damaged. It's the same type of pump that is used on an outboard motor. There is round rubber impeller with spoke like looking rubber arms or vanes on it. The impeller vanes rub on the housing to create a seal and move material. Water is the lubricant for the arms as they rub on the housing. Running it dry wears these parts out.

I just bought a flow jet model 18555-000A and used it the first time today. While not being sure that everything was going to work ok the first thing I did after connecting it and all the hoses was to open the valve that lets fresh water into the housing. This let it have water to lube the pump yet not be black or gray water if anything was wrong and I had to remove it from the dump fitting.

Well, it was a very good thing that I did this because it blew the 20 amp fuse as soon as I tried it. I then removed it from the dump valve and tried to rotate the steel blades with a long screwdriver. They didn't want to turn so I pictured un wiring everything that I had done and packaging it all back up to return it. I sat there looking at it and decided to just disassemble it and see what was wrong. I had bought it on Amazon so I knew a return would be easy no matter what happened. I rotated the impeller by hand in the direction that I guessed it would go. It started turning but it doesn't spin real freely because the rubber vanes on the pump rub the housing as they collapse and move material. I then reassembled it and bumped the switch quickly to give it a try and it took off.

After hooking everything back up I again started out with fresh water and could see through the clear elbow fitting that it was sucking it in very fast. I then opened the gray valve and let it pump for a bit to be sure it could push it up to the dump port. This dump port is about 45 feet away so I'm using a 50 foot 3/4 garden hose with about a foot of rise. I didn't let it pump much gray water and then switched over to the black tank. When it looked like there was a high concentration of mud I would turn the fresh valve on to help dilute it down.

After the black tank was empty I left it's valve open and opened the gray valve so it could flood the black tank. I then closed the gray valve and pumped the black tank empty. I did this several times until the gray was empty. I then started using the fresh valve to back flow into the black tank with 5 or more gallons and would then shut of the fresh and pump the black out. I did this several times until there were no large pieces going through the clear elbow.

The fresh water hose fitting is an excellent idea and think it would be a real pain without it. After both gray and black valves were closed I ran fresh water and pumped it to flush the dump hose. You have to pay attention to what is happening while doing that because the pump can displace move than the fresh hose can supply and it creates a vacuum.

I ran 10 gauge wire from my heavy landing gear wiring about 10 feet. My converter was on so voltage was very good. After removing it the pump was very clean but the cutter blades did have hair on them which I was able to remove with needle nose pliers.

I want to thank Dieselbobcat for his recommendation of Flow jet. It's not as easy as just hooking up a dump hose but when you need to go up hill or into a toilet or into a septic tank at home or whatever this is an excellent tool. I will also take diesels advice of getting an extra repair kit because of hair etc.

I agree with that. The feel of it is different when it's spinning in your hand with nothing going through and when it's chewing stuff up as designed. If you haven't even tried it as intended then it's a bit premature as to whether it is working properly or not.

SoundGuy wrote:
I've been using my FloJet Waste Macerator since 2006 for servicing my trailer tanks at home so it's seen a lot of use over the years.

Aka the breeze wrote:
That’s the one I use...
The one I have now does not seem to have a lot of torque? If you run yours as a test in your hand, doe it feel like it has a bunch of torque? Mine just seams to spin....doesn’t seam to have a bunch of torque??

Sorry, I don't understand how you can determine a macerator's "torque" by simply holding it in your hand. :h Apparently this was given to you so there's nothing to lose by simply trying it ... either it works or it doesn't. ;)

jdb7566 wrote:
I made a macerator using a garbage disposer. Only negative is the need for 120V power.

Does a 3" pipe fitting fit exactly on the top of the disposal?

I made a macerator using a garbage disposer. Only negative is the need for 120V power.