Macerator question

[AAFD]

Wife and I are looking at smaller RV for our next purchase. Some of these units have a Macerator some have them as options. Are they worth it? I know macerator pump up hill but what are the other goods and bad? Thanks

KC

[Bumpyroad]

mlts22 wrote:

The best setup (JMHO) is what I've seen on some rigs like Phoenix Cruisers. They have an inbuilt macerator pump... but they have an "emergency" cap and can be dumped via a standard sewage hose.

that would be great if the pump did not have a grey water bypass. could just put the end cap on that has a garden hose fitting and use that for grey water without needing to run the pump.
bumpy

[mlts22]

I have used a FloJet portable macerator pump, and a stinky slinky.

I would add that you should get a clear plastic sleeve to mount between the macerator pump and the dump valve. This way, you have more time to react when the pump is empty, as macerators tear themselves up extremely quickly when run dry. You also can tell if the people in your family are eating enough corn, which is important.

After using both, the macerator is tolerable, and I flush it by emptying the black tank, turning the pump off, opening both black/gray valves, letting the water get to a level state, then continuing to dump. This backflush cleans out the black tank without wasting any additional water.

This isn't to say that macerator pumps are useless. I've been at sites where the dump port was higher than the rig, forcing me to either try to park my TT precariously high on blocks, "walk" the stuff via the SS, or perhaps use a blue boy as an intermediary... and the macerator pump made dumping there rather painless.

The best setup (JMHO) is what I've seen on some rigs like Phoenix Cruisers. They have an inbuilt macerator pump... but they have an "emergency" cap and can be dumped via a standard sewage hose.

[DSDP_Don]

Hate to be the guy at that RV park that had to decide if it was solid poop or ground up poop before someone could dump. I have two macerator toilets.....we would be in big trouble! :S

[PAThwacker]

I pumped gray to a tank in the back of our sub. We then had 40ft of 1" hose full of stinky gray water. You had to remove hose from macerator, spill a little, flip it up high and walk the hose back to truck to evacuate it. No easy way around that unless the truck/tank is down range.

[wa8yxm]

I have a Flo-Jet portable, I use it from time to time, when It is a long way to the hole in the ground or at one spot, UP HILL to the hole in the ground (What were they thinking?)

Works, well, provided I give the shaft in the bottom of the pump a twist in the proper direction before hooking up.

HOWEVER for every week dumping.. 3" beats the blades off that macerator.

[Bobbo]

I don't have a suitable dump site at home, so I have a macerator and run a hose 60' to a clean out plug. I prefer the stinky slinky and use it exclusively when at dump stations/full hook up sites, but at home must use the macerator.

[nazpaz]

We got a macerator so we could pump up into a big blueboy in the bed of the pickup. It beats (1) dragging the 5th wheel to the dump station or (2) dragging the blueboy back and forth.

If you don't stay in a campsite long enough to fill the tanks or always park where you have sewer access it probably isn't worth the trouble or expense.

[lanerd]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
We were in Pheasant Run in Portland OR and they prohibit the use of macerators due to trouble with the septic system. It seems there may be a problem in the leach field plugging up with solids that do not have a chance to break down while sitting in the septic tank.

This doesn't make any sense at all. The macerator "liquifies" the contents of the black tank....how in the world could this plug up the leach line? :h

The whole purpose of a leach line on a septic tank system is to run the liquids out and let it seep into the ground. The less solids in a septic tank...the better it works.

Somethin' is screwy here.

Ron

[Bumpyroad]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
We were in Pheasant Run in Portland OR and they prohibit the use of macerators due to trouble with the septic system. It seems there may be a problem in the leach field plugging up with solids that do not have a chance to break down while sitting in the septic tank. .

hog wash, that used to be the case with disposals in sinks when you would grind up bones and potentially clog the drain field. No bones in my black tank, or at least I hope not.
bumpy

[Old-Biscuit]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
We were in Pheasant Run in Portland OR and they prohibit the use of macerators due to trouble with the septic system. It seems there may be a problem in the leach field plugging up with solids that do not have a chance to break down while sitting in the septic tank.

I have no independent knowledge of the validity of their claim and they didn't prohibit Sewer Solutions so I kind of figure it was questionable. I didn't like the hoity toity attitude of the staff and only stayed one night. A nice enough park and it is in Portland proper, not outside the city.

So I guess if one has 'diarrhea' can't dump black waste tank regardless of method used.


Horse Pucky!

[D_E_Bishop]

We were in Pheasant Run in Portland OR and they prohibit the use of macerators due to trouble with the septic system. It seems there may be a problem in the leach field plugging up with solids that do not have a chance to break down while sitting in the septic tank.

I have no independent knowledge of the validity of their claim and they didn't prohibit Sewer Solutions so I kind of figure it was questionable. I didn't like the hoity toity attitude of the staff and only stayed one night. A nice enough park and it is in Portland proper, not outside the city.

[DSDP_Don]

AAFD.....I've had the SaniCon version for over 10 years. A lot of Monaco coaches came with them as a standard. When I sold my Monaco, the first thing I did was install a SaniCon in my new coach.

The SaniCon does take longer to dump, but when you're done, you just cap the end of the very flexible/portable 1" hose and stuff it into your water bay....you're done. Often the time it takes to get out a 3" hose, dump, clean the 3" hose, try not spill on your shoes and then store it away isn't much quicker than a 3" hose.

Because the grey tank and black tank are sealed to the macerator, you can dump the black tank, open the grey tank and let the soapy water fill and equalize with the black. Close the grey and dump the black tank that has now been rinsed out with soapy water. This is handy when you may not have rinse water to use.

The SaniCon has a bypass hose that lets you leave the grey tank open and draining at all times. The drain hose does not need to be rinsed. Typically, running the grey water last is all you need to do. Once done, cap the end of the hose and put in the wet bay....very compact.

In 10 years of use, I had a clog the first year because we threw one of the wipes in the tank which will clog the impeller. After that, I rebuilt the unit twice in 10 years. Rebuilding is just a disassembly and install of a new rubber impeller, just like boats use for water pumps.

[aruba5er]

Make sure you can remove it to clean it once in a while. My sister plugged ours up with a butt wipe. If you can not remove it quickly without too big a mess, then don't get it

[Old-Biscuit]

I have a twist on portable FloJet.

Use it when visiting sisters place..........clean out is 75' away with 2' incline.
Use it when conventional 3" dump inconvenient or not available.
Prefer the 3" dump as it evacuates tank with that sudden rush and doesn't take as long.

If I was to have a permanent it would HAVE to have a BYPASS system so that I could still dump IF macerator failed.