Flojet macerator: is it reliable? Maintenance issues?

[profdant139]

(I searched the archive for this topic but came up empty. Please forgive me if this has been discussed previously.)

I'm seriously considering a Flojet sewer pump -- several public dumps in our area have closed, and we need to be able to clean out the tanks at home. And my sewer cleanout is just a few inches uphill from my tank valves, so gravity and my old slinky won't do the job.

Yes, the Blue Boy method works, but it is a tedious task to dump a partial load in the tote, dump the tote into the cleanout, rinse and repeat. So I am leaning toward the Flojet as a less-burdensome alternative.

But before I pull the trigger on this expensive item, I want to know if there are any reliability or maintenance issues. This is not an item that I want to play with on my workbench, if you know what I mean.

Thanks in advance for your comments -- I would especially appreciate hearing from those who have first-hand experience.

[mbopp]

We'll camp for up to 2 weeks at a no-hookup campground. I use a Flojet to pump the tanks into a 30-gallon barrel mounted in the truck bed, and also for dumping at home. I made hoses from 3/4" corrugated pond or water feature hose since it's light, coils easily, and there's no back pressure on it.

I've had the pump for 12 years or so and had my first issue. Short story - several blades broke off the impeller and jammed the pump. I took the front of the pump off and managed to fish the blades out the discharge port. There were 2 blades left and that let the pump function enough to get me through the week. Flojet is a variation of a Jabsco pump so I ordered a Jabsco replacement impeller. Flojet says to use a 9/32" ignition wrench to hold the shaft while you unscrew the retaining nut but I clamped a large screwdriver in a vise and used the slot on the end of the motor shaft to hold it while I unscrewed the nut. Other than that it's a simple replacement.

[edatlanta]

I bought one 10 years ago for use at a campground where I was going to host. The ranger told me over the phone the nearest dump location was 75' or so from my site and I could just use it. When I arrived I found the dump site was 205' from my site and I never had the nerve to try the pump. I could just see it quitting with 200' of poo in the hose. I have still never used it, but I take it with me every trip just in case.

[Pipeman]

I have one and when in a campground that doesn't have full hookups I pump into a tote in the bed of the truck and then go to the dump site and let gravity do its' job.......I sometimes will flush it with fresh water when we come home.

[D_E_Bishop]

I made my own out of a garbage disposal. Here is a link...

LINK

[Lantley]

I have one and it gets the job done, but its slow and wiring can get hot. I have to keep an eye on it.
It work fine for what it is, however I only use it as a last resort

[ReneeG]

You do have to pause operation of it after about 14 minutes or so, even with the water jet running, so that adds time to the dumping.

[ktmrfs]

wa8yxm wrote:
I have a portable (Which by the way I no longer have a use for. but that's a topic for elsewhere) over the 15 years I've used it. It always got the job done when I needed it. NOW understand I prefer the 3" stinky Slinky (Got one of those brand new as well) The ONLY problems I had with it are mostly SUE problems (SUE is "Stupid User Error")

1: on the portable there is a fuse in the bottom of the handle. .Yup. did not know it was there. Took me a while to discover it.

Two. the motor shaft extends all the way out what I call the "Bottom" of the motor (Pump is the top part) and there is a slot. If you have not used it for a few days take a flat tool. Like a quarter or a washer. And give the shaft a "Twist" in the direction suggested by the outlet. The impeller may (otherwise) stick, which is Why I had to find the fuse.

Once I figured out the "Twist the shaft" long long time no problems..

OH feed it well.. I ran 10Ga wire from teh fuse panel about 5 feet to a compartment where I terminated with Anderson power Poles (40 amp size) and plugged the Macerator line in there... Why Anderson Power poles.. I use a lot of them on my Radio gear and have 10Ga Extension cables and so on. So I had them. Are they better than other options? Very good question. but for me yes. Due to the fact I have a lot of stuff that pluggs into that port.

yup, right on for the fuse and avoiding the "stuck impeller" and wiring.

I dump at home, but have about a 1ft rise. Have used one for about 8 years, 20-30 times/year and it has been flawless.

[profdant139]

More great tips -- thanks! I especially like the idea of giving the impeller a little twist before each use. I wonder how I am going to remember to do that each time. A checklist will help -- I have a lot of those for a variety of situations.

But then, of course, there is the problem of remembering to check the checklist.

[NRALIFR]

If you can get the complete cooperation of any and all females who may be in your group who need to use female products, they can be reliable enough. If not, all it takes is one and you have a mess on your hands.

Imagine the macerator stalling out with the majority of the “stuff” still in the black tank. You can close the gate valve, but then what?

Yeah, I had one several years back.

:):)

[ReneeG]

We have the Flojet Macerator and use it about every couple of dumps, especially if the line at the treatment plants are long. We have stand alone power source to hook it to and run the hose to our cleanout. It works great. It takes longer of course that dumping with the large sewer hose, but it sure is convenient to do it at home.

[wa8yxm]

I have a portable (Which by the way I no longer have a use for. but that's a topic for elsewhere) over the 15 years I've used it. It always got the job done when I needed it. NOW understand I prefer the 3" stinky Slinky (Got one of those brand new as well) The ONLY problems I had with it are mostly SUE problems (SUE is "Stupid User Error")

1: on the portable there is a fuse in the bottom of the handle. .Yup. did not know it was there. Took me a while to discover it.

Two. the motor shaft extends all the way out what I call the "Bottom" of the motor (Pump is the top part) and there is a slot. If you have not used it for a few days take a flat tool. Like a quarter or a washer. And give the shaft a "Twist" in the direction suggested by the outlet. The impeller may (otherwise) stick, which is Why I had to find the fuse.

Once I figured out the "Twist the shaft" long long time no problems..

OH feed it well.. I ran 10Ga wire from teh fuse panel about 5 feet to a compartment where I terminated with Anderson power Poles (40 amp size) and plugged the Macerator line in there... Why Anderson Power poles.. I use a lot of them on my Radio gear and have 10Ga Extension cables and so on. So I had them. Are they better than other options? Very good question. but for me yes. Due to the fact I have a lot of stuff that pluggs into that port.

[cavie]

I used mine once a week for 3 months this past summer.

[Bill_Satellite]

Earlier this year I was parked about 50' from a dump and bought a FloJet unit. Connected it to a fairly standard 5/8" hose and pumped away. We have huge holding tanks so it took quite some time to do the dump as they recommend only running for 15 minutes non-stop. We used that every 2 weeks for about 2 months. We later that year we were in Vegas for a couple of months and did the same thing. We have never had an issue and have only cleaned any visible residue in the grinding chamber after disconnecting. Dumping the grey after the black leaves it pretty clean when the dump is complete.

[profdant139]

Thanks for the info!!

Old Biscuit, is that disassembly job easy or difficult? (Sometimes, manufacturers intentionally make it hard for the consumer to take a device apart, probably to discourage the users from fouling up the works with improper techniques.)

Also, is the yearly maintenance "messy" (if you know what I mean)? Or does proper rinsing at the end of each use solve that problem?

[Dtank]

Good info, O.B.

Wondering....is "Sister place" - your Sister's place, a nun, or a place you have in Sisters Oregon ??

:@