Portable macerator pump recommendations

[skyguy737]

Our usual local RV dump recently closed and looking at options moving forward. Looking at portable 12vdc macerator pumps that reduce the 3 inch tank output to a 1 inch hose with a macerator pump that can pump the waste uphill to our home sewer cleanout fitting. Does anyone have any experience with this portable system...recommendations...warnings....?? Brand experience? Several on Amazon with prices from under $100 to almost $300+. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

[ducksface]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XWVMPGH?psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Lead-Free-Bandit-Inches-22484/dp/B000EDOSKG


The water thief takes you to a garden hose connection from the one inch macerator outlet and provides some flexibility.

Had them both for 100 dumps.

 

[ghnl]

??? First link goes to a page of wheels, the second to a water hose connector...

 

[ducksface]

??? First link goes to a page of wheels, the second to a water hose connector...

Fixed it.

 

[skyguy737]

Could only open the second link to the hose adapter….appreciate that.

 

[ducksface]

Picture of linked macerator

 

[Bob Nodine]

Our usual local RV dump recently closed and looking at options moving forward. Looking at portable 12vdc macerator pumps that reduce the 3 inch tank output to a 1 inch hose with a macerator pump that can pump the waste uphill to our home sewer cleanout fitting. Does anyone have any experience with this portable system...recommendations...warnings....?? Brand experience? Several on Amazon with prices from under $100 to almost $300+. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Used one for about 14 years on our previous motorhome. We installed it permanently in the service bay and had extra hose for the times when the sewer connection was far away from the service bay. We used it often when camping in a site that did not have sewer. We would place the blue tote tank on the tailgate of the truck and pump it full of gray water. Then we would drive to the dump station and used a 3" slinky to empty the tote tank. Saved my bad back. A nice thing about the macerator is you can store all the 1 inch hose in the service bay and don't have to fool with a 3 inch slinky.

There are two down sides.

1. You need to have a 20 amp fused connection from the battery because the pump draws a lot of current. It is not recommend to tie into an existing circuit.

2. There is maintenance with this device and about once a year we had to break it down and clean the hair that would wrap around the macerator blades. Also, the pump is based on a rubber impeller than runs in a non-symmetrical cavity and they wear out. I think we replaced two of them in the time we were using it. We did all our own maintenance but this would be a costly expense if you had to pay a tech.

 

[ghnl]

A macerator pump sounds like a Good Idea.

Alternatively, check with a local Flying J/Pilot truck stop. Some have dump stations. The one local to me charges $10 (or $7.50 if you have a Good Sam account).

 

[DavidEM]

Hmm! You are going to pump uphill to a sewer clean out connection? Then what do you do when you disconnect? The hose will be full of sewage. Some of it will drain back into your sewage tank if the macerated pump doesn’t have a check valve which I suspect it doesn’t.

That still leaves you with a half full hose to deal with. You may be able to get most of it back into your waste tank by lifting the hose and working your way back to the RV to let it drain back. In any case, it will be messy.

One solution is to put a tee with a valve that you can hook up a garden hose to and flush the hose back to the sewer clean out. Don’t ever use that garden hose for potable water though.

In dealing with sewage, gravity draining is much cleaner than pumping.

David

 

[MCP-THOR]

Hmm! You are going to pump uphill to a sewer clean out connection? Then what do you do when you disconnect? The hose will be full of sewage. Some of it will drain back into your sewage tank if the macerated pump doesn’t have a check valve which I suspect it doesn’t.

That still leaves you with a half full hose to deal with. You may be able to get most of it back into your waste tank by lifting the hose and working your way back to the RV to let it drain back. In any case, it will be messy.

One solution is to put a tee with a valve that you can hook up a garden hose to and flush the hose back to the sewer clean out. Don’t ever use that garden hose for potable water though.

In dealing with sewage, gravity draining is much cleaner than pumping.

David

I believe most portable macerators come with flush hose connections and ball valve shutoffs. Perhaps not all do.

 

[ducksface]

Drain in order:
Black water
Close valve
Then
Gray water
Then
Then a couple of gallons of fresh water into the kitchen sink.
Close valve
These actions rinse the macerator and the hose.

Then, if you're skeered, some water from the outside shower ran into the hose.
Disconnect hose
Lift hose from rv end
Drain into septic hole.

There's the tiniest chance that the 'uphill' will be higher than waist/waste high.

Roll up garden hose.
Hook female end to male end.
Store hose.

Tah...dah....

It has never been a problem.

How could it be any different than a slinky?

 

[dkoldman]

I bought the Flo Jet Macerator about 4 years ago to see how it might work with a 100ft hose run to a sewer vent line in front of the house. It worked so well that I rarely if ever use the slinky even at a campsite. I say rarely because more often than not, even with dump stations at the campsites, I prefer to do it all at home.

Never had a problem with the gray or black water coming back down the line, I always do in the order The Duck Guy laid out. I disconnect at the RV end and hold the hose up. I walk it raise over my head all the way to the end so 99% of liquid (gray as it is always last) is out. Then I connect the end of hose to my hose mobile cart and roll it up, any gray in line will come as it is being rolled up. On the road I use a 25' Orange Camco hose for this.

I wired up a heavy duty 12vdc connector plug so I just plug it in and unplug when not in use. Before I bought the Flo Jet, I must have read 20 reviews where people were complaining about a blown fuse. In four years I have never blown a fuse. I asked the Mfg about BEFORE buying and they stated that some do not follow the procedures i.e. to use gray. They will allow the pump to get caked up with material from black tank, when it get hard it makes it hard for motor to turn shaft so it blows a fuse. At the end there is a cover that allows access to turn the shaft. Again I have never had to use this.

One of of best investments I have made for a modification. I forgot to mention how fast it is.

Note: Other pumps may do the same thing. I just sharing the one I have experience with.

 

[ghnl]

I'm interested. There isn't enough room to leave such a pump attached to the tank outlet fitting in our ACE. So, do you attach & detach the pump as needed? I'll have to see if there is a way to re-route the plumbing to the drain fitting so the pump could be left in place (unless that is ill-advised...).

 

[ducksface]

My macerator is on a fuse jumper off of the slide power.
I can never ever ever run the slide and the macerator at the same time.
That fuse doesn't know if it's hooked to the slide or the macerator or the henway.
On a 24.1 the macerator will live about two feet from the big fuse block on the drivers side.

I have a flip switch
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07QKFD7Z7?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image
Mounted so the bin door closes the switch cover. I cannot accidently leave the macerator unit if I've closed the bin door.

I'm sure there's a picture in my build thread but I'll post one here later.

 

[dkoldman]

I'm interested. There isn't enough room to leave such a pump attached to the tank outlet fitting in our ACE. So, do you attach & detach the pump as needed? I'll have to see if there is a way to re-route the plumbing to the drain fitting so the pump could be left in place (unless that is ill-advised...).

I remove mine each time. It a simple unscrew fitting just like the slinky. The Flo Jet comes with a very nice case, that I keep inside the wet bay. Yes I could leave it attached, but it is unnecessary weight on the RV Sewer plumbing.

I source my power off the positive post for the genny.

The other benefit and why I have never had any issues or maintenance is because when I do take it off, I allow it to air dry if at home, if I see anything I just rinse out but we never see anything of concern.


https://www.dyersonline.com/amfile/file/download/file/188/product/889/

 

[ducksface]

Mine is left in place. I've never had a reason to remove it. The bin door closes.
I was going to do a fancy replumbing but just haven't. Door closes, that's good enough for now.

I have a garden hose cap that screws onto the waterthief outlet. It's never wet when I remove it to hookup the hose.

 

[skyguy737]

Since we will only use the macerator pump at home after a trip, I plan to store the pump, discharge hose and fitting in a dedicated bag. Will likely tap a 12vdc SAE line from the house battery to something near the 3 inch waste fitting for black/gray tanks. We use a Tornado rinse system after draining tanks that was installed by the prior owner (thank you, James) - keeps the tanks very well rinsed in the 5 years we've owned the RV. Here is a pump that appears to compare favorably with the FloJet at about half the price.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WRTHXS9/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A1BHFT24W77Z1D&th=1

 

[dkoldman]

Since we will only use the macerator pump at home after a trip, I plan to store the pump, discharge hose and fitting in a dedicated bag. Will likely tap a 12vdc SAE line from the house battery to something near the 3 inch waste fitting for black/gray tanks. We use a Tornado rinse system after draining tanks that was installed by the prior owner (thank you, James) - keeps the tanks very well rinsed in the 5 years we've owned the RV. Here is a pump that appears to compare favorably with the FloJet at about half the price.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WRTHXS9/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A1BHFT24W77Z1D&th=1

The Flo Jet is kind of pricey.

I can't tell from your link, but does the unit you plan to buy have a threaded output, or do you have to use that fitting in the 10" hose?

I snapped a visual of how we pack the Flo Jet in the Wet Bay, so we always have it. 99% of the time I only use at home, but we have to store it somewhere. You may also see the 12vdc power connector. I wired it direct to the positive post on genny despite the existing 12vdc for fresh water pump right next to it.

I actually have a 2nd brand new Flo Jet new in the box with OEM packaging. A few years back I was talking with Flo Jet Tech Support about it abilities as I was raving about how much I liked it etc. They had me do some tests for them with my 100' run. A week later one showed up at my door.

I didn't sell it out fear that my may fail and I have to buy a new one. So I just keep it as my spare. I am sure if I sold it, my original would go out the next week. :whistling:

 

[ducksface]

At twice the price of the one I've used for five years it seems like a bargain.

 

[skyguy737]

The Flo Jet is kind of pricey.

I can't tell from your link, but does the unit you plan to buy have a threaded output, or do you have to use that fitting in the 10" hose?

I snapped a visual of how we pack the Flo Jet in the Wet Bay, so we always have it. 99% of the time I only use at home, but we have to store it somewhere. You may also see the 12vdc power connector. I wired it direct to the positive post on genny despite the existing 12vdc for fresh water pump right next to it.

I actually have a 2nd brand Flo Jet new in the box with OEM packaging. A few years back I was talking with Flo Jet Tech Support about it abilities as I was raving about how much I liked it etc. They had me do some tests for them with my 100' run. A week later one showed up at my door.

The one I have shared the Amazon link doesn't have a threaded output. They all seem to have a fitting for a 10 inch clear line that is clamped to the output fitting to view the pump discharge. May not need to hook up the fresh water rinse to the pump housing as the Tornado rinser in the tanks provides good rinse flow. Our next camping trip won't be until the fall, but will report how the system works for us with pros and cons. Thanks all for your input.

I didn't sell it out fear that my may fail and I have to buy a new one. So I just keep it as my spare. I am sure if I sold it, my original would go out the next week. :whistling:

The unit on Amazon with the link provided doesn't come with a threaded fitting...just a fitting for a 10 inch clear hose to be clamped to the discharge fitting to view the pump discharge. The Tornado tank rinse seems to provide sufficient rinse water so that we probably won't need to add fresh water to the pump housing fitting. Next camping trip won't be until the fall and we will report then the pros and cons of the system.