Macerater: Worth the cost? really cleaner?

[Roll]

Like anything else two camps (excuse the pun) regarding the use of macerators.

This is a little off topic but certainly related based on responses.

I am interested in how you use a 3 in hose for straight dumping. There seems to be some concern about it. I find it's really not that difficult.

My coach came with a large PVC pipe (6 inch?) attached to the bottom of the wet bay right under the dump pipe. It has a 90 degree bend right under the coach and then extends out for about 24 inches. It has a cap on the outside end. It has a large enough inside diameter to accept the 3 in hose with a bayonet connector on the end.

I attached my hose to the dump valve and stuff the hose into this pipe hanging under the coach. I do not remove the 3 in hose from the end of the dump pipe in the wet bay, that’s where and how it is stored.

When I dump I take the outside cap off, rotate the pipe out from under the coach and point it toward the dump station, pull the other end of the 3 inch hose out, connect it to the drain (with a 90 degree dump station connector) and pull the valves; black, then gray.
When done I take off the connector on the end, the 3 in hose contracts into the 6 in pipe, I have to push a little to get it all in, and then swing the 6 in PVC pipe back under the coach and replace the outside cap. Done. The cap has a wire cable attached with the other end attached to the underside of the coach. This keeps the pipe from rotating out while traveling.

This is so simple that I wonder why I don't see such an arrangement on all coaches. It could be done on most RVs I would think. I have about 13 feet of hose in the 6 in pipe but if I need an extension, I have one in a container in another bay. All the connections are bayonet type twist connectors.

After one bad, bad, experience I paid for high quality but highly flexible 3 in hose and made sure all connectors are tight and used a little glue to help seal any possible leaks around connections. I found the rhino type hose too stiff for the above set up; it would not compress sufficiently to fit into the 6 inch pipe.

Roll

[darealmccoy]

Roll - this seems to be a standard on Coachman, and maybe other Forest River products. My 2012 Concord has the same set-up. Haven't used it yet.

Dave

[rocknrun]

Wonder what's debated more on RV forums.....dumping the tanks or which is the best emergency road service?

[ottffss]

Originally Posted by rocknrun

Wonder what's debated more on RV forums.....dumping the tanks or which is the best emergency road service?

Hmmm... Probably tires, tire pressure, batteries, safety, carrying guns, toilet paper, holding tank chemicals, torque vs. horsepower, and the grandaddy of them all Wal Mart!

[Chuck 1935]

In Gila Bend,Az at Quail Run rv park and I asume in all of Maricopa county. No matter what kind of sewer hose you have , It may not touch the ground.
The crazies are out there folks and the are watching.

[YC1]

Originally Posted by troyrice76

Does this system use a black tank flush?

No.

I would not be without mine. I had one on the last mh. I can dump at home uphill and that really saves me time and effort. On this mh it was mounted behind a small plastic panel and screwed to the floor. On the one occassion that a small piece of plastic (some factory leftovers) clogged it I removed the panel and did not screw it back in place. It simply uncouples from the large hose if I want to use the the large discharge hose. The graywater bypass has never been an issue and you do not have to use it. I prefer to not let the gray drain until I want to dump.

Here is a great advantage. With the macerator connected I first open the gray and make sure there are not issues. I then close the gray while opening the black. When the black gets empty I turn the pump off and open the gray which allows it to rush into the black. Closing the gray again while I dump the black and repeat this about three times.

I do have a black tank flush system but that is a seperate device.

We do a lot of boondocking and being able to dump after the weekend is very nice and easy. No one behind me rushing me so I can do a very good cleanout too.

[foxtrot]

I purchased a Flojet only after being issued one to use at a Colorado State Park while serving as a park host. The sewer was 70 ft away. It worked flawlessly. What I realized is a macerater gives you another option to deal with the most fun part of camping. I still carry the slenkey hose and use it at dump stations and where I am close to the sewer. BUT, we all know there are times when its just too far away and more hose is needed than we usually carry. I even purchased 75 ft 3/4 hose and a garden hose reel (in a plastic box). I cut the hose once at 25 ft and installed a coupler to give me length options. Further, I installed a 12V plug under the camper near the sewer connection. This makes the macerater hookup quicker. I park our camper at home and can use it as a guest room since the macerater allows me to reach my sewer cleanout easily. Yes, a macerater is worth it for me.

[HD4Mark]

We purchased our Flojet to be able to dump at home. The sewer vent is about 100" from the concrete pad and it works great. This way when we stop at a rest area or truck stop on the way home there is no worry about where to empty the holding tanks.

It also saved us at a park where due to a tree limb overhead we could not get close enough to the sewer even with two stinky slinkys. So for the most part it sits in its case but when needed it is great.

[Roll]

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

We purchased our Flojet to be able to dump at home. The sewer vent is about 100" from the concrete pad and it works great. This way when we stop at a rest area or truck stop on the way home there is no worry about where to empty the holding tanks.

How so?

I get the smaller hose, I get uphill, and I get much longer hose, but....where at home or a rest stop, can you dump your tank (with your flojet/Macerater)?

Thanks, Roll

[wa8yxm]

Lots of interesting comments and opinions. My observations and recommendations.

1: Are they worth it?
I have had cases where the sewer INLET was higher than my RV's sewage outlet, the only way to get stuff to flow uphill is to use a pump.. There is no other way to do it.

2: If it's a long way to the dump hole an long way to flow.. The pump may do the better job. I have a 40 foot long black hose, a 25 foot gray hose and around 50 feet of 3" but not all one length.

I have had cases where (Dumping the black) I needed all 50 feet to reach the hole in the ground. The maceratgor did a great job.

I have pumped GRAY water 75 feet.

(Usually I use the gray hose for "Gray tank 2" which is a wash water tank (Shower/lav only, no kitchen sink) but in this case I used it for genuine GRAY (kitchen sink/lav no shower on that tank but shower would have been OK, I have 3 tanks black, Gray Gray)

But when I need to run much over 30' the macerator is great.

As for the comment you can poop faster than it pumps..

About six gallons per minute (how fast it pumps) with a 50 ' 3/4" black hose on level ground.. Slower if up hill, longer or smaller hose.

[srh]

I was introduced to the macerator in my first super C Class, a 2006 Jayco Seneca. My second one, a 2006 Phaeton, did not have one and I immediately bought and installed one. I also installed one in my current 2007 Bus. I do not know what part of setting up the sewer hose - making sure it is connected, and leveled, and then put away to sore is fun? Avoiding all this for around $200 is surely worth it!
Happy camping!

[Luv2go]

Originally Posted by Roll

How so?

I get the smaller hose, I get uphill, and I get much longer hose, but....where at home or a rest stop, can you dump your tank (with your flojet/Macerater)?

Thanks, Roll

We've pumped into toilets, sewer cleanouts and privies.

[HD4Mark]

Originally Posted by Roll

How so?

I get the smaller hose, I get uphill, and I get much longer hose, but....where at home or a rest stop, can you dump your tank (with your flojet/Macerater)?

Thanks, Roll

At home we use 2 coils of 50' 5/8" diameter garden hose. I bought "Never Kink" hoses that were more expensive but much easier to lay out than the cheap ones and as advertized don't kink. This helps a lot in cool weather as the plastic cheapo ones are tough to unroll.

Since the house is lakefront the sewer vent pipe sticks out of the lawn about 2" and even with the distance and uphill a bit the Flojet takes care of it. If you are on city sewers it is likely there is a vent or clean out somewhere on your property. As far as a rest stop it is unlikely you will find a place to legit place to dump but Flying Js have dump stations at the RV islands for $10, $5 if you have the frequent fueler card.

The Flojet has some kind of thermal switch that will shut it down before overheating. It also can blow the biggest 12V fuse so I connect it directly to a jump-start pack. There is a rubber cap on the end covering a blade type screw that you can use to free it if something clogs it up without getting dirty.

If it ever stops raining here I will be pumping out our tanks and can take some photos if anyone is interested.

[monarchman53]

We are living full time in our rig this summer so our kids can live in our house while their new one is being built. We are about 120' from the toilet in our house so we are researching macerator systems to empty our tanks. Any comments good or bad as to the different units out there would be appreciated.
HD4Mark, I would be interested in seeing some pics of your setup, thanks.
Rod