Community Forums

Norm Reese · 05-03-2007, 06:00 PM

Has anyone out there used the Flo-Jet macerator pump that lets you empty the black water tank through a garden hose? It attaces directly to the tank outlet and looks like it might make that chore a little easier and less error-prone. It's pricey though, and I'd like to hear from anyone who has used it. Thanks.

Norm Reese · 05-03-2007, 06:00 PM

Has anyone out there used the Flo-Jet macerator pump that lets you empty the black water tank through a garden hose? It attaces directly to the tank outlet and looks like it might make that chore a little easier and less error-prone. It's pricey though, and I'd like to hear from anyone who has used it. Thanks.

allendp · 05-03-2007, 06:27 PM

Hi Norm, Welcome to the forum first of all, you'll find a good bunch of folks here. I have owned one of the flojet macerator pumps for about 2 years. It works OK but the impeller is made of rubber and wears out and it was a bear finding a replacement which cost about $25 from camping world. The best use I got out of it was when we were camped at my sons house for a couple of months and I used it to pump my black tank in to a blue portable tank in the bed of my truck and took it to a public dump station. I also use it at home to pump the waste to my septic tank clean out when I have been dry camping without a chance to dump.

When we are parked at a regular RV park I usually use the standard old flexible drain hose.

I made a couple of mods also. I ran 12 volts to a plug near my drain pipe and installed a toggle switch to operate it. I also went to Loews and foun some 1 inch hose in 20 ft sections in their garden shop used for pumping water in ponds etc. and use it in lieu of garden hose. Flows much faster and less effort for the pump. I bought 1 in screw on PVC connectors to connect 3 sections together for 60 feet.

For its intended use it performs the task pretty well.

Norm Reese · 05-08-2007, 03:07 PM

Thanks, Don and Pat,

That's just the kind of info I was looking for.

Norm

wandrr · 05-10-2007, 12:17 PM

I just purchased one and used it a couple of days ago. So far, so good. I am using a 3/4 inch garden hose 75 feet long to go from my rig to a basement sewage clean-out in the house. The pump seems to handle things OK over that distance, but the fact that the whole run is level, then down 8 feet into the basement makes the load on the pump much less. They definitely warn not to run the pump for more than 15 minutes, so I carefully shut it down a couple of times to let it cool off. I am emptying 60 gallons grey and 40 gallons black, so that takes quite a while. As stated by Allendp, the pump is pricey. I am using it when parked on my front lawn for extended periods to avoid hooking up and paying a dump fee. I think it will pay for itself by avoiding about 16 dumps which should be about four years in my case. By the way, my impeller appears to be stainless steel, so maybe they made an improvement recently.

If you need to move your waste a fairly long distance (no more than 100 feet), the Flojet seems ideal.

C Driver · 05-11-2007, 04:07 AM

you also might want to take a look at the Sewer Solution unit .... we have used ours for about 4 years .... love it and no power needed, but you do need a water connection.

allendp · 05-11-2007, 05:16 AM

The cutter blade that you see when yo look into the open end of the pump is indeed stanless steel. You actually have to take the pump completely apart to see the impeller which pumps the fluid and I am betting it is still rubber as it has to be flexible to create pressure against the wall of the cylinder in which it turns in order to move the fluid.

Bob and Julie · 05-12-2007, 01:36 PM

Since the plumbing on our fiver is exposed, there is no place for a perminent installation. So we purchased a "Tank Buddy". This consists of a pump, hose and fittings all contained in a small tool box. It works great. Now we avoid the crowds and charges. We wait until we arrive home and use this set-up to pump our black and grey water into the sewer clean-out in front of our home. There is also an advantage to dumping after a trip rather that before.

Mich_Camper · 05-21-2007, 01:05 PM

Bob and Julie, not trying to rain on the parade, but word of caution. Watch the "sewer clean out at the end of the driveway'. Some areas have separate storm and waste systems and you want to make sure that you are in the right one.

One of the "good" things is that with the moving around on the trip home, it stirs up any 'piles of stuff' that can form a small hill in the tanks. We also pump / dump after a move to mix things up and make sure that all is liquefied.

Happy Trails to all