Replacement motor for Sanicon 700

[tom chelbana]

On our 18 LA the motor for our Sanicon 700 needs to be replaced and from the checking we have done the motor is only available with the complete assembly. Does anyone have a source for just the replacement motor for the 700 series.Thanks Tom

[Dutch Star Don]

Tom.....my guess, they're using a Flojet or Jabsco pump. On the first generation SaniCon, when you took the box apart that contained the pump, I believe they were Jabsco pumps.

[flyboy013]

Tom, did you find a source for the motor or specifics on the pump used?

[tom chelbana]

We did find the source for the motor and when we contacted them they said they wouldn't sell it to us because of a agreement with Sanicon. It really would be nice to save a lot of time and money to just replace the 12 volt motor. Though might try to get motor rebuilt but just went a head and purchased the complete assembly.
Newmar Man

[flyboy013]

Originally Posted by tom chelbana

We did find the source for the motor and when we contacted them they said they wouldn't sell it to us because of a agreement with Sanicon. It really would be nice to save a lot of time and money to just replace the 12 volt motor. Though might try to get motor rebuilt but just went a head and purchased the complete assembly.
Newmar Man

It looks like I may need to replace my pump after all. Sometimes when I flip the switch there no response, while other times the motor sounds very slow and sluggish. I’ve check the external wiring and all is good. I’m going to try to flush the unit, but if that doesn’t work I’ll probably just replace the pump & housing.

When you replaced your pump/housing, what else did you need to replace? It looks like the 3” input pipes and the 1 1/2” discharge pipe are glue to the housing such that I would need to purchase new elbows between the gate valves and the Sanicon pump housing. Also the gate valve connectors? Is this what you had to do?

[Dutch Star Don]

Just a tidbit....I've hardly used my SaniCon in the last year. On the Newmar models with macerator toilets, you really don't need to turn on the newer turbo models. On my coach, I have an electric drain valve. When the tank is full or the morning that we're leaving, I just open the drain valve. It only takes a few minutes and my tank is empty. I discovered this on a trip when I thought the hose wasn't tight in the campground drain hole and didn't want to turn on the SaniCon from the inside.

[flyboy013]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Just a tidbit....I've hardly used my SaniCon in the last year. On the Newmar models with macerator toilets, you really don't need to turn on the newer turbo models. On my coach, I have an electric drain valve. When the tank is full or the morning that we're leaving, I just open the drain valve. It only takes a few minutes and my tank is empty. I discovered this on a trip when I thought the hose wasn't tight in the campground drain hole and didn't want to turn on the SaniCon from the inside.

That was my thought too. I have the electric valves installed and this summer I added the remote activation capability. When traveling this fall I was dumping my tanks remotely and without the use of the Sanicon.

At one stop where I was dumping my tanks at a dump station I noticed that my Sanicon would no longer work. I eventually got it to work again by whacking the side of the housing with my fist. My thought at the time was that the impeller was jammed with waste product, namely toilet taper.

I just got done hard plumbing the 1.5” Sanicon discharge to the exterior of the coach and was testing it out. Because I don’t have a sewer hookup at my house I was dumping the gray into a bucket. I accidental hit the button to open the black tank and I then had a gallon or two of black fluid in my bucket. I noticed there was some 2” x 2” sections of toilet paper which made me think that indeed this material may have clogged the impeller.

To be honest, I don’t know what to think now. I do suspect that either the pump is bad, or the impeller is clogged. We’re about to head out for a few months and my biggest concern is that if it is clogged, the draining of the black tank could be affected to the point that the tank won’t drain. I do have a 3” slinky as a backup.

I don’t have a good visual of the connections, flow and restrictions inside the Sanicon Turbo 700 housing, so I’m not sure of the likelihood of the system getting clogged when not using the pump.

[Hmf23]

I was just out in my MADP this week. When I went to dump and hit the Sanicon switch got nothing!!! I did my trouble shooting and checked power to the breaker, was trying to check power to switch. Kinda hard to get in there to check so I fiddled with the wires of the switch and it starting working again. Now it does seem very sluggish compared to when it was new, seems like its lacking the TURBO of its name. It worked and emptied tanks and at times seems to pick up a little speed form time to time. But I did gravity dump as well when I was trouble shooting all through the 1 1/2 hose.

[ssimonto]

While running my Sanicon Turbo 700 to dump the tanks I noticed a wire connector looked discolored (photo attached) as if it had been hot. I reached in to move the wire for a better look and it was really hot! I turned it off and got my IR Gun and shot the temp of the wire at 165*F. Total run time was probably 3-4 minutes. After turning off the pump the wires cooled off to normal temps. Now I'm wondering what to do. My first thought is to make sure the wire connectors are all making good contact and aren't corroded resulting in a bad connection. Secondly, I thought the pump could be going bad and drawing too energy which is heating up the wire. As I think back, recently I thought the sanicon pump sounded a little different but it was working okay. Since the system pump is inside the box I'm not sure what to do next other than contact a service tech. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[wolfgolden]

Bad connection inside crimp. Cut it off and redo the connection.

[flyboy013]

Originally Posted by Hmf23

I was just out in my MADP this week. When I went to dump and hit the Sanicon switch got nothing!!! I did my trouble shooting and checked power to the breaker, was trying to check power to switch. Kinda hard to get in there to check so I fiddled with the wires of the switch and it starting working again. Now it does seem very sluggish compared to when it was new, seems like its lacking the TURBO of its name. It worked and emptied tanks and at times seems to pick up a little speed form time to time. But I did gravity dump as well when I was trouble shooting all through the 1 1/2 hose.

I left the 30-50 degree temperatures of Maryland about two weeks ago and at the time the Sanicon pump was either not turning on or if it did turn on, it was running very sluggishly.

As I traveled south into warmer temperatures, the Sanicon pump performance improved. I've been in 70-80 degree temperatures for 10 days now and the Sanicon pump seems to be working as good as it every has.

While in MD, the coach was heated to about 50 degrees, so there shouldn't have been any frozen waste stopping the pump from working. I did perform a hot water flush on the way south. Not sure if that helped, but I figured it couldn't hurt.

At this point in time, I don't know if the pump just doesn't like cold weather or if something was somehow blocking the impeller.

[flyboy013]

So the Sanicon pump is definitely bad and I'd like to repair it. I pulled the Sanicon system out of the coach and disassembled it (details later). I took the pump out of the casing. The "pump" is made by Thetford based on the engraved name/part number in the casing. I disassembled the pump and pulled the motor out. Below are pictures of the motor, both assembled and disassembled.

When I connect the motor up to 12V it runs somewhat sluggish. It starts at one speed and then slows down or speeds up (the battery measured at 11.98V and the pump is the only thing connected to it). If I stop the motor (disconnect power) and reconnect the power cables, many times it will not start again. Its like there's a dead spot. If I move the impeller slightly and reconnect the battery connection it starts up again.

Is this a repair that requires new brushes or some other rebuild? Given the picture of the motor below do you have any idea where I can buy a replacement. I searched for the numbers show on the motor and did could not find it online.

[flyboy013]

I have repaired my Sanicon pump and it now works perfectly. To recap, the pump ran very sluggishly and at times would not activate.

I pulled the Sanicon 700 unit out of the coach and took the lid off. Inside was a pump with 4 screws securing it inside of the housing. Once removed from the outer housing, I removed the pump housing which revealed a Unimotor motor. Pictures of the motor (assembled and disassembled) are in the above post. The motor’s commutator was burnt from contact with the brushes. I took a piece of sandpaper (400+) and removed the burntness. See below picture. I have circled the commutator. On the edges of the circled area you can see the virgin copper. I sanded the commutator until the complete commutator was clean of the burnt material. Here’s a link to a video on cleaning the commutator.

https://youtu.be/oB-h-vZc6FY



The repair was obviously a very messy job due to the residual waste fluid which leaked out during the Sanicon unit removal and the slight buildup of waste in the housing and pump. Several of screws within the housing were corroded and difficult to remove. I had to use vice grips on several of them. All new screws were use when reassembled.

I had considered replacing the pump or even the motor but Thetford doesn’t sell these parts and I could not find a source online. The only options were to purchase a new housing with pump or a complete Sanicon system. I looked online and most if not all Thetford dealers did not have any available parts and I understand that Thetford does not sell parts direct to consumers. Additionally, Newmar had the Sanicon system priced at over $800, but of course no availability.

Hopefully this effort will help others repair their Sanicon system. It’s a pretty basic system consisting of a motor, impeller, and plastic housings.

[Mmills023]

Did you just remove the 4 screws in each of the dump valves and pull the Sani-con box out? I need to do the same thing on mine - but not sure how to get the box itself disconnected.

Mike

Originally Posted by flyboy013

I have repaired my Sanicon pump and it now works perfectly. To recap, the pump ran very sluggishly and at times would not activate.

I pulled the Sanicon 700 unit out of the coach and took the lid off. Inside was a pump with 4 screws securing it inside of the housing. Once removed from the outer housing, I removed the pump housing which revealed a Unimotor motor. Pictures of the motor (assembled and disassembled) are in the above post. The motor’s commutator was burnt from contact with the brushes. I took a piece of sandpaper (400+) and removed the burntness. See below picture. I have circled the commutator. On the edges of the circled area you can see the virgin copper. I sanded the commutator until the complete commutator was clean of the burnt material. Here’s a link to a video on cleaning the commutator.

https://youtu.be/oB-h-vZc6FY

Attachment 332581

The repair was obviously a very messy job due to the residual waste fluid which leaked out during the Sanicon unit removal and the slight buildup of waste in the housing and pump. Several of screws within the housing were corroded and difficult to remove. I had to use vice grips on several of them. All new screws were use when reassembled.

I had considered replacing the pump or even the motor but Thetford doesn’t sell these parts and I could not find a source online. The only options were to purchase a new housing with pump or a complete Sanicon system. I looked online and most if not all Thetford dealers did not have any available parts and I understand that Thetford does not sell parts direct to consumers. Additionally, Newmar had the Sanicon system priced at over $800, but of course no availability.

Hopefully this effort will help others repair their Sanicon system. It’s a pretty basic system consisting of a motor, impeller, and plastic housings.