Special Notes for Boaters: Whichever toilet you choose you need to make sure your installation is fully in-line with local regulations concerning discharge. Many areas will heavily fine anyone caught discharging overboard. This means you need to install a Holding Tank to empty into until you can discharge into a dockside pump out station or directly overboard further out to sea. Macerator Pumps are designed to empty your holding tanks and include a bronze cutter to grind waste down to small particle size. Macerator Pumps we Sell
Electric macerator pumps can pump holding tanks and certain types of toilets and some can be used as macerators. They are not to be confused with Type I or II marine sanitation devices (MSDs). Macerator Pumps are very compact and lend themselves to installations short on space. Matter to be discharged passes through a bronze cutter which reduces the waste particle size, and is then pumped by the flexible impeller pump, discharging through a 1" (25mm) hose. The macerator cutter will usually not handle rags, hard objects or sanitary towels etc.
Macerator
Pumps -Recreational Vehicle and Marine Applications
For purposes
of general information contained in this article, most pumps will be 12 volt DC
electric.
Macerator Pumps are designed to empty your holding tanks when
fitted onto the plumbing in both recreational vehicles and boats. The function
of the pump is to suction the solids and liquids from the lines connected to the
holding tanks and grind the effluent with the rotating cutter head down to a
small particle size for simple discharge of the waste. Eliminating gravity as a
method to empty the tanks allows the user to lift the waste to a convenient
receptacle either above or below the pump elevation.
Electric pumps can
pump the waste from holding tanks and certain types of toilets. The term
macerator refers to the action of the pump that grinds the waste as it enters
the inlet of the pump. Most macerator pumps are self priming, which means the
pump will lift the waste solids and liquids up to the inlet of the pump and even
further lift the discharge above the pump to empty into holding tanks or
overboard if installed on boats. Macerator pumps help prevent clogged lines due
to the function of grinding up the waste and smaller discharge lines are
permissible once the solids are macerated. Less water is required for flushing
toilets if the macerator pump is installed on the input side of the toilet.
Typically, macerator pumps are not designed to be run dry of liquids. The
impellers will wear and the pumps capacity to discharge the liquids will be
lessened. The most advanced designed macerator pumps will automatically shut off
if the pump runs dry of liquids. The run dry protection is not designed to be
used as a means to automatically shut off the pump. The 20 seconds delay will
cause wear to the impeller of the pump.
Installation of a macerator pump
is very straightforward. Since the pump is powered by electricity, either DC or
AC, the power should be shut off prior to connecting to the supply. Circuit
protection, either an inline fuse or a circuit breaker should be used to protect
the circuit. Most circuit breakers are polarity sensitive and should be
installed with the lugs marked batt to the battery and the other lug, marked
aux, should go to the device.
Simple tools such as wire cutters,
strippers, pliers, and screwdrivers are required to install macerator pumps.
Inlet hoses can be rigid lines such as pvc or flexible hoses with wire
reinforcement to prevent kinking or collapsing from the suction generated by the
pump. Continuity testers for determining the available power supply may be
needed. The pump should not be connected to any circuit that would be providing
power to any other appliance that might be turned on simultaneously. Damage to
one or both appliances might occur. Portable storage batteries with cables and
alligator clips may be used to power the pump if a permanent supply is not
easily available. The typical 400 amp portable battery will continue to power
the pump for many empty cycles.
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