Macerator woes

[jkinglet]

Emptied tanks last Thursday. No problemo. Macerator in good voice. No black water flush available at campground so waited until I returned to storage to flush. filled B/W tank about 1/2 with water. Drove around a little bit, shook it up. Opened B/W tank, pulled out hose, inserted in drain, clicked on the macerator switch. The pump ran for about 5 seconds, then quit. Dead quiet. No clicks, no sounds whatsover. 15a Fuse looked good. No red light. Removed rubber cover, turned expeller (?)screw per manual 1/4 turn clockwise. Felt tight. No go. Still dead. Searched forum but didn't see any help for this particular macerator issue. Suggestions?

[73shark]

Can you check to see if 12VDC is getting to the pump?

[Protagonist]

I've blown a fuse on the macerator pump no less than three times since I've owned my Interstate.

Quick check without having to go back inside the van, does the hose reel still retract? It's on the same fuse.

[Titus]

I removed the hose at the inlet of the macerator and found a lot of what appeared to be slimy saran wrap. All I can figure is that the toilet packets dissolve enough to let the blue powder out, but are still intact enough to nearly plug the pump impeller. I no longer throw in the packets - just snip the top off and dump the contents in. Whether/not that is your problem, partially plugging the pump can't be good for it.

[jkinglet]

Originally Posted by 73shark

Can you check to see if 12VDC is getting to the pump?

My electrical skills are lacking, but with guidance could figure it out probably. Tips.

[jkinglet]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

I've blown a fuse on the macerator pump no less than three times since I've owned my Interstate.

Quick check without having to go back inside the van, does the hose reel still retract? It's on the same fuse.

Yes, the reel retracts and both valves function properly. Could be a switch issue I hope, considering how quickly and dramatically the pump shut off. 73shark said I might check to make sure 12VDC is getting to the pump. Checked the fuse in the 9 slot and it looked okay. Must be since the reel operates. All worked perfectly 6 days ago. The switch is a little wobbly. Can't get back to the AI till early next week so I'm taking notes.

[jkinglet]

Originally Posted by Titus

I removed the hose at the inlet of the macerator and found a lot of what appeared to be slimy saran wrap. All I can figure is that the toilet packets dissolve enough to let the blue powder out, but are still intact enough to nearly plug the pump impeller. I no longer throw in the packets - just snip the top off and dump the contents in. Whether/not that is your problem, partially plugging the pump can't be good for it.

I don't use the packets but thanks for the tip so I won't use them in the future.

[73shark]

Assuming you have a Volt Ohmmeter (VOM),also known as a multimeter, you can probe the two wires at the macerator pump connector w/ it disconnected. If no connector, then you'll have to pierce the insulation (I use straight pins) and probe the wires that way.

If you don't have a VOM, Harbor Freight has very inexpensive ones and coupons for free ones sometimes.

[Tiato]

Originally Posted by jkinglet

Removed rubber cover, turned expeller (?)screw per manual 1/4 turn clockwise. Felt tight. No go. Still dead. Searched forum but didn't see any help for this particular macerator issue. Suggestions?

I had a similar problem last year while in Canada. The macerator got hopelessly jammed and did not do anything. Popped the rubber plug of the end and turned the shaft forward and backward (360 degree rotations) for over 30 minutes before it started working again. In a sense I was performing a manual evacuation of the system.

Root cause....excessive toilet paper use by my youngest child despite the TP being RV friendly.

[jkinglet]

Originally Posted by Tiato

I had a similar problem last year while in Canada. The macerator got hopelessly jammed and did not do anything. Popped the rubber plug of the end and turned the shaft forward and backward (360 degree rotations) for over 30 minutes before it started working again. In a sense I was performing a manual evacuation of the system.

Root cause....excessive toilet paper use by my youngest child despite the TP being RV friendly.

That might be why it (pardon the pun) ground to a halt. The pump did run for a short time before it stopped. I'll give it a try. Thanks for the response.

[jkinglet]

Originally Posted by Tiato

I had a similar problem last year while in Canada. The macerator got hopelessly jammed and did not do anything. Popped the rubber plug of the end and turned the shaft forward and backward (360 degree rotations) for over 30 minutes before it started working again. In a sense I was performing a manual evacuation of the system.

Root cause....excessive toilet paper use by my youngest child despite the TP being RV friendly.

forgot to ask..did you have the switch on and valve and hose open while you turned the shaft?

[Tiato]

The switch for the pump was off. The valve was open.

What I did was I would turn the macerator off. Cycle it manually for a few minutes and then turn the macerator back on for a few secs. Usually a little bit of stuff would come out. Then I would reverse direction.

I rinsed and repeated until I got a free flowing macerator action.

Because of that incident I now carry a thick (screwdriver tip big enough to really grip the end of the pump shaft) and very long screwdriver in the van. When I had that problem I only had a small screwdriver and let me tell you it was miserable.

[jkinglet]

Originally Posted by Tiato

The switch for the pump was off. The valve was open.

What I did was I would turn the macerator off. Cycle it manually for a few minutes and then turn the macerator back on for a few secs. Usually a little bit of stuff would come out. Then I would reverse direction.

I rinsed and repeated until I got a free flowing macerator action.

Because of that incident I now carry a thick (screwdriver tip big enough to really grip the end of the pump shaft) and very long screwdriver in the van. When I had that problem I only had a small screwdriver and let me tell you it was miserable.

Thought of that...good point. Will head to hardware store first to get a big screw driver..Could tell after my one quarter of a turn it needed a larger driver. Thanks again.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by jkinglet

forgot to ask..did you have the switch on and valve and hose open while you turned the shaft?

Switch should be off. Last thing you need is for the motor to start turning on its own while you still have the screwdriver attached to it. That's a good way to get hurt.

Hose valve should be open. Trying to cycle the pump into a closed-off hose means you're working against whatever pressure builds up in the hose.

Tiato did it exactly right.

[jkinglet]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Switch should be off. Last thing you need is for the motor to start turning on its own while you still have the screwdriver attached to it. That's a good way to get hurt.

Hose valve should be open. Trying to cycle the pump into a closed-off hose means you're working against whatever pressure builds up in the hose.

Tiato did it exactly right.

Thanks both for the heads up. Made no difference but I did get a long screw driver out of the deal. Checked the fuses again with a flashlight. From the factory (i've never touched the fuses in this scenario) the fuse for the pump and the fuse for the hose rewind were reversed. Acccording to the panel slot id supposed to be 20 amp for the pump and 15 amp for the hose rewind (protag, seperate on my AI btw). Apparently the pump got jammed a little and blew the 15 amp fuse. Pulled the 20 amp and put it in the pump slot and put a new 15 amp in the hose rewind slot. Purrs like a kitten (albeit, with a slight intestinal problem). 2nd time i've found a wrong fuse in a slot. Thanks again for the troubleshooting help. Always better than a dealer service visit.

[Tiato]

Great news. Its frustrating to discover after the fact that it was a fuse and to make matters worse the wrong amperage to boot. Sometimes its hard to see whether or not the fuse is blown when looking at the panel.

At any rate, sooner or later you will need that screwdriver. Better to have the right tool and not use it than not having it at all.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by jkinglet

Acccording to the panel slot id supposed to be 20 amp for the pump and 15 amp for the hose rewind (protag, seperate on my AI btw).

My memory might be faulty on that score. Or else it's just another undocumented change from one model year to the next. Between the two, I'm more inclined to go with faulty memory.

Either way, glad you found the problem.

I carry a pocket flashlight in the glove box, and when I need to check a fuse, I pull the fuse, and put the light behind the fuse to back-light it. Makes it easier to see if the fuse is blown.

[jkinglet]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

My memory might be faulty on that score. Or else it's just another undocumented change from one model year to the next. Between the two, I'm more inclined to go with faulty memory.

Either way, glad you found the problem.

I carry a pocket flashlight in the glove box, and when I need to check a fuse, I pull the fuse, and put the light behind the fuse to back-light it. Makes it easier to see if the fuse is blown.

Great idea. Isn't a red warning light supposed to glow if the fuse is blown? Forgot how many new blade fuses I had accumulated over the years in my "AI electrical box." Nice to have a fresh 15 at the ready. Thanks again for the advice on making sure the switch is off before putting my new large screw driver to the pump. I could see myself launched across the storage area by how fast it spins. Whew!

[Brucet45410]

If there is one piece of equipment that gives me the biggest headaches in my 2014 AI...it is the Macerator. I was wondering if anybody has found a better solution to the macerator/pump that comes as standard equipment on the AI. Mine seems to blow a fuse every time I use it. I have taken to buy a box of 20 Amp fuses. It is very frustrating.

[InterBlog]

I have heard of other non-Airstream Sprinter-based rigs being built with a conventional gravity bypass to the macerator, such that when it fails, the owner can move efficiently to Plan B, which is a conventional stinky slinky discharge. I may be thinking of Great West Vans, which essentially went bankrupt in 2015.

However I have not heard of anyone retrofitting a macerator-only rig to include both options. That would be an interesting project, indeed.