Macerator pump

[uncleneal]

Does anybody know if the Jabsco macerator pump http://www.amarket.com/immp8590.htm with a 1 1/2 inch inlet will work on our 3 inch sewer hookups? (with an adaptor, of course Has anybody tried it?
I've got a 3" pump on mine, and it works great, my parents want me to put one on their parked Coachmen that they use for a guest room, and the Jabsco is a lot cheaper than the one I got from Campers Choice.

Thanks,
Neal

[Tarheel]

What do you see as the advantage of the macerator pump? The soil and solid has to leave the tank and start down the drain line before it reaches the pump then it is macerated and it finishes its trip through the gate valve an into the sewer hose. I would love to have one if it were installed between the stool and the tank so that the waste entering the tank would be macerated, but this is not really feasible in our situation. What is your thought?

[markdoane]

Uncleneal,
I would look for the same pump with the 3" inlet. You won't restrict the flow of solids as much. The opening in the 3" is not a full 3", but it is larger and less restrictive than the 1 1/2".

I went to Jabsco's website. The 3" and the 1 1/2" pumps are the same except the 1 1/2 has the hose barb fitting/extension on the front. Unfortunately, the parts list for the two pumps shows the same part number for both macerator housings. If you have the 1 1/2" pump, I'm sure you could remove the smaller macerator housing (which is really just a hose adapter) and put on the larger housing. You could perhaps accomplish the same with a hacksaw. If you need more info I can get you the parts manual.

[uncleneal]

Don, Thanks for the reply. Mother has already ordered the Jabsco pump. It appears that the main part of the inlet is 3", and I can cut off the 1 1/2" part and drill a larger hole with a hole saw if I need to. Bobby from Valdosta on the A/S list wrote that he uses a marine pump and it works great. So I may just adapt the 3" outlet to the 1 1/2" fitting.

Rick, The main advantage of the macerator pump is that it is a pump and does not depend on gravity to move the waste. It is possible to pump waste up to the vent stack on the roof of a building. And you can pump the waste for 100' or more. The one I put on my Squarestream will spray water for a considerable distance. The other advantage is that it uses a garden hose instead of the "stinky slinky." The hose is easier to wash out with the gray water, and is easier to handle without getting "it" on you.
In my parent's situation, they have a Coachmen trailer set up in their yard in Florida as a guest cottage. They bought it new about 3 years ago, but have given up pulling it. My father (who is 84) has been carrying the black water from the trailer to the toilet in the house in a 5 gallon bucket. The main purpose is to make it easier on him. It's not really practical to run a 3" sewer line out to the trailer, but running a 1" line back to the side of the septic tank won't be too much of a project. We're going down the first week of April sometime after the Ice Breaker Rally at the Top of Georgia, I'll add a post of how it turns out, and hopefully some pictures.

Neal

[Tarheel]

Thanks Neal, I guess I have never been in your situation. I live in the country in very sandy soil ( once you dig down 2' it is all sand) so I just put in a 55 gallon plastic pickle barrel and drilled 5/8" holes in it. I left the bottom 12" or so intact so that the bacteria could do their job of decompositon. I can easlily gravity feed, being on the coast and all flatland. We used the macerator pumps aboard ship as we pumped overboard. My thought was wouldn't it be nice to be able to grind up all the soil and solids before putting it into the tank so that you wouldn't have all the build up there. Have you considered using rid-x type product in the unit? It might help when the unit isn't dumped on a regular basis. Thanks for educating me.

Rick