Recently bought an old boat which had been lived on for several years by a cruising couple. There is a macerator attached to the over-board waste outlet. Shouldn't this be placed on the line leading to the holding tank? Never had a macerator before...and this one doesn't seem to work when switched on. Would appreciate any thoughts on this. Ron.
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Check that your deck pumpout cover is
installed and seals correctly. It may be like mine and won't provide sufficient suction if the cap is loose or there is some other vacuum leak in the line to the tank. You might want to check how the system is plumbed before you start rebuilding or replacing the pump as I was advised to do. Make sure the tank or lines are not plugged with hardened waste. Look for valves which divert the waste or close off the thru hull. Do not run the pump too long until you figure it out or you may wear out the seals for lack of cooling and lubrication which the waste provides.
installed and seals correctly. It may be like mine and won't provide sufficient suction if the cap is loose or there is some other vacuum leak in the line to the tank. You might want to check how the system is plumbed before you start rebuilding or replacing the pump as I was advised to do. Make sure the tank or lines are not plugged with hardened waste. Look for valves which divert the waste or close off the thru hull. Do not run the pump too long until you figure it out or you may wear out the seals for lack of cooling and lubrication which the waste provides.
placement/macerator
most systems have the macerator on the thur hull side to pump the waste overboard,otherwise it would not empty the holding tank.However since you are in freshwater,(Madisonville Wisc.?)it may in fact be against the law to do so and that may explain why it doesn't work.there is alway the possibility that it no longer works so try testing it by wiring it up direct and see what happens.you could also check with the former owners to get some insight on what is going on if it is disconected.
most systems have the macerator on the thur hull side to pump the waste overboard,otherwise it would not empty the holding tank.However since you are in freshwater,(Madisonville Wisc.?)it may in fact be against the law to do so and that may explain why it doesn't work.there is alway the possibility that it no longer works so try testing it by wiring it up direct and see what happens.you could also check with the former owners to get some insight on what is going on if it is disconected.
Location
As Pete mentioned the macerator is normally used as a discharge pump. If you are looking at something between the head and the holding tank, your best bet would be to get an electric head which has a macerator built into it. Probably not your choice. I assume that Madisonville is located on an inland lake so Pete's comment would be appropriate.
As Pete mentioned the macerator is normally used as a discharge pump. If you are looking at something between the head and the holding tank, your best bet would be to get an electric head which has a macerator built into it. Probably not your choice. I assume that Madisonville is located on an inland lake so Pete's comment would be appropriate.
It's intended to dump the tank at sea
If it were between the toilet and the tank, there'd be no way for it to empty the tank (unless you want send it back into the toilet--which might be very entertaining, but I DON'T recommend it!
It shouldn't be necessary to use a macerator to move waste from the toilet to the tank...your toilet should be able to do that. Since it's only legal to dump a tank outside the "3 mile limit" (3 miles out to sea from the coast of the US), and you're inland where there's no place within 1000 that you can legally dump the tank, my advice is: remove it and replace any hose and y-valve or fitting in the tank pumpout line with a new piece of hose going directly from the tank to the pumpout deck fitting. And since your questions indicate you don't have much experience with marine toilets and holding tanks, I suggest you read the articles in the Head Mistress forum Reference Library and read the owners manual for your toilet so you can learn how it works. If you don't have one or can't get one, I'll be glad to explain it.
If it were between the toilet and the tank, there'd be no way for it to empty the tank (unless you want send it back into the toilet--which might be very entertaining, but I DON'T recommend it!
It shouldn't be necessary to use a macerator to move waste from the toilet to the tank...your toilet should be able to do that. Since it's only legal to dump a tank outside the "3 mile limit" (3 miles out to sea from the coast of the US), and you're inland where there's no place within 1000 that you can legally dump the tank, my advice is: remove it and replace any hose and y-valve or fitting in the tank pumpout line with a new piece of hose going directly from the tank to the pumpout deck fitting. And since your questions indicate you don't have much experience with marine toilets and holding tanks, I suggest you read the articles in the Head Mistress forum Reference Library and read the owners manual for your toilet so you can learn how it works. If you don't have one or can't get one, I'll be glad to explain it.- Status