Replacing Jabsco pumps

[SEMPERAVANTI41]

I am replacing my broken Jabsco maserator pump with a Seaflo unit. Of course the Jabsco broke by the bolts snapping because they are NOT made of stainless. This has happened on 2 Jabsco units, which is just amazing. When they snap, of course they leak which at best is disgusting and at worse can sink your boat. Although the Seaflo units are made in China, they carry a 4 year warranty vs 1 year for the Jabsco. The Seaflo unit looks good to me, but only time will tell.
Has anyone out there have any experience with Seaflo products?

 

[jviss]

1. If I had to replace a macerator pump I wouldn't, I'd get a big 'ol manual diaphragm pump. I don't think it's legal anymore to discharge macerated sewage where you can't just pump the tank without maceration, anyway.
2. I'm sure @Peggie Hall HeadMistress will chime in, but I think that if a broken macerator can sink your boat, it's not plumbed properly.

 

[SEMPERAVANTI41]

1. I believe it's still legal past the 3 mile limit
2. My maserator is mounted under the floor and connected by a short length of hose to the sea cock. How else could it be plumbed? If the sea cock is left open and the maserator leaks, sea water will and has entered the boat.

 

[jviss]

1. I believe it's still legal past the 3 mile limit

I think you can pump raw sewage when past the 3 mile limit. Basically, these days, a macerator doesn't count.

https://www.boatus.org/study-guide/environment/waste/

How else could it be plumbed?

Through a vented loop.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

1. If I had to replace a macerator pump I wouldn't, I'd get a big 'ol manual diaphragm pump.I don't think it's legal anymore to discharge macerated sewage where you can't just pump the tank without maceration, anyway.
2. I'm sure @Peggie Hall HeadMistress will chime in, but I think that if a broken macerator can sink your boat, it's not plumbed properly.

In the US it doesn't matter whether toilet waste, whether directly from the toilet or from a holding tank, is macerated or not...you just have to be in open ocean at least 3 miles from the nearest point on the whole US coastline or any coastal island(s) to do either one. In some parts of Australia, it's legal to flush directly overboard or dump a tank just ONE mile from shore, but only if you have a macerating toilet or use a macerator pump to dump the tank.

Solid waste, which is 75% water anyway, and quick-dissolve TP dissolve in the tank so quickly even from a manual toilet that unless you dump a tank almost immediately after one or the other has been flushed, there's rarely anything left to macerate.
+1 for the diaphragm pump, but I'd go with an electric one. They cost about twice as much as a macerator pump, but they last forever...I had one on one of my boats that was 11 years old and still working just fine when I sold the boat. The SeaLand T-Series pump has been the best for decades.

And anything connected to a below-waterline thru-hull that isn't installed correctly and/or maintained puts a boat at risk.

--Peggie

 

[capta]

Pretty much any time I purchase a pump or bit of machinery for the boat, I'll partially disassemble it and lube the steel and stainless/aluminum contact areas with a good copper based anti-seize compound. Kinda solves the problem. Jabsco pumps, outboard motors, s/s screws into the mast and light fixtures to name a few.

 

[MitchM]

i see 2 problems with the OP's install: 1/ locating a macerator at 'floor level' under waterline and near the exit seacock where it obviously got wet is asking for corrosion on the bolts. (which indeed happened. ) 2/ as to seacock plumbing for a macerator: locate the macerator above water line in a dry location on a shelf above watr line and and about 3 ft. above the the holding tank . the output line from the macerator pump slopes 'down' to the seacock. double clamp the hose at the seacock and at the macerator outlet. it's been my experience that you cannot use a vented loop in a macerator line unless you want to unclog the vent every time you run the macerator. by the way, our Shurflo macerator on our RV has lasted 8 years, and our Par Jabsco on the boat has lasted 13 years. both are still going strong. both PJ and SFlo have human beings who will talk to you in their tech support departments.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Has anyone out there have any experience with Seaflo products?

I do not.

I researched this a few years ago when my Jabsco failed, too.

Shurflo was my choice. Been in and fine for the past three or four years.

Good luck. They ALL look the same, but as you correctly said, the materials are the key to proper and long lasting operation.

 

[SEMPERAVANTI41]

I have replaced with SEAFLO. This is NOT Shrurflo. Seaflo is a new brand, made in China with a 4 year warranty. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with this new brand.

On the issue of below the floor macerator mounting, that's where Hunter put it in both of my boats. I think it's a good design as it lessens the load on the pump to discharge and makes for a simple, cost effective installation. The failure in this system is that it relied on a name brand pump, with a really stupid fault. The bolts that hold the pump together are NOT made of stainless. Of course Jabco now sells for around $20 bucks a stainless bolt upgrade kit. I bought a kit as I thought I could fix the broken pump, but one of the bolts sheared where it enters the plastic housing with no way to remove whats left of the bolt.

As far as the bolts snapping on the Jabsco units, corrosion did NOT play a part in there failure. The bolts appear to be made of bronze. I think the problem is they are of a very small diameter and cannot take the strain of the torque applied when the motor starts. It would have been really hard on Jabsco to increase the diameter of the bolts to make them better able to resist snapping. Jabsco saved at least 2 cents per pump.

I have had other problems with Jabsco products, such as having to replace water pressure pumps after very little usage. When the water pump fails, it's a nuisance and can ruin a weekend or a vacation. I'm sure Jabsco knew Hunter and perhaps other manufactures were mounting the macerator pumps below the floor, where a leak from the faulty unit could sink a boat. It's amazing that Jabsco has had made no effort to address this problem or at least warn boaters of this potential defect.