Installing a Sewer Macerator on Footloose
This turned out to be quite a job since the available space is
severely limited. I also wanted to retain the full normal dumping capabilities
utilizing standard 3 inch RV sewer hose.
Above is the original sewer manifold that was on Footloose. In order to add
the macerator, I essentially had to replace this whole assembly with a new one
that had an additional 3 inch port that was above the original output.
Above is what I eventually ended up with.
The Jabsco Macerator pump is connected to the new manifold with a section of
3 inch heavy duty hose and a modified twist-on 45 degree connector.
I installed a standard 3 inch twist-on sewer interface connector in the top
outlet which is identical to the bottom outlet and a cap is hanging behind the
manifold.
The pump output is connected directly to the 1 inch PVC pipe using a short piece
of 1 inch clear hose so I can see what is coming out of it.
This setup allows me to completely remove the entire macerator pump assembly
and cap the top 3 inch manifold outlet while I perform maintenance obtain a
replacement.
The yellow fitting on the 45 degree connector has a ball valve in it that will
allow the gray water to exit through the clear hose and into the 1 inch PVC
pipe at the elbow just before it goes through the compartment floor. Naturally,
the gate valve on the gray water tank must be open for this and the water level
must be up to this point in the tank. I also installed a quick disconnect at
this point so I can use it to back fill either or both tanks from a hose. In
addition to the two gate valves on each tank, there is a third one on the lower
3 inch outlet to allow the tanks to be cross fed. The gate valve in the 1 inch
PVC isolates the macerator pump from the bypass system and provides a positive
shutoff when I remove the output line from the Outlet.
Above is the outside hose interface. The end of the flexible hose has a reducer
on it that is a compression fit over the threads of my outlet. The other end
is a custom made gizmo that threads into a standard campground sewer inlet and
it also has a shutoff valve on it. Actually, I purchased the entire kit, including
hose, pump and fittings from RV
Sanicon at the Great Eastern Area FMCA rally last year. Since I did not
want the external box mounted pump, I removed it and mounted it internally.
This is a closeup of the of the sewer end. There is also a standard garden hose
connector on it (plugged here with a cap) that will allow you to do the gray
water bypass thing outside with an extra garden hose. I do mine inside, there
is already enough stuff laying around outside of the rig and the hose would
have to be kept isolated once you used it for waste. The flexible line just
pushes on this end also which allows me to extend it with the extra sections
below.
Extra 8 foot extension sections.
I also have (4) 5 foot sections of 1" PVC pipe that I installed threaded
connectors on which will give me another 20 feet. The macerator will pump up
to 200 feet and 20 foot above grade. This photo shows two of them threaded together.
Using It:
I have discovered that it is beneficial to keep about 1/2 tank of gray water
to cross flush the black tank when using the macerator. Since both tanks have
3 inch interface, cross flow is pretty heavy when the gray valve is opened into
an empty black tank and it provides enough current to dislodge most sediment
in the bottom of the black tank.
My arrangement above achieves this by default since the gray water has to get
up close to 1/2 tank level to reach the bypass outlet.
The pump itself is extremely powerful and will actually collapse standard 3
inch hose, which is why you need the heavy duty stuff. It is also a good idea
to verify that the sewer line connection can take the flow, otherwise you may
end up fertilizing everything around it.
I have one of the water operated Sewer Solution gizmo's also but after using
it for about a year now, I had a lot of sediment buildup in the bottom of my
black tank which I suspect is due to lack of current onrush to clean it. The
Sewer Solution is not a fast poop mover either and it takes a lot of water to
excavate a tank. I will probably keep it for the hose if nothing else.
The beauty of this system is that you can still use a short section of 3 inch
sewer hose at a dump station if you want.