Sanitation system reno

Greetings,
I am redoing our (new to us) boat's sanitation hose configuration and macerator. My question is; the macerator has a 1" (I think?) exit port. Is there an adapter for the 1" to 1 1/2 hose?

The boat originally had a Y valve allowing the user to simply dump overboard if so desired. I am eliminating this option to where it must go into the tank for some treatment (No Flex) and then macerated (we have Vacu Flush toilets) should it come to this. The now dead and new spare, Jabsco macerator has the 1" hose. That hose goes thru a bulkhead and somehow mates up with 1 1/2 to a thru hull. I haven't torn it apart yet to see what if any adapter there is as it's connection point is going to require a contortionist and patience. However, when I do, I would like to be ready to have very short run of 1" off the macerator and then mate up to quality Sani-Flex to the thru hull.

cosmo said:

Greetings,
I am redoing our (new to us) boat's sanitation hose configuration and macerator. My question is; the macerator has a 5/8 exit port. Is there an adapter for the 5/8 to 1 1/2 hose?

The boat originally had a Y valve allowing the user to simply dump overboard if so desired. I am eliminating this option to where it must go into the tank for some treatment (No Flex) and then macerated (we have Vacu Flush toilets) should it come to this. The now dead and new spare, Jabsco macerator has the 5/8 hose. That hose goes thru a bulkhead and somehow mates up with 1 1/2 to a thru hull. I haven't torn it apart yet to see what if any adapter there is as it's connection point is going to require a contortionist and patience. However, when I do, I would like to be ready to have very short run of 5/8 off the macerator and then mate up to quality Sani-Flex to the thru hull.

Click to expand...

Since you’re in the replace/upgrade mode, I would consider changing the jabsco pump with the same style diaphragm pump your vacuflush uses. I think they’re marketed as discharge pumps. Only difference is the amount of check valves on the discharge vs vacuum pump.
These will better stand the long periods of inactivity compared to the jabsco. All the plumbing stays at 1-1/2 so no funky adapters.

It is not a good idea to increase the size of the macerator discharge line before the thru-hull fitting. this reduces velocity and increases pump head pressure reducing flow and increasing amp load on the motor

Thank you both for the replies.

I came across the following excerpt from an article as I research this:

"The next key factor to consider is pipe diameter. Macerator manufacturers normally recommend diameters from ¾” to 1½”. The ¾” diameter may be the cheapest alternative, but the high-speed flow increases the piping friction loss. Not only will velocity flow increase, but the pump’s power consumption will rise and there will be a higher risk of clogging the pipes. Even if a manufacturer recommends ¾” tubing, you may wish to consider the larger sizes as that will definitely reduce the risk of clogging."

Now I'm thoroughly confused......

Yeah, middle of the road is best practice. My personal preference for that pump would probably be 1" WRONG see edit. you want the lightest amp load on the motor which is a balance between head pressure due to volume and friction loss which is a factor of pipe size, length of run and # of hard turns or fittings.
As to clogging that is best avoided by maintaining a downward flow direction on the discharge if possible or flushing after use. Solids sitting in the line will dry out due to infrequent use regardless of pipe size. The most problematic install I see is a pump mounted above tank level and using a 180 loop to maintain a seal. It was common when pumping overboard was considered normal and regular but in today's environment is prone to dry clogging due to the reduced usage.

I see that on the the newer jabsco macerator they have increased the discharge to 11/2" so I think they intend it to move that volume.

Cosmo lives in a no discharge area. He is likely to never use this system. There are 1” to 1.5” adapters at your local west marine.

tiltrider1 said:

Cosmo lives in a no discharge area. He is likely to never use this system. There are 1” to 1.5” adapters at your local west marine.

Click to expand...

Not this summer but future summers...should Canada be on our itinerary.

Agree on the Jabsco macerator. They tend to freeze up unless you are using them regularly. Ours in a previous boat had a slot on the shaft that we would have to turn with a straight slot screw driver to break it loose.

Good that you are going to use SaniFlex hose. It is available in 1” and 1.5” from Defender by the foot. The good thing about 1” is that it takes less water to flush the crap into the holding tank than 1.5”. I like to flush enough water after to make sure the crap gets into the tank and doesn’t sit in the hose and dry up.

We took our overboard discharge macerator out of the boat. We are on the Great Lakes where it was of no use. Also I wanted the space so I can add another house battery.

Macerator pumps have 1.5" inlet, 1" discharge. If you're removing/replacing a previously working macerator pump, it's a 99% certainty that the discharge thru-hull is 1". If that's not the case--the thu-hull is1.5" (in which case it was originally installed to allow the toilet discharge directly overboard), it's a simple matter to run the 1' discharge line to a 1" x 1.5" reducing adapter that can connect to the thru-hull.

Better yet, replace the macerator pump with an electric diaphragm pump..the Dometic/SeaLand "T-series" pump is the best one. SeaLand T-Series Pump at Defender which can run dry almost indefinitely without harm and both inlet and discharge are 1.5". It doesn't macerate, but maceration from a holding tank really isn't necessary because solid waste--which is 75% water--dissolves very quickly in the tank and so does quick-dissolve TP. Ed McKiernan, now retired president of SeaLand used to refer to the T-Pump as a "musherator."

You're welcome to contact me directly if you'd like to discuss your re-plumbing job in more detail than is practical in a discussion forum.

--Peggie

Bmarler said:

Since you’re in the replace/upgrade mode, I would consider changing the jabsco pump with the same style diaphragm pump your vacuflush uses. I think they’re marketed as discharge pumps. Only difference is the amount of check valves on the discharge vs vacuum pump.

These will better stand the long periods of inactivity compared to the jabsco. All the plumbing stays at 1-1/2 so no funky adapters.

Click to expand...

Second this. With this setup one spare pump can be carried that covers either failure. I needed it on a trip to Bahamas and was glad I had it because as soon as I got the discharge pump fixed the vacuum pump went out so I was able to use the repair as spare.

Jim

cosmo said:

Not this summer but future summers...should Canada be on our itinerary.

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Just because you are in Canada doesn’t mean you can discharge anywhere. There are rules even in Canada.

If you were to ask me how I would do this on my own boat? I would convert to the T pump as recommended. My reason is two fold. One, longer life and less operational issues. Two, The T pump uses all the same parts as a vacuflush generator. In times of trouble I would have a ready source of spares to borrow to empty the holding tank.

If it’s possible I like to stick with the larger hose size. Less chance of clogging. If it’s not feasible because you feel incapable of enlarging the hole through the bulkhead, you can get a simple 1 to 1.5 reducing adapter.

While your macerater pump is not my first choice, I see no reason to trash bin a perfectly functioning macerater pump.

The best of both worlds is a macerating toilet such as a Raritan Marine Elegance paired with a Dometic T Series discharge pump. The pump never clogs up. After six years of living aboard full time our 45-gallon plastic tank remains totally sludge free. We use sodium percarbonate with each flush. By the way, there is no need to pay for expensive No-Flex which is mostly sodium percarbonate anyway. Try some. Put a teaspoon in the bowl with some "leftovers". Come back five minutes later and you will find all the bits broken up. The stuff just works.

Thank you all. Time is on our side so I'm not needing to do this tomorrow. However, now armed with great info, I can think this through rather than re-invent the wheel. Have thought about pulling vacuflush toilets but both work (for now) so we'll stick with them.

I believe I was pulling out hoses that may have been OEM? Not positive on that but it seems very possible. It turned into, "While I'm here, i might as well....." So, in my reno, I am trying to be procative and not deal with this away from the dock when/if something should fail.

Thanks

Cosmo: If you keep the vacuflush heads, I would recommend the following while your updating your system:
1) In line timer on the hot lead to the vacuflush motor. Hard to find. The one I purchased (for my last boat) had three settings for when to cut off power to the motor.
2) In line light mounted in the head. Turns on when the motor is running. This helps visitors know to wait for the light to go off before flushing again.
3) In line switch in the head to turn off the vacuflush motor. Handy for the middle of the night vacuum leaks and also resets the timer if you install one. Turn on and off to reset timer.

The majority of issues with my vacuflush heads were visitors (specificly my dad). Even though the motor on the vacuflush head is supposed to be able to run dry for extended periods, it doesn't. I have Raritan Elegance toilets now. So much nicer then the vacuflush heads-highly recommend.