Macerator Woes

GibbysWorld · 04-04-2022, 09:57 AM

I used the factory installed Macerator for the first time this weekend and at first it seemed to work fine. I dumped black tanks first like always did but when I opened gray tank 1 there was a grinding noise and then just a hum so I shut it down as soon as I could. Still needing to dump, I hooked up the gravity hose and started the process again and that’s when I saw something solid through the clear connector. Luckily I was at home dumping into my tank buddy so I could take it to our septic tank so I was able to retrieve what looks to be a vent pipe cutout from our back bathroom black tank. It’s the only tank with this color. I’m pretty sure the Macerator is destroyed now so I have an appt on Thursday to have that looked at along with the levelers that won’t go down. I have more miles going to and from the dealer than I have going to camp. Luckily they’re able to get me in each time within a few days.

Grumpaw374 · 04-04-2022, 10:11 AM

Gotta love quality control, and the highly qualified workers and their taking time for attention to detail !!!

Jeepin Jason · 04-04-2022, 10:55 AM

Our Macerator acted the very same way. I have not used one so I assumed the tank was empty and that was the noise it made when there was nothing else running through it. Unfortunately, that was not the case as I found out a few days later as I noticed the tank was nearly full on the gauge. Once again, I tried and not much came out. I thought maybe the gauge was off as most tend to be, so I dumped ice down there and drove to our next stop. Next stop nothing came out so I used the regular dump valve with the larger hose and there was indeed a ton of crap in there (pun intended). No idea if the black cutout was in there or not.

I am not fully understanding the advantage of the Macerator, especially if you have to pull out the larger hose for the second tank anyway.

RVermont · 04-04-2022, 12:12 PM

Unfortunately this has been reported on here a few times. What a poor quality control process that we continue to of this happening.

The macerator is probably okay. The actual suction part of the unit is fairly well protected and while this might have been rubbing it looks too big to actually have gotten up in to the pump fins.

I have had great success with my unit and only use the big hose when I am filling a transfer tote from my grey tank.

GibbysWorld · 04-07-2022, 03:42 PM

Update. The Macerator was destroyed so unfortunately they have to order another. No eta but I’m sure it won’t be quick. I am really starting to dislike this unit…

repeach · 04-07-2022, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GibbysWorld

... I am really starting to dislike this unit…

It will get better, you just got to work through it all.
Hell, my rear fenders fell off on the way home from the dealer and it didn't get better for quite some time.
Just hang in there and work the problems, you will learn to love the rig, just like we did.
BTW, I just pulled my macerator. It works fine and I will be selling on the classifieds when I finish the plumbing and make sure everything works.

Jeepin Jason · 04-07-2022, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpietsch

It will get better, you just got to work through it all.
Hell, my rear fenders fell off on the way home from the dealer and it didn't get better for quite some time.
Just hang in there and work the problems, you will learn to love the rig, just like we did.
BTW, I just pulled my macerator. It works fine and I will be selling on the classifieds when I finish the plumbing and make sure everything works.

Can you post up pics when you get a chance of the new plumbing? I still can't figure out the benefit of the macerator and I believe mine is broken as well. Not sure it is worth the hassle of even having Camping World address it. My rig has sat at camping world for all but 10 days in the last 90.

SloPoke · 04-07-2022, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeepin Jason

Can you post up pics when you get a chance of the new plumbing? I still can't figure out the benefit of the macerator and I believe mine is broken as well. Not sure it is worth the hassle of even having Camping World address it. My rig has sat at camping world for all but 10 days in the last 90.

Oh... I feel for ya! If you go and search my threads about CW for the past 6 years... you will not bring your Seneca back to CW for that.

We love our Seneca... now that we have worked out all of the issues that CW should have fixed in the first year that they took our rig on the RV-show tour. They tried to fix all the things that broke in that year they took our rig from RV-show to RV-show and showed off the things that broke in the big showroom.

We were idiots for purchasing an extended warranty, but chock that up to inexperience with a new (to us) RV of this size and cost. Honestly we were assuming that a purchase of a 200k RV might have better service than the local Ford dealer - but know now how wrong we were.

So after all that - We assume that your Seneca has as much POTENTIAL as ours did (and now HAS). And we assume that all of you with new units should have the same potential, as long as you reconsider the dependency on the RV Dealer you purchased if from...

My point is that when something breaks and **it hits the fan, you are usually many miles from that salesman/RVdealer/Jayco Warranty to rescue you (RV-Dealer you will learn to despise) - because they wont be there to help you - YOU Are on your own to get it fixed enough so that you can get home (after changing your trip plans and disappointing the kids and DW)

GibbysWorld · 04-08-2022, 09:51 AM

Our Accolade is the 11th RV we have had since we started camping in 2002 when I was stationed in Alaska. I have always done my own fixes and repairs especially since being in Alaska, the few dealers we had weren’t that good and it was hard to even get appointments. However, with some of the Accolade issues I didn’t know how to do the fix or have the capability and luckily the dealer is only 45 minutes away and they have actually been very good. I have taken it back to them 5 separate times and I have never had to leave overnight.

smt29camper · 04-11-2022, 07:59 AM

My recent problem with ours, is the hose has been splitting. I guess it must be age.

repeach · 04-11-2022, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeepin Jason

Can you post up pics when you get a chance of the new plumbing?.

Amazon lost part of my order. I have not put any of the new plumbing in yet

Cincinnati Kid · 04-11-2022, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smt29camper

My recent problem with ours, is the hose has been splitting. I guess it must be age.

Ours has been good so far- (April 2019). At one point they sent us a free sleeve to protect from abrasion. Do you have the sleeve?

smt29camper · 04-11-2022, 12:04 PM

Not sure who the they are that you had mentioned, but no sleeve has been used and like others have said, we don't use it as much as we use the 3inch hose. So I'm thinking the space it takes might be better used.

Cincinnati Kid · 04-11-2022, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smt29camper

Not sure who the they are that you had mentioned, but no sleeve has been used and like others have said, we don't use it as much as we use the 3inch hose. So I'm thinking the space it takes might be better used.

Sorry I left out that detail- I heard that there was a protective sleeve available from Thetford. I contacted them and they sent me one free.

I have an oldfashioned 3' hose in the back bumper (in case of emergency)- haven't used it yet, starting our 4th year of camping. The macerator has been flawless for us. One time I had to extend it with a 3/4" garden hose to reach the drain, but it usually reaches.

Johnynorthland · 04-13-2022, 12:32 PM

Yup, happened to me with the toilet bowl cutout plug, they dropped it in the black tank when drilling it out. Great job, great quality control, way to take pride in your workmanship!

GAD36H · 04-13-2022, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeepin Jason

I am not fully understanding the advantage of the Macerator, especially if you have to pull out the larger hose for the second tank anyway.

-------

I seldom use the macerator when out camping but I'm glad I have it. I do use it at home. I'm about 125' away from my septic system and the macerator has no problem pumping through a 3/4" garden hose to the septic tank.

jimmoore13 · 04-13-2022, 02:55 PM

I confess that I don't know how your macerator is installed...and how easy it is to access and service.

That said, I have a Flojet that I add to the dump pipe and connect the output to a 3/4" commercial quality hose. It works very well...but I had a similar experience.

It turns out that someone had used one of the "wipes" and flushed it. The Flojet could not "macerate" this material, so it wound its way around the impeller and blocked it from working. The impeller became little more than a wad of non-woven fabric.

Like your situation, the sound of the pump in action went from a satisfying chunking and chomping along with sounds of material moving through the hose to something much as you describe. The impeller was clogged, so it didn't engage with the effluent, and it spun very smoothly at high RPM.

Since my macerator just hangs off the end of the dump valve, I was able to remove it and inspect. The problem was easy to see. In my case, needle nose pliers kind of did the job, but some fabric residue remained and impaired the impeller somewhat. I had to disassemble the business end of the pump to get a clear shot at the impeller, and when all the fabric was removed, it worked great again.

All of this to finallly get to the point of saying that, if your macerator motor is running, I'd bet money on the liklihood that your impeller is just clogged. It may have gound up some of that soft plastic from the cut-out and it's wound around your impeller. I'd be VERY surprised to learn that your impeller was sheared off the drive shaft, because it's made of stainless steel, and it was engaging relatively soft plastic. Perhaps a chunk of plastic is blocking the output hole. A blocked output would cause the same symptoms...the impeller spinning freely in macerated liquid that does not clear the chamber to make room for more "solids."

Also consider...that plastic "blank" is larger than the diameter of the pipe that went into the hole. That blank measures the outside diameter of your dump pipe (minus the kerf of the hole saw)...so there's no way that blank should have exited the tank through your dump. Had it not been for your macerator somehow hooking onto that chunk of plastic, it should never have been able to pass out of the dump valve...unless it was folded or chopped up a bit.

If you can get at the macerator pump and disassemble it, I'll bet it's an easy home repair with simple tools and no replacement parts.

As for why have a macerator...it's simple. It pumps uphill and over significant distances. At my home, I have a very handy sewer cleanout about 18" uphill (including the pipe and cap) and 25 feet from where I can conveniently park my RV to dump at home. We boondock exclusively, so there are no dump stations that I can rely on. The macerator pump is an outstanding solution to this sanitation problem. By the time I'm done jetting a garden hose down the toilet flush and running the black tank flush, everything is "clean as a whistle"...including the macerator pump and the commercial garden hose. I leave the macerator pump at home, and I store the hose on the far side of the garage...where nobody will use it by mistake. I carry a stinky slinky for the rare occasions I can dump or have a hookup.

Your primary gripe is about sloppy workmanship with the cutout left in the tank, but I think the good news is that your macerator is probably just fine...and in need of being cleaned out.

Tireman9 · 04-13-2022, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GibbysWorld

Update. The Macerator was destroyed so unfortunately they have to order another. No eta but I’m sure it won’t be quick. I am really starting to dislike this unit…

Won't solve your problem or compensate for your cost but I would mail off the tank cutout along with copy of the maceration bill to the CEO of Jayco.

Telling him he might want to put the cutout in someone else's waste tank. I would not wrap the piece of plastic either.

RoWest · 04-14-2022, 10:58 AM

On the end of the macerator motor housing, there is a rubber boot. Under this boot is a slot for a screwdriver to rotate the macerator shaft if it gets stuck with muck. It will hum, blow fuses, and cause much consternation if stuck. I had this same macerator hard installed on my boat for off-shore potty dumps, and it would stall with saltwater.

cmikal · 04-14-2022, 02:54 PM

My FW had the option for a macerator. There is a small door at the rear of the RV for the macerator (if it were installed). It is about as far from the tanks as you can get. I don't know why it's so far away, but I don't have the pump, so it's just an empty door.. I did not buy the option because I always wondered why I would want one. The explanation about pumping uphill and long distances makes sense to me. I have had one or 2 occasions where the sewer outlet at the dump station or campground was slightly uphill from my dump valve. Having a macerator would probably come in handy for those situations. Also, the fill-hole on my portable caddy is on top of the tank, which is above the level of my dump valve when the caddy is sitting at the same ground level as my RV tires. Basically, I can't dump my tank into the caddy, or have difficulty dumping when this happens. That would be another time where a macerator would come in handy. I was unaware of the flojet add-on device until reading this thread. I may invest in one for those times when I have elevation issues to overcome.

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