Macerator pump failure-soliciting advice

We just had our second macerator pump failure. The original one lasted two years, and the new one lasted less than one year. Both times it gave no warning sign, worked fine, then suddenly dead. Roadtrek's plumbing does not allow gravity drain of the holding tanks, so when the pump dies, BIG problem! Has anyone else had problems with this pump? Having had two failures, I'm hesitant to replace it with the same model/brand, as I don't want to have this issue on the road again.

You might try to figure out why they are failing. Do they sit for long period without running, do you use any valve lubricant? My best suggestion is to run the pump occasionally to keep it free.

Just a thought,

Icarus

Did a post mortem on the original failure, and the cause of death was the motor. the problem is not the pump portion. It was the electric motor. Pump was ok. The motor is not sealed, and water gets in (I assume from the road spray) and rusts the armature and the coil. Seems to be a bad design of the unit. The pump mfg website claims these are intended for marine environments, baitwells and such, so one would expect that they would be ok in adverse conditions. But my inspection of the unit did not give me much confidence that the design was well thought out. A motor that is not sealed and allows water to get in and rust the works is truly bad design.

Has anyone else had a problem with this? Our local RT dealer said he'd seen a couple, but having torn apart this pump/motor combo, I can't hardly believe that.

Interesting,, I confess to have never taken. One apart.


What is the brand of the pump?

Icarus

Problem solved!!

Electrical troubleshooting revealed a loose ground connection to the vehicle chassis. Seems a combination of a screw not quite tight enough by the last dealer repair plus 30 miles down a dirt road with washboard features managed to loosen it just enough to not work. Actually, it was secure, but a little"wiggly". Since it's wired with a 20 amp fuse, it must draw significant current and need a GOOD ground.

Sometimes you just need a little time and the proper location to troubleshoot these things. Not always easy when you're traveling down the road far from home. Thank the lucky stars.

hi -- where is that ground -- seems the unit is covered over with metal flashing --thanks

Mine is grounded into the macerator metal surround.

Perhaps we need an adaptor to spin the manual knob with a cordless drill. Seems like a simple thing, I'll look into it.

Moto Vita said:

Perhaps we need an adaptor to spin the manual knob with a cordless drill. Seems like a simple thing, I'll look into it.

Click to expand...

You can actually do that. Remove/unthread the plastic hand knob by turning it counterclockwise while holding the macerator remote shaft with a plier to prevent it from turning, and then attach your drill chuck into the shaft, push the shaft in to engage into the macerator then spin away. I did it couple of times to dislodge a blockage and worked. Hair strands that spun around the blades are another story, they are next to impossible to remove/ untangle without disassembling the pump.

Trekker said:

We just had our second macerator pump failure. The original one lasted two years, and the new one lasted less than one year. Both times it gave no warning sign, worked fine, then suddenly dead. Roadtrek's plumbing does not allow gravity drain of the holding tanks, so when the pump dies, BIG problem! Has anyone else had problems with this pump? Having had two failures, I'm hesitant to replace it with the same model/brand, as I don't want to have this issue on the road again.

Click to expand...

Trekker,
I have a 2008 RS and on the passenger side there is a PVC pipe with plug that can be used as a gravity dump. I added a connector and flexible hose as an emergency dump if needed.
I replaced the OEM macerator with a new slight;y higher current and RPM pump which I have had for two years now. The OEM failed after 8 years due to an impeller failure. I plan to buy a replacement impeller kit as a backup. The link to the new pump is below.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FQ78P4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

RT.SS said:

You can actually do that. Remove/unthread the plastic hand knob by turning it counterclockwise while holding the macerator remote shaft with a plier to prevent it from turning, and then attach your drill chuck into the shaft, push the shaft in to engage into the macerator then spin away. I did it couple of times to dislodge a blockage and worked. Hair strands that spun around the blades are another story, they are next to impossible to remove/ untangle without disassembling the pump.

Click to expand...

Your way will work but I found it easier to remove the knob and the "double nut" the shaft. Spin two nuts onto the shaft, tighten hand tight to each other, use two wrenches to snug up firmly, use a socket on your drilldriver.

ALSO A HINT: I always turn the shaft by hand 2-3X before hitting the power switch. If it is extra tight or jammed, I back up and/or wiggle til its free. think you'll save a lot of fuses and, perhaps, motors that way.

@GTE -

I also have a 2008 RS, and my macerator is on the blink, or there's a clog somewhere. When I push the button, I can hear the macerator trying to do something, but nothing comes out of the hose. I'm wondering: how tricky is it to replace the macerator? Any tips / suggestions?

Thank you and happy travels...
Joe

Not hard to do. Just have to get started. Some metal covering and then the pump. Did mine several years ago so a little fuzzy. did rebuild me old pump and keep it as a spare.

RT.SS said:

You can actually do that. Remove/unthread the plastic hand knob by turning it counterclockwise while holding the macerator remote shaft with a plier to prevent it from turning, and then attach your drill chuck into the shaft, push the shaft in to engage into the macerator then spin away. I did it couple of times to dislodge a blockage and worked. Hair strands that spun around the blades are another story, they are next to impossible to remove/ untangle without disassembling the pump.

Click to expand...

Agree this is one solution. Mine was a little more complex but eliminates the need for the drill. Remove hand knob and replace with TWO standard hex nuts. by using two wrenches you you can lock the nuts together and align the faces. Now a socket will fit over both and turn the shaft easily.
You don't need to spin the shaft much...a turn or two will break the pump free and lower your start up current so you don't blow the fuse.

Just my $0.02, others may disagree
Best of luck, Ed M.

joechaps said:

@GTE -

I also have a 2008 RS, and my macerator is on the blink, or there's a clog somewhere. When I push the button, I can hear the macerator trying to do something, but nothing comes out of the hose. I'm wondering: how tricky is it to replace the macerator? Any tips / suggestions?

Thank you and happy travels...
Joe

Click to expand...

Possibly easier to do in an RS due to its mounting location, but it is a PITA doing it in an Agile. Here is how I did mine, it is different procedure in an RS but you will pick up some ideas: http://https://roadtreklife.blogspot.com/2013/12/replacing-macerator-impeller.html

We had the macerator hose replaced last Feb. We recently noticed that when we turned the macerator on to dump that on we had sewage coming out from beneath it's tank connection, as well as the end of the hose. Took it to the dealer, he says the black tank has a leak. Have a new black tank coming. ???

I have doubt that is the black tank leaking, why it only leaks when macerator is running? There is a possibility that the installer did not properly fit/ tightened the macerator hose into the macerator discharge outlet and that is causing the leak.

joechaps said:

@GTE -

I also have a 2008 RS, and my macerator is on the blink, or there's a clog somewhere. When I push the button, I can hear the macerator trying to do something, but nothing comes out of the hose. I'm wondering: how tricky is it to replace the macerator? Any tips / suggestions?

Thank you and happy travels...
Joe

Click to expand...

If the motor runs fine, then it's very likely the impeller needs to be replaced. I had to take the pump apart and replace the impeller. You can get impeller replacement kit. The impeller is rubberish. So it doesn't last very long. When I took mine apart, the impeller was in a very bad shape. So it wasn't pushing the macerated materials through.

GAMacky said:

If the motor runs fine, then it's very likely the impeller needs to be replaced. I had to take the pump apart and replace the impeller. You can get impeller replacement kit. The impeller is rubberish. So it doesn't last very long. When I took mine apart, the impeller was in a very bad shape. So it wasn't pushing the macerated materials through.

Click to expand...

One thing that kills the impeller is running dry. When the tank empties there may still be solids present but not enough liquid to keep the solids moving and they jam into the impeller.
Try not to run the pump too long after you hear it change pitch when the tank empties.
Also, if you have a black tank flush, run the water to the flush during the dumping process which will keep solids flowing. And of course dump the black first and then use the grey to flush the hose after.
I actually reworked my water bay so I don't have to carry separate water hoses for fresh water and to dump my tanks. I can turn off the fresh water supply to the house and turn on the flush as required. I added an inline pressure Regulator and a second back check valve at the black tank flush connection to prevent cross contamination.
The fresh water connection is a short pigtail that is stored back into the bay for travel.

I would never consider having the same hose supply both the fresh water and any other use. No matter how good the valves are. A white supply hose that only is used for fresh potable water to the tank. A completely separate green hose for anything related to filling or flushing the black and grey tanks.