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Macerator Loo

Bones

By Bones
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Bones Veteran

Bones

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My friend has a macerator loo and it stopped working. He has taken the loo apart and taken the macerator out - there is nothing in there to block it. He put it back together, it flushed once, and then doesnt' work any more.

 

He looked at the tank end and can see no problems there either.

 

He has tried to flush the loo into a bucket rather than down into the tank, and it doesn't work so it is the loo end. The pump sounds like it is making a noise and working.

 

Has anyone got any helpful ideas about what the problem may be that I can pass on?

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Tony Brooks Veteran II

Tony BrooksDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
My friend has a macerator loo and it stopped working. He has taken the loo apart and taken the macerator out - there is nothing in there to block it. He put it back together, it flushed once, and then doesnt' work any more.

 

He looked at the tank end and can see no problems there either.

 

He has tried to flush the loo into a bucket rather than down into the tank, and it doesn't work so it is the loo end. The pump sounds like it is making a noise and working.

 

Has anyone got any helpful ideas about what the problem may be that I can pass on?

 

Hi Bones

 

Has he checked that the impeller/chopper upper is still fixed to the motor shaft? If he can hear the motor running that would be my first guess.

 

If he can not hear the motor running then its probably a control system problem but I will leave it to those who use such contraptions to give better opinions.

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Bones Veteran

Bones

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Hi Bones

 

Has he checked that the impeller/chopper upper is still fixed to the motor shaft? If he can hear the motor running that would be my first guess.

 

If he can not hear the motor running then its probably a control system problem but I will leave it to those who use such contraptions to give better opinions.

 

 

The impeller chopper was fixed firmly to the motor shaft and turned by hand.

 

He can hear the motor running too.

 

It is all just so puzzling.

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Bones Veteran

Bones

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Has the wiring to the pump changed so it is running backwards?

 

Richard

 

It shouldn't have because sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't (mostly doesn't). Also it was working before it stopped working if you know what I mean. A good suggestion though, I will mention it when I see him this evening.

 

Could there be something else? It is such a puzzle. He had expected to find it blocked, but it isn't.

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nb Innisfree Veteran II

nb InnisfreeDonate to Canal World

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Ours sometimes won't pump away if we don't give it a few more seconds for the bowl to fill, I think because of air round the blade not yet expelled by a sufficient head of water.

 

Or an air valve sticking and not bleeding air from top of bowl outlet (we have a Leesan macerator)

 

To cure the occasional smell we fitted a pipe over the air valve and took it upwards then back down to the exit of basin U trap and let it vent outside.

Edited by nb Innisfree
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Bones Veteran

Bones

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Ours sometimes won't pump away if we don't give it a few more seconds for the bowl to fill, I think because of air round the blade not yet expelled by a sufficient head of water.

 

Or an air valve sticking and not bleeding air from top of bowl outlet (we have a Leesan macerator)

 

 

I dont think it is a time thing, but the air valve is something else I will mention, thank you!

 

Concerning the time thing though - do you think it could be a water thing, i.e not flushing with enough water? Ernie some time ago posted saying how to adjust the water input to the loo in order to save water (so I persume they flush with a lot of water). If my friend did this, could that cause the problem?

Edited by Bones
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nb Innisfree Veteran II

nb InnisfreeDonate to Canal World

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I dont think it is a time thing, but the air valve is something else I will mention, thank you!

 

Concerning the time thing though - do you think it could be a water thing, i.e not flushing with enough water? Ernie some time ago posted saying how to adjust the water input to the loo in order to save water (so I persume they flush with a lot of water). If my friend did this, could that cause the problem?

 

We stopped being frugal with flushing water as it caused smells, we are quite generous with it now and have had no probs. If we use our backup water tank the delivery is a bit slower and therefore less water in the programmed time so we do an extra top up to ensure sufficient water, someday I will investigate modifications to allow manual override for flushing and maceration.

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Bones Veteran

Bones

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We stopped being frugal with flushing water as it caused smells, we are quite generous with it now and have had no probs. If we use our backup water tank the delivery is a bit slower and therefore less water in the programmed time so we do an extra top up to ensure sufficient water, someday I will investigate modifications to allow manual override for flushing and maceration.

 

 

hmm.. so the water thing could be an issue... which may explain why he hasn't been able to find the problem! I will mention that too. Thank you

Edited by Bones
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mrsmelly Veteran II

mrsmellyDonate to Canal World

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My friend has a macerator loo and it stopped working. He has taken the loo apart and taken the macerator out - there is nothing in there to block it. He put it back together, it flushed once, and then doesnt' work any more.

 

He looked at the tank end and can see no problems there either.

 

He has tried to flush the loo into a bucket rather than down into the tank, and it doesn't work so it is the loo end. The pump sounds like it is making a noise and working.

 

Has anyone got any helpful ideas about what the problem may be that I can pass on?

 

:lol: How easy is it to remove the CASSETTE is it jammed in the slot. Ask him to use the motor on his bowshover or is that perhaps jammed also.... :lol:

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Bones Veteran

Bones

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:lol: How easy is it to remove the CASSETTE is it jammed in the slot. Ask him to use the motor on his bowshover or is that perhaps jammed also.... :lol:

 

 

NORTY! [wags finger in pointed direction] A good suggestion however, I will check to see whether he has accidently pushed my cassette down the loo.

Edited by Bones
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Jus73 Contributor

Jus73

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As mentioned before on some macerators there's an air valve that can become blocked. We've had this problem on one of the hire boats - the valve had become blocked with limescale, the pump operated normally but wouldn't push the waste through as the air in the macerator couldn't escape. Another issue could be the failure of the non return valve.

 

Justin.

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