Pump out not working

[mekatherine]

Hi all

My pump out toilet has stopped working - when I press the flush button the bowl fills with water and then nothing happened (when there was an electrical whirring which I think is the macerate). Can anyone suggest what I can do to solve this and/or recommend a professional in the sawley/Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire area who might be able to help?

Thanks

Edited June 7, 2016 by mekatherine

[Tony Brooks]

Apparently the maccerators have a habit of jambing with scale or things that were not eaten. They then may trip an overheats witch or blow a fuse.

 

I suspect this will be an ongoing happening even if you do regularly treat the toilet to lemon juice or vinegar so maybe now is the time to get the marigolds on a learn how to strip and clean it.

 

No idea who can do it for you though.

[Loafer]

Try reversing the supply to the macerator and run it backwards for about 10 secs. I cleared one on a yacht by doing that.

[NickF]

Try reversing the supply to the macerator and run it backwards for about 10 secs. I cleared one on a yacht by doing that.

Sounds risky, I don't know much about them but it might throw whatever is blocking it back out of the bowl!

[Loafer]

Sounds risky, I don't know much about them but it might throw whatever is blocking it back out of the bowl!

 

Well that was no issue in our yacht. There was no backup in the pipe and it freed the pump blades or whatever's in there. We probably only ran it for 5 secs but it was 10 years ago now. It did work, and the macerator worked well for years afterwards.

 

I can't comment on your setup, but maybe someone else will add an opinion!

[Sea Dog]

Sounds risky, I don't know much about them but it might throw whatever is blocking it back out of the bowl!

What could possibly go wrong?

[Lysander]

When that happened to ours it was because we needed a new set of batteries.

[Paul C]

Try reversing the supply to the macerator and run it backwards for about 10 secs. I cleared one on a yacht by doing that.

 

 

What could possibly go wrong?

 

Lets hope when its reversed, it turns off again after the 5-10 secs or so and doesn't jam in the "on" position reversing.

[Victor Vectis]

This sounds horribly familiar

 

The PO on 'Red Wharf' is a Tecma. The flush is a two stage process: press the button, water enters and the macerator whirrs into action. Then there is a pause followed by another whirr and anything left in the bowl disappears.

 

Or rather should disappear. At pres the bowl just fill with water which doesn't get flushed away.

 

Your problem could be caused by a 'foreign' (ie wet wipe, cotton wool bud etc) object clogging up the macerator. The solution here is to dismantle the gubbins under the throne (courage and rubber gloves required!) remove said object and reassemble. There was a thread, with pics(!) recently about this.

 

Or you could have a blockage in the pipe on the way to the tank (like wot we seem to have, double ) our problem would appear to be caused by the use of cast iron elbows where the pipe joins the tank. These appear to have rotted on the inside of the bend, the corrosion causing the macerated 'stuff' to catch and cause a blockage.

 

Currently waiting for the ferrous elbows to be replaced by brass or stainless items.

 

ETA And any comments along the lines of 'get a cassette' will be treated with the contempt they deserve

Edited June 7, 2016 by Victor Vectis

[Markinaboat]

Our Leesan Headmaster did this a few weeks ago. I isolated the supply, closed the valve between the toilet and tank and scooped out as much water from the bowl as possible. Removed the bowl from the floor (2 x screws), pulled it forward and then took pics so it all went back the same way.. Then removed the hose from the macerator and had a could clean everywhere. I removed the anti-syphon valve and another part as they were a bit scaly and cleaned them with a little solution in water. Checked that all hoses were clear and put it all back together. Opened up the tank valve again (important!) and voila!! Working better than it did when we bought the boat last year. What I DON'T do now is to empty the bowl with the 'empty only' button as this can cause an airlock apparently.

[David Mack]

ETA And any comments along the lines of 'get a cassette' will be treated with the contempt they deserve

Or an Elsan Bristol

 

No moving parts, nothing to go wrong, and its not the least bit worried about wetwipes, cotton buds or other non-eaten items!

Edited June 7, 2016 by David Mack

[Drayke]

When I had this problem with my pump out, before I changed the toilet to a composting loo, I turned off the water supply then flushed a few times which cleared most of the water in the bowl, then took the toilet apart and de-scaled it along with all the pipe work, worked fine for about two years before scaling up again. Not a very pleasant job.

[mekatherine]

What would you recommend I descaled the toilet with?

[MtB]

When I had this problem with my pump out, before I changed the toilet to a composting loo, I turned off the water supply then flushed a few times which cleared most of the water in the bowl, then took the toilet apart and de-scaled it along with all the pipe work, worked fine for about two years before scaling up again. Not a very pleasant job.

 

 

When I had this problem with my cassette, it was all a dream.

There was no problem at all!

[adam1uk]

What would you recommend I descaled the toilet with?

 

LeeSan do a descaler, which is quite expensive -- but doesn't contain the chemicals that lots do, which can make your tank stink. You could try coca cola.

 

On the main issue of it not flushing, if you can get access to the back of the loo, there's probably a large rubber bit, and it's worth massaging it to see if you can remove a blockage -- before you attempt to take it apart. A few times of this, and you'll do what we did, and change it for a composting loo.

[Old Son]

Or an Elsan Bristol

 

No moving parts, nothing to go wrong, and its not the least bit worried about wetwipes, cotton buds or other non-eaten items!

 

 

 

But look at it, it looks like a dustbin!!

[Victor Vectis]

What would you recommend I descaled the toilet with?

When the rubber bits from beneath the throne were dismantled a few weeks ago I used supermarket cheap cola. It seemed to do the trick.

[Odana]

I had a long thread on here a few weeks back with a similar problem - do a search under my username for it.

 

Sounded and felt like electrical or pump failure but turned out to be a jammed wet wipe stopping the thing dead. And lots of timescale. Unpleasant but straightforward to resolve.

[cuthound]

 

 

I use this every 6 months on my leisure boat (used throughout the year).

 

No problems to date.

 

http://www.leesan.com/index.asp?m=3&cat1=35&cat2=44&p=399&t=LeeScale+Green+Descaler+%285+litres%29

 

I have some of these which I will try when the Leesans runs out.

 

http://www.unifloproducts.co.uk/product/174-unicleanse-crystals-pump-de-scaler-cleaner-300g-e-4-tubs

[pete.i]

 

Or an Elsan Bristol

 

No moving parts, nothing to go wrong, and its not the least bit worried about wetwipes, cotton buds or other non-eaten items!

 

 

 

But look at it, it looks like a dustbin!!

 

And you think that a Porta Potti, or any other bog for that matter, is aesthetically pleasing?

[David Mack]

 

Or an Elsan Bristol

 

No moving parts, nothing to go wrong, and its not the least bit worried about wetwipes, cotton buds or other non-eaten items!

 

 

 

But look at it, it looks like a dustbin!!

 

 

No . This toilet looks like a dustbin:

 

[swift1894]

Or an Elsan Bristol

No moving parts, nothing to go wrong, and its not the least bit worried about wetwipes, cotton buds or other non-eaten items!

do you mean that you would empty the "wet wipes cotton buds or other non-eaten items" that the Elsan is not the least bit worried about, into the sewage system?

[Drayke]

What would you recommend I descaled the toilet with?

After taking the macerator apart I scraped of as much scale as possible then used Lee San descale and also white vinegar, as I said not a pleasant job.

[David Mack]

do you mean that you would empty the "wet wipes cotton buds or other non-eaten items" that the Elsan is not the least bit worried about, into the sewage system?

Well I wouldn't put them in a Bristol, so the question shouldn't arise. But the fact is that you can, in exactly the same way as when these items go down domestic toilets into the sewerage system. And you won't have to get up close and dirty with the inner workings of your loo in the way that macerator owners sometimes have to.

[Odana]

Well I wouldn't put them in a Bristol, so the question shouldn't arise. But the fact is that you can, in exactly the same way as when these items go down domestic toilets into the sewerage system. And you won't have to get up close and dirty with the inner workings of your loo in the way that macerator owners sometimes have to.

Many elsan points are connected to the mains by pumps - ours blocks periodically with stuff people have put into their toilets then emptied.

 

Anything that can't break down causes huge problems in the main sewage system too so shouldn't be put in - blockages of mass od wet wipes and tampons and condoms and cotton buds and cooking fat have to be dealt with by someone, somewhere.