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OUR PORTABLE MACERATOR PUMP SYSTEM |
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MACERATOR PUMP PROJECT |
This is the pump we used to build our portable
Macerator Pump system.
It's made for Marine use ...and is very heavy-duty
and well Built .
Having a macerator Pump to use with your Black Water
System is a good idea if you plan on doing any
Boondocking .
They allow you to dump your tank in lots of places
that don't have the more conventional Pump-outs . We
didn't want to permanently attach the macerator pump
to the Black water lines for numerous reasons ... so
I built one that we could store away when we didn't
need it .
Plus I wanted a macerator pump system that ran
directly from the 3" sewer outlet , without having
to add a 'Tee' on my lines |
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HERE'S HOW OUR SYSTEM WORKS
We bought a marine-quality 12 Volt Macerator
pump from a Marine Supply store here in
Sitka .
ITS' A JABSCO DRY-RUN PUMP THAT'S AVAILABLE THROUGH
BOATING SUPPLY STORES...I THINK OURS COST US AROUND
$170.00
It has an Inlet that's only 1-1/2 , so in order to
make it work using standard 3"RV piping ... I picked
up a 'Reducer' from a plumbing supply store. One end
of it is 3" and it tapers down at the other end to
1-1/2 " . Then I needed to build a set-up that would
go from 1" ( which is the diameter of the pumps
outlet ) down to 3/4 " ( which is the size of garden
hose we'll be using ) . I picked up a section of
very heavy-duty 1" hose , 2 hose clamps , 1
-1"plastic fitting designed to have its barbs
inserted into the hose and at the other end is
threaded ( female) with a 1" inside diameter . I
also picked up a brass Bushing that would fit into
the 1" female end of the plastic fitting ...the
interior threading in this Bushing is 3/4". Then I
found the correct sized brass fitting designed to
screw garden hoses into it , that fit into the
Bushing .
We want the pump set-up to be easy to store and
'Tidy' looking too . So I picked up a hefty orange
box with great hinges and a excellent snap catch on
it . I placed the macerator pump in the Box and
made marks where the outlet and inlet line would go
. For the inlet side I used a 2" hole-saw attachment
on my drill and drilled out the plastic on the box .
Next I changed over to a 1-1/2 " hole-saw and
drilled out the outlet hole . Then I placed the
macerator pump back in the box and pushed it forward
so the inlet portion of the pump was protruding from
the box 2" and using a nail made marks through the 4
pump mounting holes ( at the base of the pump ) . I
drilled out the 4 holes through the bottom of the
box and inserted the rubber 'feet' onto the bottom
of the pump and bolted it down securely into the box
( use wing-nuts , its easier to remove the pump for
servicing later )
Now that the pump was bolted down in the box ... I
cut a section from the heavy-duty plastic hose
that's approx. 4" long . Good quality plastic hose
is pretty stiff stuff ...so I soaked the piece in
Hot water for about 5 minutes to soften it up a bit
. Then I pushed one end of it over the Pumps 1"
barbed outlet and used a hose-clamp to get a nice
tight seal on it ...at the other end of the hose (
which protruded about an 1" from the box ) I pushed
the 1" barbed fitting onto it and hosed clamped that
down . Next I used plumbers tape to get a good seal
on the bushing and screwed that into the end of the
plastic fitting ...then I screwed the brass 3/4
garden hose fitting into the bushing . That's all
you need for the outlet side ...its ready to attach
a 3/4"garden hose to it .
Next I took the Rubber Reducer and placed the 1-1/2
end over the pumps inlet port and tightened it down
securely ... all I need to do now is get a small 4"
long section of 3" black plastic pipe , glue a RV
hose adapter to it and add the 12 volt electrical
leads . Since we have a marine 12 volt receptacle on
the exterior of our bus , I'll wire up the leads to
be able to plug-in there. I'm also wiring it up to
use battery Alligator clips too , just in case
something goes wrong with the exterior outlet. I'll
be able to switch over to either wiring system
easily because I'm using a marine 12 volt 2 pinned
male & female plug setup in the box . All I'll have
to do to switch from one system to the other is
un-plug one line and plug the other one into it .
We also have a cover that is designed to snap over a
garden hose that we'll use to close off the outlet
on the pump ... and I'll use a 'Termination cap to
close off the Inlet hose .
I was 'searching' around on the 'Net' and found a
system similar to mine that used a box to store the
pump and its hoses in ....I was tempted to buy it .
But , The inlet & outlet hoses looked pretty Flimsy
. So , I decided to build this one myself with
heavy-duty parts . I can't imagine anything more
miserable and embarrassing then hooking up your
Macerator Pump ...turning it on and having a hose
burst ....a very messy situation indeed . The whole
set-up here cost us a little over $200.00 , which is
well worth it we think .
The set-up measures
18" long x 10" wide x 7" high
Here's a few pics of what my set-up looks like
CAMPING WORLD Sells a similar Macerator Pump to the
one we used in our system...for around
$161.10
Click-Here to see
more about this Macerator Pump at Camping World
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