my holding tanks were cleaned out completely last spring and I recently filled them up with water by flushing both vacuflushers, and I added a little soap just to make sure everything was runing properly. I hit the the macerator switch to see if everything pumped alright but only a lttle bit of water and bubbles came out the breather. Nothing is being pumped through the macerator. the through hull is open. Could it be vapor locked? any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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pump out
- Thread starter scokat
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- RO Number
- 27046
- Messages
- 204
it will often take the macerator a little time to start pumping waste from the holding tank, did you let it run for a few minutes?
kbradatzke
Member
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2006
- RO Number
- 22986
- Messages
- 70
I have a question on macerators. We always try to get pumped out and have only used the macerator once ( we got up to an area where the only pumpout was not working) . Our system has a 28 gal tank with the macerator switch in the head. The control panel only has indicators for 3/4 and Full . I had my wife run the boat while I held the switch to pump out. Is this the right way , if so how do you know when the tank is empty?
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2001
- RO Number
- 3655
- Messages
- 1,800
Scott, with a nine year-old boat, the macerator pump probably needs to be rebuilt (if it hasn't ever been rebuilt). Most of them have rubber impellers inside that should be changed every 3-5 years, as a matter of routine maintenance, just like changing the impellers on your cooling water pumps for your engines.
Kelly, it isn't a good idea to run the macerator pump while the boat is running, as you need to be able to hear the pump as it runs. Most macerator pumps are rated for 6-8 gallons per minute, so with a 28 gallon tank, if the pump is working properly, it shouldn't have to run more than about 5 minutes. when the tank is empty, you'll hear the sound of the pump change, it'll speed up and slow down, back and forth for a minute or so. That's the time to turn it off, as it'll be running dry and burning out the impeller if you continue running it. If you're concerned about emptying all of the tank's contents in one spot in the water, crank up the engines for a few minutes, then kill the engines and pump out the tank while the boat is coasting. But first be sure that there are no other boats in the immediate area so you don't risk a collision.
Kelly, it isn't a good idea to run the macerator pump while the boat is running, as you need to be able to hear the pump as it runs. Most macerator pumps are rated for 6-8 gallons per minute, so with a 28 gallon tank, if the pump is working properly, it shouldn't have to run more than about 5 minutes. when the tank is empty, you'll hear the sound of the pump change, it'll speed up and slow down, back and forth for a minute or so. That's the time to turn it off, as it'll be running dry and burning out the impeller if you continue running it. If you're concerned about emptying all of the tank's contents in one spot in the water, crank up the engines for a few minutes, then kill the engines and pump out the tank while the boat is coasting. But first be sure that there are no other boats in the immediate area so you don't risk a collision.