Monday, February 17, 2014

Flo-Jet Macerator Pump Tips and Problems?

Freedom from sewer hookups is the result of owning a Flo-Jet Macerator Pump. It is one of the handiest devices that I purchased for RVing.

 I can park anywhere regardless of sewer hookup availability. I can dump my tanks without the necessity of moving my RV. The addition of a large Thetford Blue Boy sewage tote like the one below (except mine is bright blue) just added to my independence.

 Using the Flo-Jet I can dump my tanks anytime. I leave my Blue Boy in the bed of my pickup and use the Flo-Jet to pump my holding tank contents into the tote. Then I simply drive to a sewer dump and dump the tote without removing it from the bed of the truck-- whoosh! and I'm done. Or if, as at present, I'm parked some distance from a sewer inlet I can simply pump my tank contents directly into the septic tank using just the garden hose.
     That being said, I have had a couple of problems with the Flo-Jet that were totally due to my own ignorance (I'm not mechanical, remember). Since it has been so cold this winter I decided that I didn't need to connect the fresh water hose to the Flo-Jet since I always dump black water first and then finish with the gray water tanks to clean everything out. But with temperatures down in the negative figures at night since the first of December I think some of the contents of the black tank were ...frozen and more solid than normal. It sounded like ice cubes going through the pump and then clinkity clank my Flo-Jet stopped! Now what???? Well what I should have done and what I did were two different things. Live and learn!
      I closed my black water tank valve and removed the Flo-Jet. Ooops. Live and learn.  What I should have done was simply change the little knife fuse in the small fuse housing that sticks out of the base of the handle of the push button switch controller which had blown because of the pump binding up on the partially frozen contents of the black tank. Then I should have attached the fresh water hose to the Flo-Jet's fresh water connection and run it on low pressure at the same time while I was pumping the black tank contents through the Flo-Jet. I finally did this and the fresh water blending with the frozen black water was sufficiently liquid to allow the Flo-Jet to work like a whiz. Very simple fix especially for winter black water pumping with your Flo-Jet. Always be sure to let your Flo-Jet back flush with its fresh water connection open for several minutes after you are finished pumping your tanks out. This keeps the Flo-Jet from getting jammed up with dried up poop between jobs which can also bind the pump (ask me how I know this, haaaaaaa) and blow the little knife fuse. Size of that fuse is a 20. Better stock up. I bought a whole box of assorted knife fuses for about $15 at Walmart.
    Also be sure to turn your Flo-Jet motor on BEFORE you open its fresh water valve unless you want your Flo Jet to explode off of your sewer pipe. Yes, I learned that one the hard way, too. lol. Thankfully it was hot weather when I made that mistake.
     Thanks goes to my neighbor, Larry York, for teaching me the proper care and maintenance of my Flo-Jet both for summer and winter pumping.      

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