Liberty Macerator Pump

[truk4u]

Couple of questions for the Liberty Owners with Macerator Pumps. Mine has a pump mounted on top the black/grey tank that is plumbed to the bottom of the tank by 1 1/2" PVC and then has a garden house hookup under the starboard engine access door. I put a quarter tank of water in and the pump runs, but won't pick it up.

1. Is the pump self priming

2. The dash switch is a momentary rocker switch. I find it hard believe you have to hold the switch down to pump the poo out.

I know this is Jdub's forte, but he's not good with Liberty questions.

[garyde]

Hi Tom. My Macerator blew the fuse last time I tried it. My tank was full at the time. Let me know what you find out.

[rfoster]

I never tried it, but I heard you had to treat it like you are siphoning gas from your Dads car when you were a kid.

[tdelorme]

I never tried it, but I heard you had to treat it like you are siphoning gas from your Dads car when you were a kid.

And JDUB told you that, right? I hope your eating those smart'n pills that you find out in the woods.

[jack14r]

I have been told that the impeller in the pump is rubber and it is self priming but if it is run without water it will fail very quickly.I had a blockage in mine once and I hooked a garden hose with an adaptor to it and turned on the water for a few minutes and it worked,this would also prime it.Mine will run for about 10 minutes at a time and then shut off,it will pump the tank down about 40% in that time,I was told that the timer is to prevent the impeller from running dry.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I must be lucky. I don't have a use for my macerator pump. So as a result, apart from turning it on after I got the coach I never used it until just before Spearfish, and then out of curiosity.

It ran for about 10 seconds and then the noise changed and out came the poop.

If it isn't pumping then it seems priming is in order. If I recall JPJ recommended sucking on the end of the hose. To me all that seems silly when we have all that is necessary without the pump. Eliminate the pump and using the opening in the top of the tank, add an air fitting. Start the aux pump and pressurize the holding tank. If it works as planned the poop will exit the tank at a fairly brisk pace. Use caution however because if the tank explodes it could ruin your whole day.

No charge for this excellent advice.