MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS - *M* Macerator (a.k.a. PoopEater!)

I am going to start off the new year with posting some of our motorhome modifications, a few at a time. I will post repairs, modifications, or neato things we have found for RVing.  I have lots of pics in my files so I will do them in alphabetical order.

Underneath that stuff, I will post my regular daily stuff..... kinda sorta fun, eh?

So here it goes, we are up to the letter M now!

MOTORHOME MODIFICATIONS 

STARTING WITH THE LETTER M

Mascerator:

We all do it.

Yup.

We sure do.

We use the toilet.

Well, most do.  Some prefer to do the natural thing in the woods. That's okay I guess.  But when you have a motorhome, it usually has a bathroom that contains a toilet.  And that stuff has to go SOMEWHERE~  Right?

When our black tank is just about full (the toilet stuff is called the black tank) then we need to find a place to dump it.  Also our shower and kitchen sink water (the grey tank). Our black and grey tanks each hold 50 gallons, and our freshwater tank holds 100 gallons.

Now, most folks have to pull up stakes, stow the gear, and look for the nearest dump station.  That usually involves a monetary fee to whatever campground is nearby.  It uses a  big hose, called a "Stinky Slinky" set into a big hole in the ground, and you pull the lever and dump. 

But... sometimes you aren't near a nice dump station.  Or you don't want to drive to one if you are parked for a while. What do you do? 

Steveio has this SUPER DOOPER POOPER TOY to play with.... called a Macerator! 


It's similar to a garbage disposal.  It grinds up the errrr ummmm tank waste, and pumps it out a narrow hose with pressure. Enough pressure to go uphill and over humps or even into a household toilet!

It pumps it out of a long skinny 3/4" hose, even uphill, to dump at far away locations like an inground septic tank, or a badly located dump station,  and then we follow up the process with the grey water from the sinks and shower to rinse out the dedicated hose.

It is great for many RVing situations, besides saving on dump station fees:

• -Many RV sites with sewer provided are only designed if your RV is backed into the site.  But our motorhome has a solid back wall in the bedroom.  If there is a pretty view, we may pull in forward so the view is out our front windshield in the living area of the rig.  That puts the sewer opening on the wrong side for us.  The macerator can help with that.
• -Or if sitting in someone's driveway it can dump tanks into a septic or even a toilet. (done that)
• -Or if at a poorly designed dump station that is too slanted to dump properly by gravity. (seen that)
• -Or if at a campsite with sewer available but the sewer pipe is a foot off the ground (seen that)
• -Or if at a curved road leading to the dump station and no way to line up 40 foot rig at their hole (seen that)

We do not use the "blue" RV holding tank deodorizers anymore as they can introduce bacteria-killing products into our septic tank.  Septic tanks and sewer systems need certain bacteria to keep them running properly.  We pour in a few tablespoons of RidX liquid septic tank treatment into our RV tanks to keep them working properly until they are dumped. 

Steve spent a lot of time talking to our RV friend, Roger (a.k.a. Poopy Roger) learning about mascerators and how he adapted one to fit instead of the RV one on the market. I didn't take part in those Poopy Conversations while they were out walking in the desert together.  Ewwwwwww  But Steve figured out what he wanted and how to make it work. 

Here is a link to one like ours on Amazon that is for a marine use: Jabsco-18590-2092   Steve chose the marine type one over the ones available thru RV dealers because some of their rv specific ones have impellers that are only plastic.  

Here is what ours looks like:

Steveio took a standard drain cap that goes on the bayonet mount of any RV drain pipe.  He cut an inch and quarter hole in the middle of the cap with a holesaw bit on the drill.  That allowed the cap to fit right over the opening on the bottom end of the macerator in the pic above (he removed and discarded that grey elbow fitting in the photo)

He also drilled four small screw holes in the cap to line up with the four holes in the housing, using screws to hold it tight, along with a bead of silicone between the cap and the housing.

The discharge end on the left side of the machine has a 1 inch barbed fitting.  He attached a 1" piece of clear plastic hose (to be able to see the "progress of material" going through the hose)  At the end of the clear hose he attached a piece of threaded hose fitting to screw a black 3/4" hose that is 50ft long that goes into a septic, drain cleanout hole, outhouse, sewer system etc. That long black hose is dedicated to dumping only, never to be used for anything else. Coils up in a 5 gallon bucket for storage in the motorhome basement.

The electrical line of 12 volt power was wired up to a 12volt plug cigarette lighter type with an ON/OFF switch on the line.  He installed a 12 volt powered outlet in our compartment near the drain valves to power the macerator when in use.

Now the macerator can hook onto the bayonet mount of the RV drain pipe when in use. It can then be removed and stored in a tote in our basement compartment when not in use.

With the adapted cap, it just hooks onto the bayonet mount

of the drain outlet on the motorhome. 

We last used it when we were in Florida two years ago.  We were parked for 6 weeks in Mom's backyard. There isn't any septic cleanout or septic tank access close to the house. So Steve chose to run the black hose up and into the bathroom through the window and have it flush right into the toilet.

Once the black tank contents are done running through the machine, the motor changes sound in pitch and it's done. We then shut it off and close the black tank handle.  Next comes the grey tank (shower and sink water) valve is pulled and turn it back on and run through the machine.  This also helps to rinse the hose out before storing it away.  It is a good idea to screw the two ends of any hose together during storage to prevent leakage or intrusion by insects. 

My Mister Poopy Mascerator Man

We got the job done, and our tanks are now empty.  I did not take any pics of the ummm errrr process, as you can use your own imagination.  The clear section on the macerator hose is there to observe the situation, and once both of the tanks are emptied, then we run some fresh water to flush everything out. The machine and the black hose are dried off and stowed into a separate bin away from our other compartments.

That is the poopy way to handle your RV holding tanks!

On edit; A fellow Facebook reader, Steve Ferguson, reminded me that I should mention the fact that you shouldn't use this all of the time. You still need that big swooshy whoosh to help get any of the wastes that are settled on the bottom of your holding tank to come out the big hose. That is very true. Although, our black holding tank has a special device called a "turbo rinse".  It's a device that's mounted permanently into the inside surface of are black tank. We attach a garden hose to it with pressure . It swirls and sprays all around inside of the tank and helps knock loose anything that may be setting settling on the bottom. That works too. But really in all fairness, the best use of your holding tank is to drive around for a while sloshing and agitating the contents so nothing is stuck to the bottom. Then when you dump with the normal Stinky Slinky with a big whoosh of an almost full tank, you will get the best results.

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We are going to have temps in the mid 40's today!!!  It will melt our side yard of some of the ice, but of course make it into a muddy mess. We will continue to bring the dogs out through the garage into the back section of the yard to do their thing, and avoid the mud.  I think if we take them for a walk today, we might need a bath for them afterwards as well.

The sunshine also woke up an INTRUDER!  

It's called a Western Conifer Seed Bug, and must have been sleeping all winter in my coleus plants that I dig up from the side yard.  The sunshine must have woken him up, and he was heading to the window, looking for a place to get out? 

It says they reside in Black Pine trees, of which we have right outside our house in the front/side yard.  They are not poisonous and do not bite,  We sent him on a quick demise down the toilet.  Ewwwww!  I am going to give my plants all a quick misting with some Bug Be Gone spray to be sure he doesn't have any buddies hanging around as well! 

Steve was supposed to drive at 9 am, but they called and said there was a cancellation.  So now he is home until noon before his next transport.  Wonder what kind of trouble we can get into before that?  Have to wait for the Fed Ex truck today, as I have to sign for my new phone that is coming.  The shipping notice they updated me with says it's already loaded on a truck in nearby Appleton and out for delivery today.  Pretty good from the guy at Verizon ordering it about 2 pm on Saturday, and it was in Fort Worth TX getting loaded on a truck at 5pm Saturday. 

A Poopy Day? (Using a Mascerator)

We all do it.

Yup.

We sure do.

We use the toilet.

Well, most do.  Some prefer to do the natural thing in the woods. That's okay I guess.  But when you have a motorhome, it usually has a bathroom that contains a toilet.  And that stuff has to go SOMEWHERE~  Right?

We have been in my mom's yard for over two weeks, and our black tank (the toilet stuff) is just about full. So is Mel and Paula's.  We have dumped our grey tanks every other day or so into the sandy soil, as it's only our shower water. We use a hose and run it into mom's flower beds, which love it.

Our black and grey tanks each hold 50 gallons, and our freshwater tank holds 100 gallons.

Now, most folks have to pull up stakes, stow the gear, and look for the nearest dump station.  That usually involves a monetary fee to whatever campground is nearby.

Steveio has this SUPER DOOPER POOPER TOY to play with.... called a Mascerator! It's similar to a garbage disposal.  It grinds up the errrr ummmm waste, and pumps it out a hose with pressure. Enough to go uphill and over humps or even into a household toilet!

Here is a link to one like Steve's that I found on Amazon that is for a marine use: Jabsco-18590-2092   Steve chose the marine type one over the ones available thru RV dealers because some of their impellers are only plastic.  Here is what it looks like.

He bought an extra drain cap and adapted it to fit the bottom end of the mascerator.  He cut a hole in the cap to match the end of the mascerator, and sealed it on with some good glue. There are four screws that also hold the cap into place on the device.

It runs on 12 volt power, so you need to install a 12 volt socket in your dumping bay, or else put on longer wires with clips to hook to a battery on a vehicle parked nearby. Steve chose to install an outlet in the compartment.

With the adapted cap, it just hooks onto the bayonet mount

of the drain outlet on the motorhome. 

Steve and Mel set about to dump Mel's tank first.  Next to Mel's rig was the septic tank cleanout within reach. We have a dedicated long black 1 inch 50 ft garden hose that is used for only the mascerator.  It was close enough for Mel's rig to work.

Our rig is parked closer to Mom's house.  There isn't a septic cleanout or tank access close to the house. So Steve chose to run the black hose up and into the bathroom through the window and have it flush into the toilet.

 Steve and Mel got it hooked up and made their plans of the process.

They are always fiddling with something or other.

Two peas in a pod. 

This is definately a TWO MAN operation! 

(we women stayed far away and let them deal with it.) 

Mel stayed outside to man the 12 volt power plug on the machine

and Steve stayed in the bathroom to hold the hose into the toilet

They got the job done, and our tanks are now empty.  I did not take any pics of the ummm errrr process, as you can use your own imagination.  The clear section on the mascerator hose is there to observe the situation, and once the black tank is emptied, then they did flush some grey water through the system to clean out the machine.  Once that is done, fresh water is used to flush it out, and the machine and the black hose are stowed into a separate bin from any of our other compartments.

That is a poopy way to end the day!



We took care of things all week around mom's house and got progress made on selling off some of my step-dads other vehicles, clearing out excess parts not needed and more little repairs around mom's house.

Yup, the jeep sold right away, 

and the guy is coming to take it away soon.

We do have a Demco Excali-bar tow bar still for sale, $200.  

Email me at pfundt@gmail.com if you are interested! 

We did some grilling out on the deck in the pleasant evening weather

We did take off Saturday to hit the Waldo flea market for some fun! 

We went home with bags full of treasures...

not to mention bags full of fresh Florida Produce! 

We got in a stop at Gainesville Trader Joes, 

the Holy Grail of my Two Buck Chuck wine,

some jars of Cookie Butter,

and my newest obsession, 

Trader Joes Cookie Butter Cookies!!!!

One lovely warm evening, Steve took out his 

Flame Genie firepit. 

Here is a link to their website:

http://www.pelletfirepit.com/

We bought ours from them through Amazon, but I think Home Depot carries them now too.

It burns bagged compressed wood pellets, 

which are safe to transport as opposed to firewood. 

With the increase in emerald ash borer in areas, 

firewood is banned or restricted to carry from area to area.  

The bags of wood pellets are safe to take anywhere. 

It was a great evening to sit out and unwind

The doggers enjoy the campfire evenings as well,

and Da Momma came out and joined us after Wheel and Jeopardy were over! 

We also took some time for some crafting!  A new fun project we found to do....  After writing on them with Pigma Micro 01 permanent pens, we will cover them with a layer or two of Modge Podge.

And back to one more motorhome thing....   Tuesday evening we are both travelling down to Hudson, FL to park at Suncoast Designers to get our appointments early Wednesday morning. We have a thermopane window that has blown it's seal so it's foggy between the panes.  Paula and Mel's rig has a window with the "creeping" black seal to be repaired. They come highly recommended from fellow RVers to be "the place" to get the RV windows repaired in one day and resealed correctly back on the RV.

So stay tuned for another RV Modification and Repair blog.....  (plus Paula found out about a nearby quilt store we can explore!)

The Full Poop Story of the RV Mascerator on the Motorhome

So many folks have asked more questions about how Steveio adapted the marine mascerator, both off list in emails and on our Safari group.


(NOTE: A mascerator is a machine that grinds up poopy waste from the black holding tank and pumps it out in a long skinny 3/4" hose, even uphill, to dump at far away locations like our septic tank, and then follow up with the grey water from the sinks and shower to rinse out the dedicated hose) 

Steve chose a marine grade mascerator, made by ITT Jabsco, because it has metal impeller parts instead of plastic like many of the cheaper RV grade models. 

Soooo here are more detailed instructions on his adaptation:

Steveio took a standard drain cap that goes on the bayonet mount of any RV drain pipe.  He cut an inch and quarter hole in the middle of the cap with a holesaw bit on the drill.  That allowed the cap to fit right over the opening on the bottom end of the mascerator in the pic above (he removed and discarded that grey elbow fitting in the photo)

He also drilled four small screw holes in the cap to line up with the four holes in the housing, using screws to hold it tight, along with a bead of silicone between the cap and the housing.

The discharge end on the left side of the machine has a 1 inch barbed fitting.  He attached a 1" piece of clear plastic hose (to be able to see the "progress of material" going through the hose)  At the end of the clear hose he attached a piece of threaded hose fitting to screw a black 3/4" hose that is 50ft long that goes into a septic, drain hole, sewer system etc. That long black hose is dedicated to dumping only, never to be used for anything else. Coils up in a 5 gallon bucket for storage in the motorhome basement.

The electrical line of 12 volt power was wired up to a 12volt plug cigarette lighter type with an ON/OFF switch on the line.  He installed a 12 volt powered outlet in our compartment near the drain valves to power the mascerator when in use.

Now the mascerator can hook onto the bayonet mount of the RV drain pipe when in use. It can then be removed and stored in a tote in our basement compartment when not in use.




Here is a photo of it being used on our friend's fifth wheel for the first time. (Yes, Steveio was a Mascerator Virgin until now!) ... they have a clear section on their drain pipe to also allow one to view the "progress of material"  (yuck)

Once the black tank contents are done running through, the motor changes sound in pitch and it's done. Close the black tank handle.  Then the grey tank (shower and sink water) valve is pulled and run through the machine.  This also helps to rinse the hose out before storing it away.  It is a good idea to screw the two ends of any hose together during storage to prevent leakage or intrusion by insects. 

Just look at these two guys!  They are having fun???  I guess so! 

Because of the lack of a 12 volt outlet near the dump bay on our friend's fiver, 

Steve hooked the mascerator up to the battery on our riding lawn mower!!!  LOL 

You can see the edge of the lawn mower on the lower half of the photo below. 

Our septic outlet pipe is about 100 feet from our driveway.  We can now empty our tanks after camping weekends right at our own home.  Saves on dump station fees each weekend on the way home to go 10 miles out of our way to dump the tanks.  Not to mention the fees to dump just a weekend's worth of waste.  Our tanks hold 50 gallons each.   Driving 10 extra miles on a Sunday at 8mpg that can add up at today's prices of diesel fuel.

A mascerator is great for many situations, besides saving on dump station fees:


-Many RV sites with sewer provided are only designed if your RV is backed into the site.  But our motorhome has a solid back wall in the bedroom.  If there is a pretty view, we may pull in forward so the view is out our front windshield in the living area of the rig.  That puts the sewer opening on the wrong side for us.  The mascerator can help with that, especially if we are doing laundry in our onboard washer/dryer.  The laundry  piping on a Safari does NOT empty into either our black or grey tanks, it is piped to only go right out the drain hose.  This will be important once we go full time in the RV.


-Or if sitting in someone's driveway it can dump tanks into a septic or even a toilet. (seen that)
-Or if at a poorly designed dump station that is too slanted to dump properly by gravity. (seen that)
-Or if at a campsite with sewer available but the sewer pipe is a foot off the ground (seen that)
-Or if at a curved road dump station and no way to line up 40 foot rig at their hole (seen that)




We do not use the "blue" RV holding tank deodorizers anymore as they can introduce bacteria-killing products into our septic tank.  Septic tanks and sewer systems need certain bacteria to keep them running properly.  We pour in a few tablespoons of RidX liquid septic tank treatment into our RV tanks to keep them working properly until they are dumped.  No danger of harming our household septic now.


And that is the full poop story on the mascerator....



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Finishing up visit with Jim and Dee - Allegra comes for a Bay-Kay-Shun!

Ohhh I am behind on posting again.  Sorry!  

We have been quite busy around here. Our visiting RV friends Jim and Dee got in a trip to Green Bay on Wednesday to do some touring, while I stayed home (a bit under the weather)   They managed to tour the Packer Stadium, do some shopping and picked up parts for the RV toilet in their rig which was leaking.

The weather has been atrocious and the heat and humidity just won't quit!   Steve got home from work on Wednesday and was able to help to remove their toilet and find out what parts needed replacement.  It was easier to work on the whole toilet outside, but the heat was awful.  It was not too hard of a fix, and they had it back in, toot sweet and working again.  Wheeeeeee

It was so horribly hot that I decided I could cook pizza in the oven in the house...  it didn't matter!  Then we took the pizza out to the waiting Walter's RV as a delivery!  We sat in the cool interior of their rig to eat supper and enjoy the evening with them.

On Thursday, those two busy beavers were back at the maintenance on their rig.  Besides washing all the windows, they also lubed their slides and seal, and did some rubbing compound on some scratches from the tree when they were backing into our yard.. ouch!~  But the scratches came out and now the rig looks sparkling spanking new!   

Thursday was an extra special busy day for us too, because our granddaughter, little Allegra came for a five day "bay-kay-shun" with us!  Her mommy and daddy go for an all adult camping weekend each year, and we are the lucky ones to get to keep her for all five days! 

She kept us entertained with her antics....  

We took a walk down by the river, and I think is a wonderful shot of Dee....

Thursday night was also a big night for Steveio... some of you RVers might remember a while back that Steveio bought a marine grade Jabsco mascerator for the motorhome. 

 (A mascerator is a machine that grinds up your poopy water from the black holding tank and pumps it out in a long skinny hose, even uphill, to dump at far away locations like our septic tank, and then you can follow up with the grey water from the sinks and shower to rinse out the hose somewhat) 

Soooo we have not used it yet.  But since Dee and Jim were leaving in the morning, it was a perfect time to dump out their tanks and put our mascerator to use!   Our septic opening is about 100 feet away from the RV's parked in the driveway.  They got it all hooked up, and were three feet short of hose!  But Jim to the rescue had an extra section to add to the group.  Of course, once this hose is used for mascerating, you never ever use it again for lawns or filling fresh water tank.  

Maiden run on the machine, hoses and hookups...... 

Flip the switch, pull the lever, and voila... it worked! 

 (ignore the green hose in the photo.. that was just lying there...)

The "stuff" from the tank comes down the big tube near the top of the photo, then through the machine, and then out the side on the right through the thinner black hose and down across the yard to the septic tank opening.   There.. done!

A mascerator is great for many situations, besides saving on dump station fees:
Like sitting in someone's driveway it can dump your tanks into a septic or even a toilet. (seen that)
Or if you are at a dumb designed dump station that is too slanted to dump properly by gravity. (seen that)
Or if you are at a campsite with sewer available but the dumb pipe is a foot off the ground (seen that)
Or if you are at a curved road dump station and no way to line up 40 foot rig at their hole (seen that)

I am glad that Steveio's new toy works well for him, and he and Jim both seemed pleased to have clean tanks!

Thursday night was our last night together with a meal out on the grills... they had done a run with Steve ot the little meat market down the road and stocked up on good home grown Wisconsin beef.  We spent the time relaxing with Jim and Dee for the evening.  Steve will be gone to work in the morning when they head out... so they said their good-byes on Thursday night.   He threatened to beep goodbye with the horn on the car as he leaves at 5:15 am while parked right in front of their bedroom, but he didn't.  LOL

On Friday morning, such veteran RVers like Jim and Dee had their rig ready to roll in just 15 minutes from start to finish.  Dee backs up the truck while Jim checks the hitch and raises the levelers.  All gear is stowed and compartments locked up.  They fired up the GPS and gave hugs all around .. through tears, little Allegra and I waved bye bye.   They are heading out to the Wisconsin Dells!

And therrrrrre they goooooooo!

COME BACK SOON! 

Later on Friday afternoon, Erin came over with our other granddaughter, Chelsea.  The girls had a play day together and sure had fun.  LOVE their little piggy tails. awwwwwwww  

We have suffered here with the formidable temps and humidity as is the rest of the country.  It is sooo unusual for us to have such a long stretch of horrid temps.  Finally tonight, Saturday, it has cooled down enough to have all the windows open, and sleep up in our loft bed again.   No complaints here!

Good night!


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