New Cutwater owner using macerator vs. pump-a-head insights

[gallatintug]

There are probably not a lot of you in our situation. We live in Montana and boat mainly in fresh water. We do a lot of backcountry boating where marine pump out facilities are few. Therefore, we are needing to pump out our "black water" holding tank at RV dump stations. Silly me, I thought that since the Jabsco macerator pump said "self priming", it was self priming. Apparently not. Imagine end of the season with a full holding tank, pulling up to the dump station and inserting the Tugnuts recommended 5/8" heater hose from Lowe's (fit perfectly BTW), opening the valve, and hitting the switch and NOTHING. So I'm going to tell future "Boaterhomers" and folks like me that you HAVE to prime the pump. Put some water (and maybe a bit of Dawn) into the heater hose and raise it so that the pump gets some lube from the other end. Then it works! I was not liking ANY of the alternatives. Wife is somewhat happy...she still thinks we need to get the other 3" out of the tank. Any suggestions?

 

[CruisingElvinRay]

I pump out into our septic tank. Never had to prime the pump. After the first pump out, I fill the holding tank with water and pump it out. Then do that again with about 1/2 tank of water. Works great!


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[dalehelman]

Please I need more information on this pump out method. I have trying to figure out how to empty our tank when a marine pump out is not available. Our RT has a macerator pump, put I haven’t figured out how to use it. I have no “Y” only the deck pump out. What is the deal with the 5/8 heater hose. I assume it is inserted into the deck port. If there is a post that explains this procedure in detail I would love to find it.

 

[dalehelman]

If you are concerned about the leftover sledge in your holding tank. Check out this stuff. Reviews have been very good.
ForgetAboutItforBoats.com

 

[GaylesFaerie]

dalehelman, 1) what year and model is your tug? That will help identify what your waste handling configuration is. 2) On your port quarter do you see a small thru-hull (approx 1+ inch wide) just above the water line? and finally, 3) Can you tell if there has been any modifications in the part of your boat around the holding tank? You can make this really easy for others to answer if you can take pictures of the holding tank and all hoses leading to and from it as best you can. HTH, GF

 

[dalehelman]

Thanks for your help. I contacted the previous owner. He told me it in the very back by the rudder. Both the pump and “Y” valve. Access is through the hatch in the cabinet on the transom. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

 

[C Folly]

We have found that the macerator by itself does not remove the floaters or sinkers very well, leaving some unpleasant odor. I discovered this by removing the level switches after flushing the tank several times with the macerator. My camper has a tank sprayer that mixes things up and cleans the tank walls. So we added a sprayer to the top of our boat tank that is accessible by removing the access cover over the tank. Installation was fairly easy by removing the float switch, drilling a hole in the tank and installing a barrel spigot and shutoff valve. After emptying the tank I attach a hose to the sprayer and spray the tank while running the macerator. Any liquid left behind is clear and odorless.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

On my 2012 R27, to use the holding tank macerator discharge, the Y-valve has to be positioned to the discharge position and then the HOLDING TANK switch on the DC power panel is switched ON. The discharge hose and whatever receptacle used to capture the contents has to be ready because the holding tank contents are going to be expelled with gusto. Using the macerator pump is the way I most completely evacuate the holding tank during the winterization process. On my particular boat, using a pumpout doesn’t get everything.