# do you need a macerator pump?



## saurav16 (Mar 22, 2007)

Question is do you need a macerator pump plumbed between the toilet and the holding tank? Also I have a standard Jabsco manual head. It hasn't been used yet. I was wondering if you are cruising is it sufficient to do number two and not get clogged? Sorry for the grossness of the question just want to know if the head should be upgraded. Thanks.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

The macerator pump is typically plumbed in the hose leading FROM the holding tank to an overboard discharge through-hull. The marine toilet's manual/electric pump does a sufficient enough job of breaking up solids between the head and tank.

Another option in lieu of a macerator, is to use a Whale manual pump for overboard discharge (of course, when beyond the 3 mile limit). This eliminates another piece of electric dependant machinery - bound to inevitably break down when you need it most.


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

From my experience, you don't need a macerator pump. The pump that pumps your tank overboard is often a macerator pump, but sometimes a diaphram pump. 

We had a $100 jabsco head on our previous boat. It worked great the three years we had it. I had a spare pump assembly on board in case it did break down to make the repair more convenient. I'm from the "if it's not broke, don't fix it school", so I would give your head a try before making any decisions about replacing it.

Also, on our current boat, we experience a clog that I could not clear. When I started taking stuff a part, I found the discharge hoses were shrunk down to the diameter of a dime from deposites on the inside of the hose. The previous owner had been a liveaboard and for all I know the hoses may have been twenty years old. So if you do have a clog, it may be something other than the head.


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

I'm plumbed with a gravity drain from my holding tank, in theory there is no need to pump if beyond the 3 mile limit just open the valve.
If I was to add a macerator and freshwater pump I think I'd rather go with a macerator between the head and the tank so it pre-grinds. 
Would it not be better to hold a slurry than a stew (less chance of something clogging if the first thing it hits is a grinder).


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## saurav16 (Mar 22, 2007)

Ok i sail on the Hudson so well in land so I guess no macreator needed. Do you have to add any additives in the holding tank to help break down wastes?


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Nope, not necessary - since your head's flush mechanism breaks up things adequately. You're probably recalling porti-potties, which require a formaldehyde/deodorant solution to break down solids.


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

You can always add chlorine to destroy the E Coli Bacteria in the waste tank. 
It is doing in them nasty little buggers is what they want.


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

How do you get beyond the three mile limit to dump a holding tank on a river ?


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

capt.,
No one suggested he sail down the Hudson to the ocean - what was implied though, is that a macerator typically is used in conjuction with a through-hull discharge.

Obviously, direct discharge it is not an option with inland sailors.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

You don't. It is illegal to discharge your holding tank in any inland waters within the U S. Rivers are inland waters. I know, you don't have to tell me that hundreds of boaters do it. but that doesn't make it right. I swim in the river! The only place that I know of where that law is enforced is in the Great Lakes, but it is still the law, and there are still thousands of people in this country who swim in open waters, both lakes and rivers.


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## saurav16 (Mar 22, 2007)

actually it is odd my 79 catalina 27 doesn't even have a overboard pump out thru hull it just all goes to the holding tank which has a deck pump out.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Even back in '79, there was "some" concern among thinking people, that dumping raw sewage in inland waterways would be a bad thing. Many inland waterways even prohibit discharge of grey water - such is the case with Lake George, NY - where I bought a new boat a few years ago. Grey water went directly into the holding tank.

Unfortunately - this sensitivity for protecting the environment isn't universally accepted.


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## capttb (Dec 13, 2003)

I must be confused (not uncommon) if he can't get beyond the 3 mile limit he's prohibited from discharging ANYTHING isn't he ? And from 3 to 12 to can only discharge particles less than 1/4 inch (ground or macerated) ? Wouldn't any discharge valve technically have to be "secured in a closed position" while on an inland body of water ?


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

capttb said:


> I must be confused (not uncommon) if he can't get beyond the 3 mile limit he's prohibited from discharging ANYTHING isn't he ?


 Yeah, but that rule pertains to sewage . . . so, why are you confused? The OP's question asked if he needed a macerator between his toilet and the holding tank. There was no recommendation made for installing direct discharge - only a clarification of HOW a macerator is intended to be used.

I'm sorry if what I posted led to your confusion.


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