short order cook
Member
Which do you prefer and why?
Thanks for your replies
Thanks for your replies
Maceration versus foot pedal
- Thread starter short order cook
- Start date
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NY_Dutch
Well-known member
I prefer our foot pedal flush toilet for its simplicity and fewer failure points.
Laura & Charles
Well-known member
We have both. I’ve had to replace the gravity (foot pedal) toilet once. (It needed a part and the cost plus aggravation level of the job made just replacing it make sense.) Have never needed to do anything to the macerator toilet. But Dutch is right about the failure points. If I had to choose one and could choose either, I’d go with a gravity model.
Our last coach had a VacuFlush toilet. I know you didn’t ask about those but, fwiw, I’ll never have another one.
Our last coach had a VacuFlush toilet. I know you didn’t ask about those but, fwiw, I’ll never have another one.
whiteva
Well-known member
K.I.S.S.
short order cook
Member
Lol.... keep it simple silly
DuaneMiller
Member
I have had both styles... and as others have mentioned, keep it simple. I would rather have the gravity foot flush version, but for my current coach, its not possible. My coach has a bath and a half, and neither toilet sits directly over the black tank, so they have to utilize the "pumping" action of the macerator to "move things along"...
Kirk
Well-known member
I have never owned an RV that came with a macerater installed and since I have never had any need for one, it have not used one but over the years I have observed others using them many times. The only RV macerator that I'm familiar with is one the fits on the outlet of the waste tanks and then grinds and pumps that waste, typically uphill or a distance to some destination. The better quality ones work very well and do the job that they are designed for, if you have a reason to need one. I have never had a need for one.
There are also macerater toilets, but they are very expensive, and I have never seen one in an RV nor have I known anyone who had one. I suppose that they might be good for those with very heavy toilet use to make sure that things are liquid before dumping tanks. I did know someone who had one in a basement bathroom that had to flush up to the sewer system but it used 120V power and as far as I know, it worked well and was reliable.
There are also macerater toilets, but they are very expensive, and I have never seen one in an RV nor have I known anyone who had one. I suppose that they might be good for those with very heavy toilet use to make sure that things are liquid before dumping tanks. I did know someone who had one in a basement bathroom that had to flush up to the sewer system but it used 120V power and as far as I know, it worked well and was reliable.
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Tom
Administrator
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
- Posts
- 52,026
I think it depends on the geometry of the plumbing between the toilet and waste tank:
- In many RVs, the waste tank is immediately below the toilet, and a macerator is unnecessary in this situation. Some folks don't like to look straight down into the waste tank, so some manufactures install back-back 45 degree bends in the waste pipe below the toilet (this is what we have in our Monaco Class A).
- In our 5th wheel, the toilet is some way from the waste tanks, and the manufacturer installed a "sloping" waste pipe which sometimes (too often) gets clogged unless we consciously use a lot of flush water. This would benefit from a macerator or, alternatively, a Vacuflush pump (see below).
Our last boat had 2 Vacuflush pumps (2 bathrooms) because the waste from the respective toilets had 30+ feet of almost horizontal waste pipe between them and the waste tank. They'd occasionally get clogged, especially with guests who didn't understand how easily things got clogged. In this case, I wished we had on-board macerators.
John From Detroit
Well-known member
Had both use a lot less water with Pedal Power than with the Push Button job.
A Traveler
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2014
- Posts
- 670
Our 17-year old Mandalay has a Tecma macerator toilet. Grinds up everything to an easily dumpable liquid on every flush. Not a moment’s trouble with it in all that time. Plus, we use the same “stuff” in the coach that we use at home.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
As Tom said, you MUST have a macerator toilet if the toilet is not located directly over the black tank. The alternative to a macerator is a gravity drop toilet, which (as the name implies) relies on gravity to get the waste to the tank. It can be offset a foot or so from directly above the tank, but that's about it. The reason the gravity toilet has to be so close to the tank is that it doesn't have a tank full of water to flush with and rinse the stuff away.
So it's not a matter of personal choice. If you chose a floor plan that places a toilet at any distance from the black tank, it WILL be a macerator type. If not, then there is no reason or benefit to using a macerator - it just costs more and has many more things to go wrong.
So it's not a matter of personal choice. If you chose a floor plan that places a toilet at any distance from the black tank, it WILL be a macerator type. If not, then there is no reason or benefit to using a macerator - it just costs more and has many more things to go wrong.
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