The macerator toilets are fast becoming the first choice for canal and river boaters and they are reliable but when they go wrong they tend to go very wrong with a lot of mess…

Common problems and how to fix them

• The toilet makes a lot of noise and doesn’t flush properly.
• This is usually because someone has put something on them that they shouldn’t. Remember that only lightweight (2-ply) or specially made to disintegrate toilet paper (such as that made by Thetford) can go down and be fine for long-term use (!) If you put heavy toilet paper that is advertised as extra soft and extra Thick will be fine for a while, but can cause problems by clogging the check valve, bends in the pump outlet piping, or even the tank vent if it’s too full. To fix a blockage due to the use of such products, you will need to disassemble the macerator or hire a professional. Keep in mind that opening a macerator is quite tricky, requires torx security screw bits, and will void your warranty if it’s brand new. The best thing to check first without voiding the warranty is the vents and check valve. The check valve is usually a 90-degree rubber elbow that works like the plumbing connection at the back of the toilet. You can remove the jubilee clips and remove them (with a bucket underneath, a large one may be needed depending on your tank and piping design!) for inspection. They are a very simple design, just make sure there is nothing in there that will force it open or close.
• Toilet works fine but refills slowly (slightly but not overflowing)
• This is probably a check valve failure. On some ships, the pipe may go up before crossing over and down into a tank. If the check valve is slightly clogged, the volume of debris that is in the vertical section of the pipe will leak into the container.
• The toilet does nothing at all when I try to flush it.
• Complete failure without something obvious happening is quite rare, so check the simple things first. Check the loom’s fuses and connections and remove the flush panel plate if you have one to check for wire damage or moisture ingress. If you have a non-electronic push button that is mounted on the toilet, the tube on the back may have come off. These buttons have a small tube on the back that connects to a pressure sensor on the main board and are common on mains powered toilets. They force air down the pipe like a syringe, so if someone has been too hard on it, the pipe may have come off and needs to be put back in. You may be able to see around the side to do this depending on your setup.
• Another potential problem may be that your condenser has failed and needs to be replaced. They are connected to the main board and are quite large cylinders, about 8 cm long.
• The toilet empties slowly.
• Sometimes your pipe work can be to blame. A macerator must have plumbing connected that does NOT have 90 degree bends and must not reduce in size later before reaching the tank. If you have a particularly small pipe outlet, calcium may be building up. Get 5 liters of standard white vinegar and flush a half liter down the toilet with each flush for a couple of days to dissolve it. It’s amazing how quickly this can happen even on new boats that fill their tanks with water in certain areas.
• the toilet has overflowed
• Usually this would only happen if the toilet’s macerator pump has broken or the tank is full and has been flushed over and over again to try to clean it. until you have at least turned off the water supply. These toilets are nothing like the ones at home that can sometimes clean themselves if the water level builds up pressure. Also, they don’t have any sensors to let you know they’re broken. They usually just have thermal overload and fuses to protect the pump itself and nothing to think about the state of your head if the toilet overflows. So isolate the water supply – you should have a stopcock right next to the toilet, and if not, you should turn off the main pump and drain the header tanks at the faucet. You can now try to flush again as the toilet will not be able to add more water to the bowl and cause it to overflow. one heard of.
• There is pressure buildup, I don’t think the tank is venting
• Find the tank vent and stick it in with rods as it may have gotten dirty. Usually this would be quite unusual, but on larger boats you may have a large carbon odor filter. The vetus, for example, have a 1.5-inch hose inlet and outlet with a housing about 5 inches wide that unscrews at the top. If this vent filter has been seriously flooded due to an overfilling of a tank, it may have water in it or be caked on unmentionables. Locate it and clean it and you will probably need to buy a new filter element for it.
• If you have a complex piping installation, for example the option to pump over the side, or an integral pump in the tank that can discharge to either side, you need to check your stopcocks that control which side the flow is pushed from, as which you may not want. both closed.