Pump to empty septic

On-line I see pump systems to empty the septic holding tank. Has anyone tried those? Can they be used to flush the tank after it has been emptied?

I am assuming you are talking about macerator pumps, which grind up the waste and pump it through a small hose, possibly up an incline.

I use a macerator pump to empty my gray and black tanks into a temporary holding tank I carry in the back of my truck, when I'm camping away from hookups. It works quite well - it pumps the waste through a contractor-grade garden hose (one tip: use a GOOD hose!) and up an incline into the tank in the truck. It's a whole lot easier than moving the camper every couple days to dump the tanks.

As for flushing, I am usually limited on water when I use it, so I wouldn't flush the tanks with it. All I do to keep things clean is to, when hooked up to sewer (not the pump), run lots of water through the gray water system (long showers!) and refill and dump the toilet after dumping it. So I can't speak on that, although my pump does have an attachment to backflush the tanks - I've just never used it.

I also hang out at RV.net. It seems to m that FloJet is a realtively common/popular macerator pumpt for RVs.

I do not have one, but might some day. So, I read everything I can find on the topic both here and at rv.net.

Thanks for your comments!

One more suggestion for the FloJet:

It seems to fit *very* snug on the end of the TM's black/gray outlet. In fact, so snug that I got worried about breaking those little locking nubs off the outlet. I was also worried about the long-term stress of something sticking straight out the pipe.

What I did to "work around" that is to use a clear sewer elbow. It also has the other advantage of letting the tanks drain all the way into the FloJet (there is a relatively small inlet opening in the FloJet in the center, that is too high when mounted "normally" to suck everything out). The downside of this work-around is that the end of my FloJet will sit about 3/4 of an inch above the ground - if I didn't have the factory lift, or was on the wrong uneven site, this wouldn't work (I keep a clear straight piece for that). Obviously another benefit of the clear tubbing is seeing when the TM is really empty. I bought the sewer elbow at Wal-Mart for probably around $10 (seems high to me, but it says "RV" on it, so...).

Thanks - I will look into it!

[Bill]

Can I ask what Flo-Jet people do with the small hose once you are done dumping? Surely you don't just roll up that stinky little thing and stash it in your TM. I suddenly had a mental image of someone removing it from the Flo-Jet fitting and screwing it onto the fresh-water spigot to "rinse it out". That's a big GAG for the next camper!

I always thought that carrying a spray bottle of bleach was a bit paranoid - but maybe I'll rethink that.

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

Wouldn't it be possible to have a male end and female end on the hose and then just screw them together when finished, "sealing" up the nasties?

Dave

I do a couple things with the hose.

First, I have a shut-off valve at the Flo-Jet end. When I get done "dumping" to my temporary tank, I shut the valve on the Flo-Jet side, and remove the valve and hose from the Flo-Jet. I leave the other end connected to my storage tank.

I then take the (usually) short drive to the dump station. At the dump station, I dump the temporary tank. I also hook up the black garden hose to the spiggot (NOT the fresh-water one, but the rinse-out one). I run tons of water through it to clean out the hose and the tank.

Should there not be a dump station rinse station, I drain the hose carefully into the waste tank.

To store the hose, I store it in the back of my truck bed, with the hose screwed together. It's about as messy as my 3" hose when I use that - so not too bad.