Saniflo by-pass

[TheClot]

I have a saniflo WC in my guest bedroom, and it's playing up (motor stays on for long period even where there is no 'material' for it to be working on). It's not been used much if at all in the past few years (Covid etc). But we have guests coming to stay in four days.
As a short term measure, can I turn off the saniflo at mains, and ask guests just to use WC for erm 'liquid waste'? The toilet seems to flush OK without the saniflo on. The saniflo is a sort of waste shredder? Thanks for any advice. Long term we will get the saniflo sorted out, but hard to find a plumber in summer...

 

[Madrab]

Depends on how well it outflows. A saniflo is a pump as well as a macerator and it pumps the shredded waste through the narrow pipe out to the soil waste, espcially if it the outflow has to rise.

 

[just pumps]

The toilet seems to flush OK without the saniflo on. The saniflo is a sort of waste shredder? Thanks for any advice. Long term we will get the saniflo sorted out, but hard to find a plumber in summer...

Only if your discharge pipe exits the unit and drops straight down under the floor and the water level dosent rise in the pan, even then kinda risky so need to flush three times in quick succession to see what happens.
Yep it is a shredder so no tissue paper to be thrown away. Could try turning power off, add hot water and turn power on after 5 minutes a few times to see if that cures the running on problem before guests arrive or buy macerator descaler and try that.

 

[TheClot]

Many thanks for the quick replies - the discharge pipe rises before it goes down, so I guess without the Saniflo, there won't be a complete discharge ... will need to get the Saniflo working, thanks again for advice...

 

[mattylad]

Are you sure that you don't have a leak from the sink or cistern?

Also, perhaps your non return valve has a blockage?

 

[just pumps]

Are you sure that you don't have a leak from the sink or cistern?

Also, perhaps your non return valve has a blockage?

Nice thinking however if,

A It would adivate in short bursts.
B It wouldnt stop running and water would back up high in the pan.

 

[mattylad]

Nice thinking however if,

A It would adivate in short bursts.
B It wouldnt stop running and water would back up high in the pan.

Whilst I accept that your one of the resident experts on these ****munchers the OP has not said

A the duration of the running, just it runs for a long time. it could be on/off/on/off for a long time.

B Not entirely, I have had faulty NRV's and this meant that water just came back into the macerator to raise the float switch and it continued pumping. This gives the effect of running for a long time.

 

[just pumps]

What you say is true and Im happy to be proved wrong, after all the question of a continuous motor run or a cycle of on/off`s wasnt asked and I took the OP`s words of staying on for a long time to be the former.

To me a blockage doesnt allow water to pass through and is different from a NRV to be stuck open and in your example (B) the motor must of stopped to allow the back flow.

 

[Agile]

Whilst you have said the pump stays on for a long time you have not said what happens to the water level in the pan?

It sounds as if there may be a problem with the level switch.

Many will discharge all of the flush volume into the tank. Others will let the level in the pan rise about 100 mm.

It may be necessary to get guests to manually turn off the power after the unit has pumped for about 10 sec.

 

[opps]

I have a saniflo WC in my guest bedroom, and it's playing up (motor stays on for long period even where there is no 'material' for it to be working on). It's not been used much if at all in the past few years (Covid etc). But we have guests coming to stay in four days.
As a short term measure, can I turn off the saniflo at mains, and ask guests just to use WC for erm 'liquid waste'? The toilet seems to flush OK without the saniflo on. The saniflo is a sort of waste shredder? Thanks for any advice. Long term we will get the saniflo sorted out, but hard to find a plumber in summer...

I worked in a house last Christmas. One day I turned up after the electricians had been in to sign off their work. I went for a pee, flushed the loo, and then took a step back as my pee and water ran over the top of the pan. I didn't realise that they had turned off the fused spur.

Fortunately the WC was in a room with massive gaps in the floor boards, My massively diluted pee ran in to the footings.

 

[Agile]

More fortunately you were on the ground floor.

I would say that the flush volume should not really have been so high that it was not contained with the pan.

I would have expected that most 6 litre flushes would be contained. Maybe the cistern water level was set too high?