Saniflo Macerator & toilet

typeractive

Hi all,

Does anyone know of the smallest size toilets that would fit onto a snafilo macerator unit? I'm designing the layout of my ensuite and the toilet wants to cause me a right pain at the moment!! grrr

It's the length of the toilet that's causing the issues.

Any pointers in the right direction would be great.

Cheers
:beer:

Canucklehead

typeractive wrote: »

Hi all,

Does anyone know of the smallest size toilets that would fit onto a snafilo macerator unit? I'm designing the layout of my ensuite and the toilet wants to cause me a right pain at the moment!! grrr

It's the length of the toilet that's causing the issues.

Any pointers in the right direction would be great.

Cheers
:beer:

Hi..are you basing this on a Sanislim?

Canucklehead

typeractive

Hey Canuckle - how are you?!!!

I was originally told I would need a sanipro macerator. Though I'm thinking this isn't exactly the case and could get away with a saniflo (if I remember looking at that model specifically). At the moment I am designing my layout again, even though the pipework is kind of in place.

I'm worried as my toilet sticks out so far from the wall that it is very visible when the en suite door is open. (Of course, yes I can close the door), but it's something I noticed today when talking to the plumber. So now I'm thinking of looking for smaller toilets that will house a macerator underneath, or moving the door opening across tighter to the wall with a more narrow door. This is achievable, though I have insulated all the studs and plasterboarded them

Here is a to scale plan. The left drawing my current idea. The right, being a modified plan. The small basin is opposite the toilet and makes it a bit of a tight squeeze (but possible) to get past. If I move it as suggested on the second plan, then I will have lots of space to get past, though there is more work involved with moving everything.

I would like the more space, though if I move the basin across I will not be able to have my mirror and shaver point on the wall as the room already has the cables on the other side (along with the fan out).

With the current setup I need to send the basin waste around the room (boxed in) to the shower waste, and then into the macerator which would be sat under the toilet.

I'm quite confuzzled what to do at the moment if I'm honest. :o

Any advice / opinions welcomed. I know it's only a drawing and you can't see the room in person but hopefully it gives an idea of sorts?



Another benefit I've just noticed would be the wall in my bedroom would be slightly longer to perhaps house a cabinet next to my bed etc. Could be handy? Grrr. Wish I'd just planned all this before, rather than working off the drawings from my planner.

keystone

Have you thought of using a short projection toilet?

As you are using a macerator could you not possibly move the toilet to the bottom left hand corner?

Cheers

typeractive

keystone wrote: »

Have you thought of using a short projection toilet?

Cheers

Hey Keystone - we meet again!

I haven't heard of them, though off to google it now!. I'm in a right dilema over such a silly scenario! I just can't decide to either leave it as it is and make do with getting past the toilet or to modify it and make it all a bit more open. :?

GRM

typeractive wrote: »

snafilo

In the days before web forums there was Usenet. One of my favourite ever Usenet posts was made by Peter Parry on the subject of Saniflo's:

Warning: people of a sensitive disposition might care to venture no further.

Angus asked:
My recently installed Saniflo does not behave as described in the user manual. On flushing the WC it's supposed to run continuously for about 15 seconds, mine pulses on-off 3 or 4 times for about 2-3 seconds duration. Any ideas?

Peter replied:
Sell the house, failing that give it away, if that doesn't work pay someone to take it or burn it down. To give you a clue - these ghastly instruments of the Devil are French. Add the French and lavatorial engineering - now see why I say get out while you can. Moreover this particular Frenchman was a lunatic with strong Anglophobic tendencies and a bad case of coprophilia.


I am quite sure the designer was also an ex-submariner Frenchman who missed the strangled screams of seamen who had got the valve sequence wrong in the submarines toilet and just been rinsed down with a few gallons of seawater (and the recently donated contents of the bowl).


They break down at the slightest opportunity. The only thing you can actually guarantee about them is that they will break down - very frequently. Basically the only way of maintaining the slightest semblance of serviceability is to impose on pain of repair the same rules as for a small yachts sea toilet - if it hasn't passed through you it doesn't go in the bowl.


They have an interesting design. The motor has poor starting torque and the macerator lots of tiny teeth. Ergo anything that has strands in it catches on the teeth and stops the motor from starting. Things with strands include anything with cotton wool (including cotton wool buds) and anything with cloth. Females in particular must not be allowed anywhere near these devices. If you were unfortunate enough to have the added misery of a sink (oh dear - you were warned) then add hair, strands from woolly pullovers and almost anything else that's at all fibrous.


When they break (which they will - that's an absolute certainty) their endearing characteristic is that you are left with a bowl full of whatever which you have to empty back the way it came and more importantly many feet of 40mm pipe still full of minced whatever. When you disconnect the pipe I'll give you one guess where its going to go. Repairing or unblocking them is the most thoroughly revolting job.


Now to get to specifics - the pulsing is a fault in either installation or the pressure switch. Does it pulse with just the cold water tap running from the sink? The way they work is a low pressure trip switch switches on the motor when the small holding tank is full. This tank remains partially full all the time. If its pulsing either the switch has too low a hysteresis or water isn't getting into it fast enough. The motor should remain on for a few seconds after everything has emptied so that pulsing you are seeing shouldn't be happening.


As the failure rate of these diabolical things is worse than that of a F104 Starfighter I'd suggest you get the installer back (preferably to remove it forever). If it was installed by yourself then self flagellation with a few lengths of barbed wire and a call to the Saniflo people might be in order.

Angus asked:
Also, my system is a Sanitop with the outflow from a washbasin going into the top of the unit. I find that running the tap for a few seconds activates the Saniflo. Is there any way of adjusting the sensitivity of it so that it will only run when a reasonable amount of water has gone into the unit?

To which Peter replied:
No, but if it's oversensitive this might be related to the pulsing you are seeing.

Angus:
I don't see why the washbasin water cant just bypass the cutter/pump internally.

Peter:
Because these horrors are designed to be installed pumping upwards - the raving idiot who designed them thought it would be pretty neat to have something you could stick in a downstairs cloakroom and run the pipe upwards to join the soil stack in the bathroom. If that's how your installation goes cut out the selling the house bit - just burn it now. When it fails there is 10ft of pressurised whatsit just waiting for that final turn on the drainpipe.


The other reason the sink must go through the pump is that the outlet of the thing is at some pressure. Connect the sink a bit downstream and every time you pull the chain the contents of the loo make a pretty little fountain out of the sink plughole (I've seen one plumbed like that - the owner kept a sandbag in the sink on top of the plug).


Some models have an interesting feature - on the top is a reset switch, under the top cover is a screwdriver slot on the top of the motor drive shaft to allow you to clear the (frequent) blockages. However to get the top cover open to get at the drive shaft to free it - you've guessed - you have to disconnect the drain pipe.
How they can be called Saniflow when they are anything but sanitary (as you will soon find out) and rarely flow is beyond me.


As I said - sell the house.

Peter Parry. http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk

mikey72

Sanicompact?

typeractive

Thanks GRM.

A somewhat humorous post. I'm getting the feeling you're not a fan of the old snafilo?

Unfortunately it's the only option available for me in the positioning of the house. Other than your suggestions of burning or selling it! Of course I could give up. Luckily for me the outlet does not rise, so the pressure is horizontal only (which I guess is a bonus?). Also the contents that pass through will be strictly liquid based.

Cheers for the post though, and my apologies for the typos! I’m making a lot of those these days, I think my hands are trying to type to fast for my capabilities? Lol
p.s. what's with the website link?

keystone

keystone wrote: »

As you are using a macerator could you not possibly move the toilet to the bottom left hand corner?

Like this:



Cheers

Canucklehead

keystone wrote: »

Have you thought of using a short projection toilet?

As you are using a macerator could you not possibly move the toilet to the bottom left hand corner?

Cheers

Hi.
We are well.Thanks.

I wondered that.
If it's tight use an offset quadrant?

Saniflos are not my favourite method of delivering waste to drain but my opinion is not quite as extreme as GRM's

FITTED PROPERLY and USED APPROPRIATELY (organic waste only, as they say in the installation instructions) they work well enough.


GSR.

keystone

LoL @ GRM. Cynic or what? If they were all that bad the company would have gone out of business eons ago. Personally I don't like the beasties but needs must when the devil drives.

Cheers