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Old 05-20-2019, 12:35 PM   #1
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DX3 Ceiling Heat & macerator

Spent the weekend at the race track, it got cool enough for some heat in the evening. I turned the thermostat on without selecting "furnace" to see how well the ceiling heat strips work. They kick on and you feel them getting warm but whether its the bedroom or living room, they only stay on for 3-4 seconds then shut off. They do that each time they kick on. I had my grill covers off in the past to see if the thermostat sensor was in the wrong place for the air conditioning, but they were OK. It sounds like this could be a similar issue i.e. heating element gets hot and the sensor is too close and immediately shuts it off. Ideas?

Our local CG closed their dump station to the public so we have no place close by to dump the black tank. I backed the rig up close to the house and hooked up a 50' garden hose to the macerator and ran it in to the half bath toilet. Turned it on and it worked great! The macerator hose was at full length plus the garden hose so it was a good 65' run with about a 5' rise upwards. I did use the black tank wash down fitting to put in almost a full tank of water first to ensure a good rinse, then ran the gray tank out too. It worked really good and no mess. But i am going to have a plumber put in a 4" PVC fitting and piping that runs into the septic tank so I can just do a simple flush out by the shop.
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Old 05-20-2019, 01:00 PM   #2
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I've never used the ceiling heat strips, so I've got no idea there...sorry.

I did have a question on your macerator process, though. I'm assuming your 'septic tank' comment implies that you are not on any sort of city sewer system? We are not either. We have a 'treatment plant' system and have a 4" clean-out stubbed up very close to where I back the coach in when we're loading/unloading. I've been tempted to dump down that clean out before (or directly into the first treatment tank itself), but I was warned that our plant might not be able to process that much waste at one time. I honestly don't have a clue, so I've refrained from trying it, but your comment has gotten me curious again. Thoughts?
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Old 05-20-2019, 01:13 PM   #3
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Spent the weekend at the race track, it got cool enough for some heat in the evening. I turned the thermostat on without selecting "furnace" to see how well the ceiling heat strips work. They kick on and you feel them getting warm but whether its the bedroom or living room, they only stay on for 3-4 seconds then shut off. They do that each time they kick on. I had my grill covers off in the past to see if the thermostat sensor was in the wrong place for the air conditioning, but they were OK. It sounds like this could be a similar issue i.e. heating element gets hot and the sensor is too close and immediately shuts it off. Ideas?
I would doubt that's the case as I don't think the Coleman AC's have the same sensor issues as the Atwood. (I assume you have the Coleman since you said heat strip). Could be an issue of the energy management system shutting that down because of the draw depending on what your energy source was and what else was running.
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Old 05-20-2019, 01:34 PM   #4
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I dump my tanks at home. We have a couple of clean outs that are on the main line leading to the septic tank. My RV tanks are only about 80 gallons max, and we typically don't have them completely full. I asked my septic guy about it and he said it wouldn't hurt at all. FWIW we have a standard gravity fed septic system where it drains into a two-section tank, then down to the distribution box and out into the field. In our case, 80 gallons is probably about a standard weekend worth of washing clothes, dishes, and carcasses at home.

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Old 05-20-2019, 02:06 PM   #5
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Good to know. Our system is identical...I think I may give it shot.
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Old 05-20-2019, 03:10 PM   #6
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We had a 50a hookup, nothing else but the fridge, TV and some lights on.
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Old 05-20-2019, 09:17 PM   #7
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I know when we have the heat pump on it will cut in and out all the time for about 45-60 seconds, then as it is actually heating it will stay on much longer. If this is what your experiencing it is totally normal.
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Old 05-21-2019, 06:13 AM   #8
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The pump is "sniffing" to check air temp before deciding to run. Its sensor is in the intake not using the thermostat for some reason. I wish it would just run the fan continous like on AC and then cycle the heat as needed. The fan cycling drives me nuts. So I just use the aqua hot for heat.
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:20 AM   #9
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Sounds like what I'm seeing may be normal. I'm going to let the coach get down to like 50 degrees then turn the ceiling heat on to 75 and see what happens. This is sure a long, cold Spring. 15" of snow at my place this morning!
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Old 05-21-2019, 07:50 PM   #10
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Spent the weekend at the race track, it got cool enough for some heat in the evening. I turned the thermostat on without selecting "furnace" to see how well the ceiling heat strips work. They kick on and you feel them getting warm but whether its the bedroom or living room, they only stay on for 3-4 seconds then shut off. They do that each time they kick on. I had my grill covers off in the past to see if the thermostat sensor was in the wrong place for the air conditioning, but they were OK. It sounds like this could be a similar issue i.e. heating element gets hot and the sensor is too close and immediately shuts it off. Ideas?

Our local CG closed their dump station to the public so we have no place close by to dump the black tank. I backed the rig up close to the house and hooked up a 50' garden hose to the macerator and ran it in to the half bath toilet. Turned it on and it worked great! The macerator hose was at full length plus the garden hose so it was a good 65' run with about a 5' rise upwards. I did use the black tank wash down fitting to put in almost a full tank of water first to ensure a good rinse, then ran the gray tank out too. It worked really good and no mess. But i am going to have a plumber put in a 4" PVC fitting and piping that runs into the septic tank so I can just do a simple flush out by the shop.
I am curious about why the toilet doesn't overflow with the amount of liquid suddenly going in.

We have a soil line clean out on our front lawn but the township sewer authority said it is illegal to use for dumping. Chances of them seeing me dump there are low but I am concerned about the volume of waste going down the pipe which might back up towards the house.

Any thoughts?
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:17 PM   #11
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I am curious about why the toilet doesn't overflow with the amount of liquid suddenly going in.

We have a soil line clean out on our front lawn but the township sewer authority said it is illegal to use for dumping. Chances of them seeing me dump there are low but I am concerned about the volume of waste going down the pipe which might back up towards the house.

Any thoughts?
The volume going into the toilet was like a normal garden hose at full pressure. The sewer pipe leading to the septic tank is 4" so you will never flow more than it can handle with a garden hose.

As the toilet bowl fills the water rises a little bit but anything more and it just flows over the S trap and into the sewer line, same thing it does when you flush the toilet.

We never had to flush the toilet until the very end when we were done.
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:27 PM   #12
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We have a soil line clean out on our front lawn but the township sewer authority said it is illegal to use for dumping. Chances of them seeing me dump there are low but I am concerned about the volume of waste going down the pipe which might back up towards the house.

Any thoughts?
Yes, most towns tie sewer bills to water bills, assuming the water used in the house is what is going to the sewer. When I had lawn irrigation, we had a separate water meter so we didn't get charged sewer on that use.

In many areas, the sewer bill rate is a lot higher than the water bill rate. So "importing" sewage that came without water use is a no no. People that connect to their home sewer line are not going to be popular with the local utility. Many find a quiet way to hook up and dump. The volume is typically minimal compared to what you use in the home. Since my cleanout is along my driveway and just happens to be on the proper side when I am pulling in, its that end of trip dump.
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:58 PM   #13
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So if you can get close enough to your house to run a garden hose a reasonable distance to a toilet, do what I did and in your case you will still be legal. To be clear, I am talking about using a 3/4" garden hose hooked to the macerator head. The macerator actually grinds then pumps the waste under pressure so it limits the volume to what a garden hose can flow. I would not use a standard 3" RV gravity dump hose to dump into a toilet since you would get a lot more volume all at once without reducing the solid waste. But that same 3" dump hose should OK if you are dumping into a 4" mainline washout. But discuss with an experienced plumber to be sure.
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Old 05-22-2019, 11:22 AM   #14
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I backed the rig up close to the house and hooked up a 50' garden hose to the macerator and ran it in to the half bath toilet. Turned it on and it worked great! The macerator hose was at full length plus the garden hose so it was a good 65' run with about a 5' rise upwards. I did use the black tank wash down fitting to put in almost a full tank of water first to ensure a good rinse, then ran the gray tank out too. It worked really good and no mess. But i am going to have a plumber put in a 4" PVC fitting and piping that runs into the septic tank so I can just do a simple flush out by the shop.
As I've said before, I love this site for what I can learn from you knowledgeable people.

If we've used the rig at the house for any reason, I always drive in to the local Civic Center campground to dump the tanks. It works just fine but it is a little inconvenient. I read your post and the light bulb went on. I have a surface pump out line for the kitchen septic that sits behind the shop. In an emergency I can run a hose to it and dump the black tank. It's all downhill.

Thank you sir!!!
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