Sanipro waste issues.

[Dave9202]

Hi,

I'm Dave, New to the site and have a question I was wondering someone may be able to advise me with.

I have recently moved into a bungalow which has a main bathroom direct to waste and an ensuite which was an after thought and on the opposite side of the house which required a macerator.

It's a sanipro xr installed late 2008. The current set up is, toilet, then on the left inlet is the shower and on the lower right is the basin. The first problem we had was it would overrun and not stop until the overheat kill kicked in then once cool would restart, if not would work if you walked near it, also backed up into the shower tray, therefore replaced the fill switch inside and the membrane just in case.

After doing this just 2 days ago it's worked great when using the shower or the toilet, intermittent bursts whilst using the shower and one good 20second burst when the toilet is flushed and doesn't activate randomly. However when using the basin it's a different storey, at the start for the first 20 seconds of running a tap it's fine comes on intermittently, then continue to use it and it'll stay on for a long time after you've turned the tap off until you flush the toilet for the first time, then the toilet level gets quite high but goes down quickly and backs a small amount in the shower, all this whilst the sanipro is running then works like a dream after with the toilet and shower until we use the basin again and have to go through the process of flushing the toilet for it to function properly.

It seems to me the basin tap definitely isn't running long enough to have enough water for it to waste before it kicks in but I may be wrong. I've never worked with one of these before and don't use it for any serious business, it's only me and the missus and have said from the word go that's what the main bathroom is for seeing as the outlet is going overhead!

Hopefully this will all make sense and help me get to the bottom of this, I was thinking of installling a non return on the shower outlet pipe and possibly replacing the non return in the macerator (not the flap to the shower, the actual non return) would this be advised? Both? Or one or the other? Would this potentially solve the issue?

Thanks in advance,

Dave.

 

[rpm]

Welcome to the forum Dave, I have to go out very soon to repair a sani but in the meantime could you .............

Not use it for 45mins then fill the basin and remove the plug whilst counting how many seconds before the pump starts AND then how long the motor runs for and note if any water back flows into the shower.

Then 45mins later ..........
Flush toilet 3 times as soon as the cistern is full and note any difference`s in the motor run times then do the basin test again and note the times and any back flow again.

 

[Dave9202]

Thank you for you reply, its much appreciated.

so following your request i filled the sink, and released the plug, within 3 seconds the pump kicked in ran for 20 seconds, approx 3 seconds after the sink had emptied with no back feed to the shower.

45 mins later flushed the toilet 3 times running, motor worked correctly each time only noticable difference was on the 1st flush it worked correctly but before pressing a second time it had a little blip and shut off again. then the second flush it backed into the shower a little bit, just a slight bubbling. 3rd was good as gold, I also had the sink ready full to release, awaited the pump to stop after the flush then released the sink, worked fine, no back feeding into the shower, have since just ran the tap on the sink with the plug out and it worked as the shower does, would this process have unblocked the non return maybe? was it advise to fix it or just to try and diagnose it?

regards,
Dave.

 

[rpm]

I may be good at long distance repair help but not that good. :rofl:

It was a diagnostic test and from here my best guess without knowing the run times when the toilet was flushed is a tiny hole in the discharge side of things was blocked and has now cleared however a 20 sec run time on a basin of water raise`s concerns that either the discharge pipe has a restriction or the motor is weak therefore a new unit will be required soon. Monitor the run times and if they increase then prepare to replace it.

 

[Dave9202]

Ha fair enough.
the run time on the first flush was 20 sec, 2nd was 14, 3rd was sub 22.
have the sanipros changed much since 2008? I see there's a replacement for this model (saniaccess 3)? is a lifespan of 7 and a half years, good, bad average? just tried running the sink again without the plug in and it did surges 4-5 times in a row then continously ran when the tap was on or off therefore done a flush, backed in the shower slightly and then stopped once the toilet had stopped.

hmmm sounds like a new one maybe required then, kind of a relief as wasnt looking forward to taking it apart again to replace the non return.

 

[rpm]

Variations in the run times is not a good sign tbh so I`m thinking possible problem in the discharge pipe itself or again a weak motor. Average life span is 7-11 yrs but as you don`t know the history of it or as the pipe runs up and over the ceiling how well it was installed in the first place it`s hard to say.

They haven`t changed the Pro since 2008 and as the side connections are different on the Access I would stick with a Pro and fit a inline non return valve between the shower tray and the sani unless the shower tray is more than 200mm higher than the floor.

The sani non return valve is built into the discharge elbow on a 2008 Pro so no need to remove the lid if you want to check it or clean it.

 

[thompsonbrown]

As rpm says check the non-rtn valve. discharge coming back to the shower to me says non-rtn

 

[rpm]

As rpm says check the non-rtn valve. discharge coming back to the shower to me says non-rtn

That would be the case if the pump was self activating on a vertical discharge mate. In this instance the pump is struggling to clear the water in the tank and because the inlet control valves on the Pro are not the best they allow the back flow to the shower when the water level in the tank is high and the shower tray is low.

Really hope that doesn`t read as anything other than based on 15 yrs experience with the little blighters.

 

[thompsonbrown]

That would be the case if the pump was self activating on a vertical discharge mate. In this instance the pump is struggling to clear the water in the tank and because the inlet control valves on the Pro are not the best they allow the back flow to the shower when the water level in the tank is high and the shower tray is low.

Really hope that doesn`t read as anything other than based on 15 yrs experience with the little blighters.

You have a lot more experience dealing with these than I do so understand your last post.
My advice was based on limited experience Ive had with these units and thought either non-rtn or side inlet discs.

 

[rpm]

You have a lot more experience dealing with these than I do so understand your last post.
My advice was based on limited experience Ive had with these units and thought either non-rtn or side inlet discs.

Saniflo`s, macerators and waste water pumps in general is all I know with any degree of certainty in the plumbing world but I`m wary of coming across as a big headed barsteward to others hence the last point, you would of been spot on in another instance but no cigar this time I`m afraid. lol