Jabsco Macerator Solution/Fix (sorta) Model # 18590-2092

[mhagen]

Greetings Cruisers,

I am continually amazed by all of the answers to my problems I find on this forum. One in particular however I was not able to find a solution to here and a few trial and errors later I discovered a fix (more like a band-aid) and thus I wanted to share it here to hopefully help others with this same Macerator issue I was having.

This issue is in relation to the Jabsco Macerator Model 18590-2092, installed in the factory location on an older Hunter Legend 40 as the overboard blackwater discharge pump. My issue specifically was a few weeks after replacement, the pump would fail to prime and yet spin as if everything were fine. Removing the impeller would not show any defects or reasoning why the pump was failing to prime. I replaced it however with a new impeller and again a few weeks would pass until the pump would fail to prime. I have replaced the impeller now 4 times in 2 years before finding a work around.

My thought was that the impeller arms bent into their curled positions lost strength over time and were not creating a proper seal on the pump housing walls. To test my theory I used the pump-shaft access cover to spin the impeller the opposite direction thus bending the impeller arms the other way. I did this for one revolution and then tried the pump again, and it WORKED!

I have now tried this solution every time the pump has lost prime and it has worked every time. In fact now after every discharge (legally of course) I preemptively turn the impeller one revolution the other direction and now it works every time I operate the pump.

I realize this is not an ideal fix but replacing the impeller every few weeks was quickly not becoming an option for me. I wish these impellers were of better quality that would hold a prime for longer and reading online there may be alternatives to the Jabsco standard impeller but I have not tried those yet because I believe these should work better.

For reference I have used the Jabsco 18598-1000 service kits and then later the Jabsco 6303-003-P impellers.

I hope this help someone who happens to be in the same stinky position I was in - this will definitely get you out of the jam. If anyone has a more permanent solution I am all ears!

Happy cruising!
Matt