Installation
Where to install
Under the stairs, in a basement, in a tiny closet or even the garage, you can install a full or half bath virtually anywhere. Areas restricted from conventional plumbing were once impossible to build a bathroom in. Today, with the emergence of the Saniflo Up-Flush Toilet System, practically anything is possible.
How it works
As opposed to the typical toilet the Saniflo does not depend on gravity to get rid of waste matter. Saniflo incorporates a macerator pump which completely pulverizes all waste into liquid and then pumps it through a standard pipe into the septic or sewer system. The Saniflo effectively takes over as the primary sewage system relegating the septic or sewer to second place. The Saniflo macerator is so powerful it can be installed up to 5m below the sewer line and 100m away from the soil stack.
The macerator is automatically activated each time the toilet is flushed. The blades rotate at 3600 RPM and in 4 seconds all waste is pulverized and within 7-9 seconds the entire process is complete. Once the system is finished the macerator deactivates, the toilet refills with water and the tank is fresh and ready to be used again.
In addition to toilet waste certain Saniflos can also discharge gray water from other sanitary fixtures in the bathroom such as a sink, bathtub, shower, laundry sink, bidet and washing machine. For showers and bathtubs a base will need to be constructed for the installation of a P-trap. A washing machine will require an indirect connection.
See below for a quick introductory video:
The term “macerate” means to soften or break up. Instead of routing waste through a drain in the floor like a conventional toilet, the macerating toilet flush water is moved to a permanently sealed macerator pump located in a small box between the toilet and the wall. The pump can also be hidden behind the wall. The macerator pump uses a fast-rotating cutting blade to break up waste and toilet paper and convert the water and waste into a fine slurry that is discharged under pressure through piping and expelled into the sewer or septic tank. Here’s a step-by-step description of the process:
1) The water closet is flushed and the effluent is discharged by gravity through the rear spigot of the fixture and into the macerator device, which is housed in a plastic box hung on or inside a wall behind the water closet.
2) Once the effluent rises to a preset level, a micro-switch in the pressure chamber of the macerating device is activated.
3) Valves on each of the side inlets of the macerator box close momentarily, while the blades inside rotate at 3,600 revolutions per minute and reduce any solids within the effluent into liquid.
4) Once the effluent is completely reduced, the micro-switch deactivates and the maceration process ends.
5) The completely reduced effluent is pumped away from the macerating unit into a sanitary gravity drain (a soil stack or a septic tank). A non-return valve in the unit prevents back-flow of the reduced effluent into the unit.
The toilet refills with water.
NOTE: Toilet flush is given priority if another appliance is simultaneously discharged until the effluent from the toilet is sufficiently reduced so that the pressure switch is deactivated.
Installation
There are 4 connections you need to make on the outside:
- The macerating/pump is connected to the spigot of a horizontal outlet toilet.
- The toilet tank is connected to the water supply.
- The macerating/pump is connected to the small diameter discharge pipe work.
- The macerating/pump is connected to the electrical supply.
Most of the components necessary come packaged with the unit except for the toilet seat and properly-sized PVC piping. Each Saniflo product varies slightly in installation. There are numerous online resources available to assist the installing without complications. A plumber can install at a fraction of the cost of a traditional full bathroom construction.