Showing posts with label sink. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sink. Show all posts

Replacing the Macerator Impeller

After about 2.5 years, the sink macerator in our 2018 Revel stopped functioning effectively, resulting in a slow drain that sometimes required us to use the palms of our hands as a plunger. After seeing Guido Lyons' post in the Facebook group about replacing the impeller, I finally ordered the parts and did the job. I have to say that this is one of my least favorite maintenance items in the Revel, and needs to be made simpler. I took the lazy way out and didn't disconnect the pump at all, I just repaired the impeller with the pump left in place.

Here are the illustrated steps.

You need to pull the refrigerator by removing the four screws around the front bezel, and set it aside. 



In the right rear, you see the macerator pump mounted to the van's frame with a bracket and four screws.




The pump is held in place with a bracket and 4 screws in the van's frame. This photo, with the pump removed, shows the locations of the bracket's screw holes.


In order to completely extract the pump from the van, you have to remove the four bracket screws, disconnect the INFLOW connection, disconnect the OUTFLOW connection, and cut the power leads. As shown in this photo, I took the easy way out and simply removed the four bracket mounting screws and loosened the pipe connection at the sink drain so that I could replace the impeller without having to disconnect anything else. In particular, the IN connection was affixed with some sort of cement that was too difficult to remove. 


Removing the three 'impeller access screws' at the top of the pump reveals blades that must be removed with a 7/16" socket. With the nut and blades removed, the silver disc below can be lifted up.


Under the silver disc you find the impeller itself. Surrounding the edge of the pump at this seam is a soft gasket that must be replaced, along with the impeller. I used silicone grease on the gaskets.


There is also a gasket in the upper section ('lid') of the pump that must be replaced.



The impeller just pulls out of its chamber with a pair of pliers, sliding easily on the motor's spindle.



The replacement parts were approximately $35, and the part number is shown in the photo below.

The cause of the macerator failure seems to be that the rubber impeller arms become fatigued, and they stop making a tight fit in the pump chamber. This picture shows 3 years of wear on the old, fatigued impeller. Note the bent impeller arms, in contrast with the new unit on the right.


If you decide to extract the pump from the van, you'll need to cut the pump's power wires. Since this is a maintenance item that must be performed every few years, it may make sense to install easy connections, like bullet connectors, for the next time.  Ralph Hill informs me that the pump's wires are 14 gauge, and the WGO wires are 10 gauge.



Jan-15-2021

Sink Organizer for Gloves

I use cleaning gloves for doing the dishes, and they're frequently in the way when I'm not wearing them. So I bought some bulldog clips that I could attach to the sink cover with a single wood screw.  Works great, doesn't impede the sink, and folds away when we close the lid without having to do a thing.







Aug-01-2020

Low-Flow Faucet

We're very miserly with our water usage, and when I'm doing dishes, I need an extremely low-flow faucet. I mean like a tiny trickle, drip-drip-drip.  It's difficult to achieve that with the faucet that Winnebago ships with the Revel (2018-2020), so I've been looking for solutions.

After trying four different faucet attachments, I finally found one that works well (Niagara Conservation N3115P-FC Dual Spray Swivel 1.5 GPM with Pause Valve Sink Faucet Aerator). It allows me to turn on the water to any pressure, and then it offers a fine-control lever to bring the water down to a tiny trickle.  Eureka!  The best $1.29 gizmo that I've found for the Revel.




UPDATE:
Here is a picture of how this unit attaches to the Revel faucet (2018 model).




May-17-2020

Doing Dishes in the Revel

Our system for doing dishes: dirty on the right, clean on the left, and don’t forget your dish towels. Don’t really love the macerater pump, but it's a necessary evil, given the location of the refrigerator. Love the hot water, we never had that before in our beloved Eurovan Camper!

Gloves and detergent live here when we're traveling.

We needed a good place to hang our wet dish towels so that they can dry. We decided on this location, and I reluctantly put a few screws in the door to fasten the clothespins. Others have suggested using hot glue, but I've never used it, and don't know much about it.