Basement toilet installations (SaniFlo, SaniPlus)

I had the opportunity to install a toilet and sink in a basement a few weeks ago. My client wanted the features and benefits of a toilet and sink in their basement however they didn’t want the cement floor to be broken so a waste tank and pump could be installed. She had received several quotes from contractors and this is the method they wanted to use. She was concerned about breaking her perfectly good floor for this project.
That’s where I came in; I offered the customer a relatively new concept, which her prior contractors obviously knew nothing about. SaniFlo one of the industry leaders in macerating pumps had an excellent solution for my clients needs. They offer a macerating tank and toilet combination which sits directly on the finished floor. You can hook up to other items to this tank such as a sink and or shower unit. Because this unit sits on the floor there is no need to break the foundation and potentially cause future headaches with leaks. The Saniplus unit is a system that is used to install a complete bathroom up to 12 feet below the sewer line, or even up to 150 feet away from a soil stack

· 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.
The inside of the Saniplus comprises of a pressure chamber, which starts and stops the unit, and the motor, which drives the stainless steel macerator blades and the pump.When the flush is activated, the water flowing into the Saniplus activates a microswitch in the pressure chamber, which in turn starts the motor. The motor is sealed for life in oil filled enclosure. A common spindle drives the impeller and the macerator blades. The moving parts therefore are kept to an absolute minimum. Water and organic waste matter, enter the chamber and are reduced to slurry as the macerator blades rotate at 3600 RPM. The centrifugal force causes the reduced solids to be ejected through a grill into the container where it is picked up by the impeller pump mounted beneath the motor. The pump operates at 10 PSI and pumps the effluent upward to 12 feet and/or 150 feet horizontally. Once the water is discharged and the water level in the container goes down, the microswitch deactivates the unit until the flush is activated again. A normal operating cycle for Saniplus takes about 15 - 18 seconds depending upon the discharge pipe run configuration; power consumption is therefore minimal. In addition to the toilet waste, Saniplus will also discharge gray wastewater from a variety of other sanitary fixtures, such as: a hand basin, a bath, a bidet and a urinal. When adding a bathtub, a base will have to be constructed made out of 2” x 6” on edge (or 2” x 8” is recommended, if you have sufficient headroom). This allows for the installation of a P-trap and some gravity flow towards the pump unit. The wastewater from other sanitary fixtures is discharged into Saniplus via two 1 ½-inch inlets, on either side of the housing. Either one or both inlets can be used as required. The discharge elbow on top of the Saniplus can be turned either to the left or to the right, depending on the discharge installation.The Saniplus automatically adjust the input rate from other sanitary fixtures, always giving priority to the discharge water of the toilet. Inlet valves operated by a simple float mechanism achieve this. For example, if the bath is being emptied and the toilet is flushed simultaneously, the inrush of water from the toilet into the container slows down or stops the discharge from other fixtures for a few seconds, until the waste from the toilet has been dealt with. As the toilet water is discharged and the level in the container goes down the float valves open and the discharge from the other fixtures resumes.The Saniplus is designed to provide vertical pumping up to 12 feet as well as a horizontal discharge, therefore a simple ball non-return valve is incorporated. It has now become possible to install a complete bathroom where previously this would have been impossible or where considerable capital equipment and structural work would have been necessary.The water closet the Saniplus is connected to, uses much less water than a regular toilet, it uses 6 liters (1.6 USG) of water per flush.

Although these units are more expensive then the old way of installing a toilet in a basement, it gives you the added value of not breaking the foundation and the installation is a lot easier.