Search the forum,

Discuss Macerator noise comparison Saniflo vs Grundflos: Desperate to do the right thing! in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

Status
Not open for further replies.
Messages
41
Hi all

I live in a second floor flat and my toilet needs a macerator. I have bought the Grundfos Sololife 2 CWC-3 wall hung macerator 620W from Screwfix. Grundfos tell me the noise level for this pump is 70dB(A). It cost me £320.

I bought this a while ago as had to wait for the builders, so now would be difficult to return.

However, I am desperate to do right by my neighbours and want the quietest solution. My old building is like a tin can.

I see that Saniflo do a similar type to the one i want, much more expensive and i think a newer model the Sanipack Pro Up. It says the Bruit is 48dB(A). This will cost me at least £400.

I have a floating chipboard floor on top of joists. The builders tell me they are going to put some underlay down and screw the mascerator to the floor. Can they do more?

Can anyone please advise me, should i make the change. Will this make a significant difference? Are these noise ratings really comparable?

Thank you to any kind, informed person who can help me!

Leigh
 
Bruit ? What branch of medicine are you in?

Stick with what you`ve brought, just follow the instructions re installation.
 
Bruit ? What branch of medicine are you in?

Stick with what you`ve brought, just follow the instructions re installation.

I'm just reading what is on the website. Not in medicine.
It would really appreciate it if you could share with me why you are giving me this advice, so i can understand your thinking.
 
Grundfos is a good pump correctly installed and used.
To sell it you would loose money.
I don`t believe everything I read.
I`ve yet to hear the new Saniflo Up range as they are so new on the market.
 
Grundfos is a good pump correctly installed and used.
To sell it you would loose money.
I don`t believe everything I read.
I`ve yet to hear the new Saniflo Up range as they are so new on the market.
Okay. Thank you for taking the time!
 
  • Like
Reactions: rpm
Grundfos is a good pump correctly installed and used.
To sell it you would loose money.
I don`t believe everything I read.
I`ve yet to hear the new Saniflo Up range as they are so new on the market.
Hi i've installed the Grundfos, and it runs every 5-7 hours when not in use. Can you tell me if this is expected. I called technical support and they told me it wasn't and to check the return valve (which plumber said okay), leaking appliances (toilet and shower - seem okay) and if not faulty pressure valve. Got a replacement from screwfix, installed that, does exactly the same thing. In your experience would you expect the macerator to come on a run for a few seconds periodically when not in use? Have no idea what to do now. Please help maserator expert!
 
Pressure rise and probably pressure drop too! set these things off, I lived in a remote grotty countryside house (no neighbours) and using a tap would set it off occasionally, and overnight with no use of any outlets, I assume that was a leak but did it even with everything isolated!
Hated it, but at least it was plumbed in with unjointed pipe and with a fall, so never a worry of a pressure jet of you know what....
Saniflo bog, complete, not just the shredder pack.
 
My $ is on one of two things.
1 The flush valve is ever so slightly leaking water into the pan.
Use toilet paper and dry around under the rim and about 3" down. Use a few squares of toilet paper and lay them under the rim then see if they become wet over time.

2 The discharge pipe has little or no rise on it therefore the non-return valve has no weight of water on it to fully close it allowing a dribble of water to return over time.

Please let me know which one was correct.
 
PS
How you finding the noise, is it acceptable?
Thanks will let you know if either of those have passed them on to my plumber. The noise sounds too loud to me. My plumber says no different to saniflo. It was a big shock when i first heard it, and i have had to come to terms with it, but am bracing myself for neighbour problems. I asked the plumber to take the sink and shower out and run them independently. He took the sink out, but said the drop on the shower was not good enough so didn't advise it. But am not sure he just didn't fancy changing it now it's done! I wish i had thought about/or been advised that i didn't have to put everything through it, not sure why i thought i did. Also the macerator comes with 4 dip switches. No-one (plumber or technical support at Grundfos) are able to tell me which setting (1,2,3 or 4) in my situation would be preferable. Technical support tell me it is 'customer choice', but as i don't understand what they do, i can't choose! I was kind of hoping that a half flush (that i may use during the night) wouldn't set off the macerator and this is what upping the level of the dip switch would do for me? But to be honest i don't understand it, my plumber doesn't and the technical support people don't either which is kind of frustrating. I have a shower that is about one meter to the sololift2, a toilet that is about 30cm away, and a waste pipe that runs from the macerator for about 1.5m before joining the soil pipe. If you can suggest what dip switch may be best for me and why you would be helping me again! Many thanks
 
Think you mean you can adjust the motor run time which I wouldn`t advise doing.
The start level is 72mm and the stop level is 52mm off the top of my head.
 
Think you mean you can adjust the motor run time which I wouldn`t advise doing.
The start level is 72mm and the stop level is 52mm off the top of my head.
Well that's the point really i don't know what i mean. The dip switches came out of the box with 1 and 4 pressed down my plumber said. Technical support said the default is 1 pressed down, and that determine the time before the macerator runs. Delays of 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7 seconds are possible settings depending of which combination of switches you choose. I asked which scenarios would determine what time is best and he said the unhelpful 'customer choice'. A more knowledgeable person from Grundfos is meant to be calling me back, but nothing yet. When you talk about start and stop level i am assuming you mean water level. So i guess the longer the time before running the higher the level. As a consequence the run time will be longer. So swings and round abouts in terms of noise, but I just wanted a half flush not to make it run, so thought if water at higher level before kicking in then there may be a better chance?
 
Ps i just did test 1 RPM and the paper got wet! I saw my plumber check this, he obviously needs to learn about the loo paper test!
 
  • Winner
Reactions: rpm
Ok, tbh I wasn`t entirely sure so I spoke to a friend who is more hands on with Grundfos pumps than I am and ............
The switches are to adjust the run time and as I thought the activation levels (52 start & 75mm stop) are fully automatic as per all macerators. To know setting you need to know how long is the discharge pipe and how many bends in the line and tbh I wouldn`t go messing in case you invalidate the warranty but this is up to you.

Glad you found the reason for it self activating and surprising how many plumbers don`t know the tissue test. ;)
 
My $ is on one of two things.
1 The flush valve is ever so slightly leaking water into the pan.
Use toilet paper and dry around under the rim and about 3" down. Use a few squares of toilet paper and lay them under the rim then see if they become wet over time.

2 The discharge pipe has little or no rise on it therefore the non-return valve has no weight of water on it to fully close it allowing a dribble of water to return over time.

Please let me know which one was correct.

Hi again
Have to come back to you again to see if you can help me, because having a nightmare. I still have the same issue of water leaking into the pan. I have had new WC Grohe wall hung frame replaced because their engineers felt it must have been something to do with their cistern. I had to have my new bathroom wall taken apart to access it. Grohe had never had this issue but felt it could only be their issue. But after fitting the second one there is still the tiniest of dribble (that i identified from the toilet paper test) coming into the bowl. Plumber said (again) its probably the water held in the rim of the toilet but surely doesn't take 2 hours to drain away and become dry. Can you tell me about the rise and fall issue? If not the cistern is there any other way to cause a leak into the toilet pan? I just know it's going to eventually set off the macerator and that is not right, it might be 6 hours from now but it's going to happen. Also, when the toilet was off didn't seem to be a leak coming out the sticking out pipe. Please help!
 
Re rise and fall, there is a non-return valve to stop pumped water running back into the macerator and setting it off again.
This valve needs a weight of water to fully close it.
 
Sorry to pick up on your thread but I'm in a similar situation needing to replace an old (>10yrs) Sanitop 2 that is on the way out and very noisy. Have been looking at Uniflo 4, various Saniflo models, and the Grundfos Sololift2 WC-1. Latter is 70dB(A) which is far greater noise than the 46dB(A) for the Saniflo. That has to be several times louder.

What to do?
 
Hi i wrote the original post. My plumber installed a Saniflo shortly after and said it was quieter. I wish i had gone for the Saniflo really. It is really noisy to me but really hard to know. No one interested in doing comparison review of macerators! Wonder why!
 
  • Like
Reactions: rpm
Thanks for your reply. What was the Saniflo product/model you had installed please? Yes, I love how the manufacturer's describe them as quiet in operation and omit technical data on noise levels from their sales brochures. None of the promotional videos ever show operation of the equipment.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: rpm
Thanks for your reply. What was the Saniflo product/model you had installed please? Yes, I love how the manufacturer's describe them as quiet in operation and omit technical data on noise levels from their sales brochures. None of the promotional videos ever show operation of the equipment.
Which model depends what you wish it to deal with, wc only, plus a basin, or a shower as well? There is not a great deal of difference sound wise.
db levels can be found online but as a rough guide the sound of an old fashion cistern refilling was louder and lasted longer.
 
It's WC only. Using an uncalibrated noise meter (app) the failing Sanitop 2 registers around 60dB(A). I like the Grundfos as it seems more durable and service is easier (I've had to strip down and unblock the Sanitop 2 too often), but 70dB(A) is not quiet. Can it really be that loud?
 
i bought and installed the Grundfos Sololift 2 CWC-3 Wall-Hung Macerator. Same db as yours i think. It's loud. My plumber installed a Saniflo elsewhere, i never heard it, he said quieter but may have been just saying that to wind me up!
 
It's WC only. Using an uncalibrated noise meter (app) the failing Sanitop 2 registers around 60dB(A). I like the Grundfos as it seems more durable and service is easier (I've had to strip down and unblock the Sanitop 2 too often), but 70dB(A) is not quiet. Can it really be that loud?
If you prefer the Grundfos for the reasons given then go for it.
 
It's not necessarily a strong preference. I heard from some users of the Uniflo 4 who said noise levels are lower, similar to Saniflo. Do you have experience with the Uniflo 4? My main concern is to keep the noise as low as possible. Thanks again.
 
Just Googled the Uniflo 4 and I`ve seen it under different manufactures names, components used are similar to the Saniflo but all I would say is that they tend to be built to a price then shipped in.
 
Yes, I'm concerned that a few dB(A) savings is not a worthwhile trade for more frequent maintenance. I've decided to go with the Grundfos unit and box it in if needed to contain the noise.
 
I now have a new Grundfos Sololift2 WC-1 still in box. It looks like Since this is a swap out it looks like I need an additional Grundfos accessory in the form of a flexible pipe. The waste pipe installed is 22mm and the Grundfos was exit elbow 32mm (internal). Could I get some suitable reducers and flexible pipe from a plumbing supplies/DIY store or do I need to get the official accessory from Grundfos? I would need some hard plastic or nylon reducers (22-32 mm) to use with hose clamps?
 
I now have a new Grundfos Sololift2 WC-1 still in box. It looks like Since this is a swap out it looks like I need an additional Grundfos accessory in the form of a flexible pipe. The waste pipe installed is 22mm and the Grundfos was exit elbow 32mm (internal). Could I get some suitable reducers and flexible pipe from a plumbing supplies/DIY store or do I need to get the official accessory from Grundfos? I would need some hard plastic or nylon reducers (22-32 mm) to use with hose clamps?
All required adaptors are in the box.
 
All required adaptors are in the box.

The current install (looking from front of the toilet) has the exit on the right and waste pipe (22mm ID) traversing to the left (about 35cm) where it passes through the wall on its way to the soil stack (via a 22mm tube).

I need to connect the 32mm (ID) pipe elbow from the Grundfos macerator to the 22mm (ID) port. The adapters in the box will not do this. Whilst there is a 32-22 adapter it is designed to clamp to a hard 22mm pipe. I need a flexible 32mm ID pipe and a 32-32 adapter to connect between the elbow and the hard 22mm exit pipe.
 
The current install (looking from front of the toilet) has the exit on the right and waste pipe (22mm ID) traversing to the left (about 35cm) where it passes through the wall on its way to the soil stack (via a 22mm tube).

I need to connect the 32mm (ID) pipe elbow from the Grundfos macerator to the 22mm (ID) port. The adapters in the box will not do this. Whilst there is a 32-22 adapter it is designed to clamp to a hard 22mm pipe. I need a flexible 32mm ID pipe and a 32-32 adapter to connect between the elbow and the hard 22mm exit pipe.
What is the 22mm tube passing through the wall, copper or solvent weld plastic?
If solvent weld plastic then everything you need is easily available.
 
22mm tube passing through the wall is plastic, solvent welded, jubilee clip onto flexible pipe. I found a solution which is to use 22mm copper at the elbow, secured with jubilee clip, and then another jubilee clip onto the copper/flexible pipe (leaving the exit through the wall untouched). So you were right that required adapters were in the box, just needed a short run of 22mm copper.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Reply to Macerator noise comparison Saniflo vs Grundflos: Desperate to do the right thing! in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

Creating content since 2001. Untold Media.

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock