Saniflo Products - Any Good?

[SFT223]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and have a couple of questions about Saniflo products:-

1. Are they any good?
2. Are there any cheaper/better alternatives?

The reason for my asking is that I'm due to start a project for an En-Suite which doesn't permit me to use conventional drains, due to age of the building and the intended first floor location being where the underfloor joists go against the required direction to the soil pipe.

I will be connecting a close coupled WC, Power Shower and a Hand Wash Basin to the Saniflo unit, and this will be concealed in a void behind a stud wall with an access panel. Still to decide between the Sanipro XR or the Sanipack units and any advice on which is best would also be appreciated.

Thanks for any help on this.

Steve

 

[Ray Stafford]

All macerator units are a very much poorer solution to conventional drainage.

If you can possibly manage it, use proper drainage. Once you have decided that you are going to accept the downsides of a macerator, then three pieces of advice.

1) Slow and easy bends in the widest bore pipe your run will permit. No 90s.
2) Access. Make sure that you build in plenty of access and rodding points.
3) Stick with Saniflo. This is their market - they are the original and still the best. Everything else is a copy.

 

[Ray Stafford]

4) Make sure people only put what nature intended down it!

 

[rpm]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum and have a couple of questions about Saniflo products:-

1. Are they any good?
2. Are there any cheaper/better alternatives?

The reason for my asking is that I'm due to start a project for an En-Suite which doesn't permit me to use conventional drains, due to age of the building and the intended first floor location being where the underfloor joists go against the required direction to the soil pipe.

I will be connecting a close coupled WC, Power Shower and a Hand Wash Basin to the Saniflo unit, and this will be concealed in a void behind a stud wall with an access panel. Still to decide between the Sanipro XR or the Sanipack units and any advice on which is best would also be appreciated.

Thanks for any help on this.

Steve

Hi Steve and welcome to the forum,
Q1 - Yes but you`ve got to know their limitations.
Q2 - Yes / No.

I suggest you visit the saniflo uk website and look at the 10 Golden Rules first and personally based on +10yrs experiance I would fit the Saniplus over the Pro and forget the Pack as it can`t be used with a powershower.
If fitting a power shower you need to know the showers litres per minute output and check that the saniflo can handle that amount of water, other things to consider are that the sani has to be directly behind the toilet and within 150mm of the toilet pan in the UK, run all pipes to the sani with a good fall on them as sani`s don`t suck water in and if possible run these pipes at +5 degrees, remember it is a machine and at some point it will need a service so access will be required and lastly if considering another manufactor do they have service engineers and at what price, only mention this as many don`t.
Anything I`ve missed then come back to the forum and I`m sure someone will help.

 

[lame plumber]

this may help, I am happy to fit any saniflo product, BUT I will never ever go back and repair/service them, its that simple 🙂

 

[rpm]

this may help, I am happy to fit any saniflo product, BUT I will never ever go back and repair/service them, its that simple 🙂

And I will never service a gas boiler BUT I will service a macerator

Horses for courses

 

[lame plumber]

i dont come away from a boiler retching 🙂

 

[rpm]

Weak stomach eh! Like I said horses for courses Lame

 

[chris watkins]

Not too often I disagree with Ray but Saniflo is not necessary the "be all" of macerators, I remember picking the bits of rolled up cotton wool products out of them, aar happy days!!
I use to recommend the Grundfos ones (but have not tried the new ones) http://uk.grundfos.com/content/dam/UK/Brochure/SOLOLIFT2 brochure 0213 Web version.pdf
Whatever you do make sure you run a min of a 32mm discharge waste DONOT be tempted to use 19/22mm pipe.

 

[rpm]

C`mon Chris a man of your experiance knows that cotton wool of any kind shouldn`t be in any domestic macerator, ps did you know that Grundfos used Sani motors far awhile?
The big problem with Grundfos is their lack of service engineers on the little stuff, they simlpy aren`t interested, call them for a part after the pump is 3yrs old and they tell you to buy a new unit. Haven`t had much to do with current sololift range but they seem a bit "light" in quality to me.
Re the pipe size ALWAYS run the first vertical in 19/22mm then open it up.

 

[chris watkins]

Re the pipe size ALWAYS run the first vertical in 19/22mm then open it up.

Why ???

 

[chris watkins]

If in doubt put one of these in you will not have any trouble with blockages Guaranteed !
[DLMURL]http://www.pts-jung.co.uk/uploadforms/1373636906-compli-300.pdf[/DLMURL]

 

[rpm]

Put your arms palm up straight out infront of you and hold. Now do with it a weight in your hands.

Jung pumps are quailty right across the range and their customer service is 1st class.

 

[rpm]

If in doubt put one of these in you will not have any trouble with blockages Guaranteed !
[DLMURL]http://www.pts-jung.co.uk/uploadforms/1373636906-compli-300.pdf[/DLMURL]

Nice unit, would be amazed to find that in an en-suite.

 

[SFT223]

Thanks Ray and rpm,
You have been good enough to confirm my initial decision to go with Saniflo, due to their undoubted expertise in this market. I have taken on board your useful tips on everything and have ordered the Saniplus unit as recommended.
Thanks to lame and Chris for the banter as well. I didn't really expect that on here, but nothing wrong with a bit of humour every now and again as long as it's harmless fun.
Thanks to everybody else who contributed, but I haven't mentioned personally. I can see that my decision to join the forum was a great one and I look forward to offering my own advice to members, if ever I feel capable.
Regards Steve

 

[rpm]

One more thing, I don`t care if you use push-fit pipe fittings on the run(s) to the sani but you must use solvent weld fittings on the outlet or expect brown slurry through the ceiling at some point.

 

[SFT223]

One more thing, I don`t care if you use push-fit pipe fittings on the run(s) to the sani but you must use solvent weld fittings on the outlet or expect brown slurry through the ceiling at some point.

Point taken! I intended using solvent weld throughout to be honest, but push fit to he Saniplus might permit a simpler install and make it easier to dismantle should (heaven forbid) the unit need to be removed unexpectedly in the future.

Thanks again for your help.

Steve

PS I'm getting conflicting info (reading Saniflo guides on the internet) on pipe diameter from the basin to the Saniplus. I planned on using a 32mm to 40mm pedestal trap, so that I could feed the Saniplus with the recommended 40mm pipe, but I've also read somewhere that a 32mm piped feed from a basin is an alternative. Any advice?

Also, I planned on incorporating a gate valve and a drain off at low level in the discharge using a standard swept tee fitted with a removable plug. This might be okay, but do you know if you can get a 32mm solvent weld drain off fitted with a hosetail, so that a length of hosepipe could be used to allow the crud to go into a plastic bowl - thereby minimising any mess?

 

[rpm]

The Saniplus comes with 2 rubber connectors to join the pipes to the tank and these will take 32 or 40mm pipe so its normally 32mm from basin and 40mm from shower, fittings can be found on fleabay so you should find something to suit for the drain off or may be someone will come along shortly and advise, try and stick to what you see on the sani UK website for advice as other sites are non UK regs and youtube is fall of clowns.

 

[SFT223]

The Saniplus comes with 2 rubber connectors to join the pipes to the tank and these will take 32 or 40mm pipe so its normally 32mm from basin and 40mm from shower, fittings can be found on fleabay so you should find something to suit for the drain off or may be someone will come along shortly and advise, try and stick to what you see on the sani UK website for advice as other sites are non UK regs and youtube is fall of clowns.

Cheers rpm for your quick response, it's much appreciated. Do you recommend copper, or plastic solvent weld from the discharge? Also, do you know if you can connect copper to plastic at a transition joint - say 28mm copper to 40mm plastic?

Thanks
Steve

 

[rpm]

Keep it simple and use solvent weld plastic all the way then you can step up the 22mm to 32mm with an adaptor bush. Remember to clean all fittings and end of pipes with the pipe cleaner as you go along and try not to get to close to the fumes from the cleaner or you will have a "happy head" and little work will be done.

The only way I know to connect copper to plastic is with an unsightly rubber joint and metal jubilee clips, think they are called fenco joints but they look so DIY.