FAQ – BLACKBOX PRODUCTS

• BLACKBOX waste management systems collect discharged waste fluid from a premise and then automatically pumps the waste fluid to a septic system, mains discharge location or portable dump station.
  
  
• Important note:
  There must be a final destination i.e. the BLACKBOX system does not process waste but manages the disbursement of waste.

• BLACKBOX waste management systems are for both grey water and black water (sewerage from a toilet) i.e. they are built to manage all standard discharged fluids from a building (house, office, batch, cabin, RV etc)
  
  
• Important note:
  As with all pump systems, only flush wastewater fluids, faecal matter and toilet paper. Do not flush sanitary pads, tampons, wet wipes, hand towels, fat, and/or any other substances.

• If you have a standard toilet in your home, batch, cabin, RV, office etc, when the toilet is flushed, the waste would travel through the premises outlet pipe to the BLACKBOX, located on the the outside the premises.
• When the amount of waste/liquid in the BLACKBOX rises to a certain height, a float inside the BLACKBOX automatically activates the pump to empty the BLACKBOX contents to a waste disposal location such as a septic system or a town supply grate on the outside of a premise, generally located by a bathroom or toilet. 

When pumping toilet waste, it is wise to have extra pumping capacity built in i.e. choose a system that will not be operating at the maximum specified output.

BLACKBOX model maximum pumping distances (across flat ground with no rising height)

• BLACKBOX62 (62 litre tank): 80 metres
• BLACKBOX85 (85 litre tank): 80 metres
• BLACKBOX270 (270 litre tank): 80 metres
• BLACKBOX270MAX (270 litre tank): 200 metres
• BLACKBOX270SUPERMAX (270 litre tank): 300 metres

Important note 1: When calculating what system you require, remember you are calculating pumping distance ‘or’ pumping height (not pumping distance ‘and’ pumping height)

Important note 2: Any bends (30, 45 or 90 degrees) installed in a BLACKBOX outlet pipe will create back pressure and reduce the output performance of the pump (allow for a loss of up to 15 metres in distance and/or loss of 500mm in pumping height per bend)

Important note 3: 40mm and 50mm outlet pipe both work well. However, 50mm pipe produces less friction and back pressure, enabling a pump to reach maximum distance with less strain on the pump 

When pumping toilet waste, it is wise to have extra pumping capacity built in i.e. choose a system that will not be operating at the maximum specified output.

BLACKBOX model maximum pumping distances (head height)

• BLACKBOX62 (62 litre tank): 6 metres
• BLACKBOX85 (85 litre tank): 6 metres
• BLACKBOX270 (270 litre tank): 6 metres
• BLACKBOX270MAX (270 litre tank): 11 metres
• BLACKBOX270SUPERMAX (270 litre tank): 14 metres

Important note 1: When calculating what system you require, remember you are calculating pumping distance ‘or’ pumping height (not pumping distance ‘and’ pumping height)

Important note 2: Any bends (30, 45 and 90 degrees) installed in a BLACKBOX outlet pipe will create back pressure and reduce the output performance of the pump (allow for a loss of up to 15 metres in distance and/or loss of 500mm in pumping height per bend)

Important note 3: 40mm and 50mm outlet pipe both work well. However, 50mm pipe produces less friction and back pressure,  enabling a pump to reach maximum head height with less strain on the pump

• Yes, a BLACKBOX waste management system tank can be partially or fully buried in the ground.
  
  
• Important note:
  If you fully bury a tank up to the height of the hatch, you will add between 0.5 metres – 1 metre in head height. This will reduce the systems pumping distance by 5-10 metres.

BLACKBOX waste management systems have been installed around the country over the last 7 years (approximately 500 systems to date) with consent approval from a number of councils as an ‘Alternative Solution’.

Also, within the Rodney district a plumber recently received a signoff from the council confirming that;

• on private property the BLACKBOX waste management system could branch directly into a home sewer line and without a requirement for council consent
• on council land the BLACKBOX waste management system would first need to branch into a manhole and would require council consent

There are four main factors to bear in mind;

1. Head height to pump up to
2. Distance to pump to a discharge point (septic system or town supply grate)
3. Bends in the outlet pipe (bends decrease the pumping performance of a pump)
4. Volume of incoming grey and or black water
   
   Water volume rule of thumb:
   If you have one toilet, kitchen & bathroom (install a BLACKBOX62 system)
   If you add a washing machine or dishwasher (install a BLACKBOX85 system)
   If you add all of the above plus additional bathrooms (install a BLACKBOX270 system).

• The BLACKBOX waste management system is an intermediary between a premise and a final destination where the waste water would be treated. The waste is not ‘treated’ within a BLACKBOX waste management system tank.
  
  
• The final destination would be a septic system or a dropper into an external house toilet waste grate (in a suburban setting), or a mobile tank that could be transported to a waste dumping station.

• Yes. The size of the inlet to the BLACKBOX system tanks are 80mm (BB62 & BB85 systems) or 100mm (BB270 systems). You could connect the piping from 3-4 cabins into a manifold pipe (located prior to the tank, and then connect the manifold outlet direct to the tank. We would recommend our BLACKBOX270Supermax system for this type of setup due to the performance of the installed 1100w pump.

• Our BB62, BB85 and  BB270 Standard systems come with a 750W centrifugal pump. Our BB270Max system comes with a cast iron 750W centrifugal pump and our BB270SuperMax system a cast iron 1100W cutter pump. All pumps have a 40mm through port. All of the pumps we install suck toilet paper, faecal matter and waste water out of the tank. They are reliable, solid performance pumps and all work equally well but with different head height and distance pumping capacities.
  
  
• Important note:
  With all stand alone pump systems, only flush standard toilet paper (do not flush tampons, sanitary pads, wetwipes, paper towels, fat etc).

• Yes, black waste water could sit in the tank for months without concern so long as it is not just solid waste i.e. more fluid than solids. The tanks have a storage volume from 62 litres up to 270 litres. How quickly the tank fills up will be dependent on the volume of waste generated by your kitchen, bathroom, toilet, washing machine.
  
  
• When you are ready to discharge the waste from the tank, at this point you could then turn on the pump.

• The BLACKBOX waste management system is designed to collect all waste from your premises and then automatically pump waste to a waste disposal site. If a BLACKBOX waste management system is collecting toilet waste, you would need to disperse/pump that waste to a septic system/disposal location. Councils are concerned with the final destination of waste.
  
  
• A BLACKBOX waste management system is ideal to pump waste uphill or along the ground from a main dwelling to a septic system (where the terrain does not allow for gravity feed).
  
  
• BLACKBOX waste management systems have been installed around the country over the last 7 years (approximately 500 systems to date) with consent approval from a number of councils as an ‘Alternative Solution’.
  
  Also, within the Rodney District a plumber received a signoff from the council confirming the following;
  
  – on private property the BLACKBOX waste management system could branch directly into a home sewer line and without a requirement for council consent
  
  – on council land the BLACKBOX waste management system would first need to branch into a manhole and would require council consent

• Technically it is feasible to run a power inverter off a 12v power source (presumably batteries that are powered by solar PV panels), to convert the output to the 240v necessary to run the pump.
  
  
• The invertor would need to be able to handle at least a 750w motor (allow for a minimum power draw of 5-6 amp).

BLACKBOX Tanks: Guaranteed for a period of 20 years from the original date of purchase (residential use only)

750w Ryobi Pumps: Guaranteed for a period of 3 years from the original date of purchase (residential use only)

750w Trevoli Pumps: Guaranteed for a period of 2 years from the original date of purchase (residential use only)

1100w Trevoli Pumps: Guaranteed for a period of 2 years from the original date of purchase (residential use only)

FAWS alarm systems: Guaranteed for a period of 1 year from the original date of purchase (residential use only)

• The BB62, BB85 and BB270 standard systems come with a 750w centrifugal pumps produced by a reputable Japanese company. We have found their 750w centrifugal pumps to be much more reliable and efficient than most of the available domestic mulching pumps.
  
  
• Common misconceptions about domestic cutter/macerator pumps:
  The only advantage of a domestic cutter/macerator pump with a cutter blade built in is the ability to push waste slurry through an 18 to 22 mm pipe. This is mostly done for cost reasons but conversely incurs a number of other problematic performance issues.
  Domestic quality centrifugal pumps (well designed and constructed) with a 40mm through port have fewer moving parts, and from our experience are much more reliable and overall have better performance outcomes.
  
  
• The BB270Max system comes with a commercial grade cast iron pump.
  
  
• The BB270SuperMax system comes with a commercial grade cutter/mulching pump (very different in construction to a domestic macerator pump) – cast iron body with tungston cutter blades.

• BB62
  Height: 455mm
  Depth: 455mm
  Width: 350mm
  Ground to centre of inlet: 380mm
  Tank holding Capacity: 62 litres
  Pump: 750W
  
  
• BB85
  Height: 580mm
  Depth: 480mm
  Width: 350mm
  Ground to centre of inlet: 440mm
  Tank holding Capacity: 85 litres
  Pump: 750W
  
  
• BB270
  Height: 790mm
  Diameter: 710mm
  Tank holding Capacity: 270 litres
  Pump:
  Standard system – 750W
  Max – 750W
  Supermax – 1100W