Automatic Litterbox Central

I found some clear reinforced hose at a marine store today. You can clearly see if there are any clogs in the line. I'm tempted to git some to replace the drain hose I have now...

I wonder if Pet Novations would consider using the same type of hose instead of the opaque hose they have on there now.

Trident Marine is the maker of the hose. Hose size is 5/8" and model number is 144-0586.

Trident Vac HD Bilge & Live Well #144
Heavy duty bilge, drain and live well hose. Clear see thru vinyl (FDA) corrugated with black hard PVC helix and smooth tube. Provides exceptional flexibility and bend radius. NOT RECOMMENDED FOR BELOW WATER LINE THRU-HULL CONNECTIONS. No cuffs required.
Operating temps: +10° to +140° F (-12° to +60°C).
2 YEAR WARRANTY


I picked up about 12' worth...should be able to cut it in half and install it fer my Cat Genie and my brother's Cat Genie.

Made a custom drain pipe adapter from a "Y" adapter. Added in a ¾" reducer and a dishwasher/disposal rubber adapter to go on the end of the hose. It's important to make sure the hose goes in so it's flush on the end of the dishwasher/disposal rubber adapter.

Now it's really simple to look at the hose fer clogs and pull the end out if I need to clean the bowl. The hose in the dishwasher/disposal rubber adapter makes fer a really snug fit into the reducer so I don't have to worry about the end popping off and making a big mess.

Piccies...

Finally got to messing with replacing the hose in my Cat Genie. Seems the original one was only squished in with a little layer of silicone between it and the output nozzle. No clamps or zipties to hold it in place.

No problem...I just gently pulled it off of there and cleaned up the nozzle. I cleanly cut my hose and shoved it on the nozzle. I ended up putting 3 zipties to make sure it wasn't gonna leak.

I also drilled two holes on the side of the Cat Genie so I could put in a ziptie (not tight...just loose) to keep the hose from dropping down when installing/moving. Seems to be a home run!

I can easily see the drain hose and how well it's draining now. No more shaking the hose to see if it's clogged or not.

Piccies!!



Drain hose retainer...

Yeah but...you say it's got no clamps but it's got that little black thing--isn't that a clamp of some kind? However, I agree it's pretty scary when I looked at mine that that they rely on that wimpy looking clamp and some clear RTV...you'd think it would have a bit more positive connection considering what's going thru it and that you can't see if it's leaking or reallly check under the box when it's in operation.

Setec Astronomy wrote:Yeah but...you say it's got no clamps but it's got that little black thing--isn't that a clamp of some kind? However, I agree it's pretty scary when I looked at mine that that they rely on that wimpy looking clamp and some clear RTV...you'd think it would have a bit more positive connection considering what's going thru it and that you can't see if it's leaking or reallly check under the box when it's in operation.

It's not a clamp fer the hose...it's more of a stop lock to keep the nozzle from going too far into the main body. That black clamp has nothing to do to keep the hose from coming off or staying on the nozzle...

The one thing I did notice was that the clear RTV/silicone that they put on there didn't really bond with the hose or nozzle...I guess it has something to do with the materials the nozzle and hose are made out of. It just flaked off when I pulled the hose off.

I performed a quick pressure test with the garden hose to see if the new hose setup would leak under some slight pressure. Not a drop!

BamZipPow wrote:

Setec Astronomy wrote:
The one thing I did notice was that the clear RTV/silicone that they put on there didn't really bond with the hose or nozzle...I guess it has something to do with the materials the nozzle and hose are made out of. It just flaked off when I pulled the hose off.

Hey, you're really instilling me with confidence in the factory connection...too bad you didn't take any pictures while you had it apart

Setec Astronomy wrote:

BamZipPow wrote:

Setec Astronomy wrote:
The one thing I did notice was that the clear RTV/silicone that they put on there didn't really bond with the hose or nozzle...I guess it has something to do with the materials the nozzle and hose are made out of. It just flaked off when I pulled the hose off.

Hey, you're really instilling me with confidence in the factory connection...too bad you didn't take any pictures while you had it apart

I just know if you slightly twist that hose...it's probably gonna leak or worse...pop off. It really didn't take much to pull that old hose off. Had I know what that looked like before...I probably would've proceeded with this replacement a long time ago.

If you don't believe me...give yer Cat Genie drain hose a tug at that nozzle and see if it comes off or not.

I'm not sure if they made the Cat Genie 120 hose any better or not. I don't know since I don't have one.

The 120 is the same.