Thetford toilet leak

[themexicandoctor]

I am sitting upon my System* as I type this.

*5.5 gallon Thetford Square Porta Potti that is

But the lid is down & I am using it as a stool outside (I never mentioned its another side benefit).

My first comments about using such a device, lifted into
the aisle for a moment & with the unit facing the reat of the Roadtrek 190, with your feet on that 2 inch raised floor in front of the bed, Elimination is improved 30% plus.

And I, despite a legion of injuries, are in great shape.

Far superior than dealing with an Thetford Aqua Magic (whatever model you have), whom whose height begins on a platform 5-6 plus inches from the aisle floor.

Your elimination is compromised immediately.

[Bud]

"Wow,

Looks like the thetford is a crappy design and not worth re-buying"

You could check the Amazon reviews about your toilet.

Bud

[themexicandoctor]

Originally Posted by Bud

"Wow,

Looks like the thetford is a crappy design and not worth re-buying"

You could check the Amazon reviews about your toilet.

Bud

Bud,

Was that for my benefit or the original poster?

This is what I own now;

https://www.amazon.com/Thetford-Whit...ef_=ast_sto_dp

Bought it from West Marine

[themexicandoctor]

But when I owned a Thetford Aqua Magic 5 like what is Standard in the Roadtrek 190 I went through 2 toilets & 2 sets of $50 repair kits.

Dealing with the white tubing was difficult & despite paying professionals to install & repair the units, every couple of years I would hsve the dreaded drip drip drip.leaks in the back of the toilet.

Now I use the Porta Potty & the shower hose to rinse the bowl surface - dramatically saves on water also.

[mkguitar]

Originally Posted by MagicBox

Looks like the thetford is a crappy design and not worth re-buying

Mine works fine.
as above, I have replaced the fill valve and the flapper, they are simple and uncomplicated and easily serviced



in my work-life I have traveled on RocknRoll tour buses 8 or 9 months of the year for decades.
Most of the heads on those are Dometics

They work


reading the comments above I do wonder if some RV designs have the toilet mounted right on the black tank- mine has a drop from the flapper to the top of the tank- maybe 10 inches- and never has any kind of sloshing been an issue


cheers, Mike

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Bud

"Wow,

Looks like the thetford is a crappy design and not worth re-buying"

You could check the Amazon reviews about your toilet.

Bud

And conclude what, exactly??

I gave blog links to analyses by three different users (one being me), with pictures, with elaborate explanations, and even some experimentation to prove our points. One of the other bloggers is renowned for the creativity of his DIY. He actually *sawed his Thetford in half* in order to illustrate exactly what was wrong with it.

Amazon reviews would somehow improve on that ^^?

Amazon reviews are mostly written by new and newer buyers. They haven't had time to discover their product flaws. For example, 'Arcturus Heavy Duty Survival Blanket - Insulated Thermal Reflective Tarp' has 4.5 stars on 743 ratings. That's because almost all of those buyers wrote those reviews prior to discovering that the silverized side of the tarp is not UV-stabilized. The tarp falls apart after a few months of use.

There is one Amazon review on the Thetford which describes its fatal flaw (and perhaps others that do the same thing, but I have not read very far). That purchaser describes it like this:

"There is no "throat" in this model. When you open the ball flap, it just opens to the inside bottom of the toilet. When you flush you're likely to get some waste buildup inside [the body of the toilet], unless you have a hose handy to spray it down. Serious design flaw."

[GallenH]

Honestly I have a 23yr-old Aqua Magic IV and I'm not seeing it. Don't know if I'm missing something? When you open the flapper on mine the bowl of the toilet is connected directly to a black pipe that takes an ever-so-slight angle and goes directly into the black tank. I've cleaned the area where they meet (gloved!) and can not find any gap between the bowl and this pipe. I don't see any open "drop" area at all.

Now perhaps I'm just not looking in the right place....or...perhaps the IV is different than the V....or....perhaps the black pipe is PleasureWay's addition. Mine is in storage right now. I'll try to take some pics. I'm also contemplating pulling the toilet to plug the hole from the overflow tube into the tank (markopolo directed us to a link where they were using a "p-trap" plastic tube internally to the tank to catch overflow that they now recommend just sealing off. I guess that tube can become cracked or disconnected or the p-trap function compromised). I'll update if I ever do it with pics, etc.

I don't doubt Interblog's posts with regard to the V at all. Just don't know why I'm not seeing same in my toilet.

[Bud]

"There is no "throat" in this model. When you open the ball flap, it just opens to the inside bottom of the toilet. When you flush you're likely to get some waste buildup inside [the body of the toilet], unless you have a hose handy to spray it down. Serious design flaw."


Good that you quote InterBlog, thank you.

Mine and the other fellows are Not like that at all.

Very pleased here like the other fellow, and very inexpensive, easy, quick. Don't know how it gets much better.

Bud

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by GallenH

Honestly I have a 23yr-old Aqua Magic IV and I'm not seeing it. ....

Maybe you got lucky and the year yours was produced, they were doing things differently.

[themexicandoctor]

I just graduated with a Master's Degree in BS from Thetford University ...

1/3rd of the page down your education begins.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Thetfo...0?ref_=ast_bln

[GallenH]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Maybe you got lucky and the year yours was produced, they were doing things differently.

Possible. But your observations might still hold true on this one as well. I'll know when I pull it. I notice some minor structural differences but not a lot. The top/bowl piece, for example, doesn't have to be cut off as in one of your links. It's held on by screws from beneath around the base plus a gasket that seals the connection. We'll see.

[Macodiva]

For smells i can't recommend 'Happy Camper' enough.
I don't really know how it does it, something about enzymes lol but there's been no smell at all since i started using it.
Making me a very happy camper

[GallenH]

Originally Posted by Macodiva

For smells i can't recommend 'Happy Camper' enough.
I don't really know how it does it, something about enzymes lol but there's been no smell at all since i started using it.
Making me a very happy camper

Same here. Read the reviews and used it from day 1. BUT it's not going to kill the entire smell in your tank. It will neutralize much of it without giving you one of those perfumey coverups. I agree with those here that say the only way you're going to be totally smell free is with a properly operating, sealed system.

But I share your enthusiasm for HC. Two thumbs up.

[avanti]

Chemicals are palliative. Better to fix the leak.

[InterBlog]

I can't read this thread without laughing. Ah, Thetford horrors - the memories.

When you get sand in your shoe, you take off your shoe and shake the sand out. If you do that with your de-installed Thetford, a similar effect will occur, except it won't be sand. It'll be some other solid material that worked its way up in there - it'll be whatever the toilet had been exposed to.

My husband is a mechanical engineer who is not inclined to mince words. When people on Air Forums were not understanding what I and others were saying about the Thetford, he decided to be blunt. I was trying to explain the problem factually but delicately. After he posted that comment, I said, "OMG, can you please NOT do that on user forums?! Can we find a way to communicate without getting into TMI territory?"

I will say, though, that you have not lived until you are standing in your suburban driveway working on your rig in full view of your neighbors, and "sand" unexpectedly falls out of your "shoe" and begins rolling toward the street.

[MagicBox]

The question remains:

Will the Dometic 300 fit in a RT 190?

Does anyone have this combination?

Thank you

[MagicBox]

Once a week I re-explore this topic, finger hovering over the BUY button and stop because of the horrible reviews for the dometic 300.

We saw crude holes in the ground for toilets in southern Italy.
Maybe Ill just open the hole up a little.......

Usually not this hand wringing about a purchase but I need to get this right because we are aiming this shipping container towards the west coast in 2 weeks.

Eric

[themexicandoctor]

Originally Posted by MagicBox

Once a week I re-explore this topic, finger hovering over the BUY button and stop because of the horrible reviews for the dometic 300.

We saw crude holes in the ground for toilets in southern Italy.
Maybe Ill just open the hole up a little.......

Usually not this hand wringing about a purchase but I need to get this right because we are aiming this shipping container towards the west coast in 2 weeks.

Eric

Eric,

Just looked at the model, sorry I didn't answer before.

Will get answer to you in 5 minutes but in the meantime if you want an idea that keeps all your permanent build options available, read this thread.

https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f5/the-hybrid-solution-to-a-black-tank-for-some-of-you-perhaps-10832.html#post112999

At the very least, you will then have a new capacity of either 5.5 gallons that ican be dumped in any toilet in the Western World and or the hybrid option of another 10 gallons in the 190 Black Tank.

[themexicandoctor]

Looking at the Dometic website;

https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/pro...ic-300-_-25296

And the paltry Camping World site;

This lightweight, contemporary-style toilet replaces any standard-height RV toilet not installed on a raised platform: straight, 2-bolt style toilets; 4-bolt style toilets; or angled, 2-bolt style toilets. (Some installations may require a Dometic floor flange adapter kit - sold separately.)

It seems it does fit but why oh why do you want to continue with this unit?

Its a Dog.

Its design on top of the Roadtrek Pedestal even with the lower profile unit, is going to handicap your ability to evacuate/void. Think of emptying your Black Tank without going through at least one full tank of water back flush.

I don't believe my 9 years in the making answer described in the other thread is for everyone but perhaps if you can live with making your deposits as I have described without using full colour details, at least you would still have an abundance of other options available, after your trip.

Not to mention if you are going cross country, making the deposits in the 5.5 gallon Porta Potti allows you to utilize the existing 10 gallons available in the black tank.

And dumping into a drain pipe like that, is the most effective, splash free, gravity fed solution available.

They are anywhere from $99-150 online, which is 75-50% less than the cost of the Dometic 300 unit.

Plus if you decide on a more permanent throne, you now have the utility of a Porta Potti for use in your life.

A good friend of mine with a comedic bent used to take his to rugby games & use it as a stool. And when he got thirsty he would press the lever, unhook the top & with a little skill, manage to secure a few cold beers in a can that would be sitting in icy cold water.

[MagicBox]

So where does one perform the dastardly deed of dumping the porta pooper?
Perp walk into a Hardees bathroom and bombs away?
Or at the camp ground dump site?