“Black Cone” in Thrtford Electra toilet

[Spirwin]

Is there a way to clean the holding tank in a thetford electra recirculating toilet?
I have a 2619 TM. I have owned it 14 years. I love it.
My policy has been “No Pooping” in that recirculating toilet.
I am considering amending that policy. We may begin doing some off the grid camping.
I don’t want my camper to start smelling like a sewer plant.

By allowing people to only Pee in the toilet we have not had any odor issues.

I can imagine issues could arise if there are solids in the recirculating toilet.

I know some people use Wands to clean RV toilets.

Is there a way to use a wand to clean the little holding tank in a Thetford Electra?

I want to make sure I don’t damage any seals or gaskets by sticking something down the toilet to clean it (like a wand)

Maybe a wand could snake its way into the toilet from the dump valve?

Anyone have any ideas how to keep the toilet smelling fresh and clean??

[BrucePerens]

Thetford sells a chemical called "Aqua Clean" which you can use, the material safety data sheet names citric acid and detergent as the constituents. Use Thetford Aqua Chem in normal operation as specified by the instructions on the package. Even if there is residue in the tank, it won't smell when you refill it with fresh water. If you leave it dry during winter to prevent freezing without cleaning first, it smells.

When you have a full hookup, charging every day with fresh water and a small amount of Aqua Chem is sufficient to deal with the occasional poop.

Train the most odor-sensitive person in your party to maintain the toilet. This will end complaints and make sure it is adequately serviced.

Keeping it from smelling is really not a big deal.

[Shane826]

Before we swapped out the Thetford we would always make sure the tank was topped off with water, dump, fill partway with hot water with a bit of dish soap, circulate and dump again. It never had a stank problem between trips. And again in all honesty, we never had a real smell issue at all. We replaced it because knowing how it worked was just gross and not having water in the bowl seemed to cause a lot of splashback...

[tentcamper]

If I have full hookups after dumping. I refill the tank with water and dump again. Than I fill adding the chems until the pump runs water. It seems to be good for 3 days for us.

[Spirwin]

Thanks for the reply guys. So does anyone clean their Thetford Electra with a wand. If so, how do you do it?

[Bill]

You can probably use a wand, but be very careful with it.

Inside the toilet, there is a wire mesh cage, more or less tubular, that sits upright on the floor of the toilet. It is tall enough to surround the underside of the throat of the toilet. The purpose of this cage is to confine the solids to an area near the center of the floor of the tank, which is where the drain is located. When you open the drain, the whoosh of water sweeps the solids into the drain, and out of the tank.

You can push a wand down the throat of the toilet, but you must be careful not to disturb the cage, or push it out of place. If the cage is moved, lifted, or warped, the solids won't be confined to the drain area, and the whoosh of water may not carry them out. Bad idea!

If you feel you must use a wand, use one that sprays out sideways from its tip. You can push the wand straight down, then rotate it to rinse in all directions, but you cannot flop the end around in order re-aim it and reach the entire area.

In my opinion, a better answer is to follow the suggestions above. That's the way I do it, and we don't have an odor problem.

Bill

[BrucePerens]

Taking your Thetford apart to fix it probably smells worse :-)

[Craigrrr]

here are some pics of the inside of a thetford

[Bill]

Good pictures, Craig - thanks.

Spirwin, the second picture shows the wire mesh cage I described above. Note that it is sitting on the inverted toilet base, so it is a little confusing to grasp the concept. The third picture shows the cage properly in place.

Bill

[BrucePerens]

Originally Posted by kengiesige

Thetford tank blaster

Hm. It says the packet will clean up to a 50-gallon holding tank. This is 10 times the size of the Electra Magic 80, and the Electra Magic 80 manual recommends a different product. Perhaps you should confine your use of these to the gray-water tank?