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Old 06-29-2008, 10:08 AM   #1
rimartin58
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Default Toilet plugging -- could use a quick answer

Hey gang,

I'm sitting in a campground on our "shakedown" trip as I write this. Our toilet doesn't seem to want to process the toilet paper. The paper wants to build up at the bottom of the little chute where it makes the bend. I can prod the mess with a "poker" and run the toilet repeatedly and finally get it to go, but that can't be how it's designed.

I've searched posts, but haven't seen this one addressed. Anybody got an idea?

Thanks

RIM
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Old 06-29-2008, 12:19 PM   #2
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Are you using single ply toilet paper?

Phil
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Old 06-29-2008, 12:27 PM   #3
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Maybe the skirt has gone bad and has gotten papery hard or it's bent.
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Old 06-29-2008, 02:16 PM   #4
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When you flush, does water come down from all around the rim, or just one part? There are actually two feed lines. On ours, one became disconnedted so only about half of the water came down on each flush, hense incomplete flushing.
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Old 06-29-2008, 03:06 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by larsdennert View Post
Maybe the skirt has gone bad and has gotten papery hard or it's bent.
I see in the parts list there is a "vinyl skirt assembly". It's hard to see how its configured from the parts list.

We are using single ply RV paper, and I'm getting good water flow around the rim.
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Old 06-29-2008, 03:20 PM   #6
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More thoughts --

Anybody had one of these apart? Looks to me like what's in the bowl drops into the filter cone and liquids are able to pass through the cone to be recirculated. For some reason I though there was a grinder involved, but I don't see one on the schematic. If so, it could just be heavy TP use is putting more solids into the system that it's really designed for. I know some of the old hands on this list have had the toilet apart. Please chime in if you've got experience.

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RIM
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Old 06-29-2008, 06:15 PM   #7
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No, there is no grinder (macerator) - just the pump. As Scott noted, there should be a lot of water coming down, more than enough to wash the TP over the edge. If it continues to give trouble, though, there is nothing wrong with reaching behind you and hitting the "flush" switch after each hunk of TP is dropped into the bowl.

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Old 07-08-2008, 02:35 PM   #8
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I had this same problem. I replaced the "vinyl skirt" (looks like a sandwich bag), and that greatly reduced but not eliminate the problem. I called Thetford, and although the person I spoke with sounded like it was the first time she had heard of the problem, suggested I spray a Teflon lubricant in the chute. I find it hard to believe that it would last that long...you'd probably have to do it every time, so I've never tried it.

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Old 07-16-2008, 11:43 AM   #9
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Default Vinyl skirt is part of the problem

Thanks to ShrimpBurrito for starting me thinking. Got home from a weekend in the TM and took the time to really flush out the toilet by pouring buckets of water right down the gullet with the sewer valves open. My hose plugged off and, once I finally got it washed out, I found the abovementioned vinyl skirt had jammed my pipe. Since I just bought this unit, I don't know how long its been loose and messing up the toilet operation/drainage . I'm going to try the toilet for a trip or two without the skirt before I decide if I need to replace it.

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Old 07-16-2008, 12:31 PM   #10
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Having taken the toilet apart, I have come to believe that the vinyl skirt is a critical part. The skirt is basically a vinyl sandwich bag with the bottom cut open. On one of the ends, there is a lead rod spanning half the circumference of the opening. The end of the skirt without the lead slips on the chute, so the end with the lead hangs freely in the reservoir. The skirt is installed such that the leaded half of the skirt hangs down towards the non-leaded half, essentially closing the skirt. When water or waste comes down the skirt, the force is enough to open the skirt and allow the waste into the reservoir, unless the vinyl is old and stiff, in which case you'll have problems flushing.

Having explained this, I think the critical function of the skirt is to 1) control odor and sewer gas from rising up into the bowl...at least a little bit; and 2) reduce backsplash from the reservoir into the bowl while traveling.

But I'm curious to see how it works for you with it out. Please let us know. The design of the skirt kinda makes me think it was a retrofit, and not initially part of the toilet assembly when it was first designed.

Dave
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