The Thetford toilet: a virtual tour and fixing it for good

[Wavery]

You might try "Back-flushing" the toilet. We have this tool:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...ush-king/20522


I use it every time that we dump. It keeps the entire system a lot cleaner and free of debris. If you don't back-flush, you stand the possibility of toilet paper getting suck in the valve and hardening while in storage. The next time that you close the valve, you may damage the seal or at least not be able to close the valve all the way.

[ShrimpBurrito]

The problem with relying on back flushing after dumping comes back to the design flaws with the toilet. Since the filter cone, i.e. screen, isn't fastened to the bottom of the toilet, solids and TP move outside the cone during transit. So you can back flush all day long, but my guess is that the material that moved outside the cone will not make its way back inside the cone, and thus, down the drain.

Maybe we can do some experiments! How exciting!

Dave

Well I emailed Thetford about the problem I was having with water leaking past the slide valve into the drain pipe. The first email I got said basically what poster on this thread had said the problem was. It said to send them the model number of my toilet and they would send me a new slide valve seal with instructions on how to install it.

I emailed them the information requested. I then get an email saying the Thetford toilet model I have is a recirculating toilet as if I did not know. I explained to this person I know it is recirculating toilet and explain the problem with the slide valve.

That was three days ago and I have not heard back yet.

I was much happier with our toilet before reading these posts and seeing the photos. What a nasty design this is! But thanks for the information anyhow... I'd say it is about time for TM to redesign and go to a cassette toilet. We had one on our previous tent trailer and found it to be without flaws and very clean to use.

[Bill]

Opinions will vary, of course, but actually, I think the Thetford toilet is a great design for the set of demands that a TM or other lightweight imposes. As Dave / Shrimp Burrito noted in the other thread, a cassette would be very difficult to integrate into a TM because you can't empty it when the TM is collapsed. Both of the overlapping shells, plus the sidewall of the main box, would all have to have an opening cut in them. That's not something I would welcome in my TM.

I am the first to agree, however, that Thetford's customer interactions could use improvement.

Bill

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Bill

Opinions will vary, of course, but actually, I think the Thetford toilet is a great design for the set of demands that a TM or other lightweight imposes. As Dave / Shrimp Burrito noted in the other thread, a cassette would be very difficult to integrate into a TM because you can't empty it when the TM is collapsed. Both of the overlapping shells, plus the sidewall of the main box, would all have to have an opening cut in them. That's not something I would welcome in my TM.

I am the first to agree, however, that Thetford's customer interactions could use improvement.

Bill

The cassette could be pulled out before collapsing the roofs. That's the nice part about the cassette. You could empty it and put it back before collapsing or take the cassette out and put it in the TV and empty it at home.

[ShrimpBurrito]

I agree, Bill: I think the concept of a recirculating toilet like the Electra Magic is a great design for the TM. I just think the Electra Magic could use a number of relatively minoro design changes that would improve its function about 200% and all but eliminate the problems that some folks have with it.

Dave

What actually happens if you use standard toilet paper in lieu of the special RV paper?

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by photoadjuster

What actually happens if you use standard toilet paper in lieu of the special RV paper?

We use standard, single-ply, paper in ours and have had no issues (yet).

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by Scott O

harveyrv...I could have sworn that the cassette on our Starcraft was below floor level. We haven't had it for over a year so my memory may be faulty. Also, without being too graphic, could you explain your backflush method? I also do this using the SewerSolution, but wonder how much water is actually going into the tank since it is so much higher than the hose connection. The water does come back out relatively clean, so maybe this works better that I think. Thanks.

We use the "Flush King"...........
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...ush-king/20522

I have the same concern. I never know exactly how long to let the water run because each place will have different water pressure. I figure that it's probably about 5-7 Gallons per minute. I let it fill for 30 seconds if the pressure seems really high and 45-60 seconds if it doesn't. I haven't had an overflow yet.