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Old 11-17-2021, 11:05 PM   #1
jdlipford
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Default Recirculating Toilet

Hey guys, first of all, i'd like to say thanks for all your help! I've learned so much from reading the threads! I'm almost ready to get a trailmanor, but am wondering if I can make the recirculating toilet into a regular portapotti? So my question is: does the recirculating toilet have a flushing valve that lets the waste leave the bowl and enter the tank? When you press the flush button, does it actually open a valve to gravity flush, or is it just spraying rinsing water down the bowl. I looked at the diagram and it appears that theres a cone filter of some sort, but no acutal valve that opens and closes. I'd like to bypass the pick up tube (that uses black water to flush with and just use fresh water to flush with instead (from the shower sprayer). Would this work? I looked at the sealand and cassette toilet mods, but they are pricey and hard to find these days! Just don't want to spend $700 or so on a toilet after spending $12000 for a trailmanor and thinking of ways to make the recirculating toilet work better.
Thanks!
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Old 11-17-2021, 11:18 PM   #2
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Do give the recirculating toilet a chance. There is a good thread describing how to take care of the smell.

Personally, I love the toilet. I wouldn't want any of the other options, except maybe the incinerating toilet.
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Old 11-18-2021, 08:32 AM   #3
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The toilet IS the black tank. Whatever you put down the toilet (water, chemicals, wee-wee, doo-doo) gets pumped back up to use to “rinse” the bowl. Other than a vinyl flap, there is no valve that separates the “tank” at the bottom of the toilet from the bowl, which also has no water in it.

Some people use the recirculating toilet with no issues. Others don’t like the recirculating toilet. I never really had any issues, I just found it to be a gross little device knowing how it works. There are several options to swap out. If you want a real porcelain toilet with freshwater flush and a small blackwater tank, search “SeaLand” here on this forum. That’s what I swapped out to, and it’s some of the best money I’ve spent on my TrailManor. You can get the toilet from Scamp Trailers at https://www.scamptrailers.com/produc...raveler-toilet or also search “Poor Man’s SeaLand” for a build-it-yourself option for about half the price (second two photos).
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Old 11-18-2021, 09:53 AM   #4
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Keep in mind that the recirculating toilet is the only viable option if you want to be able to empty it directly into a sewer hook up. Most other options require you to remove the waste separately and carry it to a dump station or trash.

In our family of 4, we are emptying it every two days. I'd rather not need to carry a cassette storage tank every day or every other day to a dump station located at the other end of a camp site. If we are camping for a week in one spot I'd rather keep the option to empty a recirculating toilet straight through to a hook up.

I'm not trying to sway you one way or other. Many here are very unenthusiastic about the recirculating toilet. I'm just ensuring you hear why some of us keep the recirculating toilet.
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Old 11-18-2021, 10:18 AM   #5
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Not true. SeaLand toilet dumps through the existing bottom plumbing, just like the recirculating toilet or a regular RV.

The only real advantage to the recirculating toilet is if you do a lot of boondocking where fresh water is at a premium. You put ~3 gallons into it, and that’s all the fresh water it uses.
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Old 11-18-2021, 10:23 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jdlipford View Post
I am wondering if I can make the recirculating toilet into a regular portapotti?
Are you thinking of a real PortaPotty, where you have to actually carry a pot of waste to a campground toilet or pit toilet, and empty it there? This often takes the form of a cassette toilet, though there are cruder versions which are basically a bucket toilet.

Quote:
Does the recirculating toilet have a flushing valve that lets the waste leave the bowl and enter the tank? When you press the flush button, does it actually open a valve to gravity flush, or is it just spraying rinsing water down the bowl.
The answer is not quite either. The Thetford does not have a metal flushing valve that opens. Instead, it has a very floppy vinyl sleeve or wide tube that is supposed to open, letting the waste slide through, and then shutting by collapsing again. The intent is to isolate the waste tank from the bowl so you don't smell what is in the tank. While this is an accepted approach to drain plumbing (see www.hepvo.com), the implementation in the Thetford recirc toilet does not work particularly well for some folks.

Quote:
I looked at the diagram and it appears that theres a cone filter of some sort
The cone filter is not really part of the drain system. It is an upright tapered cylinder of coarse screen whose purpose is to confine solid waste to a small area around the dump valve at the bottom of the tank. The flush pump then draws liquid from outside the confined area. The flush liquid is de-odorized, and is usually blue, so it doesn't smell or look bad.

Quote:
I'd like to bypass the pick up tube (that uses black water to flush with) and just use fresh water (from the shower sprayer) to flush. Would this work?
Yes, it would. You would remove the flush pump and the pickup tube from the toilet, and splice a fresh water line into the current pump outlet. You might consider connecting the new fresh water line to the cold water line under the bathroom sink, rather than the shower sprayer - the retrofit would be easier. Either way, you would need a manually-controlled on-off valve of some sort. And bear in mind that although you would be using fresh water to flush the toilet, you still have that pot o' poo holding tank down below. So you have to decide exactly what it is that offends you about the recirc toilet. Is it the use of recirculated water for flushing, rather than fresh water? Or is it the presence of the waste tank below the bowl?

You also have to remember that if you change over to fresh water flush, the tank will fill up much faster than it would using recirc water for flushing. If you are in a campground with a dump riser available, that is OK. If you are anywhere else, this will get to be an inconvenient problem in a hurry. You will probably resort to a "Blue Boy" roll-around dump tank, which does the job but is not much fun to use.

One other thing might enter your thinking. Thetford has discontinued the recirculating toilet, and there are apparently no more to be had anywhere. If you remove your recirc toilet and offer it for sale, you could recoup part of the cost of a new toilet such as the M-28.

Bill

BTW, I will move this thread into its proper place in the Plumbing Forum in a few days.
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Old 11-18-2021, 12:18 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shane826 View Post
Not true. SeaLand toilet dumps through the existing bottom plumbing, just like the recirculating toilet or a regular RV.

The only real advantage to the recirculating toilet is if you do a lot of boondocking where fresh water is at a premium. You put ~3 gallons into it, and that’s all the fresh water it uses.
Well, I stand corrected!

I do think I still prefer the recirculating toilet, as the SeaLand would need emptying more often if you have a family of 4. Also, we do boondock for 1-2 days at HarvestHosts, and if I can get the family to conserve water better I'd do for longer.
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Old 11-18-2021, 12:21 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill View Post
...
Thetford has discontinued the recirculating toilet, and there are apparently no more to be had anywhere. ....
Bill

BTW, I will move this thread into its proper place in the Plumbing Forum in a few days.
I got a new one waiting for me at my US parcel drop address. One of the last ones.
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