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Old 11-21-2002, 09:43 AM   #1
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Default Re: Recirculating toilet

We have ours last 8 nights with no odor.  The length of time depends on the outside temperature.  The chemical you use is of extreme importance since the toilet recirculates.   We only use the Thetford Aqua KEM.  Their Aqua GREEN is not for recirculating toilets.  Same for products similar to Aqua GREEN.  We have developed a routine of only adding 2 quarts of water, 1/2 of an 8 oz. Bottle and 1 more quart.  We only allow liquids in the toilet.  No paper, etc.  When the toilet is full enough for the pump to recirculate, we add the other 1/2 of the bottle.  This way we can go 8 days without it being full.  On 2 or 3 night trips, we never have to add the other 1/2 of the bottle of chemicals, unless the weather is real hot.  We have logged over 120 nights in our TrailManor in the past 3 years.
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Old 11-21-2002, 10:01 AM   #2
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8)
Thanks for the advise I will try it.
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Old 11-21-2002, 10:34 AM   #3
KB7OUR
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Pat, since the toilet holds ~7 gal, it might be an option to buy a small 5 or 10 gal dump tote if you want to use the toilet "full time".  Wouldn't take up much space and might buy you an extra couple of days. Of course, you are still limited by fresh water capacity so sooner or later you have to dump anyway. Our family of 4 can tolerate 3 days of boondocking, including one shower each if we are careful. We have a 40 gal fresh water tank and filter at the faucet for drinking so we no longer need to carry an extra 5 gal of bottled water. Good luck!

Wade
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Old 11-21-2002, 10:49 AM   #4
BOB_STRONG
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Default Re: Recirculating toilet

Pat,

We have owned 3 Trailmanors since 1992, and I have never had any odor problems with the recirculating toilet. At Walmart, I buy Thetford liquid Campa Chem Natural formaldehyde free holding tank deodorant. It comes in a box(6 bottles). I use one bottle per charge. To save on holding space, I do not bring the water level up to the line where it says that it is charged.

Also, I bought at Camping world Potty Toddy Tabs. I just add one or 2 tablets in along with the blue Thetford Campa Chem. Even this last Summer when it was very hot, we never got a smell using the combination. We have used it for 4 days (3 adults) before I had to dump the toilet. When we stay for over 4 days at a campground, I always get full hookups. If we are there for less time, I just use the dump station on the way out.

I have recommended this comination to friends, and they too have never had any problems with their recirculating toilet no matter the temperature or what went in the toilet.

When we owned our 1988 Coleman Plantation, it had the built in Thetford toilet. It was not a recirculating type, but the directions way back then said to use this combination for best results. I tried it, and it sure did work well.

Just give it a try, and I am sure you will be happy.

Bob Strong
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Old 11-22-2002, 05:20 AM   #5
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Thanks for all of the great advise.  This web site is awesome.
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Old 11-23-2002, 04:31 AM   #6
arknoah
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Default Re: Recirculating toilet

JohnA,

Sounds like you don't actually flush the unit (or try to) until the level of fluid reaches the level where it can be flushed.  Waiting like that doesn't cause any of the odor to "leak" out of the trap?  I would have assumed otherwise.

We tend to always camp in campgrounds, so the only times we get picky about the toilet is when we don't have a sewer connection.  During those times, we use the only fluid rules (except for some paper), and can usually squeeze out three days, but it has been tough.  Our usual time limit with two adults and two kids is two days, basically a normal weekend.

When we have used the Thetford Blue, we have had no odor problems, though after every third dump or so, we put in a small amount of the Blue and charge the toilet, and just flush it a lot to make sure any lingering bits of material are flushed through, then we dump it again.   While I know there is some cost to doing this, when we're on a two week plus vacation, it seems that some odor can result.  This method minimizes this.
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Old 11-23-2002, 09:24 AM   #7
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No trap in these toilets.  So good chemicals are required to contain any odor, especially in hot weather.  Most places we camp do not have full hook ups.  Out of about 130 nights in the past 3 years, i don't think more than 10 nights were we somewhere with sewer.  We do some camping with no hookups but our favorite campground is Lost Mine outside of Bryson City, North Carolina, near the Nantahala River.  All it has is electric outlets nailed to trees and a few sites with water.  We average 3 trips a year, with stays of about 7-8 days.  The year of the Olympics, we spent 16 nights there.
http://home.midsouth.rr.com/theadams...y/nantahal.htm
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