SewerSolution Revisited

ShrimpBurritos recent thread on the insides of the Thetford recirculating toilet has caused me to rethink my use of the SewerSolution, which we have had for over a year. It works well and takes makes dumping a cleaner task and I have always used it while on site. But I can see the value of the "woosh" when dumping the TM. The way the SewerSolution is designed the only pressure occurs when the handle is pulled and the drain pipe on the TM is filled. Since the SewerSolution is only 1 1/2" in diameter this allows only a gallon or so of waste to leave the TM under some sort of pressure. The rest is strictly gravity. Using a 3" hose dumps the whole tank quickly. I think this is better.

Now, having said that, there is still a place for the SewerSolution. It has a 30 foot length, which allows me to use it at home. I couldn't dump at home without it. But from now on, I will use the standard 3' hose as I believe it allows the entire tank to be drained under pressure which will help in getting solids out. Should also help when the tank is rinsed.

I am interested in other comments or opinions, as I tend to overthink things like this and often apply fuzzy logic...

[mcgyver210]

We recently went on a 10 day Thanksgiving trip & used the Sewer Solution for the first time with freezing temps outside. Before using it we had used the normal 3" which worked ok but wasn't as easy or as clean as the Sewer Solution IMO.

Ok now my experience was it cleaned the toilet well but was a little slower than the 3" hose. Also I had the same concern about complete evacuation as you do. I decided to just test it. We used the 3" hose & then refilled toilet with water only then circulated with pump a little. Water appeared very clean. We then attached Sewer Solution & dumped again. There was a little more toilet paper etc but not much. So I then turned the sewer solution jet towards toilet & the jet released quite allot of waste. It surprised me how much I released with a back & forth sweeping action of the water jet. After refilling & dumping 4 or 5 times no more waste was being released.

So my conclusion is that the sewer solution is actually helping with cleaning out the toilet more thoroughly that just a 3" hose dump. Also it was very easy to use in the cold & very clean to use. I will continue to use it for now due to my experience on this trip.

Now just to clarify I have bought a few gadgets for the toilet to make it cleaner & easier. The Sewer Solution has worked the best so far. Now I know the Sewer Solution will not work as well with dry camping due to water usage but we are full hook up yuppie campers LOL LOL. I will keep a 3" hose available just in case though with the original hose cleaner I bought also.

Also we use our bathroom just like our home one we haven't used a bath house at a camp ground yet. There is three of us & we haven't had any issues with using the shower toilet etc. We get no more than 2 days out of toilet & do add a little extra chem for odor control. My wife is a clean fanatic this is one of the reasons we purchased a trailer. We just didn't like Resorts or Hotels. Since we are in the cleaning business we can find the hidden dirt you don't see.

I have been using the Sewer Solution V (five) for many years. This model has a 1" hose. By hooking a water hose to the supplied value it injects a high pressure spray directly into the hose opening which breaks up any solids. This allows you to use the heavest toilet paper you can find.

I am an insurance adjuster. I am in Galveston now. For the past 4 years I have lived and worked (4 to 8 months per year) out of a Forest River motorhome built on the Dodge Sprinter. It is completely self contained including a standard RV toilet. Since I dislike toilet paper that you can read the newspaper though, the Sewer Solution has been nice.

I like the feature where you can pivot the high pressure spray into the tank. This leaves a very clean tank after ever dump. I also like the ability to close the dump value and then pivot the spray. This really cleans up the dump valve, leaving only mostly clean water in and around the hose. Since I must carry the hose inside the motorhome, The Sewer Solution is the only way to go.

I really like the Thetford recirculating toilet and I speak with experience. The Trailmanor I bought 2 weeks ago is the 11 RV I have lived and worked out of in the past 20+ years. I have probably averaged living in an RV 6 months a year. The Thetford recirculating toilet has no odor until it is almost time to dump. With a standard RV toilet, you get a smell everytime you flush starting when the tank is 1/2 full. The Thetford recirculating toilet has a positive flush and, unlike the standand RV toilet, you do not have to use a cleaning brush after trying to flush solids.

I posted a question to another thread before noticing this thread. My question is can you use a heavy quality TP in the recirculating toilet if you are using the Sewer Solution?

Huummmmmm...I may have to reevaluate my reevaluation!

I like the feature where you can pivot the high pressure spray into the tank.

As Billy stated, I also use the high pressure spray back into the tank and was amazed at how much extra 'stuff' comes out when you use the backwash, even after flushing with clean water. Now, we have only used the Sewer Solution this past summer, so time will tell if it causes issues with the Thetford or not. However, I really don't want to go back to the 3 inch hose solution, unless troubles develop (or I hear Scott has blown up his Thetford )

Mike Anderson

I guess my thinking on this (and I agree with previous comments) is that there is a 45 degree bend in the 3" outlet tube of the Thetford tank. Realistically I don't see how much pressure from the SewerSolution pivoting pressure spray actually gets to the tank. Some must, as I have also seen some cleaning occur. Also, has anyone tried to fill the tank with water for cleaning by using the pressure spray from below? I continue to welcome comments from some of you 'seasoned' SewerSolution vets...

[Bill]

As an alternative to sprayers for cleanout, has anyone tried this? We've discussed it several times, but I don't think we've had any feedback.

http://cbruni.googlepages.com/

Bill

[countrygirl]

We used Calgon water softener in our previous camper a Keystone Outback Sydney 30 RLS. It had two 40 gallon Gray water tanks and a 30 or 40 gallon black water tank. We never had any problems with odor or the gauges not working properly. I have thought about using it in the Thetford but had never seen any discussion so I have not actually tried it with the TM.

[mcgyver210]

Originally Posted by Scott O

I guess my thinking on this (and I agree with previous comments) is that there is a 45 degree bend in the 3" outlet tube of the Thetford tank. Realistically I don't see how much pressure from the SewerSolution pivoting pressure spray actually gets to the tank. Some must, as I have also seen some cleaning occur. Also, has anyone tried to fill the tank with water for cleaning by using the pressure spray from below? I continue to welcome comments from some of you 'seasoned' SewerSolution vets...

All I can say is the jet used in the Sewer Solution does a good job using the faucet pressure available with a narrow jet pattern. I don't have it in front of me so not sure about size of the jet. As for the bend water actually is getting up there because while experimenting we pushed the flapper skirt back & water does get in of course not all makes it. I also don't think it cleans it all by itself. I did refill the toilet 4 - 5 times & used the Sewer Solution also before being satisfied that it was as clean as it could be. And we are extremely picky on what is clean & not clean. I really don't think just dumping is truly cleaning the toilet ot but since I am new to all this I will add I guess it could maybe. I will be sticking with the Sewer Solution until something shows me it isn't working like I think it is.

In my business we use waste water tanks (not sewer though) & if we just pull the dump valve it doesn't clean totally with out a water jet rinse.

As for a softener I found one that fits under the sofa perfectly & was actually easy to install. I had to find one since we hated showers without softened water on our first trip.

Originally Posted by Bill

As an alternative to sprayers for cleanout, has anyone tried this? We've discussed it several times, but I don't think we've had any feedback.

http://cbruni.googlepages.com/

Bill

Bill, that is an interesting read, and it makes a lot of sense.....so much that I went out and bought some Calgon water softener. Even though we never had a problem with the TM Thetford with full function use , now that we have a conventional RV tank system (and after reading some of the posts out there on the problems with those), I am going to use the Geo method and see how it does.

Chap