Toilet Additives

[Idaho Adventurer]

As the one who started this thread, I apologize for not coming back with my verdict at the end of last summer's camping season. I ended up getting some samples of both the Inca Gold liquid and powder. I used the liquid on a 7 night dry camping trip with our church, in which we only used the toilet at night for #1. I did add the Inca Gold at double strength because I new it would be a long and hot week for it. In conclusion, it held up as well as I could expect from any products. For the most part, it was always just the strong fragrance that would hit you every time you lifted the lid. This was a far cry better than my experience with the Aqua Max that we used earlier in the spring. After a couple of nights in much cooler weather and using the toilet in the same manner, the smell was unbearable.

Also, I tried Happy Campers on a much shorter weekend trip at the end of the summer. I like how there's no smell (not even a fragrance), but because the product has no die in it, the look of the liquid after a while is enough to make someone queasy.

For those reason, I believe the Inca Gold will be what we stick with for now. I'm not overly fond of the strong fragrance smell, but I installed a toilet vent fan, as some others have done on here, which I'm hoping will help with that.

Incidentally, If anyone is interested in trying out the Inca Gold products, just give the company a call and ask for samples. They seem to be very accommodating to this.

[GMC MH]

Hello,

I'm not a Trail Manor owner, but I do have an Electra Magic toilet in my camper that I have been using for many years. Like the rest of you with this recirculating toilet, I have been trying to find a chemical that will perform as well as the original RV Aqua Kem formula.

Till recently, I have had good luck with Thetford's "Aqua Kem Marine" product. It is Bronopol based instead of Formaldehyde, but it seems to work as well as the old RV Aqua Kem. (Even in the Texas heat where I live) I would also say the chemical itself does not have as much of an odor, as RV Aqua-Kem, which is an added plus.

Aqua Kem Marine also seemed to be readily available... At least it was about a year ago, when I bought a gallon of it at that time. Unfortunately, I recently went looking for stock of Aqua Kem Marine, and it seems to have been discontinued along with the RV version.

However, I reached out to Thetford about the lack of availability, and received the below encouraging response:

"Thank you for reaching out to Thetford regarding the Aqua-Kem Marine product you enjoy using. Thetford is reintroducing the product in the liquid form, a 6 pack of 8 oz bottles, as Aqua-Kem. The formulation has not changed only Marine was dropped from the name. It will be ready to ship in the third quarter. NTP also has the Toss-Ins version available now, Aqua-Kem Toss-Ins. I understand it is available through Amazon being fulfilled by NTP."

Now, I went looking for the "Toss Ins" on Amazon, and did not have any luck.... I wrote back to Thetford asking for clarification on where the "Toss Ins" were available, or what "NTP" was, but it's been more than a week now, and I have not received a response.

I do see some "Aqua Kem Toss Ins" in google shopping from various vendors, but I'm sort of holding out to see if the liquid formula again becomes available, as I prefer it to the solid products. I also still have some Aqua Kem Marine left, so hopefully that will get me through.

Hope this helps out....

[Bill]

I wouldn't bet the farm on bronopol. Everything I read says that bronopol is similar to formaldehyde, works as well as formaldehyde, and has been banned in RV holding tank deodorants just like formaldehyde (at least in California). That is not promising for its future, so I'm not sure what Thetford is telling you.

There is an interesting article discussing some of this, at

https://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tech/com...-new-formulas/

It paints a pretty rosy picture of the new and different kinds of RV deodorants, though I am not sure I buy it entirely. Nonetheless, there is some good info in it. If you hear any more from Thetford about bronopol, let us know please.

Bill

[GMC MH]

I'm with you on the new generation of deodorants... I have not had any luck with them thus far (though I have only tried a few) but my assumption is a lot of that is due to most of the deodorants being more "Holding Tank Treatments" vs "Recirculating Toilet Chemicals"...

My hope is the California regulation is more targeted to "RV" products, (at least thus far) and has not yet been broadened to marine or other products.

And really, holding tank odors are more easily controlled by proper venting and other solutions. It's the recirculating toilets that need the stronger biocides to keep odors under control. Add to that, the issue with these biocides is harm to septic systems (not an issue if you use a dumpsite connected to a municipal sewer) and if you limit their use to JUST recirculating toilets, the impact of their continued use would be minimal.

Also, there are marine, aviation, bus and train products out there that still contain bronopol and other biocides.... If the Aqua Kem does not pan out, Celeste Sani-Pak, Lav Chem Blue and other aircraft, train and bus chems are probably where I would go next. Bronopol is also used in many consumer products... Cosmetics, hand soaps, detergents, etc. as a preservative, so I would think banning it outright would be more difficult.

Again, living in Texas, I can't see anything other than a biocide being effective here during the summer in any recirculating toilet... But maybe the technology will be there for some alternative in the future. In the interim, I will try to stick with biocides as long as they are available.

[GMC MH]

Looking further, I found the below document on the Celeste Sani-Pak aviation lav chem product. (Bronopol based) Looking at recommended dosing on page 4 on the below doc, I think we would only require 6-8 grams per toilet charge to meet the "Long-Mid Haul Standard Servicing Interval" dosage.

http://www.celestecorp.com/uploads/3...5_high_res.pdf

I see a 100 count box of 8gram packets on ebay for 60 bucks.. That works out to 60 cents a charge... That's way cheaper than any other toilet treatment I have seen. Going to give it a shot.

Sani-Pak toilet deodorant – developed over 40 years ago for military use – is recognized worldwide as the benchmark in aircraft lav chemical deodorants, and today is also used in rail, mass transit, marine, recreational vehicles and portable toilets.

SP-77000 Series (powder) – Sani-Pak powder is the grandfather of lavatory chemicals. Single use water soluble packets or larger tear open tubes offer an easily controllable and measurable way to deliver the power of Sani-Pak chemical. Unlike other powder products, Sani-Pak uses two types of water soluble film for optimum solubility.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by GMC MH

I reached out to Thetford about the lack of availability, and received the below encouraging response:
. . "Thank you for reaching out to Thetford regarding the Aqua-Kem Marine product you enjoy using. Thetford is reintroducing the product in the liquid form, a 6 pack of 8 oz bottles, as Aqua-Kem. The formulation has not changed only Marine was dropped from the name.

Originally Posted by bill

I wouldn't bet the farm on bronopol. Everything I read says that bronopol is similar to formaldehyde, works as well as formaldehyde, and has been banned in RV holding tank deodorants just like formaldehyde (at least in California). That is not promising for its future, so I'm not sure what Thetford is telling you.

The Thetford web site says
"Thetford Corporation – the world’s leading manufacturer of mobile sanitation products for the RV, marine, camping markets – is proud to announce its newest North American product line, AquaMAX. AquaMAX is the next evolution of Aqua-Kem. AquaMAX maintains the effectiveness of Aqua-Kem, but is 100% free of formaldehyde and bronopol"

Sorry. Thetford is well-known for making stuff like this as confusing as possible. In this case, it seems they told you that Aqua Kem Marine is being "re-introduced" as Aqua Kem (without the word Marine, but no change in formulation). And now Aqua Kem is being reformulated as Aqua Max, with no bronopol.

Bill

[GMC MH]

Originally Posted by Bill

The Thetford web site says
"Thetford Corporation – the world’s leading manufacturer of mobile sanitation products for the RV, marine, camping markets – is proud to announce its newest North American product line, AquaMAX. AquaMAX is the next evolution of Aqua-Kem. AquaMAX maintains the effectiveness of Aqua-Kem, but is 100% free of formaldehyde and bronopol"

Sorry. Thetford is well-known for making stuff like this as confusing as possible. In this case, it seems they told you that Aqua Kem Marine is being "re-introduced" as Aqua Kem (simply dropping the word Marine, but no change in formulation). And now Aqua Kem is being reformulated as Aqua Max, with no bronopol.

Bill

Bill,

I think that statement about Aqua Max has been out on the Thetford website since 2021... The email message I received from Thetford was just a couple weeks ago. As they stated in the reply, the new Aqua Kem product would be ready to ship 3rd quarter of this year... I would not expect to see anything mentioning this on the website until the product was available for purchase....

Ill respond back here if I hear anything further on my inquiry to Thetford.

[GMC MH]

Received the below message from Thetford:

Thetford is excited as well about the reintroduction. Please check back with Thetford late September or early October for the availability of the Aqua-Kem Toss-Ins. While the product is produced it appears as if it has not hit the shelves yet.