Thetford Dump Valve and Sealand Toilet Questions

[mncamp]

The dump valve for our Thetford toilet isn't fully closing, but I'm wondering it this is even an issue. Can't I just fill the drain pipe with water and then fill and charge the toilet? What is the benefit of the seal at the bottom of the toilet?

Speaking of toilets, I have been considering a switch to the Sealand 711-M28C, but don't really want to make the large investment. Would it be possible to modify a Thetford curve or similar cassette toilet by cutting a hole in the bottom and just draining the holding tank through the hole in the floor? How would this be much different than the Sealand?

[muz123]

I have had the same issue but have not had time to repair the flange underneath. Yes you can still use it but takes lot more time to charge.

Dave

[BarbaraJ]

Why not just repair what you have? It isn't that hard. You can get the Slide EZ repair kit (part #09872), the toilet flange (33364), and the Dow Corning 111 lube in a small size for under $40 on Amazon. Get the parts ordered and ready to go for when you have a couple of free hours. Bill has posted an excellent tutorial with step by step, easy to follow directions. Fill it with clean water and maybe mild dish detergent and let it soak for a while, flush, drain, repeat. You probably won't even notice much of an odor. I did soak my whole slide assembly for just a few minutes in a bucket with some diluted CLR to remove some crusty hard water deposits.
(I have to admit, I had a wonderful friend help me with the removal and reinstallation...my knees don't like to be on the floor any more!)
The biggest problem with using it without repair is leakage from the main dump valve, a blowout doing damage to the plumbing... then you end up with the toilet contents where you really done want them!

[ThePair]

Originally Posted by mncamp

The dump valve for our Thetford toilet isn't fully closing, but I'm wondering it this is even an issue. Can't I just fill the drain pipe with water and then fill and charge the toilet? What is the benefit of the seal at the bottom of the toilet?

Speaking of toilets, I have been considering a switch to the Sealand 711-M28C, but don't really want to make the large investment. Would it be possible to modify a Thetford curve or similar cassette toilet by cutting a hole in the bottom and just draining the holding tank through the hole in the floor? How would this be much different than the Sealand?

Have to be honest, after switching to a cassette (Curve) I wouldn't want to have to dump through the bottom anymore -- then again, I never camp w/ sewer hookups, so I guess that would be the difference.

The happiest I've been was the time I camped over Memorial Day weekend... getting out, the line for the dump was well over 2 hours long. So, I hooked a garden hose to the gray water (I have a cap that converts, and we only use gray for washing dishes/sink/brushing teeth, and we filter it, so I don't have moral issues with watering the plants with it--no different than tent camping and using a basin, in my opinion) and let the tank drain while we went on a long walk. When we returned, I packed up and skipped the line to dump.

Cassette FTW!

[klpauba]

I love our Curve for the very same reasons you state, ThePair.

Regarding the gray water ... it confuses me why the runoff from washing is perfectly fine to toss into the bushes when tent camping but allowing it to flow through the piping in our trailers suddenly makes it unacceptable for RVers to do the same.

Filtering is necessary to remove the foodstuffs that are the main cause of the smell that can result when storing gray water. It's also good to use a biodegradable soap.

I would like to experiment in not storing the gray water at all. I had read of an RVer who drills a 1" hole a foot or so into the ground and has a hose with a 3/4" PVC pipe with and end cap, a number of holes drilled near the end cap and a valve at the top. When he gets to a camp, he drills the hole, shoves the PVC pipe into the ground, hooks the hose to the gray water drain and adjusts the valve for a trickle flow. He mentioned that the (roughly) 14 gal of gray water a day that he uses drains overnight without creating a pool of it anywhere. It would seem this would work well in all but the rocky soils.

[Jampcourt]

More and more states in the southern part of the United States are putting in place greywater friendly legislation, but you should always check with the local enforcing agency. Most of this legislation is geared towards installing systems for home or industrial use, not RV's.
In Colorado, it varies from place to place, but this practice would not be allowed in our state or forest service campgrounds. I'm not sure that I'd want the drain you describe when in bear country, even if particulates were filtered out...not right under the trailer!
I assume that this would work only if you had separate drains for the greywater and black water tanks, or if you had a curve or cassette toilet. Our 2013 model has the separate valves, but I understand that TM has stopped this practice.

[oldstick]

Originally Posted by klpauba

Regarding the gray water ... it confuses me why the runoff from washing is perfectly fine to toss into the bushes when tent camping but allowing it to flow through the piping in our trailers suddenly makes it unacceptable for RVers to do the same.

The cover of darkness plus a bucket...

[klpauba]

Originally Posted by oldstick

The cover of darkness plus a bucket...

But I've watched Northwoods Law and one episode showed the rangers with night-vision goggles. It would be just my luck so I'll remain a chicken.

[tentcamper]

We repaired our valve on the old TM. Very Simple. There is a post how to do it. Good instructions. If memory ser It took maybe 40 minutes and $20.