Van flooded - broken Thetford loo flush fitting

[gerry mcg]

I drain the van down over the winter but forgot to drain the loo flush.

I Filled the van with water yesterday and couldn't work out why water was coursing across the floor. Coming to the loo area.

Cue emergency water dump!

4 hrs later and a Crash course Google / YouTube search in Thetford loo disassembley revealed there culprit.
The plastic fitting that connects the blue water supply hose to the clear Thetford loo water flush pump had failed, presumably because of frost / ice pressure. That meant the entire content of the water tank was trying to empty itself via the heads!
It was A complete bastard to fix too! it is Awkward as hell to disassemble the loo!

But all fixed with 4hrs and a £1.39 part from b&q.
Not what I had planned for a sunny Sunday . At least it was dry!
You have been warned! Drain the flush system too!

 

[Hollyberry]

Hope your van can dry out ok.
I had a similar thing happen in a house once. Overnight something small broke / popped in the downstairs cistern. Water poured out through the night flooding the kitchen and living room floors Took a week to dry the house out and insurance replaced all ground floor flooring.

 

[gerry mcg]

Hope your van can dry out ok.
I had a similar thing happen in a house once. Overnight something small broke / popped in the downstairs cistern. Water poured out through the night flooding the kitchen and living room floors Took a week to dry the house out and insurance replaced all ground floor flooring.

I'm sure it will be fine it was mainly over floor flooding - I noticed something was up pretty quickly and drained the system straightaway.
all is sorted now and I have plonked the dehumidifier in the van to make sure it is died out properly

 

[CamperSue]

@gerry mcg
Sorry to hear that. Someone on the Globecar facebook group had the same issue recently.
I've been worried about this in my Campscout. The challenge is draining the line since I don't want to run the pump dry and I can't find anywhere to drain the flush line near the loo.
My solution for this year has been to keep some heating on during the cold nights and insulate the cartridge compartment door.
I'll look at installing a drain point in the flush line and I suspect I'll need to take the bowl off to get access.

 

[gerry mcg]

@gerry mcg
Sorry to hear that. Someone on the Globecar facebook group had the same issue recently.
I've been worried about this in my Campscout. The challenge is draining the line since I don't want to run the pump dry and I can't find anywhere to drain the flush line near the loo.
My solution for this year has been to keep some heating on during the cold nights and insulate the cartridge compartment door.
I'll look at installing a drain point in the flush line and I suspect I'll need to take the bowl off to get access.

There is relatively easy access to the Blue flush line if you access via the cassette door in the side of the van that could let you cut the hose and install a drain valve there

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[CamperSue]

There is relatively easy access to the Blue flush line if you access via the cassette door in the side of the van that could let you cut the hose and install a drain valve there

Relatively being a ... "relative" term.

 

[gerry mcg]

it was part "7" on the exploded drawing that failed
https://www.thetford-europe.com/gb/products/toilets/cassette-toilets/c200-cs-no-longer-available

 

[gerry mcg]

this is the thread https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/thetford-c200-toilet-bowl-removal.160892/
and video that helped massively

 

[138go]

Someone probably tightened it up just a little bit to much and started a crack when it was built. Bit of frost and bingo. They put them where you cannot get at them so you have to take it in and get one of the MH Technicians to fix it

..

 

[lorger]

Gerry this happened to me last winter, thetford actually sent the part free of charge.

Hope all works out and no damage to van.

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[Paul_Oxon]

@gerry mcg
Sorry to hear that. Someone on the Globecar facebook group had the same issue recently.
/QUOTE]

That'll be me. Exactly the same break in exactly the same place.
Ordered the official Thetford part but interesting that you can get something good enough from B&Q

 

[Jim]

All too common occurrence, draining it is normally only forgotten once so it shouldn't happen again

 

[gerry mcg]

the B&Q part looks identical.... £1.39.... I wonder what the "official" Thetford part cost?

 

[Paul_Oxon]

the B&Q part looks identical.... £1.39.... I wonder what the "official" Thetford part cost?

It was about £5 from a dealer, plus postage of course. Although someone else said that they had the same problem and Thetford themselves sent it for free.

 

[Paul_Oxon]

All too common occurrence, draining it is normally only forgotten once so it shouldn't happen again

In my case at least, not ''forgotten" but there being no way to drain it down. Pressing the flush may relieve some pressure but not enough. I did wonder about putting a drain valve in the supply to the flush, it would now seem to be a good plan!

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[phil1946]

So much easier on a brand new unit, on a bench so at the right height - it also probably helps to know what you are doing. I found it much harder to put back together than to take apart!

 

[gerry mcg]

It should be easy enough to add a drain into here

 

[Paul_Oxon]

The join in my van is slightly lower down that vertical pipe, and indeed looks to be the perfect place. Wish I'd realised and done it last autumn though

 

[CamperSue]

Interesting difference. Mine appears to have an additional valve. The black electrically operated is a one-way valve, I think - spade connectors disconnected in this pic. I can undo the connector on the blue fresh water line to drain that line back to the tank but am unable to release the clear flush line from the same valve. So, that's where I will need the drain point. I can see an electrical connection near the same place on @gerry mcg 's system but cannot see that there is an inline valve.

 

[gerry mcg]

I can't see your photo, but on my loo, the vertical pale blue hose rising to the 90 degree elbow is a globecar water supply hose. The darker horizontal blue hose is a Thetford part that coils up around the bottom of the loo and connects to the flush pump. Which is hidden in the cavity beneath the toilet bowl.The outflow of the flush pump is connected to a clear hose that leads to the bowl flush outlet.

Edit. I can see your picture and it looks like an easy job on your van!

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[CamperSue]

I think mine is a C220 so a different model.