Ball Valve VS Gate Valve Toilets

[lasater]

We have a toilet with a ball valve in our 3075RL that stinks (literally). The ball valve will not seal unless you physically pull up on the flush pedal (add water position). It lets standing water leak out into the black tank and then lets the AROMA from the black tank back into the WC and the rest of the coach.

So, we are in the market for a new toilet. With the advancing weakness of our knees, we want a high profile toilet such as Dometic, Thetford, Aria.... We aren't too particular except that we want one with a gate valve and not the ball valve. Our previous Monty had a gate valve in it and was trouble free for the 5 years we owned it.

Has anyone replaced their toilet recently? If so, what kind did you get? Did you put it in yourself? Are you and (most importantly) your better half happy with it?

I'm looking forward to your replies.

[campfire42]

Isn't that the way your's and our ball valve toilet is supposed to work, lifting up with your toe, after a flush, seals the valve and lets water in? So far we are ok with our porcelin toilet operating like that which we think is an improvement over our plastic toilets with gate valves.

[TAKPAK]

You didn't say which brand toilet you have. Ours is a Sealand. We had the same situation you speak of. If yours has the decorative cover (shield) on the front, pull it out and on the rear of the toilet there might be an adjustment (screw/clamp) that you can tighten up and possibly take care of the problem. Our Sealand owners manual says to tighten it a bit if the water leaks out. It puts a bit more pressure on the "ball" and seals better. Also, it says you can put a bit of vegetable oil around the seal that that will help lubricate it. On ours, after you flush, there is a bit of residual water that flows in to make a water seal at the ball. The idea behind lifting up and adding extra water is in case you might have had "too many Tortillas" and might need the "extra flush water"..! Don't ask how I know!!! The ball actually isn't a complete ball, it's like one that has been cut in half as it only moves a quarter turn or so. If yours isn't a Sealand, you could probably go to the manufacturer's web site and get information from there, if it's a Thetford, Dometic, etc.
Hope this helps.

[camper4]

We have the Seland ball type. We like the porcelin but the ball valve seems to need cleaning, to hold water, more often and it seems to use more water per flush than the slide gate.
We do not get odor from ours even when it is not holding water.
I would check two things in addition to adjusting the screw/clamp. First, make sure the seal is in place and in good condition, without tears and is seated properly. Second check to make sure your tank vent is not blocked.
If you do replace the toilet consider moving it back closer to the wall as some have done. A couple of inches can mean a lot when knees are getting old. These pot rooms are none too big.

[Sinterior]

I think our new Monty has the ball type, I can't remember off hand, but you push down about a 1/3 of the way to fill it and all the way to flush. This is the first one I've seen that you fill that way.

[snfexpress]

On many units, 2006 to 2009, Sealand recognized that they had poor valves and they offer a replacement for free. We got one for our 2006 and our 2009, no questions asked (we were out of factory warranty).

[simonsrf]

Brad,
We limped along with the same problems you described. Contact Sealand or an RV Parts store and get the new seal...takes about 10 easy minutes to install. We paid about $30 for the seal, and the problem was solved immediately.