Water won't hold in toilet bowl

[onekla]

When we flush the commode the bowl does hold a small amount of water just like in previous RVs. In this new one, the water leaks out of the bowl into the holding tank. Any suggestions to keep that from leaking out? Thanks.

[bigskyjimmy]

Good luck with fixing it, my new Thetford Aqua magic toilet did the same thing a week after I bought the RV and I
tried everything lubing it,replacing the gasket etc... ,my last 2 Thetford Aqua magic's in my 2012 Monty either leaked or the pedal broke and one time flooded my RV, Solution for me... GET RID OF IT and Buy a Dometic 310 or 320 and never worry about it again, My friend with a Grand Designs 5th has the same toilet and his is leaking as well,Type Thetford toilet in the search function and read all the bad stories about this toilet from me and lots of other folks

[sambam]

With a bran new unit like yours, the seal is clearly not worn out, so maybe an obstruction. If you have a Thetford, I've heard stories like Jimmy's before. We have the Dometic in our 2010, which has been very dependable. I don't know why a manufacturer would make these changes, other than to build the unit cheaper. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[1retired06]

We have a 2015 and one of the two toilets already leaks past the gasket.

[timandsusan]

I use Plumbers Silicone sealant to help with the seal. I put it on the ball and the clean rubber gasket. I applied it in June of this year--no leaks since that time. I may have to reapply it but it is so simple to do--I will do it. I did replace the gasket in my Sealand toilet and initially did not get a seal. Applied the sealant--fixed the problem. Check Home Depot,Lowes or a local hardware or plumbing store for it. See my previous post on the same subject.

[scott-pati]

You have to take the toilet apart which is very simple to do and separate the bowl from the flusher. It's only a couple of screws. The issue is the ball valve needs another 1/16th of an inch to fully seal. you can clearly see that when you take the unit apart. The fix is you need to shave down the plastic that the foot pedal rests up against when in the closed position. The plastic that needs to shaved is square looking and has a flat side that the foot pedal mechanism rests or stops up against.

Take a utility knife and start shaving or cutting it like slicing cheese until the valve closes the 16th of inch.

Since I've done this, I have not had any water leaking since the repair and I had the unit sitting for a couple of months.

So far my fix has been holding water for almost a year now. But now the china portion of the toilet is sliding back and forth. When I return home I will try and tighten it.

[davidaf]

Mine is on the things to replace list until then if I lift up on the pedal it keeps water in it most of the time.

[DQDick]

Ditto for us. Have done everything listed above with no Joy. Just lifting the pedal with my foot until it breaks or I decide to spend the money on a Dometic.

[steelpony5555]

Hmmmm 2015?? under warranty??? let dealer deal with it lol lol ....but really the plumbers silicone is a good idea to keep the rubber ring pliable and somewhere down the road you may have to get in there with a tooth brush and clean both sides of the rubber seal to get hard water and stuff out. But that shouldn't happen for a couple of years yet... But I would say if your rig is that new the rubber may be dry from sitting on a lot and need some silicone to lube. oh and once you lube it it should be good for a long time...

[jlb27537]

When they (Thetford) ship the toilets to Keystone they put the plastic bag with the base seal and mounting bolts in the opening the rotating ball sits in. Basically they step on the foot pedal, open the ball area, stick the plastic bag in there and release their foot.

The rotating plastic ball part has a very small projection on one end of the shaft it rotates on. This small projection is easily broken or slightly sheered. This projection was broken on the toilet in our 3150RL when we picked it up. Called Thetford and they sent me a new ball and seal kit. The dealer wanted me to wait for them to order a complete toilet. So much for a good PDI.

The rotating ball is just barely large enough to contact the seal and if it does not rotate fully to the rear, it will not hold water. To check if this is the problem, flush as normal, then take your finger and see if you can rotate the ball rearward. If so, probably need to take it apart.

Jim

[bigskyjimmy]

Been there done that with the warranty claim ,on my 2012 I had them give me a new one and that one failed and flooded my RV,was going to get ANOTHER one on Warranty but they would only give me the same POS ,SOOOO took it upon myself to buy the .Dometic Problem solved, On my 2015 when the Thetford failed I did not bother with the Warranty and bit the bullet again and bought the Dometic 310 for 180 bucks money well spent

[Virginia Young]

In our 2014 3900FB, the one in the half bath always held water, the one in the full bath never held water. Even had the ball valve replace under warranty. The one in our new Big Sky - sometimes it holds, sometimes it doesn't. POS

How's the initiation trip going?

[richfaa]

we have many problems but that has never been one of them.

[onekla]

Hey Virginia, all is good so far. Water seems to be holding in the commode now. Now were just trying to figure out why he sound keeps going off from time to time on the TV. Any ideas why? According to Sony's website, we have the most recent update.

[Virginia Young]

Can't help you with that one. We've never experienced it. Glad to hear all is going well.

[rich2118]

Turn water off. Put a fair amount of Vaseline on rubber seal. Reapply when necessary.

[onekla]

Thanks, everyone. The bowl seems to be holding water now on its own - don't know if maybe the seal was just dry. We'll take a little closer look before we take out the RV in the spring. Lots of good advise here so we're bound to get it fixed up.

[bgjon56]

Originally Posted by sambam

With a bran new unit like yours, the seal is clearly not worn out, so maybe an obstruction. If you have a Thetford, I've heard stories like Jimmy's before. We have the Dometic in our 2010, which has been very dependable. I don't know why a manufacturer would make these changes, other than to build the unit cheaper. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I have. Thetford model 42070, ceramic bowl. Sometimes it holds water and sometimes it doesn’t. If you use a round toilet brush and clean the rubber seal good and keep at least 3in of water in bowl, it usually stays.

[twindman]

Nice thing about Dometic is the ball seal can be easily removed. Takes about 5 seconds and 15 to re-install. Makes it pretty easy to lube with plumbers grease and also check if it has any other problems. Also, I bought replacement seal and they came in a 3 pack I think and was under $10 or $15 if memory is right.

[DutchmenSport]

A post I made just a short while ago: Click here.