Toilet crisis narrowly averted!

[DonandBonnie]

Last night we landed in a new campground in Advance, NC. Sometime shortly after we hooked up the water, the pressure dropped to a trickle. I flushed the toilet and everything seemed normal and never gave it more thought. About a half hour later Bonnie came screaming out of the bathroom that the toilet was going to overflow. Thank goodness that she caught it when she did. It was within a quarter inch of going over the top. Another flush emptied the bowl - immediate crisis resolved! Again everything appeared to work properly. The gizmo on the back of the bowl allowed water to run in to cover the bottom. Only it didn't stop running and started to slowly fill the bowl again. Crisis temporarily averted by turning the water off outside. Later in the evening the pressure returned and we had no further problem with the trickling water.

Apparently the gizmo that admits water into the bowl after a flush requires a certain amount of water pressure to shut off. The trickle we experienced wasn't enough pressure to shut it off.

Oh, and one last comment. Here's some ammunition for the guys. I left the lid up after using the toilet making the impending overflow readily visible. Had the lid been closed in the female way, the overflow would not have been seen until the waterfall began.

[DarMar]

Good information to know and thanks for the tip on leaving the lid up. I now have yet another excuse albeit for only while we are living in the Montana.

[scott-pati]

I always told DW their was a reason for leaving the seat up! Now its confirmed! LOL

[K0LCB]

I'm glad you caught it. I usually alway close the lid so nothing falls in. I may have to revise and start leaving the seat up, until Marilyn sits in it, then I might change my mind

[kylec2]

I experienced the same issue and replaced the whole water valve assembly...it has not happened since in low pressure situations. I suspect this is a sign of a defective valve.

[DQDick]

Just in case, for this type of event, we have these: http://www.amazon.com/Zircon-Leak-Al...ds=water+alarm Have one under the sink, one next to the toilet and one next to the washer. Little buggers work and they are loud.

[rohrmann]

I didn't see any mention about what brand and model toilet this happened to. Would be nice to know. Thanks

[steelpony5555]

I don't believe the valve depends on the water pressure to close. More than likely it is the valve itself or the spring pack, Both are easy to get and change out..

[DonandBonnie]

The brand name of the toilet is Thetford. Can't say for sure what makes the valve work, but we can say that it ran continuously only one time and that was after we flushed when there was low water pressure. We are full timers and use it numerous times each day. I would think that if the valve or spring pack were failing it would have continued to run after flushing on more than one occasion.

[WeBeFulltime]

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

Just in case, for this type of event, we have these: http://www.amazon.com/Zircon-Leak-Al...ds=water+alarm Have one under the sink, one next to the toilet and one next to the washer. Little buggers work and they are loud.

I also use this. Won't leave home without it!

[kdeiss]

quote:Originally posted by DonandBonnie

The brand name of the toilet is Thetford. Can't say for sure what makes the valve work, but we can say that it ran continuously only one time and that was after we flushed when there was low water pressure. We are full timers and use it numerous times each day. I would think that if the valve or spring pack were failing it would have continued to run after flushing on more than one occasion.

I agree nothing to do with low pressure!

[steelpony5555]

It may just need cleaned and sprayed down with some silicone too. It gets a little sticky in where all the workings are. Even on mine when the spring pack got sprung it still worked after I sprayed it down with silicone till I could get a new spring pack.

[DonandBonnie]

Been reviewing this in my mind. When the water pressure dropped, the water trickle turned black. As I mentioned, since the water pressure returned to normal we've had no hint of another problem with the valve shutting off. So if water pressure has no bearing on the operation of this valve, we're now thinking that perhaps some foreign matter from the black water lodged in the valve preventing it from seating to shut off the water. The next time the toilet was flushed full pressure had been restored with no sign of a faulty valve. Perhaps the force of full pressure blew the foreign matter out of the valve. Regardless of the actual cause, we are watching for a complete shutoff after each flush. If we have a faulty valve, surely it will occur again.

[rohrmann]

On the Thetford toilet, the water valve rotates inside the housing, and the seals are just o-rings. It either works or leaks, unless the pedal does not fully return to its normal position, in which case, the water will continue to flow, as if you had your foot on the pedal to add water to the bowl. The only way to access the water valve is to remove the pedal, and if you do that, you might as well replace the pedal too. If you do all that, might as well replace the bowl gasket and the rest of the seals. When you are done, you will have spent as much as a new toilet I just gave up and replaced ours with a much more reliable Dometic 310. The Dometic 320 is the same basic toilet except with elongated bowl and better seat.

[kdeiss]

I second with replacing with a Dometic 320