Toilet not functioning correctly

[bmcghee]

We just recently purchased our first camper. It is a used 2018 springdale. This is my first camper so forgive me if I am being ignorant about this. It is my understanding for proper toilet operation you should partially depress the flush lever to fill the toilet to the fill line, the depress it fully to flush. When I depress it far enough to get the water to turn on, the flush valve opens about 3/4" not allowing the water level to rise. This is a dometic toilet. Is there a way to adjust the flush level to allow for proper operation?
Thank you,
Brendan

[LHaven]

Reminds me of when I was learning to drive and woefully lacking fine control over the gas pedal. RV toilets have the same learning curve.

A good RV toilet pedal "stacks" like a good trigger. Once at the pressure needed to fill the bowl, it presents a bit of additional resistance to warn you that past that point, it will flush.

What complicates the process is that sometimes the water doesn't appear immediately as soon as the valve is in the right position, leading you to think you have to press further. Mine in particular has about a three-second delay.

Before concluding that the toilet is faulty, try depressing the pedal very slowly, waiting for any water delay. You may find it works properly, and you may learn the feel of your particular pedal just before the trap opens.

If you still can't get it to work, there are techs here who can tell you if the link is adjustable.

[NH_Bulldog]

These toilet valves usually have a “sweet spot” that takes a little getting used to. Typically a slow application of foot pressure will get you there.

The inlet valve is a simple plastic plunger with a rounded tip that is depressed by the rotating action of the oblong barrel of the foot pedal the more you apply pressure. If the tip is worn or the pedal is loose or worn, the pedal has to be pushed further to initiate the water flow, which of course opens the bowl valve more and your water dumps out before it can build ip in the bowl. A new valve is an easy and inexpensive project.

[flybouy]

When you get to the point at the bottom picture ease up on the foot pressure very slowly just until the waste valve closes. It can be need a certain amount of "finesse" or the valve maybe worn but I'd hate to see you replace the valve and have the same situation.

[JRTJH]

Not yet addressed is the toilet flapper seal. If you simply can't get water to stay in the toilet bowl, the toilet seal (between the opening dome and the porcelain bowl) may be out of place or if the trailer sat empty for a while, may have dried out and needs replacement. You can replace it "from the top of the toilet" so no disassembly is required, but there is a process to reseat and a second process to reform the toilet bowl seal. These are in the Dometic toilet owner's manual. If you don't have one, you can download it here: https://www.dometic.com/assets/28/09...nual_62809.pdf

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Not yet addressed is the toilet flapper seal. If you simply can't get water to stay in the toilet bowl, the toilet seal (between the opening dome and the porcelain bowl) may be out of place or if the trailer sat empty for a while, may have dried out and needs replacement. You can replace it "from the top of the toilet" so no disassembly is required, but there is a process to reseat and a second process to reform the toilet bowl seal. These are in the Dometic toilet owner's manual. If you don't have one, you can download it here: https://www.dometic.com/assets/28/09...nual_62809.pdf

Suggestion: Buy some rubber gloves first. BTW: Our seal doesn't seal; that is, the toilet fills normally then the water leaks pas the seal. This occurs when we haven't used the camper for quite awhile. I have found that wiping the seal with a bit of WD40 willl get it sealing again. The secret is to wear rubber gloves. If your issue is filling, and not getting all the water flushed, be gentle and it will fill without dumping the water. And for the folks with the delay? How the heck do you get a 3 second delay in the water after the lines are primed? I have had MANY campers and none ever had this delay. Just curious...

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Suggestion: Buy some rubber gloves first. BTW: Our seal doesn't seal; that is, the toilet fills normally then the water leaks pas the seal. This occurs when we haven't used the camper for quite awhile. I have found that wiping the seal with a bit of WD40 willl get it sealing again. The secret is to wear rubber gloves. If your issue is filling, and not getting all the water flushed, be gentle and it will fill without dumping the water. And for the folks with the delay? How the heck do you get a 3 second delay in the water after the lines are primed? I have had MANY campers and none ever had this delay. Just curious...

The WD-40 will eventually deteriorate the rubber seal, or anything rubber it's used on. Pick up a tube of "plumbers grease" at your local hardware store, it works better & last longer. Or using Crisco or any vegetable/cooking oil is better & less harsh than WD-40 on rubber. Save the WD-40 for rusted bolts & removing tar off your car.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

The WD-40 will eventually deteriorate the rubber seal, or anything rubber it's used on. Pick up a tube of "plumbers grease" at your local hardware store, it works better & last longer.

I agree, WD40 will swell the rubber bit eventually damage it. Good old petroleum jelly (Vaseline ) will work as well.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by flybouy

I agree, WD40 will swell the rubber bit eventually damage it. Good old petroleum jelly (Vaseline ) will work as well.

It's best to not use petroleum based products on rubber, but the Vaseline would be much better than the WD-40.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

It's best to not use petroleum based products on rubber, but the Vaseline would be much better than the WD-40.

this is what I use and it is also what I use to lube the O-rings on the sewer hose connections.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hercules-...05fc459ce07767

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Javi

this is what I use and it is also what I use to lube the O-rings on the sewer hose connections.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hercules-...05fc459ce07767

That's the stuff to right there!

[SummitPond]

Here's what Dometic recommends for mitigating bowl leaks.

It seemed to work for me.

[dutchmensport]

Never had a problem with the peddle filling the bowl. We've had both types in different trailers: those peddles that have to be lifted with the toe to fill the bowl and pushed down all the way to dump, and those that push down only. First push to run the water, push further to dump. Yes, there is a fine point where it dumps.

However, all that melted away when I installed a bidet on ours (yes, in the camper). The bidet has a knob that turns to flush the sprayer clean. It shoots water down and back, instead of forward and up. I found it was a LOT easier adding water to the bowl using this than using the peddle, and no TP in the black tank now.... Just something to think about? Anything to make life easier, right? After all, it's called "Glamping" not trail blazing, right?

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

And for the folks with the delay? How the heck do you get a 3 second delay in the water after the lines are primed? I have had MANY campers and none ever had this delay. Just curious...

"In our last episode, you may recall..." that I was having a recurring problem with water heater sediment migrating backwards into the cold water line and blocking fixtures, most often (though not limited to) the toilet feed. I was advised to flush the heater, and switch to an aluminum anode.

Since then, I have cleaned out the toilet feed filter twice (to see if it made any difference), finding a total of one nugget of sediment (about the size of a flattened BB) in the screen. The toilet flows reliably now every time it is used, but there is still a starting delay. Perhaps tiny sediments from the previous anodes made their way through the screen and temporarily restrict the water flow somewhere else.

I have decided that three seconds of patience in the can trumps another dive into the complications of locating and addressing this plumbing problem. Should I ever need to unmount the toilet for another reason, you can be sure I will take the opportunity to remove all the valving and backflush the housing on the lawn.

Given that Keystone probably shipped oodles of units with the magnesium filter and the brain-damaged pathway for the sediment, I assume there are other people out there who are experiencing flow reductions and fill delays much longer than three seconds, as described in the first posting of the linked thread.

[bmcghee]

Sorry for the lack of response from me. Work has been crazy this week and had left me no time for anything else. I did finally get to do some more troubleshooting.

It looks as if someone had already replaced the valve. For starters it appears that either the new valve did not have or they removed the tabs that help hold it in place. Then also because of the close quarters they did not install the retaining screws. So when you started to press the flush lever, the valve was allowed to move back about 3/4 of an inch before it would open the valve.

So after installing two screws to hold it in place, the toilet now works exactly as expected!
Thank you for all the suggestions and info!

[LHaven]

My toilet had one screw straight out of the factory; I had to add one. And the maintenance instructions didn't admit there were ANY screws. Took a mirror in tight quarters to figure out why the disassembly instructions weren't working as printed. For all we know, your toilet hasn't worked right since 2018.

[NH_Bulldog]

Originally Posted by bmcghee

Sorry for the lack of response from me. Work has been crazy this week and had left me no time for anything else. I did finally get to do some more troubleshooting.

It looks as if someone had already replaced the valve. For starters it appears that either the new valve did not have or they removed the tabs that help hold it in place. Then also because of the close quarters they did not install the retaining screws. So when you started to press the flush lever, the valve was allowed to move back about 3/4 of an inch before it would open the valve.

So after installing two screws to hold it in place, the toilet now works exactly as expected!
Thank you for all the suggestions and info!

Glad it was an easy and inexpensive fix!

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by LHaven

My toilet had one screw straight out of the factory; I had to add one. And the maintenance instructions didn't admit there were ANY screws. Took a mirror in tight quarters to figure out why the disassembly instructions weren't working as printed. For all we know, your toilet hasn't worked right since 2018.

I had one a few years back that caused me issues - a Thetford. Instruction said nothing of the 2 retaining screws in the back - one was gone and the other loose (the trailer was about 1 1/2 -2 years old). Found a blow up diagram somewhere on the internet and like you, took a mirror in that tight spot and saw them. Fixed that and all was well....for about 2 months when a new Dometic went in.

[RoadToad]

Pull the fill/flush pedal UPto fill..
.
Push it DOWN to flush.

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by RoadToad

Pull the fill/flush pedal UPto fill..
.
Push it DOWN to flush.

Some RV toilets do work this way, but the majority of them don't.