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Old 04-17-2005, 07:13 AM   #1
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Thetford cassette toilet

Has anybody used the Thetford Cassette type toilet, the one that doesn't use a holding tank, but a "cassette" tank that detaches and slides out an access door from the outside. Seems like a real nice way to do it if you don't want to install a permanent unit with a blackwater tank, As long as you don't mind carrying a box of crap to the dump station.

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Old 04-18-2005, 10:57 AM   #2
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thetford cassete

I did a bunch of research on "portable toilets" because I am hesitant to place full tanks under my bus. The concern is over freezing in the winter and I want to use everything year round. The cassete toilets seem a very simple solution. I think the key is how much use is it going to get? Is is for you, or a family of 7 and their friends? Ours is for two adults and I suspect we can go for a few days without changing the water and tanks. It is just a simple porti potti that holds aprox 12 gallons of waste. I have two seperate fresh water systems on board and have opted to not install a shower at this point. I am trying to keep a simple system. The cassete system looks very accesible to empty, just place an access door in the side of your machine and you're set. They are used on van conversions and some tent trailers. Good luck. -Richard
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Old 02-26-2006, 08:27 PM   #3
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I GOT ONE!!!!
I got the exact cassette toilet I wanted on ebay brand new for $300. They are over $500 retail. I can't wait to get it installed, although I'll do everything I can to avoid using it so I don't have to empty it.
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Old 02-26-2006, 10:24 PM   #4
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I'm planning on running a cassette type toilet in Havoc. I just can't see having a blackwater tank (and the expense) just for a few times per year. Yes, the bus will likely be occupied by quite a few people, but even if we have to make a trip to the porta potties at the concert areas once per day...it beats taking a sauna (sow-na, not saw-na) dump! In addition, they are compact and portable in case you want to use it for some other purpose besides just the bus.
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Old 02-27-2006, 07:37 AM   #5
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Because we needed to move into our last Bus ‘Home’ quickly …. I built the ‘bathroom’ without a conventional RV toilet , thinking I’d just install an RV holding tank system later down the road
So…I bought one of the toilets you’re talking about for us to use in the interim….

Here’s what you’ll run into with these toilets.
Since their made of high-impact plastic instead of porcelain …things that you don’t want sticking to the inside of bowl do …its kind of gross.
So you have to spray some water into the bowl and scrub off the offending matter quite a bit.

Next comes the fun part of un-clipping the top section from the bottom and hauling it outside for dumping.
A fact of life with these toilets is ….you’ll find a small pool ‘Liquid’ sitting on top of the valve when you unclip the top part….
So you have to pick the tank up carefully so as not to drip this ‘liquid’ on your floor.
If you can get it outside the rig safely ….then comes the really fun part.
Dumping the tank.
Be prepared to have everyone and their uncle …look over at you and wonder what’s that suitcase looking thingy you’re carrying … figure out what it is …and give you the How Gross can you get look.

Then you make it through the disapproving crowd , walk into a public restroom only to find a sign that says …’No Dumping’.
And they don’t just mean no dumping of garbage or diapers down the toilet …it also means no dumping of waste products ….
That’s sounds strange because human wastes products are what toilets are designed for …but because there’s lots of pigs out there who are not careful in making sure to dump their toilet tank carefully …keeping its contents where it should be and not spilling it on the floor and the walls…they came up with the no dumping stuff.
So Millie and I would stay up late , watch the rest room and when we were sure no one was there….dash over and dump the tank.

Since we lived fulltime in our bus and dumped that tank countless times our luck eventually wore out and we had the cops called on us.
Luckily the guy was really nice and realized we were not pigs so he just gave us a verbal warning.
Like most people I’m not big on getting ticketed ….so I stopped dumping it in toilets and used the RV dump station instead.
We were lucky and had a free dump station nearby …so I’d walk it down and stand in line with a bunch of big RV’s …waiting my turn to dump the thing.
When it came , I’d unscrew the cap and as carefully as possible try to pour the contents down a relatively small hole in the ground …
Even though I’m an Artist with much better hand to eye coordination than the average Joe out there I’d still spill a bit outside the hole ….it’s pretty much impossible not to because Dump Stations are designed to be used with mostly sealed hose deals that keep the stuff where it should be.
So you’ve got to clean it up … under the watchful gaze of many people who will make sure you do….and will let you know what they think of you if you don’t.

I’m not saying these toilets are bad or anything … just to keep things simple and get a motor home registration on Latcho Drom I’ll most likely install one of the porta-potties …but given our long term experience with these things we wont use it unless we absolutely have to.
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Old 02-27-2006, 07:41 PM   #6
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I think for it's intended purpose in our case which is emergency use only for the adults, and for the kids because they can't quite hold it for long. Keep in mind the toilet I'm talking about is a permanent install and has an access door on the OUTSIDE to remove the tank. No chance of spilling it inside whatsoever.
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Old 02-28-2006, 05:31 AM   #7
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Wasn’t trying to Diss anybody …just telling a few of our experiences with these types toilets.
I do like the idea of the exterior hatch system, but where do you buy these things?
All I could find was mostly European sites that sell them
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Old 02-28-2006, 03:33 PM   #8
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I appreciate the info, now I know a little more about what to expect. When I first started looking, they weren't available in the U.S. except for some that were installed in popup campers. I think you can get them here now though. The one I got came from a camper dealer who had a camper that came with the wrong one (there is a L and a R model) and was replaced under warranty, leaving him with a brand new one that just happened to be the one I needed. I got lucky on this one, I don't think I would have paid the $589 retail for one, but $300 was easier to swallow. I'll let everyone know how it works out when I get installed and go on our first outing. I never thought I'd get excited about a toilet!
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Old 03-02-2006, 03:40 PM   #9
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Does anyone know if you can dump the cassette tank into the sewer hookup at a campsite? I've never rented a RV site before, so I really don't know how they are setup.
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Old 04-10-2006, 03:50 PM   #10
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dealing with dumping

[quote="soused moose"]
Next comes the fun part of un-clipping the top section from the bottom and hauling it outside for dumping.
quote]

Thanks so much for this funny story, I was thinking of going this route, but did wonder about all of this, and you have answered my questions. You had my laughing out loud.

So here's my next question, thought, instead of having to deal with a holding tank and vent and all, could you punch a hole in a cassette or porta potty, and just run a hose from that to the dumping station with a valve on each end for easy on and off, any thought on if this would work or not. Thanks
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Old 04-11-2006, 07:10 AM   #11
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Here’s a link to Thetfords cassette toilet page
http://www.thetford.com/portable_cassette.cfm

Lots of interesting pictures ….
Thetford also makes a marine model of portable toilet with a pump-out discharge port that could be used with a macerator to pump out the tank….
http://www.thetford.com/marine_series.cfm


Sure you could cut a hole in the lower tank and glue a section of black plastic pipe and a valve on it ….but you’d have to do some research on the best glue to use for this sort of project.
But since you’re dealing with some pretty thin plastic on the holding tank portion of the toilet, every time you sit down on the toilet, you’d be putting stresses on the glue.
So….
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Old 04-11-2006, 10:08 AM   #12
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I like how that guy is doing the service procedure in his nice dockers and without gloves. So sanitary! We had one of the Porta Potti 735's on Airship Shamu when I was on her crew in the early 90's. It was the dread of any crewman to have watch on the night after a cross country flight becuase the pilots would have invariably filled the thing up in the 8 hours or so they were aloft. It wasn't too horribly messy, but every now and again, you ended up with some fluid on you and have to live with the smell until your watch was over. As was mentioned before, the top half would get soiled and required additional cleaning beyond the draining of the bottom half. As most airports didn't provide a dump tank, we would dig a hole off to the side of our operations area and bury the stuff directly... usualy after dark.
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Old 04-11-2006, 11:35 AM   #13
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we had one when we (my wife and I) lived in the bus for 10 weeks and it worked fine. Yeah, dumping the thing stinks but I was able to dump in any washroom or roadside outhouse. Just buy enviromentaly freindly chemicals. Don't dump outside. It was cheap, portable and simple. However in the most recent conversion, I putting in tanks and a "proper" rv toilet. So... Use what you've got. You can always put a perminant system in later.

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