Truma & Thetford DIY On-site Servicing

[lankidden]

For most of last season our Truma gas water heater would not re-cycle once the water had intially come to temperature, meaning that each time we needed to reheat water we had to switch the system off and back on again manually. Last season's call to Truma suggested replacement of sensing thermostats, which necessitated complete removal of the system in order to access the fittings, a right PIA. Upon re-assembly, the problem still remained, so this season's call to Truma suggested the printed circuit board, much easier to remove, might be at fault. This was duly removed and returned to Truma for testing, who in due course confirmed that the PCB was indeed cream crackered and that a replacement board, roughly the size of a credit card, would cost a mere £150.00, thankyou very much, but at least we do now have continuous hot water on demand.
When we originally bought the 'van, the Thetford cassette showed obvious signs of having been leaking, so after some protracted negotiations, Broad Lane finally got around to agreeing to a replacement, not new out of a box, but ostensibly new from a new 'van on the forecourt. This "new" cassette still didn't seem completely leak free, but losing the will to live, I gave up on Broad Lane, and put up with the leaks. This season it really became too much, so I called Thetford, and it was suggested that I needed an unfortunately named, replacement "Lip Seal". The actual dismantling to achieve the replacement was both an interesting and not particularly pleasant procedure, but at last we have a leak proof cassette, and pleasantly dry cassette enclosure, which still causes a grateful surprise every time the cassette needs emptying. Fortunately this replacement part was only £13.50, a price well worth paying for not having to mop up after every empty.
Strange how even getting away from it all on a CL manages to combine caravanning and DIY just the same as being back at home.

Neil C

[Trooper]

Glad you've got it all sorted Neil.

If anyone else has to change the 'Lip Seal' on their Thetford cassette, one of our members 'Al' did a step by step guide >>Here<<


Trooper

[lankidden]

Luckily, the Thetford replacement seals come with a step by step illustrated guide. The one I had to deal with was the later version, no screws were involved in removing the old seal, rather, a large circular "manhole" type of over had to be removed, by reversing the slide and using it as a lever to achieve a quarter turn unlocking. Having had around three seasons usage, this cover was fairly well gunked in tight, and needed a fair quantity of hot water poured around it to effect a release. The main problem being not wanting to apply so much pressure as to damage the slide, or the slide guides, in attempting the quarter turn. Once out, all the slider mechanism is revealed, and the actual changeover is relatively simple, if a little messy and unpleasant.
In fact, we don't use the Thetford Flush Tank fluid, it creates too much coarse black residue, so we use the cheapest basic Tesco Shower Gell, roughly 90p a bottle, on the bottom shelf, if you can find it. It's also a lot "slipperier" on the toilet bowl as well, thus making flushing more effective. I don't believe this was the cause of deterioration in the lip seal, but I'll comment on any recurring problems in due course, should such problems recur ! ! !

Neil C

[Dickers]

Be careful when using anything in the flush tank other than the pink loo goo. In the early days of the luxury of a flushing toilet in my caravan, I thought I would be clever and use some non-Thetford pink loo goo. The goo caused the lip of the seal to go "frilly" and, as a result, it ceased to act as a seal and the wee/poo mixture leaked when one was carrying it to the disposal point. Not very nice!

Dickers.

[lankidden]

I have read about the possibility that this could be a problem, and certainly the leaking lip seal has caused enough problems both inside the cassette locker, and on the way to emptying. However, the black deposit caused by the pink goo is almost equally unpleasant, apart from the fact that it only affects the toilet bowl itself, so I have been quite pleased that the Tesco, shower gel creates both a slippery bowl surface, and eliminates the black deposits. At least if the lip seal deteriorates in the future I will be aware of what the solution is, and it wouldn't be as difficult to replace second time around.

Thanks for the head's up tho, and I'll be keeping a close watch for a recurrence of the leaking wee/poo ordure.

Neil C

[Dickers]

Sorry, I've only just picked up on this one again.

Reference the black deposit from the flush tank, it is caused by the flushing water drying out between trips, which leaves a "crust" behind. There is a Thetford product which purports to get rid of the black spots and bits in the flushing water. It does work. Have a look in your local caravan accessory shop.

Another source of caravan related products is ALDI. They sometimes have odd caravan products when they have a special offers day. The current special offers includes caravan covers, caravan cleaner, black streak remover (in spray and liquid form) and so called "concentrated" toilet fluid. I've used the black streak remover and the caravan cleaner and they do work. I still think that "Silky" is still the best for removing black streaks. I would not entertain their toilet fluid. It looks like coloured water and has about the same viscosity. I'll stick with Thetfod and Elsan blue loo goo. There is nothing to choose between them. Of the two, Elsan is the cheaper and that appeals to me as a Scot.

Dickers.