Community Forums

Rodg495 · 11-09-2018, 03:51 PM

Wondering if any others are falling victim to the Thetford Aqua Magic II toilet. Seems it needs a certain water pressure to shut off or it will continue to fill the bowl to overflowing. Be ready to reach down and turn off the supply valve ( if you're lucky to have one inside the bathroom ) or you will be mopping and vacuuming water from your floor. If this goes unnoticed while traveling or out of the coach ... well disaster ! This seems to be a design flaw that Thetford has not addressed with a recall. I've replaced my water pump with a new one trying to get the 40 psi plus to shut this monster off, but to no avail, it still runs for ever. Now I have an extra water pump.

les.warden · 11-09-2018, 04:14 PM

We had that issue with the same one in our previous 5er. What I discovered was, over time, in back of the toilet, where the valve, water inlet, hose connections and such were, was a little part that would get calcium deposits in it which, in turn, slowed down the water pressure to the valve. Then it would do exactly what you described. Just kept slowly running. It was close enough to the wall that I couldn’t see to get to the hose clamps without complete removal. I got real quick and efficient in pulling the toilet completely out, fixing, and putting back in. Total job time was usually about 20 minutes. Ha!!!!, I should have hired out! [emoji848]

rk911 · 11-09-2018, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodg495

Wondering if any others are falling victim to the Thetford Aqua Magic II toilet. Seems it needs a certain water pressure to shut off or it will continue to fill the bowl to overflowing. Be ready to reach down and turn off the supply valve ( if you're lucky to have one inside the bathroom ) or you will be mopping and vacuuming water from your floor. If this goes unnoticed while traveling or out of the coach ... well disaster ! This seems to be a design flaw that Thetford has not addressed with a recall. I've replaced my water pump with a new one trying to get the 40 psi plus to shut this monster off, but to no avail, it still runs for ever. Now I have an extra water pump.

what did thetford tell you when you called them?

ThePowells · 11-09-2018, 09:14 PM

How old is the toilet? Is it original to the coach? If so, are you expecting Thetford to warranty a 7+ year old part?

Rodg495 · 11-09-2018, 10:56 PM

Yes it's out of warrantee, but expecting to find how to fix it. Thetford says it needs 40 psi to work but I have over 50 psi. They don't offer a clear solution, I just have to start replacing parts. Just wanting to know ahead of time if I'm wasting my time. Seems like a poor design that requires water pressure to shut it off. Usually a spring or lever does that job. Something must be worn out because it worked for years.

ThePowells · 11-10-2018, 01:51 AM

From looking at Les' response and if it is possibly mineral deposits, do you think turning off the water and then flowing in something like CLR and letting sit may help?

Next ?? Have you checked youtube to see if anybody has posted a video similar to Les' solution?

les.warden · 11-10-2018, 06:04 AM

Kinda sounds like mineral deposits. If it’s like ours was, only a couple bolts held the toilet to the floor. Quite easy to loosen and get off, if you even have a little DIY ability. Couple hose clamps when you can get to them and out it comes entirely. Have some towels ready for the little bit of water that’ll come out of the short hoses. You can do this!
If not a DIY, get some yung’n to give you a hand. Honestly, it’s pretty easy.
Wishing ya luck!

Rodg495 · 11-10-2018, 09:18 AM

Yea I'm taking it out and looking deeper into the valve system. I have a part ordered that was recommended by Thetford. If I can't clean up the old part I'll replace it. Thanks all. Frustrated with this thing after it flooded the bathroom, and with Thetford suggesting I replace the pump ( cost $ 75 and a full day of work to change ).

lenkerb · 11-10-2018, 10:02 AM

We are on our third aqua magic....first one clogged with minerals so we had to remove it and flush....then the foot pedal snapped off. Putting it back on was a real mess! We finally watched the YouTube video and used the palm of hand to pop the lever back onto the toilet and stuff flew everywhere! It popped the spring so there was no fixing it. Got another Aqua Magic...few months later another mineral thing. This time we carefully removed the toilet and took it to an RV repair shop...he blew out the connection behind the toilet and blew it apart...he charged $150 plus labor for the replacement part!. And a third time, another mineral deposit (we had spent some time in the southern mid west) so we purchased a On the Go water softener and carefully manually cleaned out the mineral deposit and things have been working just fine! We called Thedford about these issues and they said it was water pressure....Good Luck. We will never buy another Thedford product!

harris155 · 11-10-2018, 11:08 AM

Anybody swapping out the valve assembly Kit 42049 you should also get the waste ball assembly kit 34117. Both have about the same life span.
I questioned myself putting 75 dollars in parts into the 200 dollar toilet.

Rodg495 · 11-10-2018, 05:11 PM

Miracles do happen ! Fixed without any new parts. I took Les' advice and took the toilet out of the RV and disassembled it. Not a difficult job. I got back behind the flush valve and took out a small neoprene cupped plug with a spring behind it that was about 3/8" in diameter. It was not coated with any sludge, or deposits. I lubed it with some water proof grease and put it back together. Hooked up a hose to it outside of the coach and it still ran and ran, not shutting off.
Disassembled it again and re-checked the neoprene stopper, rolling it between my fingers looking for any small cracks, blemishes or distortions. Did not find anything again. It seemed ok and looked new. Re-installed it and this time it all worked fine !

The only thing I can deduce from this is that when I rolled it between my fingers it must have reshaped or livened up the rubber again. I did re-lube it and I'm going to watch it closely ( there is a shut off valve at the toilet ) for a while, not trusting it and shutting it off while driving.

nothermark · 11-10-2018, 05:22 PM

Not sure about your toilet fix but we do not run with the pump on because of a leak on another model. If the pump is off and you are not on city water the toilet cannot leak much into the bowl. You will get some as the pressure drops off in the system. Easier to flip a switch than turn a valve. ;-)

**CountryFit** · 11-10-2018, 05:40 PM

Reading through all the posts, if water pressure is lower than a threshold water keeps running, that IS a design problem! Many things could cause the drop of pressure, (remember what Murphy's law says?), they should add a layer that the valve stays close until the pressure rises above the threshold. Then do what it is doing now.

I am using a Sealand 510, never had such an issue.