Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > THE OWNER'S CORNER FORUMS > Newmar Owner's Forum
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 06-19-2022, 08:04 AM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 86
Dometic macerator toilets not working out well

Hello, I was hoping to get some tips on how to better get along with the mascerating toilets in our 2020 Ventana.

1) The toilets don't do a great job of flushing on the first try, leaving "material" in the bowl, requiring multiple flushes.
-I have tried using the eco flush and the standard flush settings. While standard flush helps, it isn't remotely a sure thing and fills our black tank up, requiring lots of unnecessary dumping.

2) I'm concerned about the impeller harboring bacteria as after just a few days in storage, rings around the bowl form with an odorous slime.
I have tried cleaning the toilets after using with standard bowl cleaner before putting it away but it didn't seem to improve the situation.
I wondered about adding a few drops of bleach before putting it away but wasn't sure if that would damage any components.

Thanks for any advice!
Memphis is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 06-19-2022, 09:34 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2020
Posts: 953
Have none of those issues. It flushes great and normal cleaning is all it takes
__________________
2020 Chevy Blazer Premiere AWD Toad
2021 Newmar Ventana 4369 Freightliner Chassis
Winger2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2022, 10:25 AM   #3
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 1,337
The ring in the toilet is from the water evaporating in storage. Turn off your water pump and flush the toilet so you don’t have water in it. But by doing this you may have odor enter the Coach due to no water breaker. Have you adjusted the water level. Hold the flush button for about 10 seconds and that puts it in and out of water saver mode.
Bobby Dowdle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2022, 12:00 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: North Tx
Posts: 734
Our 2020 Ventana works fine also, but, if doing # 2, I don't wait till the job is done to flush. I might flush 2 or 3 times. You have to remember this is not a house but an RV, and needs to be treated accordingly.
__________________
2020 Newmar Ventana 4369
GCSuper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-19-2022, 05:21 PM   #5
"Formerly Diplomat Don"
 
Dutch Star Don's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Moorpark, Ca.
Posts: 23,922
I've had the macerator toilets since 2014. When we boondock, we put them on low and if it's yellow let it mellow. When we have full hookups, I put the toilets on high and they flush fine. If you don't think there is enough water, add some with the other button before you flush.

The toilets are going to fill the tanks fast when on high, that's just the nature of the beast. There are two work arounds....on both of my Dutch Stars, I added an electric drain valve to the black tank that can be operated from the half bath. Once the tanks are full, I just dump them from inside the coach. The second option is to leave your black tank valve open when you have full hookups. These macerator toilets produce a fluid that is not much thicker than the water in your grey tank. No poo pyramids. Just leave the toilets on high and let it run out.

Regarding the impeller, who cares if it harbors bacteria, it's a toilet! You're grinding waste. The water in the bowl keeps anything from coming back up.

There are times when our coach will sit for a couple of months. The water in the bowl will evaporate and leave a ring. Next rip, we just hit it with a brush. If you're going to store, do as Bobby stated, turn off the water and flush the toilet. For long term storage, like 3-4 months that's fine, but I don't like letting the bowl and seal go dry, so we just leave the water in it.

I think you're worrying waaaay too much about the cleanliness of the INSIDE of the toilet.
__________________
Don & Mary
2019 Newmar Dutch Star 4018 (Freightliner)
2019 Ford Raptor
Dutch Star Don is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-20-2022, 06:36 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
ThunderRidge's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Winter: Fort Wilderness Campground
Posts: 658
Check your manual for toilet operation. Additionally, when not using the toilets for I believe longer than two weeks there is a procedure to put the toilet in storage. It involves laundry detergent and a specific flushing procedure. This protects the seals in the motor and eliminates almost all of the water.
__________________
Paul, Cathy and Chocolate Lab, RIO
2018 Newmar Dutch Star 4362 (Spartan)
2012 Ford F-150
ThunderRidge is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-21-2022, 06:00 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 673
First it’s a toilet which by definition will harbor bacteria. We religiously use 1/4 cup of a Dawn down each toilet every 3 weeks when traveling. Never had an issue. On full flush they do use more water but that’s something you need to deal with. Decide when to flush if boobdocking. When we store the coach after dumping and flushing the tanks is to put Dawn down each toilet and flush. Walk away
All is good upon return. Do not put bleach down your toilet.
Clemson is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2022, 05:23 AM   #8
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 86
Everyone, thanks for the replies, albeit mostly condescending and gaslighting. I've been RVing for 25 years, but have not ever had mascerating toilets (just mascerators at the dump-end) and I am trying to establish a baseline of expectations for normal operation. It sounds like my issue isn't specific to 'all' mascerating commodes, just mine; and that is informative.

I presume that those of you that don't full-time come home to toilets that aren't filmed over or stained with rings around the bowls after a 3 or 4 day trip and that is the expectation I have for my RV's toilets.

We used our Ventana, last weekend and parked it on Sunday in my climate controlled barn. I know, as a truth, when I get in it, Thursday, to go back out; as soon as I reach my destination, I'm going to be cleaning toilets that I cleaned on Sunday and haven't used since then; the bowl will be stained and there will be a smelly layer of slimy film across the top of the water.

The flush problem I'm attempting to describe results in scraps of waste being regurgitated back into the bowl by even tossing a couple squares of RV-rated tissue in and flushing, requiring a second flush for a clean bowl; less so on standard mode but eco mode is worthless and positively will require 3 or more flushes and at which point I'm wondering, "What's the freaking point?!". I believe that this issue is the cause of the first one. By no means do I intend to eat my dinner on the toilet lid, but my expectation is that 'flushed' is flushed.

I don't think what I'm describing is as unreasonable to be irritated by as your replies might portend. The mascerating toilet is supposed to be an improvement over the older pedal & gravity flushers.

I'm going to try Clemson's suggestion with dish soap and will engage dometic for their input. If I discover a glairing issue, I'll report back.
__________________
2020 - VTDP 4037 - K2
2000 - Jeep Cherokee XJ
2023 - Jeep Gladiator
Memphis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2022, 05:59 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
RVStitchy's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl
Posts: 1,139
We get the ring around the toilet when in storage for a week or more. Quick swirl with a toilet brushes makes it go away. Perhaps your water is a little harder with additional minerals that appear during evaporation?

Our Dometic toilets in our old 2020 Kountry Star and 2022 Dutch Star work flawlessly with a single flush. It sounds like you have a mechanical problem to resolve.
__________________
2022 Dutch Star 4369 FL Towing 2022 GMC Sierra 1500
Chris & Lee, Finnegan & Kirby (Double Doodled)
2020 Kountry Star 3709 towing Equinox.
RVStitchy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2022, 06:15 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2020
Posts: 953
Quote:
Originally Posted by Memphis View Post
Everyone, thanks for the replies, albeit mostly condescending and gaslighting. I've been RVing for 25 years, but have not ever had mascerating toilets (just mascerators at the dump-end) and I am trying to establish a baseline of expectations for normal operation. It sounds like my issue isn't specific to 'all' mascerating commodes, just mine; and that is informative.

I presume that those of you that don't full-time come home to toilets that aren't filmed over or stained with rings around the bowls after a 3 or 4 day trip and that is the expectation I have for my RV's toilets.

We used our Ventana, last weekend and parked it on Sunday in my climate controlled barn. I know, as a truth, when I get in it, Thursday, to go back out; as soon as I reach my destination, I'm going to be cleaning toilets that I cleaned on Sunday and haven't used since then; the bowl will be stained and there will be a smelly layer of slimy film across the top of the water.

The flush problem I'm attempting to describe results in scraps of waste being regurgitated back into the bowl by even tossing a couple squares of RV-rated tissue in and flushing, requiring a second flush for a clean bowl; less so on standard mode but eco mode is worthless and positively will require 3 or more flushes and at which point I'm wondering, "What's the freaking point?!". I believe that this issue is the cause of the first one. By no means do I intend to eat my dinner on the toilet lid, but my expectation is that 'flushed' is flushed.

I don't think what I'm describing is as unreasonable to be irritated by as your replies might portend. The mascerating toilet is supposed to be an improvement over the older pedal & gravity flushers.

I'm going to try Clemson's suggestion with dish soap and will engage dometic for their input. If I discover a glairing issue, I'll report back.
I have read every reply and I see none that are condescending nor gaslighting. We have realistic ideas of what a toilet is. Any toilet, sitting for a while will have a ring. I am currently full time and have zero issues
Ours flushes fine, the first time. Yes I use the setting that requires more water when having hookups. Its not a big deal to go outside and pull a lever to dump. As for not flushing all the mess the first time. If you are doing a Jackson Pollack in your toilet, any toilet, it will not flush all the first time and generally need a brushing.
Are you using a water softener? If not have you tested the water supply for hardness?
__________________
2020 Chevy Blazer Premiere AWD Toad
2021 Newmar Ventana 4369 Freightliner Chassis
Winger2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2022, 06:27 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
ThunderRidge's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Winter: Fort Wilderness Campground
Posts: 658
Try using a water softener in your coach. The ring and scummy water issue can be completely eliminated if you follow the instructions in toilet owners manual for putting the toilet in storage. Additionally, this will add a lot of water and detergent to your black tank, which will help clean the tank when you drive. This is for two weeks or longer of no use, but can be used at anytime, and this procedure will completely eliminate water in your bowl.

This model toilet Is used even more so in marine applications than RV applications. I have tried Dometic for assistance with their products and find they are worthless. They mostly quoted the owners manual or said take it to an authorized dealer.

I had great success calling Environmental Marine, located in Florida. They also have a sister company in California, however I don’t remember the name. They were excellent in walking me through troubleshooting a recent Dometic 8700 toilet issue. They also carry the parts and are half the price of Newmar.
__________________
Paul, Cathy and Chocolate Lab, RIO
2018 Newmar Dutch Star 4362 (Spartan)
2012 Ford F-150
ThunderRidge is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2022, 04:05 PM   #12
"Formerly Diplomat Don"
 
Dutch Star Don's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Moorpark, Ca.
Posts: 23,922
Are you saying that BOTH of your toilets don't flush well and spit back debris? If just one is doing this, you may have an issue with the macerator, possibly a blockage.
__________________
Don & Mary
2019 Newmar Dutch Star 4018 (Freightliner)
2019 Ford Raptor
Dutch Star Don is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2022, 04:10 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
dizcom's Avatar
 
Freightliner Owners Club
Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 1,629
Add some water before you take a seat. Eat more fiber.
__________________
2021 Holiday Rambler Armada 44LE
2021 Jeep Wrangler High Altitude toad w/Ready Brute Elite II
dizcom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-22-2022, 07:05 PM   #14
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2021
Posts: 91
Quote:
Originally Posted by Memphis View Post
The flush problem I'm attempting to describe results in scraps of waste being regurgitated back into the bowl by even tossing a couple squares of RV-rated tissue in and flushing...
We have a similar issue on both toilets where small bits of ground-up TP float to the surface after a flush even when set to the higher water usage setting. For us, I think it's a low water pressure issue.

We're setup on campsite water with a pressure regulator at 50psi, then filter through a Clear2O DirtGUARD 20-micron sediment pre-filter and a Clear2O 1-micron carbon block filter, then through an On The Go Double Standard water softener, into the water hose reel, and through the on-board whole house filter. Under this setup, water flow throughout the coach is noticeably lower than desired, and we get the toilet flush issue described above.

So we've taken to using auto-fill to run water into the tank at the rate our filtration/softening setup produces, then use the water pump to provide strong pressure at faucets and the toilets, which solves our flush issue.
__________________
2022 DSDP 4081 Freightliner, Picked Up In Nappanee 4/22
CAllingham is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
dometic, toilet, macerator



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Macerator toilets just quit working Greg_Travels Class A Motorhome Discussions 15 08-01-2023 08:14 AM
Well, Well, Well, CW comes crawling back Keith55 iRV2.com General Discussion 37 11-23-2022 03:22 AM
Dometic 8743 Macerator Toilets dougsavy Newmar Owner's Forum 3 09-26-2021 01:40 PM
Well, well, well. No surprises with this story concerning Camping World. Jpcoleman Entegra Owner's Forum 2 02-12-2019 11:47 AM
Well, well, well .. I have mices. fredaevans Class A Motorhome Discussions 8 06-17-2012 08:57 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:42 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.