Sewer Hoses

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by flaggship1

Had you angered any neighbors.... lol.

Curious - was the rhino rode hard and put up wet....

We are now full time so it will be easy to recall when we got this set up... hopefully no pin holes..

Long story short... This is a sub building on my son's property. It's a rest house for traveling missionaries and others who need a place to stay for a short time. We have a RV pad next to the cottage. Behind the cottage is work in progress so the wet rhino is not offending the neighbors... trees, critters and a pile of dirt.

The rhino failed while being used here. (We are in the cottage 'till after Christmas. The coach is 400 mi south.) One day when I dumped it started to spray little fountains .

Our camping is often on rough ground. Moving the hose to set up or stow may be the fault of our camping style. The material covering most of the hoses just won't take the abuse. But, is camping meant to be in luxury parks only? not in my book! Life is too short to be pampered .

More to follow after my new, improved gasket is found.

Rick Y

[flaggship1]

Thanks for the response. And must feel good to be providing rest and shelter for folks in service.

So far I have kept the Thetford. Bot not sure what I will do with it when time to roll this spring. With the grill and smoke and chairs and things out of the bays there was room to keep 30' of additional hose.

Have a Merry Christmas.

[Philliec]

Originally Posted by jerichorick

I have nothing good to say about the Thetford SmartDrain hose system. It simply does not work correctly. When I pull the dump valve the wast water spews out of the bayonet coupling at the wast valve, then it stops leaking and the water drains correctly. This is the third coupling. The original and two replacements. The first two lost the gasket down the drain tube when I dumped. This last one is "REDESIGNED" . The gasket is staying in place now but it still leaks when you first start the dump.

This is the worst system I have ever used. Very unsanitary and not worth the time, money or aggravation.

Rick Y

After seeing your response I contacted Thetford and they are sending me a new and improved adapter that connects the RV to the SmartDrain. They were quite responsive. I will try the new one of if that does not work keep on them until they come up with a solution. The rest of it looks good. You do have to make sure the hose and connection are aligned properly before clamping down, but that is not a bid deal.

[jerichorick]

The Grainger I went to was a bust. They had no gaskets in stock. I'll keep trying. If I can get into gas production country I may find a service store that can help.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by Philliec

After seeing your response I contacted Thetford and they are sending me a new and improved adapter that connects the RV to the SmartDrain. They were quite responsive. I will try the new one of if that does not work keep on them until they come up with a solution. The rest of it looks good. You do have to make sure the hose and connection are aligned properly before clamping down, but that is not a bid deal.

The clamps are fine and don't leak. It is that "NEW" and "IMPROVED" bayonet adapter that is the problem. The only change they made was to use glue to hold the sponge rubber gasket in in place of double sided tape. Now, instead of the gasket getting sucked down the tube when we open the drain valve, the fluid pressure compresses the gasket and vacates the enclosure to spray all over the bay deck! Pure stinky, unsanitary mess is what you get. But the gasket stays put and, after the initial gush pressure, seals back up for the dump to proceed as we all hope it will; into the drain.

I look forward to your response to your first dump with this new adapter.

Rick Y

[delcirose]

One point I might mention as a full timer for about nine years now is that a person like myself with a bad case of arthritis in the hands has a devil of a time trying to hold one connection and twist with the other. I have gone to having a couple of strap wrench which gets the job done. The Rhino Hose is a good product but I wish someone would dream up a method to give someone like my self more leverage to engage and disengage the hoses...

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by delcirose

One point I might mention as a full timer for about nine years now is that a person like myself with a bad case of arthritis in the hands has a devil of a time trying to hold one connection and twist with the other. I have gone to having a couple of strap wrench which gets the job done. The Rhino Hose is a good product but I wish someone would dream up a method to give someone like my self more leverage to engage and disengage the hoses...

That is a very good point. I have relatively small hands that are not built to grip. Many times the bayonet fittings are hard to handle, especially if my hands and the hoses are cold. This is where the snap together fittings really work well if they are well designed. Thetford has the concept correct. They missed on getting the engineering design correct.

The other system, the big $ one, is not well advertized. I tried to do a general search for it and I could not find it. But, with that said, Thetford was trying to use that concept at a cheaper price. What they produced was a cheaper non-practical product. To bad. It is easier to use.

[Finhawk]

Have any of you folks looked at th the Sewer Solution? I've had mine--the same one--for nearly 8 years. No sweat, no strain, easy to use, hook up, and stow, and will pump up to 60'. Really easy to use for us old guys.
And ya don't need a bridge, just throw it out and it's done.
.