Winchcombe Leak?

Having just returned from our first night away in our 3 year old 'retirement adventure' we have noticed that the washroom carpet had become very damp. On lifting, we saw that the floor was wet in places and. despite a lot of searching, couldn't see the source of the leak. All windows and rooflights secured with no sign of moisture, no obvious leaks in supply or waste lines and after lifting the carpet and monitoring over the rest of the weekend, no sign of any more moisture on the floor.
The only thing I can think of was that I may well have overfilled the toilet flush tank in my eagerness to get on the road on Saturday. If this was the case, would ant excess be able to find its way inside he washroom?
Again, when  checked, no sign of any possible source.
Any help much appreciated.
Fantastic weekend by the way, roll on May when I retire!!
Andy

Hi Andy
Don't know the layout of your van Andy, however happy retirement when it comes.
Hit the road, set the cruise control and go.
Boaby

Hi Andy.  Like BurlingtonBoaby, I can"t offer any solution to your problem, but just to say "Welcome to the retirement layabout club" when you throw off the chains of office. So many places and countries to visit.

Best wishes
Ed

AndyLouch wrote:The only thing I can think of was that I may well have overfilled the toilet flush tank in my eagerness to get on the road on Saturday. If this was the case, would ant excess be able to find its way inside he washroom?

If its a Truma toilet the answer is yes. If its a Dometic unit, I don't know.

Just a thought, is the emptying spout tight on the waste tank, it could dribble through from the compartment?

Evening all, thanks for feedback. I'll check all of the above next time I fill up. I have drained all systems down again in case we get a cold snap! I'm not really sure how cold it has to get before there are freezing problems, but better to safe than sorry! Thanks

Just a thought..... ...I've had the same, and it was the shower tray plug hole, back flow from 3/4 full waste tank, whilst driving.    Cured it with plug in drain hole, so no blowback.   

Hi Andy, we had the same with our Winchcombe and discovered the Auto Sleeper book gives no instruction on the need to travel with very little water if any in the toilet flush tank.
The manufactures manual clearly points out to keep the level at a minimum while traveling. Seems silly to me that the flush tank is not sealed.

Geoff

We are on our 3rd van with the same Thetford toilet. The first two flush tanks didn't leak - this one did from new. It was resealed around the flush button several times but still leaked. I eventually relied on my knowledge that the pink tank additive I use solidifies if left to settle (clogs pumps up if not used regularly) would seal it and it did.

What's the point of travelling with a toilet if you can't use it!

From bitter experience I'd go with the full waste tank leaking back up the shower and bathroom floor drains.

We didn't think it could happen as I keep the plugs in all the floor drains and they are quite tight to remove. Even when the floor was wet the plugs still felt very tight and we could not understand how water had got up from the ( full) waste tank. It had though.

Seems strange that the cassette compartment isn't sealed. On our caravan it is sealed at each end with copious amounts of silicone sealant.
On the MH it is open so any spills will leach under the compartment into the MH structure et al.
I have now sealed mine with white silicone sealant and hope should there be any leaks it will be contained.

We have on occasion had water in the shower tray and you have just confirmed from wher it came. It does remain in the tray (and in anything in the tray) and hasn't escaped to the carpet. Yet . I do now put the plugs in each drain hole and make sure something is holding them in, like a wellie or a bag of some sort.

swingthru.nz wrote:Hi Andy, we had the same with our Winchcombe and discovered the Auto Sleeper book gives no instruction on the need to travel with very little water if any in the toilet flush tank.
The manufactures manual clearly points out to keep the level at a minimum while traveling. Seems silly to me that the flush tank is not sealed.

Geoff

Good day Geoff, Thanks for this information. I must admit to not spotting this in the manual. Since our 'flood' we have only topped up the flush tank as we go along keeping a 1l water bottle for this purpose. No further problems to report! As Peter notes, it seems rather silly not to have a system which doesn't overflow since use of the toilet on long journeys makes life far more comfortable!
Its so good to be able to get advice from this forum since as novices we have a lot to learn! Thanks again to you all for your help,
Andy

Both the motorhomes we have owned (Innovation 1 and Adria Compact) had toilets flushed from the fresh water tank rather than a separate cistern tank. It made life that little bit simpler with just one tank to fill and drain.

Andy...you don't have to flush the loo either when in transit or conserving cassette space when using Aires.

An empty trigger topped  bottle filled with water and, if you wish, a few drops of something smelly ( aromatherapy oil or dettol for example) can be used to give a quick squirt to the bowl to freshen it after use. It uses a lot less water than a flush and seems to make no difference to the end result in the cassette othervthasn reducing the volume.

Quilter wrote:Andy...you don't have to flush the loo either when in transit or conserving cassette space when using Aires.

An empty trigger topped  bottle filled with water and, if you wish, a few drops of something smelly ( aromatherapy oil or dettol for example) can be used to give a quick squirt to the bowl to freshen it after use. It uses a lot less water than a flush and seems to make no difference to the end result in the cassette othervthasn reducing the volume.

Doh! why didn't I think of that?!! Much more sensible as you note. I will definitely do this in future!! Thanks, Andy

Not strictly on topic but following from the  above. Another handy  tip we picked up over the years , when you want to use the loo for something more substantial, is to line the bowl with a one ply cheap paper napkin, the sort you get by the thousand.

That way, when you open the trap, your production folds itself neatly into the paper as it slides and leaves the bowl clean. Again, it seems not to affect the cassettes insides or make it harder to empty. Don't go for thicker, coloured napkins though !

see my post on
https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t10557-how-to-flood-the-warwick-duo?highlight=flood
maybe relevant?

pjkxpjkx wrote:see my post on
https://www.autosleeper-ownersforum.com/t10557-how-to-flood-the-warwick-duo?highlight=flood
maybe relevant?

Good day, thanks for this update. OK, that's the project for the coming weekend! To get my head around the toilet flush system (not literally I hope!) It does sound crazy that simply topping up the tank an lead to a flood!! I'm just pleased that the water was coming from an identifiable source! Andy

There are small differences between Thetford models but most of the latest have water in a tank behind the toilet and the filler goes direct into it. Filling the tank 'til it overflows isn't ususlally a problem as the excess will flow out of the filler hole and there's some clearance above that inside, so it's unlikely to overtop whilst the van is stationary.

There are two things to look out for though.

The first is that the joint between filler orifice and van side isn't sealed properly and this can lead to water seeping down the inside of the van wall to the floor. This can occur whilst filling and if the tank is quite full whilst travelling and the water slops about in the tank.

The second, but probably rarer problem is water coming through the top of the tank. Under the sticky label there"s a microswitch and PCB. Wires are attached to the PCB that, along with a water pipe, go through a big rubber bung into the tank and end up at a pump that 'dangles' in the water. If the tank is full and the van is driven there's a possibility that water may get slopped up and breach the seals/bung. However because you may need to access the pump, it can fail or get stuck, you can't do much to add extra sealing, aside from checking that all is properly secure.

HTH

had a similar problem in my Nuevo, after filling up with "pink" and driving down a bumpy road I found splashes of pink all over the washroom - if I remember correctly the Thetford book says not to travel with the flush tank full (whats the point of that then?)

By full, they mean 'full'. as in 'to the brim'. 

Surely even the most frequent travelling toilet user surely doesn't need a full tanksworth? Just make sure it's not brimmed before you set off.

I must have been very lucky then because I think nothing of keeping mine full and never had a problem yet!!

Your post got me thinking Grounders, I've been assuming that we're talking about the 'standard' Thetford C250 and similar swivel Thetties. However a quick glance at the Winchcombe video shows they're fitted with a fixed bench Thetty.

Happily, or unhappily I've never had reason to take a bench Thetford apart, though I've owned both manual and electric flush versions in Eriba Touring's. As I understand it, the water in the bench type is tired in a tank around the bowl, rather than in a cistern looking tank behind the loo.

Other than that the basics are the same, though the flush button is on the bench, rather than on the cistern.

The design may mean it's less liable to lose water from the top of the tank but the more common issue of a bad seal between van side and filler spout can still give problems. Best to be safe and not sorry and only travel with a few squirts in the tank

As opposed to just the squirt in the driving seat you mean....