NEUVO TOILET FLUSH

Hi

Just returned from holiday but could not get our toilet to flush although the exterior tank to it was completely full - do we need to have water in the main tank in order that we use the pump switch on the main electric indicator board or does the toilet have its own pump which is activated when you push the blue button. 

Thank you if you have any ideas, I have read the other suggestions re. taking off the panel on the top of the toilet and cleaning so will give this a try as well.

I seem to have quite a few blonde moments with my van.

Babs

A very warm welcome to this most friendly and informative forum. Very shortly you will receive suggestions expert advice regarding your flushing problem. Regards

As far as I can remember on ours you need the power switch (the panel just inside the habitation door) on and it will work. I am certain we have used the flush without water in the main tank.

Ours stopped working UNTIL I totally filled the flush tank but you say that is already full.

Was it stood for a while before you filled it ? Could just be lazy if it was not used for a while, getting access to it as you have read could get it going. If it was in regular use beforehand then that may not make any difference. Have you checked the fuse in the cassette locker?

Hi and welcome to the forum from frosty Bridlington .
Boaby

When we first had our Broadway, we left for a long trip abroad and within a few days the toilet wouldn't flush, nothing we tried got it to work.  When back home it was sorted during warranty work.

During our next trip it refused to flush again, so back to Autosleeper we went, they found the pipe connection from the holding tank to the toilet itself had come adrift, no water was reaching the bowl.

Hope this is of some use.

Leighton.

Hi Babs.

We had this problem on our new 2016 Nuevo (along with the fresh water pump, step switch and alarm). It was fine on the first few runs in the UK but waited until we were in France to stop working. We empty the cistern each time we move the van and so having driven to and pitched up to a site that we planned to stay at for five nights, we filled the cistern. The pump sounded so we knew it was working okay and that the fuse wasn't the problem. I emptied the tank and tried it again a few days later and it worked fine, but stopped working on the next fill. Annoying! Our dealer spoke to Thetford who advised a new pump. However, when we ran it into Spinney for the pump to be replaced, the engineer found that a small circular diaphragm or filter (I'm not exact on what this is) in the top of the cistern tank had a small foreign object on it and this was the problem.He cleaned it off and it has worked fine since but at with all things 'new van' I hold my breath. We only use water in the cistern poured from a clear container so we know that it does not have any muck in it. We also only use about half the advised amount of pink fluid so I can't see where the 'foreign object' came from unless it was as part of the build. Not sure if this information helps you but I thought worth sharing as your problem seems similar to ours. Good luck with getting it sorted.

Lemon2 wrote:Hi Babs.

We empty the cistern each time we move the van and so having driven to and pitched up to a site that we planned to stay at for five nights, we filled the cistern.

Hi, I just wondered why you empty the cistern each time you move the van? It's only a small amount of water to carry and it's handy to have a flushing toilet on a journey when you stop for a break. Plus I would have thought having to prime the pump every time you fill up would lead to it's early demise.
The only time I drain my cistern is before I lay the van up for winter.
Al.

Hi.

Yes it can be a pain but the manufacturers handbook recommends that it is empty when travelling and as the van is new and under warranty I'm sticking to the rules at the moment. I was told that you can travel with a little water in the tank for emergencies but I know someone who works for Thetford who tells me that on the whole it is better not to. We carry a small bottle of made up pink fluid in the bathroom 'just in case'. I guess as we grow more confident in the van and as our warranty comes to an end we may be a little more relaxed about it! The experience of owners such as yourself who keep water in the cistern and have not experienced any problems will help with that I think. I'd have preferred a flush set up from the main fresh water tank (as we had on our old PVC) but the general pro's of the Nuevo outweighed the bother of a cistern tank.

Well most of the time anyway!!

Hasn't there been a problem with the tanks leaking whilst in transit and causing some issues with damp, hence drain down whilst travelling.

Yes, I see your logic while the van is in warranty. However it seems strange AS recommending the tank be empty when travelling, and I guess the same goes for the other on-board water/waste tanks.
This seems to me to defeat the object of having a motorhome, which carries all the essentials of life on board, most of which need water to operate. 
 Most places we overnight at are miles from habitation, so we fill up the cistern and fresh water tank whenever the opportunity arises. Never had a leak yet.

Al.

I'm with Al on this.

I do just the same as him and I've never had a leak either. It's probably a "tracks covering" exercise on the part of A/S. Most firms are spectacularly over cautious these days because the risk of litigation is so great.

Thetford do say in the toilet instructions, that empty tank preferred but not more than half full. The switch access panel is held on by non-setting mastic strip. Provided this is intact, should not leek. I regularly press round the panel edge to aid the seal remaining. I try not to travel with a full tank, but never empty it, OK so far.

Hi Babs, the toilet flush has its own tank independent of the main water tank. It also has its own pump operate d by the blue button on top of the tank. For this to operate your van control panel must be switched on. There is a fuse in the cassette compartment, usually 3 amps this often blows if the pump sticks which seems to happen if they are not used for a while. You can take the pump out and free it up without too much difficulty.