Dave, you are the only person on earth that can talk about "poo" and make someone laugh appropriately [not at you but with you]. Only a Brit can make "poo" talk interesting.
I do not have a Thetford C200 toilet cassette, I do not need a Thetford C200 toilet cassette, I do not plan ever to get a Thetford C200 toilet cassette. Why have I spent 20 minutes of my life enthralled in watching you change the seals on one? Brilliant Vlogs thank you.
Thiery Morris ummmm you said Thetford C200 toilet cassette 3 times..... I think the toilet fairy will now make sure to hunt you down to deliver your Thetford C200 toilet cassette. .....but the good news is that now you know how to refurbish the Thetf..... Oh no, they ain't getting me, I only said it twice!!
Thank you so much for this informative vlog. As someone who has been trying to hide an embarrassing leak for a few months now you have inspired me to have a go at fixing it rather than buying a whole new cassette. I have no DIY skills whatsoever so wish me luck!
This very useful video enabled me to refurb our CS200 Thetford toilet 5 years ago & having watched it again, l feel inspired & confident that l can repeat the process. Your delivery so is user-friendly, easy to follow & amusing. Thank you so much.
Yep. I’ve reached that point of the pandemic, I’ve just watched a 20 minute video about toilets on narrow boats, a topic I will never need to know anything about. That said, it was a very nicely done video about narrow boat toilets.
Many thanks for your video!! Our cassette arrived with all the bits and pieces rattling loose on the bottom. Because of your excellent step-by-step how-to, our cassette is all together and fully functioning! One thing, my wife doesn’t understand about marigolds, and that’s a good thing! Cheers and best regards
Even though I don't currently own a narrowboat (but there's always this week's Lottery to come - ha ha !!) nor a Thetford cassette loo, I found this vlog strangely fascinating. I don't know whether that says more about your excellent presenting skills or my innate curiosity - who knows ??!!
I'm in the US..probably never go to the UK...probably never have a narrow boat...yet I spent 19 minutes and 35 seconds watching a video about a poo cartridge. Congratulations, David. You have drug me into your cult...lol!!
I received an email notifying a new vlog. Tempted though I was to instantly click on the link, I did not. The thing that separates us from other animals is that we can defer pleasure. So I waited till I came back from the pub. Oh, that was so....lyrical.......informative, yes, very, and done with panache and commitment. You could make dry stone walling interesting, (actually it is, interesting and surprisingly skillful). I'm not being sarcastic, or detrimental, honestly, you bring to mundane, everyday, often sometimes unpleasant tasks, an enthusiasm and humour that almost makes me want to clean a cassete loo. Actesses and Bishops, Googleing Lubricant, oh, so funny, made me laugh out loud. Oh, and please, don't say Crickey if you do post a reply. Makes me feel a little strange. Do not end the vlogs. Your possibilities are endless.
Very interesting video. I enjoy watching your meandering Narrow boat life. I would love to travel the canals of England, but alas that may never happen as I live here in the American state of Michigan. The home of the Thetford corp. In my younger days I produced plastic components for the Thetford company and even toured the factory once. Not that I wanted too but it was part of a lean manufacturing program my company was initiating. Well enough about that I hope to see you traveling again soon and stay safe .
Thetford is a small town in Norfolk (England) - until I saw your comment I'd assumed they had a tidy little industry producing toilet cassettes. Oh well, Norfolk's loss is Michigan's gain.
Thank you for the vlogs I really enjoy them. This one in particular was very informative for me. I use a Thetford loo and cassette in my Coachman caravan, so I thought I would share a little tip with you. Chemical cleaners are forbidden to clean the loo so I make my own cleaning mixture. The mixture is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. In an empty regular size washing up liquid bottle, I pour non-bleachy dish washing liquid, about an inch in the bottom, 2-3 teaspoons of baking soda and about an inch of the cheap white vinegar. I clean all of my loo, inside and out with it and also inside and out of the cassette, after it has been emptied and rinsed out with clean water a couple of times. I have in my caravan a separate loo water tank and will add some of this mixture to the water for the flush and it seems to keep the loo smelling fresh and clean. (Saves buying that other expensive stuff for the job) It doesn't seem to have any adverse affects on the breaking down process or smell in the cassette. Canal cruising was something we used to do before we left England. I love the water and I envy you the opportunity to travel and live on your narrowboat! Keep up the good work.
here's a simple little tip: when screwing things down, whether it be a cover for the top seal on your poo cassette, a manhole cover, or the cylinder head on your engine...get ALL the screws started (usually about half-way in), and then tighten them, as opposed to tightening them as you put each individual one in. This will help prevent things from getting pinched on one side or the other, making getting the other screws hard or even impossible to get started. just a handy tip to make like better for us all. Lovely nasty video today! Cheers!
A little tip for dealing with self tapping screws in plastic. When reinstalling screws, place the screw in the hole and turn it in the opposite direction of tightening until you feel the beginning of the thread fall into the original groove. This will allow the screw to "use" the orignal path. Self tapping screws in plastic will cut new threads everytime if you aren't careful and will dramatically reduce the number of times you can reuse the hole without have to use a larger screw to secure the fixture tightly.
Great informative vlog, if only I knew those bits were replaceable before buying a new one for the caravan !! Looking forward to the next Q&A vlog immensely
This is a followup comment to the one I made in the #62 vlog. That was disgusting, but informative if I ever buy a Thetford C200 cassette toilet. I liked the part where you put the screws back in and tightened them up in a crisscross pattern. 👍 You are a man of many talents. A Jack/John of all trades. 😁
Someone (Thetford?) should have a similar video with the top half of the cassette separated the bottom half. This would allow the inside, underside of the top, to be shown while replacing those bits which are hidden otherwise. This should be part of their sales literature. Seeing what's going on would make feeling for them easier to understand. Good video, thanks.
I would love to see a video about your day to day life when moored for a period of time. Also, your videos allow me to live out my dreams of travel vicariously through your RUclips channel, so keep it up!
Nice work ! And glad to see you wear ear protection ! that is definitely needed in this job,one screw that falls and you curse yourself deaf whitout any ear protection 😉
Looking t this video for the second time, what I would have done is to take one off those extra-large recycle bags, put it under the cassette, plus have a small bucket of water with Clorox and aaa small cup to place the screws in. Then I would begin to refurbish my toilet,. Upon completion, all of the old parts could then be placed in that recycle bag that was used to catch any spills, Perhaps this is a bit long-winded but I think in the long run it would save any additional clean-up. Once again, aa very informative and well-done video. Thanks.
There is a video on RUclips somewhere where a guy replacing the circular seal suggests Olive Oil as the lubricant. Thanks for taking the time to show how the refurb is accomplished.
I did see this video as a Suggested Video some time back but not clicking it because I am always either drinking or eating while watching your videos. Now that I am clear, I am watching this with the same 'enthusiasm' as watching a hunter shoot, clean and cook a squirrel to make a pie - cringe at the beginning, satisfaction in the end. Very informative, great work!
Well done and a very informative video. Here in the colonies you can make a portable toliet by using a 5 gallon bucket with a attachable seat. You can put a bag inside for removing the waste. And seal the bucket with it's top . Makes a great and easy emergency toliet and cheap too .
Hi CTC. Good video. I’ve been using Thetford cassette toilets now for around 20 years as a caravanner and my advice would be “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, with the added benefit you don’t need to get your hands dirty or spend £35 on spares. I’m on my third caravan and therefore third cassette toilet and have never needed to replace any spares. I did once have an issue with the automatic vent (the grey rectangular item you replaced) but it was simply sticking open when the cassette was removed and then slightly leaking when transporting it. I fixed this though by freeing it up and lubricating it. FYI, it operates when you return the cartridge in place, by a cam fixed in to the housing and is intended to vent gas build up. In a caravan this vents through the external locker/access door, I assume on a narrow boat there is a similar external vent. As far as I’m aware, Thetford do not recommend any routine maintenance spare parts, these spares are sold primarily for if any of these items break. P.s. If your tank full warning light is not working, check either the 2x AA batteries in the holder inside the housing, or the supply from the boat/vehicle battery, if its a wired in version, or the fuses inside the compartment. You can usually see the float valve for the warning light as a small white drum the diameter of a 10 pence piece, on a short rotating arm, through the blade opening, at the upper rear right hand corner on mine. This floats up when the tank is full, moving an encapsulated magnet, which then operates an external reed switch, built in to the compartment/housing. Very useful to have an operating warning light, as I’ll leave it to your imagination what would happen if you overfill the cassette and then need to remove it with ‘fluid’ still in the bowl!
Thanks for the Thetford tips yet because you have NOT had the pleasure of waiting six weeks for an odd sized o-ring or other propitiatory seal , I would suggest you not in the best position to offer up advice to others about toilet issues. Everyone should carry on board at minimum...a soft parts rebuild kit for any toilet/head you happen to own. Especially if afloat in more remote areas. Even three days with a toilet in disrepair is an experience most unwelcome.
very grateful. Soooo many videos out there, either of the wrong cassette or replacing the wrong part... Mine was a non-moving blade, and i had NO idea how to get it out and fix it. So glad to have your instruction. Will admit to having fast forwarded through quite a bit of the video to get to the bit i needed. Thank you very much indeed! (why don't Thetford give this info in their manuals?)
Loving this channel. I’m originally from the Black Country, the heart of the Industrial Revolution, but now live in Canada. My cousin had a narrowboat up until fairly recently. I still miss the “cut”. One suggestion, I think you might find a box of disposable surgical gloves useful instead of the Marigolds. You can change them and dispose of them when you are doing stuff like this. They are useful for all sorts of messy jobs and you keep your “feel” and dexterity. Loving the videos and the humour. I miss that. They don’t have one here lol. Keep up the great work. If I win the lottery, my holiday home will be a narrowboat on the canals of the UK. I’ve always loved the canals and canal life. I lived in Dudley which is home to the Black Country Living Museum. I don’t know if you have been but it’s worth a trip. The tunnels are awesome and have a long history. Parts of the TV show Peaky Blinders was filmed there, as well as many other shows and movies. It has lots of original buildings which were dismantled brick by brick and moved there and rebuilt. There is a row of shops, including a fish and chip shop, a school, a blacksmiths and a fully working steam pump. Cheers and keep up the great work. I’m jealous.
@@CruisingTheCut I have to agree with you. Sometimes though they are useful for oily, sticky jobs if used sparingly. Saves having to throw a perfectly good pair of Marigolds out because they are caked with oil and other sticky substances.
Love your commentary, "As the Actress said to the Bishop" I use this comment on many occasions, it is not always with favourable response, it turns any innocent remark into a Blue One.😂😂😂
When I was a kid in Germany, farmers were still using horse-drawn "honey wagons". These were filled with the waste from the farmhouse and barns and then taken to the fields where spray pipes at the back spread the "manure" on the ground. Back in the day, you had to wash your vegetables well before eating them (we used diluted iodine). Human and animal manure has been used in farming for centuries if not millennia. If done right, it is safe.
It's as complicated as the control panel on the Tardis - and you made short work of it. Very nice. I did laugh when you said "The first thing you need to do is make sure it's empty." It would add a whole new level of adventure to do the refurb while it's full (maybe a future video idea... yuck). An option for being able to handle small screws is to use fairly tight-fitting disposable Nitrile gloves. Love the channel - best wishes.
You have the same casette as I have in my caravan, I basically maintain it the same as you however I do use olive oil to lubricate the main seal, and then give the whole casstte a good spray of jeys fluid
another great video,perhaps latex gloves under the marigolds, then when you take the marigolds off you have a clean pair of tight fitting gloves underneath, so you can put the screws back in. Looking forward to the answers to the quiz.
Superb.. informative as always... a good tip from movie silence of lambs.. something like VICK on yet top lip.. deflects the PONG... hope that helps.. John.
A little late for comment, but having a plastic bin a little larger than the cassette would allow for using a bleach cleaner or hot water would help to sanitize the exterior an get into the recesses of the unit and keep work area clear and clean. Hope this is helpful, Alex Longoria
Just one of those things that I feel should be known to prevent expensive replacements. The type of screw used in these toilets cut their own thread into the plastic body on original assembly. So when putting them back together it is good practice to turn them the WRONG WAY under gentle pressure until you feel it drop into the previously cut thread , then tighten as normal. If you don't do this very soon you will have a stripped useless hole in the cassette body. Just my 2 penneth. Clive
Suè and Clive Farrar if you were to strip the hole, a drop or two of super glue on the screw should hold it nicely. Most super glue will react with the plastic, melting it slightly and somewhat refurbishing the hole. Yes removing the screw will be quite difficult and may require glue each time, but it could buy you a couple more refurbishments as it were
Having fathered 3 children and doing my proper share of the changing and cleaning the babies, refurbishing the cassette is a not that daunting a task. Good video on an important subject!
We have a Thetford for our sailboat. We'll be heading into the 5th season and its leaking a little when you carry it to empty it so thank you for this video!
When replacing screws in plastic it is a good idea to rotate the screw anticlockwise first until one feels the thread detente into the original thread that has been cut, then tighten the screw home. Using this method one is less likely to cross thread the original thread as the material is soft.
David is a legend. He refuses to let himself and his viewers lose full sense of the reality of boat ownership. David could have outsourced this entire effort but it would have been expensive and he would not have captured any future knowledge should this require doing in the future. Smart job David.
Day 4 of self-isolation and I'm watching a video of a man refurbishing a plastic toilet for a narrowboat. I'm scared to ponder what I'll be watching by day 24.
I wimped out at 5:43 before it got too into the crappy parts. ;-) I've got one similar I use for camping but have yet to deal with replacing parts, so I think I'll come back to this when I have to.
I grew up in a house with a septic tank and leech field, the best and simplest solution my dad did was to take a packet of Fleischmann's yeast for baking, follow the instructions as per warm water and sugar to activate the yeast, let is sit for 10-15 minutes then flush it. He would and still does this once a month as he puts it "cheap insurance", instead of needing the tank pumped every 3-5 years he gets 7-10 years.
A little tip for anything with O rings is to clean the surfaces and reinstall with a lubricant,personally I find silicone grease a great help also I use AC90 at work which seems to be better than WD 40 from freeing stuff as it also has oil in it.great tutorial By the way,I will service my cassettes now I have seen this. P.s I saw somewhere that if leaving a cassette that isn't used for a while was to add a small amount of vegatable oil to the main seal and work the flap a few times.
very useful vid and you present it in an entertaining way to me. and yes you are right things like vaseline and wd40 type products attack rubber seals and so they fail prematurely(often swelling up too), so silicone or rubber grease is always recommended for important seals, this is also true for seals on cars etc
"Potty" good Vlog :0) Interesting to know all the things you Narrow boat folks over there have to deal with, always looking forward to your vlogs, you do good work, Cheers from the US of A.....
Have had experience of Thetford cassette on my camper. The only thing I had to replace in 12 years was the flushing pump which succumbed to freezing after I neglected to empty the tank over winter. If I had ever had to replace the system would have done so with a Thetford Bristol toilet. No seals, blades, springs or catches. In my experience simplicity is best :)
Place seal in plastic ziplock bag then a quick shot of spray (or dab of silicone grease). Massage ring thru bag to spread lubricant on ring. After Installing ring, place old ring in bag for disposal.
Nicely done. Just a suggestion for hand washing: Use lots of friction and rubbing and sing happy birthday to yourself while you do it. The duration of the song happens to be the time recommended for a thorough wash. The friction breaks down the spore type bacteria like C-Diff which the hand santitisers won't touch.
LIQUID "PINESOL" in your black tanks works great for smells !!!! It even works to pour directly onto spills from dumping. I add some Fontana before using . Smells fresh & good.Lemony clean. Makes using & dumping very pleasant !!! For all seals use a Qtip to clean on & under & on seals then using a QTIP apply VASELINE.
Great video! Our main seal has developed a small leak and, yes, that drip drip as you walk along is not attractive! LOL Any idea of the part number for the main seal in the middle? Thanks
If I may suggest: perhaps prepare a bucket of sanitizing liquid (water with bleach or bio-friendly sanitizer) to rinse or clean some of the small parts in, and also to dip/rinse one's gloved hands in, in between operations if needed. I think I would also have/keep an extra set of screws on hand in case one or more somehow fell into the cassette (yes, even though the flap is expected to be closed) so the whole process could be completed without interruption or having to fish about for them. Thank you for the information! To be honest, I played it at double speed after 5 minutes. Don't know why the subject seems so unpleasant, but I defer to reality. Thank you!
Lubricant for rubber seals and O-rings. You are absolutely right. Vaseline and most other greases and oils will make rubber component swell up and die. Use pure silicone grease. A tube in your tool box will last a long time. Much cheaper than proprietary spray lubes like Thetford's.
there are also Teflon based pool seal lubricants (paste form) which may work fine too, as no petroleum lubes are recommended for pool seals/O-rings. Also, there is liquid silicone available in small bottles at most pool stores, designed for tablet feeder lid O-rings.
At 05:02s the vent there vents any build up of gases from the decomposing 'stuff' when the cassette is reinserted into it's housing - if for whatever reason this doesn't work, or isn't working there's a risk of a build up of 'gas' within the cassette which can then rush up and out in to your living space when you next open the blade. It's got a rubber ring and a foam float and needs an ocasional clean. I always give mine a few taps before reinserting the cassette to ensure it's loosened in to place as it should and not stuck itself closed.
I love your scenery montages. They create a very calming effect. Could you create a long one, 15 to 30 minutes long. no voice over just scenery, a low motor noise and music. Thanks
Probably not my kind of thing but I recommend the "Narrowboat Journeys" channel for it, Kryfold makes lots of trips down the south Oxford: ruclips.net/channel/UCYIt9Ra8G6FbeJ4J0tp4mBQ
Dave, you are the only person on earth that can talk about "poo" and make someone laugh appropriately [not at you but with you]. Only a Brit can make "poo" talk interesting.
Thank you. We love a bit of poo talk, us boaters. Some talk of little else.
I watched a play once where the narrator was the sewer keeper to the king.
His lasting comment was " It's not ordinary poo you know"
I do not have a Thetford C200 toilet cassette, I do not need a Thetford C200 toilet cassette, I do not plan ever to get a Thetford C200 toilet cassette. Why have I spent 20 minutes of my life enthralled in watching you change the seals on one? Brilliant Vlogs thank you.
Hahahahahaha!!!!! Cheers
Oh, I so agree. It's like a benign drug addiction, (See my comment above ). Careful, you might have to go to rehab.
Thiery Morris ummmm you said Thetford C200 toilet cassette 3 times..... I think the toilet fairy will now make sure to hunt you down to deliver your Thetford C200 toilet cassette. .....but the good news is that now you know how to refurbish the Thetf..... Oh no, they ain't getting me, I only said it twice!!
Useful video for anyone with one of these. I don't have one but, for some strange reason, I watched it all the way through anyway.
One day, my friend, one day you too may own a Thetford cassette :-)
Always better to be prepared - dib, dib, dib
Needed something stronger than a cup of tea to watch this one! Useful to know though, thank you for taking one for the team.
Good of you to fix what the vast majority would toss out. You saved money and stopped it from going into a landfill. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this informative vlog. As someone who has been trying to hide an embarrassing leak for a few months now you have inspired me to have a go at fixing it rather than buying a whole new cassette. I have no DIY skills whatsoever so wish me luck!
Best toilet refurbish video I’ve ever seen.😅 Being a ex-plumber I would know. Serious that was great information.
LOL! I was just killed by the completely straight delivery of, "You can never have enough vlogs where you're talking about poo."
Same!!!
This very useful video enabled me to refurb our CS200 Thetford toilet 5 years ago & having watched it again, l feel inspired & confident that l can repeat the process. Your delivery so is user-friendly, easy to follow & amusing. Thank you so much.
Glad it was helpful!
Good information on a subject that most channels just don't talk about! I liked both this & your last video on the toilets. Thx
Yep. I’ve reached that point of the pandemic, I’ve just watched a 20 minute video about toilets on narrow boats, a topic I will never need to know anything about.
That said, it was a very nicely done video about narrow boat toilets.
Damn, beat me to it.
What a wonderful time to spend on board!!! Very well presented and informative - many thanks for taking the time to produce it.
David, your films have really helped me though this tough time. Thank you. Now, let me continue watching your film about poo.
Many thanks for your video!! Our cassette arrived with all the bits and pieces rattling loose on the bottom. Because of your excellent step-by-step how-to, our cassette is all together and fully functioning! One thing, my wife doesn’t understand about marigolds, and that’s a good thing! Cheers and best regards
Glad to hear you got it sorted!
After this operation this man is able to survive in any situation. Great !
Even though I don't currently own a narrowboat (but there's always this week's Lottery to come - ha ha !!) nor a Thetford cassette loo, I found this vlog strangely fascinating. I don't know whether that says more about your excellent presenting skills or my innate curiosity - who knows ??!!
I'm in the US..probably never go to the UK...probably never have a narrow boat...yet I spent 19 minutes and 35 seconds watching a video about a poo cartridge. Congratulations, David. You have drug me into your cult...lol!!
Use one of those in my caravan and it will need a service shortly. Very useful video that will make that job easier and cheaper. Thanks David.
I received an email notifying a new vlog. Tempted though I was to instantly click on the link, I did not. The thing that separates us from other animals is that we can defer pleasure. So I waited till I came back from the pub.
Oh, that was so....lyrical.......informative, yes, very, and done with panache and commitment. You could make dry stone walling interesting, (actually it is, interesting and surprisingly skillful). I'm not being sarcastic, or detrimental, honestly, you bring to mundane, everyday, often sometimes unpleasant tasks, an enthusiasm and humour that almost makes me want to clean a cassete loo. Actesses and Bishops, Googleing Lubricant, oh, so funny, made me laugh out loud. Oh, and please, don't say Crickey if you do post a reply. Makes me feel a little strange. Do not end the vlogs. Your possibilities are endless.
Gosh.
Thank you!
At last... found someone that commented on the actress and the bishop...
This is very useful, now I can fix my non-existent toilet. Very interesting maintenance for your Narrowboat.
Very interesting video. I enjoy watching your meandering Narrow boat life. I would love to travel the canals of England, but alas that may never happen as I live here in the American state of Michigan. The home of the Thetford corp. In my younger days I produced plastic components for the Thetford company and even toured the factory once. Not that I wanted too but it was part of a lean manufacturing program my company was initiating. Well enough about that I hope to see you traveling again soon and stay safe .
Thetford is a small town in Norfolk (England) - until I saw your comment I'd assumed they had a tidy little industry producing toilet cassettes. Oh well, Norfolk's loss is Michigan's gain.
Thank you very much for your interesting comment, adds nicely to the video!
"And I'm in, as the actress said to the Bishop... or was that the other way round?" haha
Brilliant video all round. Just replaced my vent button after watching made the job so easy. So it’s a big thank you from me.
Thoroughly enjoying your videos and your sense of humour.😁😁😁
Thank you for the vlogs I really enjoy them. This one in particular was very informative for me.
I use a Thetford loo and cassette in my Coachman caravan, so I thought I would share a little tip with you. Chemical cleaners are forbidden to clean the loo so I make my own cleaning mixture.
The mixture is anti-bacterial and anti-fungal.
In an empty regular size washing up liquid bottle, I pour non-bleachy dish washing liquid, about an inch in the bottom, 2-3 teaspoons of baking soda and about an inch of the cheap white vinegar. I clean all of my loo, inside and out with it and also inside and out of the cassette, after it has been emptied and rinsed out with clean water a couple of times.
I have in my caravan a separate loo water tank and will add some of this mixture to the water for the flush and it seems to keep the loo smelling fresh and clean. (Saves buying that other expensive stuff for the job) It doesn't seem to have any adverse affects on the breaking down process or smell in the cassette.
Canal cruising was something we used to do before we left England. I love the water and I envy you the opportunity to travel and live on your narrowboat!
Keep up the good work.
Interesting tip; cheers
here's a simple little tip:
when screwing things down, whether it be a cover for the top seal on your poo cassette, a manhole cover, or the cylinder head on your engine...get ALL the screws started (usually about half-way in), and then tighten them, as opposed to tightening them as you put each individual one in.
This will help prevent things from getting pinched on one side or the other, making getting the other screws hard or even impossible to get started.
just a handy tip to make like better for us all.
Lovely nasty video today! Cheers!
11:28 "I'm in, as the actress said to the bishop" LOVL
A little tip for dealing with self tapping screws in plastic. When reinstalling screws, place the screw in the hole and turn it in the opposite direction of tightening until you feel the beginning of the thread fall into the original groove. This will allow the screw to "use" the orignal path. Self tapping screws in plastic will cut new threads everytime if you aren't careful and will dramatically reduce the number of times you can reuse the hole without have to use a larger screw to secure the fixture tightly.
Great informative vlog, if only I knew those bits were replaceable before buying a new one for the caravan !! Looking forward to the next Q&A vlog immensely
Your wallet must be hurting, I feel your pain.
This is a followup comment to the one I made in the #62 vlog. That was disgusting, but informative if I ever buy a Thetford C200 cassette toilet. I liked the part where you put the screws back in and tightened them up in a crisscross pattern. 👍 You are a man of many talents. A Jack/John of all trades. 😁
I was wondering if He's do that..lol!
great video. very well explained, love your proper down to earth commentary, funny at times but always helpful advice. will check out more... thanks.
Someone (Thetford?) should have a similar video with the top half of the cassette separated the bottom half. This would allow the inside, underside of the top, to be shown while replacing those bits which are hidden otherwise. This should be part of their sales literature. Seeing what's going on would make feeling for them easier to understand.
Good video, thanks.
I’m surprised marina’s haven’t installed a “cassette dump and clean” service machine! All auto and comes out super clean and shiny! Lol
I would love to see a video about your day to day life when moored for a period of time. Also, your videos allow me to live out my dreams of travel vicariously through your RUclips channel, so keep it up!
Thanks. I hope to do a "day in the life" someday. Cheers
Oh the glamorous life of narrow boating and we thought it was all pastures and swans. (I think you need longer marigolds)
a great instructional video,,,ive wondered about those toilets and never owned one,,,this clears up some questions ive had,,,thanks for the posting
Nice work ! And glad to see you wear ear protection ! that is definitely needed in this job,one screw that falls and you curse yourself deaf whitout any ear protection 😉
Ha!!
Looking t this video for the second time, what I would have done is to take one off those extra-large recycle bags, put it under the cassette, plus have a small bucket of water with Clorox and aaa small cup to place the screws in. Then I would begin to refurbish my toilet,. Upon completion, all of the old parts could then be placed in that recycle bag that was used to catch any spills,
Perhaps this is a bit long-winded but I think in the long run it would save any additional clean-up.
Once again, aa very informative and well-done video. Thanks.
What a expert you are. Another great video u made it look so easy.
I don't claim "expert" status but it's OK once you've done it once or twice :-)
There is a video on RUclips somewhere where a guy replacing the circular seal suggests Olive Oil as the lubricant.
Thanks for taking the time to show how the refurb is accomplished.
I did see this video as a Suggested Video some time back but not clicking it because I am always either drinking or eating while watching your videos. Now that I am clear, I am watching this with the same 'enthusiasm' as watching a hunter shoot, clean and cook a squirrel to make a pie - cringe at the beginning, satisfaction in the end. Very informative, great work!
Thanks for that, a really useful video. I was putting off refurbishing mine, but seeing you do it has made it look straight forward.
I've just watched a man service his shitter, for no other reason than it being the next video in the series.
Well done and a very informative video. Here in the colonies you can make a portable toliet by using a 5 gallon bucket with a attachable seat. You can put a bag inside for removing the waste. And seal the bucket with it's top . Makes a great and easy emergency toliet and cheap too .
You did a great job on this tutorial.
Thanks for the work you put into it.
Happy Cruising
Thanks Allen.
"Strap on your Marigolds and get in there!" Indeed, a philosophy for life, no less.
Hi CTC. Good video. I’ve been using Thetford cassette toilets now for around 20 years as a caravanner and my advice would be “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, with the added benefit you don’t need to get your hands dirty or spend £35 on spares. I’m on my third caravan and therefore third cassette toilet and have never needed to replace any spares. I did once have an issue with the automatic vent (the grey rectangular item you replaced) but it was simply sticking open when the cassette was removed and then slightly leaking when transporting it. I fixed this though by freeing it up and lubricating it. FYI, it operates when you return the cartridge in place, by a cam fixed in to the housing and is intended to vent gas build up. In a caravan this vents through the external locker/access door, I assume on a narrow boat there is a similar external vent. As far as I’m aware, Thetford do not recommend any routine maintenance spare parts, these spares are sold primarily for if any of these items break. P.s. If your tank full warning light is not working, check either the 2x AA batteries in the holder inside the housing, or the supply from the boat/vehicle battery, if its a wired in version, or the fuses inside the compartment. You can usually see the float valve for the warning light as a small white drum the diameter of a 10 pence piece, on a short rotating arm, through the blade opening, at the upper rear right hand corner on mine. This floats up when the tank is full, moving an encapsulated magnet, which then operates an external reed switch, built in to the compartment/housing. Very useful to have an operating warning light, as I’ll leave it to your imagination what would happen if you overfill the cassette and then need to remove it with ‘fluid’ still in the bowl!
Thanks for the Thetford tips yet because you have NOT had the pleasure of waiting six weeks for an odd sized o-ring or other propitiatory seal , I would suggest you not in the best position to offer up advice to others about toilet issues. Everyone should carry on board at minimum...a soft parts rebuild kit for any toilet/head you happen to own. Especially if afloat in more remote areas. Even three days with a toilet in disrepair is an experience most unwelcome.
Its great to see how resourceful you are. A head torch would be an essential bit of kit,
very grateful. Soooo many videos out there, either of the wrong cassette or replacing the wrong part... Mine was a non-moving blade, and i had NO idea how to get it out and fix it. So glad to have your instruction. Will admit to having fast forwarded through quite a bit of the video to get to the bit i needed. Thank you very much indeed! (why don't Thetford give this info in their manuals?)
I'm glad it was a useful video for you, thank you.
Loving this channel. I’m originally from the Black Country, the heart of the Industrial Revolution, but now live in Canada. My cousin had a narrowboat up until fairly recently. I still miss the “cut”. One suggestion, I think you might find a box of disposable surgical gloves useful instead of the Marigolds. You can change them and dispose of them when you are doing stuff like this. They are useful for all sorts of messy jobs and you keep your “feel” and dexterity. Loving the videos and the humour. I miss that. They don’t have one here lol. Keep up the great work. If I win the lottery, my holiday home will be a narrowboat on the canals of the UK. I’ve always loved the canals and canal life. I lived in Dudley which is home to the Black Country Living Museum. I don’t know if you have been but it’s worth a trip. The tunnels are awesome and have a long history. Parts of the TV show Peaky Blinders was filmed there, as well as many other shows and movies. It has lots of original buildings which were dismantled brick by brick and moved there and rebuilt. There is a row of shops, including a fish and chip shop, a school, a blacksmiths and a fully working steam pump. Cheers and keep up the great work. I’m jealous.
Cheers. I don’t like disposable products, bad for the environment just chucking stuff out after one use
@@CruisingTheCut I have to agree with you. Sometimes though they are useful for oily, sticky jobs if used sparingly. Saves having to throw a perfectly good pair of Marigolds out because they are caked with oil and other sticky substances.
Love your commentary, "As the Actress said to the Bishop" I use this comment on many occasions, it is not always with favourable response, it turns any innocent remark into a Blue One.😂😂😂
Great vlog..... We have a small motor-home and I know at some point I will need to refurbish our cassette, this will help me no end. Many Thanks
That was really well explained. Thank You.
We have an in ground worm composting sewage tank. It needed refurbishment. We did it ourselves. I had to climb into it. Quite the experience!
Likely not something to brag about to your pals, but I suspect they were able to guess what went on long before they shook your hand!
A very welcome reference to A. A. Milne indeed!
When I was a kid in Germany, farmers were still using horse-drawn "honey wagons". These were filled with the waste from the farmhouse and barns and then taken to the fields where spray pipes at the back spread the "manure" on the ground. Back in the day, you had to wash your vegetables well before eating them (we used diluted iodine). Human and animal manure has been used in farming for centuries if not millennia. If done right, it is safe.
It's as complicated as the control panel on the Tardis - and you made short work of it. Very nice.
I did laugh when you said "The first thing you need to do is make sure it's empty." It would add a whole new level of adventure to do the refurb while it's full (maybe a future video idea... yuck).
An option for being able to handle small screws is to use fairly tight-fitting disposable Nitrile gloves.
Love the channel - best wishes.
Good idea about the gloves, cheers
Cleaned mine with Thetford Cassette Cleaner first (has to be left to soak overnight) and wasnt a disgusting job after all. Great video!
Steve Leat .
Thank you , very easy to do after watching your video, you saved me a lot of money
Thanks again Steve from OZ.
You have the same casette as I have in my caravan, I basically maintain it the same as you however I do use olive oil to lubricate the main seal, and then give the whole casstte a good spray of jeys fluid
another great video,perhaps latex gloves under the marigolds, then when you take the marigolds off you have a clean pair of tight fitting gloves underneath, so you can put the screws back in. Looking forward to the answers to the quiz.
Good tip, cheers
This is great information that every one needs to know thank you
:-)
Great and truthful presentation of how to do it properly.
Superb.. informative as always... a good tip from movie silence of lambs.. something like VICK on yet top lip.. deflects the PONG... hope that helps.. John.
Great video - thanks. Not sure what rabbit hole brought me here but glad I visited.
A little late for comment, but having a plastic bin a little larger than the cassette would allow for using a bleach cleaner or hot water would help to sanitize the exterior an get into the recesses of the unit and keep work area clear and clean. Hope this is helpful, Alex Longoria
This was very informative.
Thank you.
Life on a narrowboat. Marvelous.
Just one of those things that I feel should be known to prevent expensive replacements.
The type of screw used in these toilets cut their own thread into the plastic body on original assembly.
So when putting them back together it is good practice to turn them the WRONG WAY under gentle pressure until you feel it drop into the previously cut thread , then tighten as normal.
If you don't do this very soon you will have a stripped useless hole in the cassette body.
Just my 2 penneth.
Clive
Suè and Clive Farrar if you were to strip the hole, a drop or two of super glue on the screw should hold it nicely. Most super glue will react with the plastic, melting it slightly and somewhat refurbishing the hole. Yes removing the screw will be quite difficult and may require glue each time, but it could buy you a couple more refurbishments as it were
SsThanks David for reminding me of why we chose pump out!!!!!
Oh, you'll have similar pleasures when your piping gets gummed up!!
CruisingTheCut yes I know, been there and done that. Hopefully though less frequently.
Many years ago I crewed two narrowboats and sank one of them in Wheelock, it makes a very good read!
Yikes
What does that mean
Having fathered 3 children and doing my proper share of the changing and cleaning the babies, refurbishing the cassette is a not that daunting a task. Good video on an important subject!
Had a good chuckle at the "Googling lubricant" comment, thanks!
We have a Thetford for our sailboat. We'll be heading into the 5th season and its leaking a little when you carry it to empty it so thank you for this video!
Very informative . . . my husband is off to check the Thetford in our motorhome immediately!
Lucky old husband!!
When replacing screws in plastic it is a good idea to rotate the screw anticlockwise first until one feels the thread detente into the original thread that has been cut, then tighten the screw home. Using this method one is less likely to cross thread the original thread as the material is soft.
Yes indeed
David is a legend. He refuses to let himself and his viewers lose full sense of the reality of boat ownership. David could have outsourced this entire effort but it would have been expensive and he would not have captured any future knowledge should this require doing in the future. Smart job David.
Day 4 of self-isolation and I'm watching a video of a man refurbishing a plastic toilet for a narrowboat. I'm scared to ponder what I'll be watching by day 24.
If you're very unlucky it'll be the one where I go through the contents of my port-side well deck locker in excruciating detail.
I wimped out at 5:43 before it got too into the crappy parts. ;-) I've got one similar I use for camping but have yet to deal with replacing parts, so I think I'll come back to this when I have to.
Yes, that is wimping out :-)
Love the smell of loo blue, reminds me of holidays
bet you had a good G&T after that job
I expect I did!
I grew up in a house with a septic tank and leech field, the best and simplest solution my dad did was to take a packet of Fleischmann's yeast for baking, follow the instructions as per warm water and sugar to activate the yeast, let is sit for 10-15 minutes then flush it. He would and still does this once a month as he puts it "cheap insurance", instead of needing the tank pumped every 3-5 years he gets 7-10 years.
You know how much a full septic tank weighs?
> A crap ton
my dad used to say that old farmers told him to throw in a rotten hunk of meat every once in a while... not sure if he ever bothered to do it.
@@Geoffr524 That's a crappy one.
A little tip for anything with O rings is to clean the surfaces and reinstall with a lubricant,personally I find silicone grease a great help also I use AC90 at work which seems to be better than WD 40 from freeing stuff as it also has oil in it.great tutorial By the way,I will service my cassettes now I have seen this.
P.s I saw somewhere that if leaving a cassette that isn't used for a while was to add a small amount of vegatable oil to the main seal and work the flap a few times.
Cheers Paul, thanks for the info
Yes Olive oil is the stuff for the lip seal
I don't know who asked about the lady stuff, but it should ALWAYS be put in a bag/bin and never flushed, no matter what kind of toilet it is o.O
i had started to watch another video on this but was nearly sick lol thank for posting your was fine. i can face doing it now.
Haha, it's not the greatest task, I admit. Have "fun" :-)
very useful vid and you present it in an entertaining way to me.
and yes you are right things like vaseline and wd40 type products attack rubber seals and so they fail prematurely(often swelling up too), so silicone or rubber grease is always recommended for important seals, this is also true for seals on cars etc
Thanks; good info. Cheers.
you are most welcome
I had to wash my hands after the vlog😁
"Potty" good Vlog :0) Interesting to know all the things you Narrow boat folks over there have to deal with, always looking forward to your vlogs, you do good work, Cheers from the US of A.....
Thanks John
Have had experience of Thetford cassette on my camper. The only thing I had to replace in 12 years was the flushing pump which succumbed to freezing after I neglected to empty the tank over winter. If I had ever had to replace the system would have done so with a Thetford Bristol toilet. No seals, blades, springs or catches.
In my experience simplicity is best :)
as always, very informative.
Place seal in plastic ziplock bag then a quick shot of spray (or dab of silicone grease). Massage ring thru bag to spread lubricant on ring. After Installing ring, place old ring in bag for disposal.
Nicely done. Just a suggestion for hand washing: Use lots of friction and rubbing and sing happy birthday to yourself while you do it. The duration of the song happens to be the time recommended for a thorough wash. The friction breaks down the spore type bacteria like C-Diff which the hand santitisers won't touch.
I did not know that!
Dettol does!
LIQUID "PINESOL" in your black tanks works great for smells !!!! It even works to pour directly onto spills from dumping. I add some Fontana before using . Smells fresh & good.Lemony clean. Makes using & dumping very pleasant !!! For all seals use a Qtip to clean on & under & on seals then using a QTIP apply VASELINE.
Making HEADway! LOL. Very informative, thank you again for your vlogs!
Great video! Our main seal has developed a small leak and, yes, that drip drip as you walk along is not attractive! LOL Any idea of the part number for the main seal in the middle? Thanks
Held off from my Chunky Vegetable Soup after watching this one
Wise
If I may suggest: perhaps prepare a bucket of sanitizing liquid (water with bleach or bio-friendly sanitizer) to rinse or clean some of the small parts in, and also to dip/rinse one's gloved hands in, in between operations if needed. I think I would also have/keep an extra set of screws on hand in case one or more somehow fell into the cassette (yes, even though the flap is expected to be closed) so the whole process could be completed without interruption or having to fish about for them. Thank you for the information! To be honest, I played it at double speed after 5 minutes. Don't know why the subject seems so unpleasant, but I defer to reality. Thank you!
Lubricant for rubber seals and O-rings.
You are absolutely right. Vaseline and most other greases and oils will make rubber component swell up and die. Use pure silicone grease. A tube in your tool box will last a long time. Much cheaper than proprietary spray lubes like Thetford's.
there are also Teflon based pool seal lubricants (paste form) which may work fine too, as no petroleum lubes are recommended for pool seals/O-rings. Also, there is liquid silicone available in small bottles at most pool stores, designed for tablet feeder lid O-rings.
From 4 minutes in, I was watching without breathing through my nose.
At 05:02s the vent there vents any build up of gases from the decomposing 'stuff' when the cassette is reinserted into it's housing - if for whatever reason this doesn't work, or isn't working there's a risk of a build up of 'gas' within the cassette which can then rush up and out in to your living space when you next open the blade. It's got a rubber ring and a foam float and needs an ocasional clean. I always give mine a few taps before reinserting the cassette to ensure it's loosened in to place as it should and not stuck itself closed.
informative as usual. keep them coming.
Cheers
I love your scenery montages. They create a very calming effect. Could you create a long one, 15 to 30 minutes long. no voice over just scenery, a low motor noise and music. Thanks
Probably not my kind of thing but I recommend the "Narrowboat Journeys" channel for it, Kryfold makes lots of trips down the south Oxford: ruclips.net/channel/UCYIt9Ra8G6FbeJ4J0tp4mBQ