Leaking toilet blade seal fix

[psa0298]

I replaced all the seals in my Thetford toilet about 4 years....it cost about $60...rediculous. Last fall the blade seal started slowly leaking again. I tried cleaning it, scrubbing the groves with a brush, etc without success. I figured they should last a little longer. I decided to order an entirely new mechanism service package(another $60 from amazon).....4-6 weeks delivery time. When I was dewinterizing and cleaning I decided to throw a littlte CLR in the bowl and it has since stopped leaking. There must have been some sort of mineral buildup on the blade that the CLR has removed. I'm not sure if anyone else has tried this but it might be worth a shot before replcing you seals.

Moved to Tech Issues forum from DIY.

[steveh27]

The new blade seal is installed. It didn't take 2 days, only 5 hours of back breaking work, half of it under the MH. I did such a good job 4 years ago & replaced the through floor bolts with stainless steel, that it went faster than expected. Now I have to remember to keep it lubricated. I took some pics, but probably no one is interested due to the custom (& bad IMO) install on my class B.

[Dave_H_M]

On my dometic/sea land the seal can be replaced simply by holding the valve open and reaching in and taking the seal off by hand. It is kind of a nut roll to get the new one mounted back in but is is doable. Kaz - thanks for the reply, I am gonna shoot some in there today.

[ernie1]

CLR stands for calcium,lime and rust.

[kaz442]

Dave H M wrote:
kaz, do you mean that you sprayed the silicone in there until it puddled in the bottom of the toilet? Right now i am using plumbers grease (silicone grease) on mine.

Yes, sprayeg till I had a 1/4" and let IG sit. I just checked it today getting river ready for holiday weekend. Been holding water two weeks.

JKaz

[Thunder_Mountai]

Just a stupid suggestion here. I had a bad blade seal in the Thetford in our MH after 6 years of use. I did ALL the things suggested here to no avail. I replaced the seal. No problems. Then I'm not holding water in the bowl. I pull the stool to check it out. I find that the four bolts that hold the bowl to the base were loose. I had not tightened them down enough fearing I would break the bowl. Tightened everything down, and I'm holding water.

[ralphnjoann]

partsman01 wrote:

ralphnjoann wrote:
What's CRL?

it is clr.

Ah-so. Thank you.

[partsman01]

ralphnjoann wrote:
What's CRL?

it is clr.

[ralphnjoann]

What's CRL?

[steveh27]

Well the hot water tip has not worked for me today. I've tried it 3 times. Also, my blade has no buildup of minerals, etc, on top or bottom. Thetford said that once the blade has pulled back the seal edge it must be replaced. I am not looking forward to this removal due to the custom (poor) installation in my B. Have to drive up on blocks so I can crawl underneath & unbolt the unit. It really is a 2 person job as a wrench needs to be on the head of the bolt inside to prevent it turning while I'm underneath. I have jury rigged the wrench inside the last 2 times. Hope it works again. Sad.

[Gjac]

psa0298 wrote:
I replaced all the seals in my Thetford toilet about 4 years....it cost about $60...rediculous. Last fall the blade seal started slowly leaking again. I tried cleaning it, scrubbing the groves with a brush, etc without success. I figured they should last a little longer. I decided to order an entirely new mechanism service package(another $60 from amazon).....4-6 weeks delivery time. When I was dewinterizing and cleaning I decided to throw a littlte CLR in the bowl and it has since stopped leaking. There must have been some sort of mineral buildup on the blade that the CLR has removed. I'm not sure if anyone else has tried this but it might be worth a shot before replcing you seals.

Moved to Tech Issues forum from DIY.

I tried all kinds of things to stop the leak. Olive oil, silicone spray, made a tool to clean out groove where blade goes, kept it working for 16 years. When this no longer worked I finally decided to replace the seals and removed the toilet and took it apart. What I found was a hard mineral build up that I had to carefully scrap off. The bottom part of the blade was in-crusted with mineral build up that was preventing the seal. I decided to lubricate and re install old seals and parts. It has not leaked since doing this. So yes I agree with you conclusion and would try the CRL first, if it does not work removing and cleaning the seals and parts was no a difficult job.

[Dave_H_M]

kaz, do you mean that you sprayed the silicone in there until it puddled in the bottom of the toilet? Right now i am using plumbers grease (silicone grease) on mine.

[steveh27]

I have the recirculating thetford. I am getting ready to replace mine for the 3rd time. Seems they last 40-50 openings and closings over 4 years before the blade catches the seal edge & bends it back. Seems like a poor design. And in my B I have to get under the van to unbolt the through floor bolts to remove the toilet. A 2 day job & too much effort. I can remove the top easily. In the future I'll do this after emptying and directly apply some lubricant several times a year. Thetford has their own product.

I will try that hot water fix soon first. Hope the tip works.

[kaz442]

B.O. Plenty wrote:
Think about this..adding oil to the toilet will only allow the oil to float on the water above the seal, doing nothing. Go around the edge with a toilet brush while holding the toilet open. Then close the flap, and with your fingers, press down on the rubber seal all the way around to reseat the seal. After all that..pour a pan of boiling hot water into the bowl and let it sit until cool. Problem will be fixed. This info comes right out of the Dometic manual. This has worked for me EVERY time!

B.O.

He stated when winterizing. You would have the water off then flush so there's no water in bowl.

I just fixed mine by cleaning and spraying some silicone lube in about 1/4" (without water) and let it sit overnight.

JKaz

[B_O__Plenty]

Think about this..adding oil to the toilet will only allow the oil to float on the water above the seal, doing nothing. Go around the edge with a toilet brush while holding the toilet open. Then close the flap, and with your fingers, press down on the rubber seal all the way around to reseat the seal. After all that..pour a pan of boiling hot water into the bowl and let it sit until cool. Problem will be fixed. This info comes right out of the Dometic manual. This has worked for me EVERY time!

B.O.