Franco Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Hi folks. Wooie will have the answer please?Just a quick question re pumps. I have a Compass Castaway, year 2004. Question is I have emptied all water for winter, including toilet flush. I presume there a separate pump for the toilet, as distinct from the flesh water, bearing in mind that the flush can have chemicals in it. On the control panel I can furn off the fresh water pump , so that it will not run on empty/dry, but when I turn off this pump, (at the control panel) it also deactivates the toilet pump. So, as like lastnight when we are away it seems impossible to use the toilet flush/pump only, and it means having a carton of water to refresh the used bowl- used for piddle only I might add! As it was not a freezing night is there anyway to keep the flush pump active within filling the main fresh water tank? I suspect the answer is 'no', but advise welcome. Franco *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 If you have two pumps then the best way is just to fit a a switch in series with Fresh water pump in a convenient position. Alternatively you could wire the toilet flush pump to a different 12 volt feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooie Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Hi Franco, Happy New Year and i`m afraid the simple answer is........." No " I`ve found the same problem and without " Re-wiring it " and making it permanently live then i`m sorry to say that you have to put up with it. The pump is behind the housing that has the blue button on top to flush which is turn connected to the header tank that you fill from outside I`ve had a look and there`s no live wire to " Tap Into " that`s anywhere close and trying to make any sense of the wire is virtually impossible anyway. What we use is a Empty Bleach Bottle, the one with the directional spout with just clean water in it. They have a good secure cap so if it does get knocked over it doesn`t spill. We don`t do too much during winter and it`s only a relatively short period when this problem arises so we just live with it. Sorry i can`t be of any more help Regards. Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 (Most of what follows has now been covered by Brambles and Wooie, but I'm too lazy to edit it to allow for that ;-) ) This advert is for a 2004 Compass Castaway RG http://www.motorhomes.mobi/Motorhomes/tabid/95/ItemID/23563/Motorhome/Compass-Castaway-RG/Default.aspx The photo of the bathroom shows a Thetford C-200CWE swivel-bowl toilet. This model of toilet has its own integrated 8.3 litres flush-water reservoir that will be filled via an external hatch in the motorhome's bodywork. Flushing is carried out by pressing the blue button (on top of the plastic moulding that contains the water reservoir) that activates a pump located within the toilet's reservoir. As the 12V power-supply for your toilet's pump is clearly provided by the same circuit as your fresh-water pump, and controlled by the water-pump switch on your control panel, if your water-pump is the pressure-sensitive type (as I suspect it is) you've got two choices. One is to disconnect the 12V supply at the water-pump (assuming that access to the pump and disconnection is easy), which (if you are lucky) will probably not disconnect the 12V supply to the toilet's own pump. Then the water-pump On/Off switch on the control-panel will only affect the toilet's pump. The other option would be to use the toilet then, when you want to flush it, turn the control-panel switch to the "On" position and then press the toilet's blue flush-button. This would result in the fresh-water pump running 'dry', while the control-panel switch is in the "On" position and the toilet is being flushed, but a few seconds of dry running won't do the pump any harm. Obviously, whatever you did, to allow the toilet to be flushed electrically you'd need to have water in the toilet's flush-reservoir and, if the weather is very cold and you are using your motorhome sporadically, you'd need to ensure the reservoir is fully emptied after each trip. Frankly, I'd go for your simple container-of-water approach and leave the toilet's flush-reservoir empty. Put some toilet-flush chemicals in the water container if you feel so inclined, or use a hand-spray with them in. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prorep-500ml-Hand-Spray-Bottle/dp/B009NCS4ZY If you really want to be able to flush the toilet electrically (and it doesn't seem an unreasonable ambition), you'll need to re-jig the toilet's wiring so that its 12V power is provided by a circuit not controlled by the control-panel's water-pump switch. How easy that might be to do would depend on your motorhome's existing wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I'm not much into the theory etc but as a practical solution - assuming you know what you are doing with electrics - you could probably take a 12v feed to the loo pump from the nearest other 12v source not on the same switch or fuse but you would need to disconnect the original 12v feed to prevent it back feeding to supply the main 12v water pump? If you did this it might be a good idea to make a note of it in the handbook so that the next owner will be aware - unless you change it back when spring has sprung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Hi, Brambles, Wooie, Derek and Tracker- thanks for your information, time and clarity. I am not savvy with electrics, so I will just put up with the minor inconvenience. Roll on the spring. Regards to all. Franco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooie Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 The main reason why i went for the Simple Solution ( Empty Bleach Bottle ) is that the Header Tank has very little in the way of insulation and because of where it is situated i feel it is very vulnerable. Seeing as the Main Water system has been emptied and drained obviously to prevent problems of freezing i wouldn`t risk the header tank for the same reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Wooie - 2013-01-13 4:59 PM The main reason why i went for the Simple Solution ( Empty Bleach Bottle ) is that the Header Tank has very little in the way of insulation and because of where it is situated i feel it is very vulnerable. Seeing as the Main Water system has been emptied and drained obviously to prevent problems of freezing i wouldn`t risk the header tank for the same reason. No neither would I, our solution all the year round is one of those trigger spray bottles, combined with a fairly good aim to start with , and empty the cassette on a daily basis, I'm not in to weight lifting. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 But, the neatest and most practical solution by far, would surely be Jon's (brambles): just fit a switch into the 12V supply to the main water pump. The pump is presumably accessible, or it will be impossible to change if/when it fails. So, if nowhere else, put the switch beside the pump. It isn't as though you'll need constant access to it: just once in late autumn/winter to turn it off - when you stop travelling with water on-board - and again in spring when you want it back on again. Then, the main panel switch will control just the toilet flush pump when the main pump switch is "off", and both pumps when it is turned back "on". I'll guess at one suitable switch, a short length of single core insulated wire, and two crimp-on spade connectors. All available from Halfords or WHY. Half an hour to fit, maybe less? Proper job. Any takers? :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Hi Mike, Brian. I suppose on balance even if I do isolate the flush pump I still have the issue of frost. As Graham said that flush tank might be more prone to freezing. Just a thought, if I was to adopt Brian's solution, fix a separate switch, would it be feasible to fill the flush tank with a % mixture of anti freeze to overcome the ice problem?? Frank *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Yes you could use antifreeze in the flush tank. Use Mono Propylene Glycol which you can buy on Ebay. It is non toxic so safe if it accidently contaminates your fresh water tank. Actually it is safe to use in fresh tanks as well. e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/500ml-MPG-Propylene-glycol-USP-EP-99-Pharma-grade-better-then-food-grade-/140608454423?pt=UK_BOI_Medical_Lab_Equipment_Lab_Supplies_ET&hash=item20bceabf17 or http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-Litre-MPG-Propylene-Glycol-USP-Food-Grade-99-/320925023447?pt=UK_BOI_Medical_Lab_Equipment_Lab_Supplies_ET&hash=item4ab89f3cd7 5% added will give protection to approx -10 deg C. In case you are wondering if safe or not it is often used in foods, cosmetics and is what drugs are often diluted with for injections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 the uric acid and salt in wee is an excellent anti freeze, just don't flush, a spray with water/disinfectant does the job. But then we are quite delinquent in such matters. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I cant see what the problem is!! as long as you fill the toilet flush with water you can switch the pump on just to flush toilet and then switch it straight off cant you? when travelling we dont travel with water on board so when using the loo switch the pump on to flush and then off again. :-S Or am I being thick again?? (lol) or use a 4ltr bottle of water in the bathroom just for loo flushes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 There is no real problem Maggie,. just peeps discussing alternatives available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franco Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 OK folks thanks for all your input. I find the replies very helpful:- a) Firstly I now know there are 2 pumps- I was not sure prior to issuing thread. b) I can isolate the main pump if necessary- (just not sure yet about attempting this). c) I can put Antifreeze (%) in the flush. d) I can do as I have to up to now- bring water in a container. e) I can run both pumps for a short while, to operate flush pump. Thanks for all the helpful advice and effort put in contributors. Frank :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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