Petra Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Can anyone help? The blade on the toilet is jammed closed yet the lever is open, therefore I cannot extract the pooey box and I cannot move the lever back. Is there any way I can release the lever and has anyone any sensible suggestions. It is a Thetford 250 swivel loo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Push down on the blade it's only held against the seal with light spring pressure. Should be able to push it down enough to release it or put a strip of metal with the end bent over should do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Pull off the lever and try turning the shaft with some implement. We did have this problem once, but I can't remember exactly what I did to cure it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 If it's been parked up closed all winter it's probably stuck with drying out & vacuum. Put some olive oil on the blade from the top then gently press down to allow oil to penetrate. Keep pressing it and eventually when oil has penetrated it will slide back with the help of a screwdriver carefully pushed against the blade Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petra Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 It isn't stuck because it has been stood as we have been using it for the last week. Cassette is half full but cannot get it out to empty it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 If you say the cassette is stuck, it sounds like you need to be having a fiddle/poke around in through the access door to see if anything/what has jammed(rather than from the top?)..maybe?... :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Petra's Thetford toilet is a C250 model. I believe there are two C250 versions, one that has its 'blade valve' operated manually by turning a lever beneath the toilet bowl, and another where the blade-valve is operated electrically via a push-button or (if required) by sliding sideways a below-bowl lever. I suspect that Petra's C250 is the first type and, if so, Peter's advice would be worth trying. There is quite a lot of C250-related information in Thetford's downloadable "Sanitation Repair Instructions" but, where disassembly is concerned, the first instruction is normally to remove the toilet casette! Following pepe63's suggestions, I'd first of all ensure that the cassette is fully inserted in its locker (ie. pushed fully in) and see if the blade-valve operating lever then moves freely. If that did not work, I'd try getting someone to move the cassette backwards and forwards within the locker while the blade-valve operating lever was being moved simultaneously. If something has broken in the blade-valve operating mechanism, I'm not sure what the best way would be to allow the cassette to be extracted. It looks reasonably straightforward to remove the complete toilet bowl from above, but I don't know if that can be done with the cassette in situ or, even if it could, that the blade-valve operating mechanism would then become accessible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacock312 Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 If the LEVER is in the OPEN position as you state,it won't open ,put the slider lever to CLOSED position and then the box should slide out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Derek Uzzell - 2014-03-12 2:09 PM If something has broken in the blade-valve operating mechanism, I'm not sure what the best way would be to allow the cassette to be extracted. It looks reasonably straightforward to remove the complete toilet bowl from above, but I don't know if that can be done with the cassette in situ or, even if it could, that the blade-valve operating mechanism would then become accessible. Been there done that, all the fixing for the bowl are underneath you have to take the waste tank out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 lennyhb I was afraid that would be the case. Petra's description that the blade-valve is jammed shut and the blade-opening lever is jammed in the open position suggests that something in the operating mechanism has broken or become detached. As long as the blade-opener in the cassette's upper surface is not in the 'blade closed' position, it will not be possible to remove the cassette from its locker. Even if one could move the jammed blade out of the way and reach inside the cassette through the base of the toilet bowl, I don't know if it would be possible to turn the blade-opener to the 'blade-closed' position that would allow the cassette to be extracted. Hopefully Petra can, by following the suggestions offered above, manage to get the cassette out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Is sounding like something has broken or jammed on the lever mechanism, probable the only thing you can do is have one person pushing & pulling the lever with another outside pushing & tugging on the waste tank, hopefully it will come free without further damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 Sounds like a plan.. One pressing down on blade and jiggling handle and the other outside trying to extract, give it some welly! ..fun this camping lark.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 lennyhb - 2014-03-13 8:50 AM Is sounding like something has broken or jammed on the lever mechanism, probable the only thing you can do is have one person pushing & pulling the lever with another outside pushing & tugging on the waste tank, hopefully it will come free without further damage. Great minds think alike... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petra Posted March 13, 2014 Author Share Posted March 13, 2014 The jiggling about and the pulling and pushing actually worked and freed it off. Once I got the cassette out there is a curved strip of plastic which is only attached at one end and must have jammed somewhere along the line. Don't know where it attaches to, good job I'm selling the van! Thanks everyone for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 If you download the "Sanitation Repair Instructions" file from here http://www.thetford-europe.com/download-product/c250/ you'll find C250-related information on Pages 83-124. I've taken a cursory look through those pages, but I haven't spotted any "curved strip of plastic" matching your description. If you have a look yourself, you may be able to identify the part that caused the jamming. (If something has come loose or broken, you'll need to beware as, if the jamming problem recurs, you may not be so lucky next time. If 'jiggling' fails to encourage a cassette to free up, it might well be necessary to take a "127 Hours" approach and attack the cassette surgically.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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