Thetford 250cs swivel cassette toilet

[wooly]

I am soon to have a new Mercedes sprinter van converted into a motorhome, I had anticipated having the new Thetford 250 CS toilet fitted, but have now been told that the 250 has problems, and not as good as the previous long established 200CS swivel cassette.

Have any long established members any experience and have had the chance to compare the two, I understand the new 250 has been fitted for some time by some of the manufacturers. (Peter at Swifts can you help)

Also has anybody experience of the optional extras, ie electric blade, ventilation unit and tank gauge. Is the vent unit as good as a Sog or would I still be as well to fit the long established and successful Sog

[fred grant]

why do you need to swivel me ansum? fred likes to stay put on the jon. whats wrong with the old bench cassete my biddy. lot easier when used on the move too.

 

fenicularfred

[Ranger]

Swivel toilets are very good if you leave the window open you can swivel around and ave a chat with any body who is passing by and happens to stop for a bit of a chin wag. Proper job me ansum.

[Derek Uzzell]

wooly:

 

I've no practical experience of the latest Thetford C-250 toilets and I'm not aware of any reported problems. However, it wouldn't surprise me unduly if there have been snags as the C-250 is significantly more complex than the C-200, particularly when some of the fancy options are taken into account.

 

For me, the improved, more domestic ergonomics of the new toilet's seat and bowl would be the main attraction. The C-250's slightly larger capacity cassette (18 litres rather than the C-200's 17) might be theoretically useful, but would not be a decisive selling-point in my case as, having become a SOG convert, I empty the cassette far more frequently than in the past as there's no longer any incentive to 'save' toilet chemicals. I couldn't care less about the C-250 cassette's wheels and pull-handle and I remain to be convinced that dragging a well-filled cassette across a less-than-smooth surface (like a campsite's rough grass) is a viable proposition.

 

The electric blade-valve concept is fine, but it introduces an awful lot of additional mechanism within the cassette itself. A more accurate contents-level gauge is also a good idea in principle, but do motorcaravanners really need to monitor constantly how much waste is in their toilet cassettes? I always empty the cassette whenever I have the opportunity and know that (in our case) there's a easy 2-day 'safe period' between when the cassette is emptied and when our C-200's red 2-litres-left warning light comes on.

 

The ability to adapt a C-250 so that waste can be pumped automatically from the cassette to a marine-type holding-tank is interesting technically, but holds no real-world appeal for me.

 

I'm not certain how the cassette fan-assisted ventilation option works, but I know it involves a 12V fan-unit and filter beneath the cassette. Neither am I sure whether the fan operates automatically when the toilet's blade-valve is opened (as on a SOG), or whether you have to push a button on the control-panel. (The Thetford website says 'automatic', but I read in a French motorhome magazine that one can choose manual or automatic fan operation - though I admit that seems a bit strange.) As you are planning a panel-van conversion, the C-250's below-cassette ventilator might be tricky to accommodate. There appears to be a SOG kit (the Type F) for the C-250, though the photo suggests it's less well integrated than the C-200 version.

 

If it's practical to fit a C-250 with a ventilator in your forthcoming 'van and the ventilation system operates rationally, I'd be tempted to go for a standard C-250 + the ventilation option (assuming that's possible) and forgo the other bells and whistles. Otherwise I'd probably go for a tried-and-tested C-200 and add a SOG. I also might be influenced by the cost of a C-250 relative to a C-200.

[wooly]

Many Many thanks Derek for your in depth reply, your thoughts seem to pretty well tie in with mine.

I tend to think that the SOG may still be the best bet as it offers positive ventilation direct to the cassette whereas the Thetford incarnation seems to extract from the whole of the cassette box, thus may draw air through any leaks in the box either from outside or even out off the motorhome itself.

I am unsure, reading the literature as to whether the cassette has any full warning light if you do not have the full tank gauge, --- any ideas.

I concur with your thoughts on the electric blade, but dont know what complications it adds and whether it is is just something else to go wrong.

The beauty of all the Bells and Whistles is that they can be added as options at a later date. so might choose that root ---- many thanks again

[Derek Uzzell]

Logically, one might expect even the most basic C-250 to have a waste-level warning light, but manufacturers sometimes do strange things... Thetford(Europe)'s website seems to suggest that there are two different control-panels - one for a basic C-250 and another (optional) one for 'enhanced' models. So perhaps the simplified panel is akin to the one used on the C-200, with just a flush-button and warning light.

 

I've seen a photo of the underside of the electric blade-valve assembly and there's definitely a lot of extra 'stuff' there. My attitude to machines is that if something isn't there that's one less thing to fail.

 

Suggest you try to get more comprehensive information from Thetford about the C-250, especially about what upgrading entails. It would be irking to discover later on that adding an option that you could have had cheaply initially now costs an arm an a leg as an upgrade because significant original parts need to be discarded and replaced.