With the Thetford C2 removed I could give the inaccessible area under the Thetford a thorough clean before the unit was re-installed.
I regret now that having a ‘Senior moment’ I did not think to photograph the entire procedure of removal, service & replacing the Thetford.
Apart from the temporary repairs to the flush pump electrics in W.A., the more important reason for removing the entire C2 was a slight leak.
Each time I emptied the cassette, there was always liquid on top.
This liquid had also found its way under the Thetford, which had created a smell we couldn’t seem to hose out.
I had noted that the ‘blade’ did not always open fully, and when closing it seemed to be out of line with the opening & did not raise as it should.
I was expecting something loose in the mechanism that actuates the blade opener knob.
Now that I had the C2 on the bench (still a bugger to work on) I found nothing loose or worn in the blade opening mechanism.
Also with access to the electrical bits, I was able to re-position the actuator on one of the micro switches so that it made contact again & allowed the flush pump to work as it should. I also hard-wired the temporary flushing toggle switch that I had fitted in W.A. to act as a backup in case the micro switches gave trouble again.
My arms aren’t long enough to service them when the C2 is installed.
After a thorough clean-up of the C2 it was ready to be re-installed in the BT.
The cassette now was the one to be checked.
Manually operating the blade opener knob, I still couldn’t get the blade to rise fully, it seemed to be catching on the side of the opening. I suspected that the blade arm was out of alignment & seeing that all this happens out of sight inside the cassette, I sought help.
Thetford put me onto a small company in Sydney that I would recommend.
Alternate Gas Refrigeration
Unit 20, 14 Holbeche Road
Arndell Park NSW 2148
Contact: Bob Parkinson
02 9672 1664
They also are service agents Engel, Waeco, VF, & Dometic.
They checked out the blade mechanism & found all bits in place & working normally. The culprit turned out to be a worn-out ‘O’ ring on the Blade opener knob. This allowed the Blade opener to be off-centre & causing the blade mechanism to finish up in the wrong place, & not seal against the Lipseal.
The blade not sealing properly was the cause of the leak.
You will find reference to the parts mentioned above in the Thetford Parts List, pages 15 & 16. (See Thetford tab in the
Bog Bible)
Neil