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Old 06-24-2008, 05:21 AM   #1
Refurbished 89 Excella
 
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1988 29' Excella
Sugar Valley , Georgia
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Toilet Union to Black Tank Advice PLEASE

Pretty good at electrical and mechanical; but plumbing I totally avoid and therefore am totally ignorant of the working of the toilet/black water workings.

Early this year we had new flooring installed by a vendor. It is oak laminate and the flooring itself looks great. Attention to detail as to the moldings was/is a bit of a dissapointment.

The toilet was removed in order to run the flooring under the toilet. The vendor is 300 miles from us so we dropped it off for a few weeks. We discussed the toilet removal over the phone and when we dropped of the trailer; but perhaps my ignorance of the toilet left me not asking the right questions to insure a quality job.

Question:

Recently, before the road trip that I am on, I filled up the blank tank to calibrate the sensor. In doing this, I brought the water level up to what I thought should have been the bottom of the toilet itself. Suddenly the water began to flood from under the toilet. OOOOOPS
Cleaned up the mess, no problem, as perhaps a quart or so of water actually escaped.
In a home toilet system one has a wax ring to prevent this seepage from the union of the toilet and the plumbing pipe. When the sewer backs up it certainly doesnt flow from under the toilet.

Should the same principle apply here????.....................I think perhaps it is called a flange gasket??????....................When the vendor reinstalled the toilet should have this been taken care of????...........HOW????...............Should have this been a normal part of the floor installation or should have I had the knowledge, discussed it and insured that this happened?????

Question:

Besides the water leaking out, when one turns on a fantastic fan, as an exhaust, would the lack of proper sealant between the tank and toilet cause odor to ener the trailer?????

Thanks so much for you help.......Now how to remedy the situation????..............Dennis
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Old 06-24-2008, 07:08 AM   #2
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There is a rubber gasket between the toilet and the closet flange. If the toilet was raised by the new floor, the closet flange will have to be raised the same amount as the thickness of the new floor. If not, it can and will leak. You might be able to find a longer closet flange for the toilet to mate to, otherwise you will need to find a way to move the flange up or the toilet down.
And yes, if you use the Fantastic Fan on "exhaust" without leaving a window open slightly, it will pull sewer gas from the holding tanks into the trailer.
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Old 06-24-2008, 07:14 AM   #3
Refurbished 89 Excella
 
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1988 29' Excella
Sugar Valley , Georgia
Join Date: Feb 2005
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I did not know that this was a problem when I had the vendor install the flooring. I understand that ignorance falls upon my shoulders; but should have I been advised of this and charged for it or been taken care of by the vendor as a natural part of the bathroom floor installation.

Subsequent to picking up the trailer I discussed the odor with the vendor and they put it off to several other reasons. Obviously with the water coming out from under the toilet a gasket was not installed or done incorrectly.

My question is: should have the vendor taken care of the situation when installing the flooring or do I go back now and have to pay someone to remedy the situation?...............Thanks...........Dennis
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Old 06-24-2008, 10:50 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DKDarrow View Post
I did not know that this was a problem when I had the vendor install the flooring. I understand that ignorance falls upon my shoulders; but should have I been advised of this and charged for it or been taken care of by the vendor as a natural part of the bathroom floor installation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DKDarrow View Post

Subsequent to picking up the trailer I discussed the odor with the vendor and they put it off to several other reasons. Obviously with the water coming out from under the toilet a gasket was not installed or done incorrectly.

My question is: should have the vendor taken care of the situation when installing the flooring or do I go back now and have to pay someone to remedy the situation?...............Thanks...........Dennis
If the vendor has ever done any installs in a bathroom they should know that the toilet flange should be removed, the flooring run UNDER the flange, and the flange fastened to the sub-floor through the new floor.

You can do this and this thread may help...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f461/allure-trafficmaster-41785.html

I had to do basically the same thing you are going to have to do, but my mistake was my own, because I installed the new floor myself.

Basically you will have to remove the toilet, remove the flange, cut a "donut" out of the flooring material to elevate the flange, reinstall the flange on top of the flooring "donut" and install the toilet. Be sure to go to your friendly neighborhood RV dealer and pick up a new foam ring to seal the toilet to the flange. House toilets use a wax ring and most RV's use a black foam ring.

Your problem resulted from the fact that the toilet could not sit down over the flange and compress the black foam seal.

One other option is to trace the "footprint" of the toilet on the new floor, remove the toilet, and use a router to cut out the area under the toilet so that the toilet can sit down on the floor and compress the seal (be sure to set the router depth to only cut through the new floor and NOT the sub-floor). Then use some caulking to seal the gap between the toilet and the floor.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.
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Old 06-24-2008, 12:42 PM   #5
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1999 28' Excella
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I like DEITZ645 did the floor myself (laminated Cork) and after considerable consternation about the difference in level, my neighbor had a leftover wax seal which I installed and fit like a glove. I really can't imagine a problem but can't guarantee something later. For now working fine. Good luck.
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Old 06-24-2008, 01:12 PM   #6
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Just replaced the flange in mine. The outer steel ring where the bolts connect to had rusted away. The plastic flange remained screwed in and was frozen to the tank fitting. I had to make a fixture to engage the inside of the flange to unscrew it from the tank.
Perhaps the installer felt unsure about trying to move the flange and thought a new seal would hold. Did they even replace the seal?
With toilets being relativly easy to remove I would take it out and see what work was done. Then you'll know if it's worth your time and fuel to return to the installer and have it done right, or, to do it right yourself.

Tom.
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