Overfilled the leisure batteries.

[Alan de Enfield]

............., but spare base the bellows leak, and can't be replaced,

 

Are you sure ?

 

I have recently replaced the pump bellows on our Thetford Porta-Potty. All variations / models appear to be available on E-Bay.

[jddevel]

God it`s hard being human. I suspect we`ve all felt as RD1 has. Especially those of us who are male and married!!

[Mikexx]

God it`s hard being human. I suspect we`ve all felt as RD1 has. Especially those of us who are male and married!!

 

There is divorce?

 

Cooking what you want to eat does have its plus points!!

[Mac of Cygnet]

I've put all my toys back in the pram now, there have been some interesting support from members, so I'll give it a chance.

I guess it takes time to get used to a forum.

 

I have a lot to offer, and even after 57 years of boating I clearly have a lot to learn.

 

Thanks guys,

Richard.

 

One of the most encouraging posts this week.

[RD1]

Are you sure ?

 

I have recently replaced the pump bellows on our Thetford Porta-Potty. All variations / models appear to be available on E-Bay.

Thanks for the post, but it's not the pump bellows on the top, but the bellows in the base that seal the pull handle from the contents.

 

The bellows must have split, and allow fluid to pass the handle when you tilt the base.

 

According to various websites, caravan dealers, Thetford etc, they don't list the part number now, let alone how to fit it lol

I found some similar bellows that are used for brake cables, but could not confirm dimensions or how to replace it.

So this base has become the stand by, as the other is fine after the new seals.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Richard

[MtB]

Thanks for the post, but it's not the pump bellows on the top, but the bellows in the base that seal the pull handle from the contents.

 

The bellows must have split, and allow fluid to pass the handle when you tilt the base.

 

According to various websites, caravan dealers, Thetford etc, they don't list the part number now, let alone how to fit it lol

 

 

 

Odd. I purchased the seal you are calling a 'bellows' on ebay a few months back.

 

The correct term is a 'lip seal'. Part number 7101 for the common Porta Potti 165.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thetford-Porta-Potti-Toilet-Lip-Seal-No-7101-/171420449852?hash=item27e9747c3c:g:-AUAAOSwPe1UJU2O

 

On removal of the old seal it seemed to have hard deposits of something on it (no idea what!) which lead me to think I could have cleaned it and put it back to fix the tiny leak mine, like yours, had.

[RD1]

Odd. I purchased the seal you are calling a 'bellows' on ebay a few months back.

 

The correct term is a 'lip seal'. Part number 7101 for the common Porta Potti 165.

 

On removal of the old seal it seemed to have hard deposits of something on it (no idea what!) which lead me to think I could have cleaned it and put it back to fix the tiny leak mine, like yours, had.

I replaced the lip seal and the vent seal, easy to get to, the internal bellows is deep inside the base over the sliding rod of the handle.

Richard

 

Edit... just added a picture, I hope, see item 26

Edited December 31, 2016 by RD1

[Murflynn]

just checking in here and am surprised to see that peeps have a problem with the lip seal or the bellows in their Thetford Portapotti leisure batteries.

 

would that explain why they appear to have been overfilled?

[RD1]

just checking in here and am surprised to see that peeps have a problem with the lip seal or the bellows in their Thetford Portapotti leisure batteries.

 

would that explain why they appear to have been overfilled?

It's a new line, as the Thetford version can be fully discharged without sulphation, but they do suffer calcification, or lime deposits.

 

 

Point taken though, we are off topic.

[WotEver]

I replaced the lip seal and the vent seal, easy to get to, the internal bellows is deep inside the base over the sliding rod of the handle.

Richard

 

Edit... just added a picture, I hope, see item 26

I guess that maybe at £45 for the whole thing there's little call for items that require a full strip-down to access?

[MtB]

I replaced the lip seal and the vent seal, easy to get to, the internal bellows is deep inside the base over the sliding rod of the handle.

Richard

 

Edit... just added a picture, I hope, see item 26

 

Fascinating, I never realised that part existed. Thank you.

 

Now all three of mine will probably start leaking, the 'Road Runner' principle applying. (RR doesn't fall when he runs off the edge of the cliff, until he actually realises what he's done!)

Edited December 31, 2016 by Mike the Boilerman

[MtB]

I guess that maybe at £45 for the whole thing there's little call for items that require a full strip-down to access?

 

Hmmm is the cassette now available as a spare then? Until six or seven years ago (when I last checked), I had to buy a whole new bog to get each of my extra cassettes.

[RD1]

Hmmm is the cassette now available as a spare then? Until six or seven years ago (when I last checked), I had to buy a whole new bog to get each of my extra cassettes.

When we had the caravan we kept the loo, then we bought the boat, it was the same loo but without the level contents, 265 vs 165

 

Original 265 is 30 years old, 165 probably the same. Can't complain, will now make do, as deteriorating health may stop us boating sooner than we had hoped. We are taking it season by season now, but we did buy some new fenders for the Thames, a month or so ago, looking at other boats on the Thames, they seem to go quite big.

[WotEver]

Hmmm is the cassette now available as a spare then? Until six or seven years ago (when I last checked), I had to buy a whole new bog to get each of my extra cassettes.

I meant £50 for the whole bog. E.g.: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351448601472

[MtB]

I meant £50 for the whole bog. E.g.: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351448601472

 

 

Word of advice to others reading this thread. That bog is not compatible with the 165 model millions of us own. The cassette is similar but different and won't fit a 165. Guess how I know!

 

(In addition the one in your link looks like the lower capacity, lower height cassette, too. Best avoided.)

[WotEver]

Word of advice to others reading this thread. That bog is not compatible with the 165 model millions of us own. The cassette is similar but different and won't fit a 165. Guess how I know!

 

(In addition the one in your link looks like the lower capacity, lower height cassette, too. Best avoided.)

Okay then, £1.50 more... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131367543755

[MtB]

Okay then, £1.50 more... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131367543755

 

 

Same comment applies. It's similar to a 165, but a completely new design and none of the parts are interchangeable.with the (discontinued) 165 model.

[WotEver]

So for £50 out with the old and in with the new

[Mac of Cygnet]

Same comment applies. It's similar to a 165, but a completely new design and none of the parts are interchangeable.with the (discontinued) 165 model.

 

So what the hell are they doing giving it the same number? This must have caught a lot of people short out.

[MtB]

So for £50 out with the old and in with the new

 

 

No, £150 if you want two spare cassettes!

[Richard10002]

 

 

No, £150 if you want two spare cassettes!

 

Agreed... and 2 spare cassettes is necessary - (How do I know )

[RD1]

Agreed... and 2 spare cassettes is necessary - (How do I know )

What a load of cr*p !!! lol

I meant the contents, not the topic of discussion lol.

 

I think it's worth looking at shore based facilities, pubs, public conveniences, silver birch, oak trees etc.

[IanD]

As Tony said, if you look at the curves for lifetime cycles vs. DoD for most batteries (all lead-acid types and most other affordable chemistries) and you multiply this by the amount of energy taken out per cycle, you get a curve which shows how much energy you can put in/out of a battery over its lifetime before it needs replacing -- which is what matters for most boaters. This curve reaches a maximum very close to 50% DoD -- less than this and the energy per cycle drops faster than the cycle lifetime increases, more than this and the cycle lifetime drops faster than the energy per cycle increases.

 

This is still true even for wet traction batteries -- they won't suffer any damage with regular discharge down to 20%, but the cycle lifetime will typically halve for ~1.6x more energy per cycle so the "energy over lifetime" drops by ~20% compared to using 50% DoD. If you take the voltage drop during discharge into account this effect becomes even more obvious. For leisure batteries the lifetime drop-off with deep DoD is even steeper, but about 50% DoD still gives the maximum "energy-over-lifetime" -- though not the maximum number of cycles, obviously.

[Richard10002]

What a load of cr*p !!! lol

I meant the contents, not the topic of discussion lol.

 

I think it's worth looking at shore based facilities, pubs, public conveniences, silver birch, oak trees etc.

 

Not if you are a "Lazy B" like me I moor on club moorings, and there is an Elsan disposal facility attached to the club house which is a few hundred yards away. It only takes about an hour to do the round trip including the emptying of 2 or 3 cassettes.

[Arthur Brown]

Batteries and their projected life are features of the batteries themselves and the way they are treated, and everything has cost and convenience values to determine, which will then give you an indication of their projected life, but overall batteries are consumables.