Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:02:57 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: Morning Gnarliness: how to deal with
In-Reply-To: <4A9AEEDB.7040404@gmail.com>
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At 05:27 PM 8/30/2009, Rocket J Squirrel wrote:
>Out of curiosity -- how high is the seat of the Thetford 135?
One foot. You'll need a platform. Or look at the 465 which is
16-1/2" tall. A commercial seat-raiser *might* work, and one with
legs surely would. You could probably secure the legs to the Potti
and just rest the seat on them for use. But I bet the best thing
would be a chunk of Styrofoam flotation material (NOT
beadboard). It's light, doesn't absorb water, use any height you
like and leave it loose or Velcro it to the waste tank. It isn't
cheap -- 7x20x48 is about $80 online
http://www.marinefoam.com/styrofoam.html but if you can get a cutoff
the total cost wouldn't be bad. It cuts with a hot wire or you can
saw it like wood. You could get fancy and put some 1/8" ply on the
bottom for ding protection, but I'm not sure I'd bother.
>AND, the fellow with one presently working leg asks, how much does a
>"loaded" Thetford 135 weigh? I mean, unused but filled with fresh flush
>water.
The unit itself might weigh ten pounds, and it holds 10 liters (22#)
each top and bottom. But there's no need to fill the top; a quart of
water should do several flushes (I believe the pump delivers two
ounces per squish, and it shoots around the bowl from the top), and
you've got plenty of water in the sink. If it's full on top and
empty bottom it's a bit top-heavy. I'm thinking you could go around
fifteen pounds, ready to go but Emptying is of course at your
discretion, no need to wait until it's full. The sewage takes a few
days maybe to fully liquefy. About emptying -- you carry it to a
toilet, fold out the discharge pipe and unscrew the cap -- might be
an issue of hand strength there, in which case a strap clamp from
Home Depot etc ought to do the trick. Then you lift it by the handle
and push a vent button. WARNING -- the discharge pipe is about 2 and
a half inches diameter, and the thing empties Right Now when you push
the button. The treated sewage is liquid and pretty inoffensive, but
the (standard, formaldehyde-based) chemical is deep blue and stains.
>Finally, can this commode be carried with one hand?
The bottom's easy, good handle, carries like a briefcase and has a
clip that keeps one bottle of chemical (two treatments) with it. The
top -- awkward, probably the cap would drip or maybe even run if it
were down. Ah -- tkae off the fill cap and hook two fingers into
it. I suspect that would be easy-peasy if it weren't too full. The
empty top is a good deal lighter than the empty bottom. All together
-- if you could get it up onto your hip and carry it like a baby it
might work. It's 14x15, and the actual seat and lid are very light
and intended to come off, so no top grip. Otherwise I think you'd
have to rig a sling handle, maybe screw it into the sides of the
waste tank for security. Would have to use the bottom tank -- it's
held on securely by a lever-action latch, but if the latch handle got
bumped the tank would jump off.
'Zat help?
d
--
David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'89 Po' White Star "Scamp"
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