Cassette Toilets - Pros and Cons

[GeorgeRa]

My 402C spare cassette nests nicely between the sofa bed rear access doors and Sprinter van’s rear doors. It can slide side to side allowing me to open the door and access sofa bed storage.

[jrobe]

Those pics of carrying around a spare cassette is one of the strongest arguments for a black tank I have seen yet.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by jrobe

Those pics of carrying around a spare cassette is one of the strongest arguments for a black tank I have seen yet.

Great to see your comment, but why these arguments are so strong, can you share your in depth thinking so I will learn what I don’t know yet.

[InterBlog]

I cannot speak for that other poster, but I had the same reaction. I have an aversion to sharing an ultra-small space with waste accumulations of any kind. It doesn't bother me at home if the trash is not taken out promptly, but in a van? Ugh.

Trash management is a bigger-than-expected deal while boondocking. It either has to be packed out or burned, and it can't be stored outdoors in wild areas because animals will scatter it anywhere. So when it's raining outside and we can't have a camp fire, it accumulates in the van and annoys the hell out of me. It's a primal reaction, not necessarily rational. A sunny day finally arrives and my first response is, "EEEE-HAW!!! TIME TO BURN THE TRASH!!" It's all out of proportion to the objective significance of the event.

I can't imagine having one or more human waste cassettes accumulating in a van. That would not be for me.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

………………I can't imagine having one or more human waste cassettes accumulating in a van. That would not be for me.

If you couldn’t live with one cassette or an equivalent porta potti in a van than cassette system is definitely not for you, black tank is your best friend.

I have 2 cassettes, one inside the cassette toilet inside the van and one SPARE cassette stored behind the bed. The spare one is used in situations when we filled up the primary cassette and it is too far to an RV disposal site, toilet or porta potti site, most often happens in our NW National Forests with limited facilities. Once ready to leave we would drive to a place to empty both, get them thoroughly cleaned, rinsed, so they can go back to their locations. If cleaning and rinse is not available we keep one on the floor, one inside the cassette toilet until we can wash and rinse them. Works for us.

To extend our stay on one camp we considered a movable holding tank but this would be more troublesome to use than a spare cassette. https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Sewer/To.../TNS25951.html

[BBQ]

.

If I were deep inside a forest,
I would just dig a hole.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

Once ready to leave we would drive to a place to empty both, get them thoroughly cleaned, rinsed, so they can go back to their locations. If cleaning and rinse is not available we keep one on the floor, one inside the cassette toilet until we can wash and rinse them. Works for us.

There is where you lost me. Where do you drive to a place to empty them both and thoroughly rinse and clean on the road, not at home when you are away long enough to fill them both? It seems to me you have more limited options to do this task. Meanwhile are you saying you store a filled cassette inside your van when you trade out? That sounds very labor intensive and an extremely unsanitary. Just about every black tank in a B has more capacity than your two cassettes. I emptied my black tank today in 2 minutes and then my gray tank through the same hose with an enclosed macerator system. Start to finish under 10 minutes. You do have to dispose of gray water right? Why not simplify the task?

In North America I can see only one advantage, a cold weather related event of short duration when campgrounds and most dump stations may be closed. I bet those are rare for most camper van owners and then you have to put up with the inconvenience the rest of the time which is probably 90% of your camping.

Don't get me started with composting toilets and the "About Schmidt" stool sitting and aiming for a hole.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by Davydd

There is where you lost me. Where do you drive to a place to empty them both and thoroughly rinse and clean on the road, not at home when you are away long enough to fill them both? It seems to me you have more limited options to do this task. Meanwhile are you saying you store a filled cassette inside your van when you trade out? That sounds very labor intensive and an extremely unsanitary. Just about every black tank in a B has more capacity than your two cassettes. I emptied my black tank today in 2 minutes and then my gray tank through the same hose with an enclosed macerator system. Start to finish under 10 minutes. You do have to dispose of gray water right? Why not simplify the task?
In North America I can see only one advantage, a cold weather related event of short duration when campgrounds and most dump stations may be closed. I bet those are rare for most camper van owners and then you have to put up with the inconvenience the rest of the time which is probably 90% of your camping. .

There is some misunderstanding about the cassette system:

1. Removing or inserting a cassette takes seconds.

2. Cassettes are completely sealed. I have not had a case of a leaking cassette. If they leak they need to be fixed. I had a leak between the cassette on the bowl, happened once due to insufficient insertion. Fixed instantly by noticing that the bowl wasn’t holding the water level.

3. Cleaning and rinsing with an available water hose takes a couple of minutes, in thorough manner I rinse it 3 times. Because not much water is needed for a rinse it is easy to shake a cassette. During this process there is no contact with the shtuff, on occasion I used the fourth rinse for a tea to test if the cassette is clean, just checking if you still with me.

On campsites with far out toilets, if the primary cassette is full I stick it under the van. When we leave we drive to the closest toilet, flush or not, dump station, sometime a half mile sometime a few, we usually are on or close to campgrounds. If there is no water we use our own water with the hose. Many different scenarios.

Regarding cassette being unsanitary at any point of use, I just don’t understand why would this be the case, cassettes are sealed, there is no contact. Contrary to some unclean dumping stations when previous user left their stuff with some corn on the surface.

We have 14-gal tank for gray water from the sink, (no inside shower), this is sufficient volume to last a trip or if necessary we seek a dump station. We wash dishes mostly outside so water is reasonably clean.

Originally Posted by Davydd

Don't get me started with composting toilets and the "About Schmidt" stool sitting and aiming for a hole.

I am with you on this one.


I clearly see the black tank advantage in a tank volume, no question about it, lower dumping frequency.

If I would consider another RV purchase and stay with a short van I would repeat the cassette system.

If we would consider a larger RV it most likely wouldn’t be a van, it would be a small A, or C-class, or B+ with a black water or combo tank. I would then engineer some level of automation and have hoseless dumping with automated cleaning, but, we are not planning a change.

[Ron J. Moore]

I posted earlier that I was glad this topic come up - and I would learn a lot.....wow, I love my black & gray tanks. Ron

[booster]

If you need/want to rinse the tank 3-4 times from an "available" hose (which shouldn't ever be one that would be used for anything other than rinsing sewer tanks) doesn't that kind of kill of the convenience of dumping in toilets, outhouses, etc? The only place I have ever seen a sewer only hose is at a dump station.

[Davydd]

Removing and inserting a cassette takes seconds. But then you have to dump it and in dumping and subsequent rinsing it is not a completely sealed system and does not take seconds. Handling a hose and flush rinsing it repeatedly in a round hole is not a very sanitary operation. Dumping in toilets is not a very sanitary operation. As Booster said, the only hose for rinsing is at a dump station or you carry a dedicated second unsanitary hose in your B. I hope you don't use your fresh water hose or bathroom sink water.

Many women cannot handle a 5 gallon cassette. My wife has difficulty with a 2.5 gallon DEF container. The common answer is you dump more frequently like every other day. That too is a pain.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by booster

If you need/want to rinse the tank 3-4 times from an "available" hose (which shouldn't ever be one that would be used for anything other than rinsing sewer tanks) doesn't that kind of kill of the convenience of dumping in toilets, outhouses, etc? The only place I have ever seen a sewer only hose is at a dump station.

I believe I need to contact Thetford and begin to draw a salary.

First, I don’t need I want, and have not clean a few times but like it clean. I use my own hose from the fresh water tank or other from a faucet, there is no possibility of contamination, the fill hole is a couple of inches diameter so just need to aim, no contact, no splash.

There are many different scenarios, my van can be close to a dump place or not, there could be a hose close by or not, and each of these situations will demand a different way of dealing with it.

Motorhome volume sales for 2016 in EU is 2.3 times higher than in NA and 4 times if you exclude A class. Somehow with these volumes they still manage successfully cassettes, don’t die from contamination, unsanitary conditions or complain about stinky toilets.

https://www.civd.de/en/market-figure...an-market.html

Just because black tanks are better in some circumstances is not a good reason to nail cassettes, they are better in other situations. In fact, in NA cassettes are slowly but surely gaining popularity, must be a reason.

Here is a good material to read about this subject if you are not saturated already. http://www.truckcamperadventure.com/...nd-a-few-tips/

[jon]

Thanks for all the pros and cons. This is a little bit like a democrat vs republican discussion. The vast majority of people haven't used a cassette and poor George isn't going to change any minds. Especially when people have preconceived ideas based on what they've heard.
I have to agree with George that they are super convenient for short trips and since my sink water is stored in a jerry can I can easily empty both at home.
The only problem I have had is the darn TP clumps from the girls, but I imagine that those would be a bigger problems for holding tanks. At least I can shake a cassette.
My next RV will be a true class b and will probably have a tank, but it depends on what the van comes with. I really like the Hymer Aktiv (cassette) and I like the Safai Condo Promaster Flex (tank). For now I will enjoy my class b minus for a few more years.
Jon

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Removing and inserting a cassette takes seconds. But then you have to dump it and in dumping and subsequent rinsing it is not a completely sealed system and does not take seconds. Handling a hose and flush rinsing it repeatedly in a round hole is not a very sanitary operation. Dumping in toilets is not a very sanitary operation. As Booster said, the only hose for rinsing is at a dump station or you carry a dedicated second unsanitary hose in your B. I hope you don't use your fresh water hose or bathroom sink water.

Many women cannot handle a 5 gallon cassette. My wife has difficulty with a 2.5 gallon DEF container. The common answer is you dump more frequently like every other day. That too is a pain.

Dave, I agree, you are correct. But, there is one thing I need to explain; it is about the device which I invented for cassette toilets, it is a mini flux capacitor embedded into the casste programmed to pre-pooped time. When I remove the cassette, the device is triggered and all of the goodies go to the past. Far superior than black tank.

Cheers,

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by BBQ

.

If I were deep inside a forest,
I would just dig a hole.

Ever been deep inside a forest when it's 38 degrees and pouring rain?

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by jon

...
The only problem I have had is the darn TP clumps from the girls....
Jon

Those girls might benefit from a bit of initiation. Many of us emulate people from numerous other countries whose centralized wastewater processing systems cannot handle that stuff (south of our national border being the biggest example). So we seal the "lightly used" waste paper stream inside air-tight bags rather than disposing in the black tank. All the more reason for me to say, "EEE-HAW! TIME TO BURN THE TRASH!" when the sun finally comes out.

[jon]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

Dave, I agree, you are correct. But, there is one thing I need to explain; it is about the device which I invented for cassette toilets, it is a mini flux capacitor embedded into the casste programmed to pre-pooped time. When I remove the cassette, the device is triggered and all of the goodies go to the past. Far superior than black tank.

Cheers,

Have you heard about Thetford's new lithium powered macerator pump cassette system. Just roll it into the bathroom, point the hose and pull the trigger. It gets recharged automatically when the cassette is inserted back in the rv.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

...Somehow with these volumes they still manage successfully cassettes, don’t die from contamination, unsanitary conditions or complain about stinky toilets. ...

Many people in Europe smoke like chimneys. The whole cancer statistical thing... they haven't really connected with that yet. I spent some time working there for a client. I was surrounded by so many smokers that I lost much of my sense of smell in a few days. Their toilets might, indeed, have stunk to high heaven, but it would have been lost on me.

I'm saying that with levity but the underlying facts are true. Many of them smoke like fiends, even the ones with high levels of education.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by jon

Have you heard about Thetford's new lithium powered macerator pump cassette system. Just roll it into the bathroom, point the hose and pull the trigger. It gets recharged automatically when the cassette is inserted back in the rv.

No, I didn’t know about this new product.

Thank you,

[jon]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

No, I didn’t know about this new product.

Thank you,

It's like the flux capacitor.....It hasn't been invented yet, but I would love to have one.