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Napisan as toilet treatment


cvtripper

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Last weekend, a number of people at Wallumbilla were discussing using Napisan as the toliet treatment instead of the Thetford liquid chemicals.

I've dug around in the laundry and have found some Sards OxyPlus powder which has the same active ingredient as the Napisan - Sodium Percarbonate - 26%. This one has a eucalyptus additive so it also smells nice, and I'm lead to believe it is a little cheaper than Napisan.

Wikipedia lists Sodium Percarbonate dissolved in water releases H202 and soda ash.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_percarbonate

Isn't soda ash used to breakdown and dispose of human waste and, if I recall correctly, it can breakdown human bodies (don't ask me where I heard this as it may incriminate someone in this group!). I don't know how true this is.

So, it sounds like it should work if I'm correct with the above.

So, we're thinking of giving this stuff a go in the bottom tank.

My question is to those that are already using Napisan - how much are you putting in your bottom tank?

I seem to recall 2 tablespoons but this doesn't sound enough?

Does anyone have an opinion as to this stuff being safe in septic systems?

Is anyone putting any in the top tank?

Our pump stopped working last week and I've pulled it apart today and managed to get it going again - that little thing is listed at $150 on the caravansplus site, so I hope it stays working.... :pray:

I suspect it has a little of the sludge that has built up in the tank in the impeller and a little of this mixture might break it up and clean it right up.

Has anyone else come across this problem or had cause to access their pump?

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Guest NIKNOFF

Hi David,

We have been using the napisan treatment plus Woolworths home brand since January and we are very pleased with it, will never go back to the expensive chemicals again. The Woolies brand is cheaper then the genuine Napisan Product and apparently the ingrediant sodium percarbonate is a higher strength, 346g/kg, far cheaper also at around $9 for 3kg, our 1st container has lasted us 3 months, just opened our 2nd yesterday.

I use an old Fish oil container and put two heaped tablespoons of napisan in and pour in warm to hot water and dissolve it well, i then just pour into the waste tank, do that everytime you empty and flush clean, our storage tank is clean and nil odour.

One thing to remember is when travelling constantly the waste is moved around and broken up quickly and easily, but when parked up for a period of time it's best to remove the tank and slosh it around and replace.

Prior to using the napisan our flush tank was getting gunked up from using the pink top tank chemical BIG MISTAKE that .... using fresh water from the start and you wont have the gunk issue but using the chemical you will ... BUT i started putting the napisan into the top tank as well and within a week our tank is clean as a whistle. I continue to put napisan plus into the flush tank at a rate of every 3-4 fill ups of water 1 dose of napisan.

Regards

Mick

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Hi,

I have the Thetford cassette system, with no 'top' tank. The tank/cassette would hold approx 10 litres. How much 'Napisan' should I use for a tank that size?

Thanking you in anticipation.

CU down the road

Tony H

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Hi David

our pump stopped working a couple of months ago and Glen just gave it a bit of a shake and it was working again . I now make sure I run all the pumps most weekends, as Glen thought it may be due to lack of use even though we usually manage to get out in the van every 6wks.

I have been using Odour b gone tablets (http://www.odourbgone.com.au/) for a few years now. It is environmentally friendly including safe for dolphins, etc and absolutely no smells. I crush the tablet and use it in the top tank as well. Can't stand the smell of the liquid chemicals. But I will definitely give the napisan a go - so thanks for sharing the info.

Cheers

Deb B

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Guest NIKNOFF

Hi,

I have the Dometic cassette system, with no 'top' tank. The tank/cassette would hold approx 10 litres. How much 'Napisan' should I use for a tank that size?

Thanking you in anticipation.

CU down the road

Tony H

I dont think you can overdose the holding tank, but use whatever amount works for you, ours is i think is 20lt & for that we use two tablespoons dissolved in 500ml water.

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Good to see everyone so interested in this crap! *pun intended*

Thanks for your comments, Mick, and the feedback the "Napisan" is working. I was looking around on the Thetford site last night and they say the pink stuff is needed to stop the gunk build up. They've been ripping us all off - we should form a class action! We were using the pink stuff up until a few months ago and noticed we were getting black gunk coming out in the flush and have since stopped using it. I did drain the top tank but I suspect I didn't flush it well enough because a little more black came out yesterday when I drained it again to look at the pump.

In the links I provided, some say 2 caps, others say 3. I'm not sure if a cap is the same as a tablespoon as the cap is missing off the Sards that we have in the laundry - don't ask, it's not my domain!

Tony, I think your holding tank will still be about 20 litres - I've seen the one you're talking about and it appears its all the same except the top tank is not in the side door. As Mick said, I guess experiemnt until you find what works for you - I'm guessing it all depends on what you eat! :shutup:

Deb, I think you're right about the non-use - our van was last used early December. If I had have known the pump was likely to muck up I would have given it a press once a week. It was pretty hard to turn and needed more than a tap unfortunately - I had to force the impellor with a small drill bit to get it moving. and it still doesn't appear to be as loose as I suspect it was originally as it sounds a bit tighter than it was. At least it should last a little longer. I'll give it the napisan treatment in the top tank and see if that doesn't loosen it up a bit more.

Another tip I read was using spray can olive oil to lubricate the seal. I read someone did it in situ and a bit of overspray went in the bowl and now nothing sticks to the bowl... Don't use vegetable oil on the seal as it will eat into the rubber.

I also read someone stuck their nose in the tank to verify there was no smell - I don't think I'll need to test it that thoroughly thanks!

Still waiting for those at Wallumbilla who brought up this issue to comment. Anyone?

Anyone want to buy some pink stuff? Also, I have 2 bottles of blue, but I'll hang onto that until I try the napisan treatment - you never know it mightn't work for us...

Thanks guys.

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Still waiting for those at Wallumbilla who brought up this issue to comment. Anyone?

/quote]

Spose you where referring to me ???LOL

And have been putting two cap fulls in bottom tank with exellent results have done about 4 refills since starting with napisan

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Thanks Kimbo.

It must work then :biggrin:

I gave the Sards a go in the top tank last night - mixed a tablespoon in with a 1/2 litre of warm water and topped up with the water already in the tank and let it soak 24hrs. The pump sounds much better tonight so it seems to have freed it up.

Picked up a 1kg litre tub of B&G tonight for $2.79, so I'll give it a go in the bottom tank on the weekend.

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We have been using Napisan since we got the new van, following advice on the Caravaners Forum. It is wonderful stuff and the system is odour free, even in warmer weather. We use it pretty much as Niknoff describes.

There was some research done by another Caraaners forum member which referred to the environmentally friendly aspects of the Napisan active ingredient (sodium percarbonate). Apparently it is not only eco friendly but actually assists with enzyme activity in a sewage system. In other words it is good for sewage systems.

It is important to use the cheap Woolies version.

Chris

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I think you will find that its the Thetford top tank chemicals that are giving you the black gunge in the flush tank.

We stopped using that some time ago and this problem disappeared.

Cheers

Jody

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Guest NIKNOFF

Correct Jody, but rather than just wait for it to come clean we used the napisan treatment at a double dose in the flush tank and gave it a shake and soak for a few days then flushed it out, it was a lot cleaner, we continue to dose the flush tank approx every 3-4 refills, we have found that the plastic bowl is clean & shiny from using the napisan in the flush.

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Deb, funny you should ask because you were all about to be told anyway.

It could have been that first damper I cooked last weekend, but the end result is it wasn't real pleasant emptying it tonight. And I didn't stick my nose in to find out!

Reset for this weekend using the BLUE...

Anyone want a near full container of napisan? You can have it for $2

Horrible stuff!

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David,

Guess we might just keep using the tablets. Helen just panicked after reading this as she thought I may have been out in the van setting the toilet up with the Napisan for the weekend. But luckily I forget easy and just set it up as normal.

Laurie :laugh:

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Laurie, those tablets didn't work for us either. At least the napisan only cost me $2.70 to try and I guess $2.70 per load - arrghh - but the tablets were about $30. Want to buy a box?

I'm thinking of making another damper this weekend to compare with the chemicals, so I'll let you know, if you wish. LOL

Glad I didn't throw out the chemicals!

I'm starting to think there was a group conspiracy to suck me in on this one! :tongue_ss:

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We tried the Thetford chemicals first up and found the pink chemical for the flush tank seemed to cause algae.

Since then we have swapped to Portasol by Chemtech which is an antibacterial sanitiser. ( I looked it up on the net and it contains 10g/L Glutaraldehyde which is often used to disinfect medical and dental equipment and as a chemical preservative and embalming fluid). The 1ltr container says Waste treated with Portasol can be safely disposed into sewerage systems at any time or septic systems once portosol has broken down. Not sure what the last bit means.

We use 40ml in 1 litre of water for the 20 litre holding tank and every so often put about the same through the top flush tank. Like most portable toilets it still needs to be emptied every 3-4 days.

You can get it at marine shops and camping stores if you are interested.

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David

happy to buy the tablets off you next time we are passing. Been using them for 2-3 yrs now and happy to continue with them.

We trialled the napisan on the weekend - didn't see your email - now not game enough to empty the toilet :helpsmilie:

Glen couldn't understand why I did it when I was happy with the tablets, but you have to try these things at least once - usually.

Cheers

Deb B

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  • 3 years later...

G'day all

We've been using Napisan for several weeks now, & whilst it isn't perfect, it's the best we've used.

We've tried the "Odour-b-made" tablets & they were totally useless for us.

We've used the Tetford blue (holding) & pink (flush) which was useless as the pink actually makes algea.

The best success we had with chemicals is with Tetford blue in both tanks!

But my money's on Napsan (or Woolies equiv), but I am wondering about long term effect of Napisan on the flushing & holding tanks. We use it in both.

Thus my reason for restartying this thread, has anyone who has been using Napisan or equiv for a long term (12 months or more) had any detrimential effect on their tanks or seals?

I actually can't see that it will, but I would love to hear from you long term Napisan flushers out there.

Cheers

Alan

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G'day Alan

We've used it for three years now, with no ill effects on seals etc. I fact, I forgot to empty the tank at the end of our last trip and only remembered two months later. I wasn't looking forward to that job I can tell you, but all was fine. No bad smells and the seals and tank are no worse for wear.

Cheers

Russ

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G`Day Alan

We have used Napisan for about 5years now and no longer use it in top tank.Had no seal probs and about every 6 months or so I soak the tank in Napisan and warm water for a couple of hours and comes up nice and clean. Then rub a tiny bit of olive oil on all the seals. Make sure you use the cheap Napisan ,for some reason it works better than the Brand names.

Cheers

Rick

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G'day Russ & Rick

Thanks for your response. That's just as I expected, but it's always good to get actual feedback from long term users.

We use "Wunda" silicon spray on our seals. Easier than smearing it with olive oil. But actually olive oil should work just fine.

We are very close to "Wunda Automotive Products", so I guess I'm biased to using our products. Now if that's not a plug, I don't know what is! :)

Cheers

Alan

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You may find this of interest. This is from the Thetford Australia website in Maintenance Tips section:

"Maintenance tips for your toilet

The waste tank seal, the automatic pressure release vent seal and the cap seal must be cleaned regularly. When the toilet is being used frequently, monthly cleaning is generally sufficient.

We advise cleaning the seals and valve blade with Thetford Bathroom Cleaner.

Note! Never use household cleaners (Solvents or other powerful cleaning agents). These may cause permanent damage to the seals and other toilet components.

For cleaning your toilet:

Squirt Thetford Bathroom Cleaner into the toilet bowl.

Flush the bowl with water and wipe down the rest of the toilet with a damp cloth.

Tip! For a really shining toilet, dry it with a soft dry cloth after cleaning.

Thoroughly clean the seals and valve blade, using Thetford Seal Lubricant and wipe them over with a cloth or a piece of toilet paper. Repeat the above operation if the seal and blade are dirty or if opening and closing the blade is difficult.

Note! Never use Vaseline or any vegetable oil. These may cause leakage.

When the toilet is not being used for a long period, it is advisable to clean the seals and then coat them lightly with Thetford Seal Lubricant. This will ensure that they remain in good condition (supple).

N.B. The valve blade seal is a part of the toilet that is subject to wear. Depending on the extent and manner of maintenance, after a certain period the seal will lose quality and must be replaced.

Back to top."

We use Olive oil to lubricate the rubber around the blade seal and have done so without any problems. Giving the cassette a good soak, as suggested in previous posts, empty and let dry out also helps reduce any odour and 'plaque' build up.

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  • 5 years later...

Hi all my wife has found an "Oxygen Bleach" power that is 100% sodium percarbonate. Would this be good to use in the toilet or would it be too high a dose, I was thinking if the active ingredient is higher it might do a better job.  

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