There are many people around the world who are very fond of travelling and exploring nature. It is a fact attached with travelling that not every place is equipped with toilets and such facilities. For this purpose, most people who travel a lot find it easy to buy an RV or a motorhome and equip it with a toilet. This not only gives them freedom to travel and explore, but also make it easy for them because they do not need to stop every now and then for natures call.
A recreational vehicle also abbreviated as RV is used by many nature and travelling lovers all over the world. This vehicle includes accommodation features as well to give the travelers more freedom. Toilet is the most important part of any accommodation facility. Therefore, RV or motorhome owners also find it essential to have a toilet facility in their RV. Cassette toilet and black tank are the toilets that are used inside an RV.
What Is a Cassette Toilet?
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A cassette toilet is an alternative to traditional toilet. It is placed in the lower body of the RV. That is why it is called a cassette toilet. It has a movable tank under the body. This moveable tank is provided so that the waste collected in the tank can be easily moved and dumped after it fills. The tank comes with wheels which made it more easily moveable. The tank needs cleaning every three days.
A cassette toilet looks exactly the same as traditional toilets. The difference between a cassette toilet and a traditional toilet is in the size of the attached tank and waste disposal procedure.
What Is a Black Tank?
A black tank is a type of toilet that is permanently attached with the lower side of an RV. The dumping process includes a dumping hose and a dumping station. It can last for many weeks before it needs to be cleaned.
A black tank is placed below the RV carriage. It is designed in a way that it can carry both solid and liquid waste. The toilet used with a black tank is not like the traditional toilet. A black tank has a capacity of 15 to 90 gallons. It is however recommended to empty the tank when it is half full. Do not wait for it to be completely full.
A sewer hose is used to attach with the valve of black tank to empty it. Cleaning a black tank is therefore a time consuming task as compared to a traditional toilet. It needs patience and technique to help you clean the black tank properly.
Cassette Toilet vs Black Tank – Pros, Cons, & Comparisons
Both cassette toilet and black tank are designed specially to fulfill toilet needs of an RV or a motorhome. Both of these toilets have some advantages and disadvantages. Following is a list of differences to help you understand the mechanism and functionality of both types of toilets so that you can make an informed decision about which toilet will be suitable for your RV or motorhome.
Convenience:
Both cassette toilet and black tank provide convenience for you when you need to answer to your nature’s call. Both help you in this particular situation but there is of course a difference in the level of convenience of both toilets.
A cassette toilet has an advantage that it has a moving tank with wheels. This makes the cleaning easier and more convenient. However the portable tank attached with the cassette toilet has a very small size. Therefore it needs cleaning after every three days which makes it a little less convenient.
A black tank has got a tank that is permanently attached with the toilet. The cleaning of black tank includes attaching a sewer hose with the valve of the tank. An elbow is first attached with the tank valve which is then attached with the sewer hose. The waste is then drained down the sewer hose. The cleaning process is difficult and time taking which makes it inconvenient for most of the users.
Size:
The cassette toilet is available in variable sizes. The maximum tank capacity of a cassette toilet is 5 gallons. This requires cleaning the tank more often because it fills quickly.
The black tank has a very large capacity of 15 to 90 gallons. The greater size is more convenient as it gives you freedom to not empty your tank more often. Therefore, in terms of size, black tank is better than a cassette toilet as it has got larger capacity.
Maintenance:
A cassette toilet gives you more convenience in maintaining. When the tank becomes full, you simply empty it or dump it as there are wheels attached with the tank and it is very easy to move it somewhere. After dumping the waste, simply clean the bowl and the tank with a cleaning solution and you are ready to go. If there is any problem with a cassette toilet, it is also easy to fix it.
In case of a black tank, the maintenance is a bit difficult. A sewer hose is needed whenever you want to empty the tank or clean it. This is a time taking and technical process. If there is a problem with the black tank then in most cases a professional help is needed. You cannot fix it on your own.
Feeling of Unpleasantness:
In case of a cassette toilet, sometimes it becomes unpleasant when you have to carry the tank with its handle and empty the waste into the dump. Therefore it is considered more unpleasant and disgusting for some people.
In case of a black tank, it never requires to empty the tank by your hands. It is easily emptied through a sewer hose. Therefore it is not unpleasant or disgusting for anyone at all.
Handling Number of People:
A cassette toilet can only be used for a person or two because it has very small storage capacity tank. Therefore it is not recommended to use for larger number of people. If you and your partner are on a trip then it is best for you two.
A black tank toilet can be used for larger number of people because it has a large capacity tank and it can easily be used if you are on a trip with your whole family.
Dumping Requirement and Smell:
A cassette toilet is small therefore it requires dumping every three days. In fact it depends on you; you can even empty the waste on daily basis to make your RV odor free. The benefit in this case is the smell does not excrete much into your RV. The environment of your RV does not become unpleasant.
A black tank can hold a week’s waste. This obviously needs dumping less often but it increases the smell inside your RV.
If dumping is easy for you more often, then cassette toilet will be more suitable for you as it will not excrete any odors or bad smells inside your RV and the inside environment of your RV will remain pleasant.
Last Thoughts:
The above content has given much information about a cassette toilet and a black tank. You can now easily decide which of the above two will be more suitable for your RV or motorhome. Based on the above differences, you can now easily get the idea about which of the above toilets can fulfill your requirements in a better way.
