The Thetford Aqua Magic II is a popular toilet for RVs and motorhomes, known for its comfort and efficiency. Over time, it is common for the ball seal on the toilet to wear out and require replacement. The ball seal is a critical component of the toilet that helps maintain a watertight seal and prevent leaks or odors. To replace the ball seal on the Thetford Aqua Magic II, you will need a few basic tools and supplies. First, make sure you have a replacement ball seal that is compatible with your model of toilet. Thetford offers specific ball seals for different versions of the Aqua Magic II, so be sure to choose the correct one.
I liked Sucre a lot as it is so quintessentially Bolivian. It is laid back, has an incredible central plaza and to top it all off, has some amazing restaurants to try out. I also like it as so many of the older women fully embrace their culture by wearing bowler hats and walk around town with gigantic fabric bags strapped to their backs!
When I wasn t doing this, I was chilling in one of the most amazing coffee shops I ve been in HB Bronze you definitely need to add this as a stop in your planning. All I remember from the bus ride was that it was really comfortable by South American standards, I wasn t freezing to death or fearing for my life and most importantly, time passes by so quickly whilst star gazing from your bus window as soon as you leave the dust of the big city behind, the skies are crystal clear, this really makes me excited for the Atacama Desert in a few weeks time.
Thetford offers specific ball seals for different versions of the Aqua Magic II, so be sure to choose the correct one. To start the replacement process, turn off the water supply to the toilet and drain any remaining water from the bowl. Next, remove the toilet seat and lid to access the ball seal.
A little taste of Bolivia
On August 12th, we arrived in La Paz bus station at 2pm. The express bus that did the trip from Puno only stopped for the Bolivian border. The Bolivian border crossing has a very bad reputation and we had dreaded that stop . We had heard and read lots of comments on blogs and website on how the bolivian custom agents can find ways to extort your money, hold you back a number of hours or find something wrong with your paperwork; we were on our guards. We had to get down the bus and go into the Peruvian side to get our exit stamp, walk across the bridge/border together with hundreds of locals carrying stacks of mobile phone boxes, toilet paper packs, soft drinks, and all sort of black market products loaded on hand karts. On the other sides we queued for 1h to enter a very sad building, with an overwhelming stench of pee, and where old ladies, were squatting down begging. Thus were the corridors of the Bolivian border offices: a reflection of what was about to come? Getting the stamp was straight forward, no questions asked, no luggage search, we were through, safe and sound for now…
We got to La Paz around 2pm that day, we had 3 hours before our next bus: a nightbus to Uyuni and the salt lake. We had decided to go at the last minute. We had given up on the idea and thought it would be too much of a rush, but after meeting Marina in Brazil and then Benjamin in Aguas Calientes who had been raving about the place, we decided to go for it. We only had 24h but we would visit the salt lakes of Uyuni. With the help of Lipiko Tours, a travel agency based in La Paz, we booked an overnight bus trip to the little town, we will be there at 6am, have time for breakfast, take a day tour to the lake, the train cemetery, the Cacti Island, be back for 5pm and take the return night bus to La Paz the same evening. I was wondering if the boys would cope.
So here we were in La Paz at 2pm, met with the travel agent, got the vouchers, and just had time for a lovely lunch at La Casona’s Cafe, a gorgeous little café on the ground of a gorgeous hotel. Perfect refreshment stop.
At 5pm we were back at the bus station. We expected a luxury bus to spend the night in. Instead we settled in a not so clean, tall bus deprive of all luxury but offering reclining seats. To our avail, a thick blanket. We were about to spend the next 10 hours in the bus.
We hit the road Bolivian style, the bus forcing his way through the thick traffic, turning 3 lanes into 4 leaving merely a couple of inches between vehicles.
We reach rough roads soon after leaving the city, which hardly slows down the bus. Soon the rough road turns into mud roads and for so it will be for the rest of the trip. As night fell, we fell asleep with the rocking and roaring of the bus. As at night went by, the temperature dropped and the path used as road was full of holes and bumps, sharp turns, with no lighting or signage! It felt like a roller coaster ride in the dark!
As dawn rose, we woke up from our shaky sleeps to find frost all over the windows, the temperature over night reaches -10 at this altitude. The sky filled with beautiful colours and as the first rays appeared the air slowly warmed up. The land is arid, a moon like surface, a yellow desert with mud houses. Rock, sand, earth surrounds us as we reach the little town.
We got to Uyuni at 7am and walked through the deserted town in search of a cafe. Once refreshed, and our stomach lined with food, we walked in the fresh air and the warm sunrays towards the travel agency. The place was already buzzing with tourists -Europeans mostly- getting ready to go. With the chaos, we seemed to have been forgotten and our departure was delayed nearly 30 mn. An old man was allocated as our driver/guide, which wasn’t an issue until we realise that he couldn’t see well and instead of following the path of the other cars, he would take a wider, safer route. Our first stop was at the train cemetery, an area where old relics of trains were left to rust. Not of must historical interest but certainly an interesting landscape to photograph. Our driver, who was also due to be our guide, left us half a mile away from the spot, pointed at the site and told us we had 10mn, we expected a little more from our driver / guide and decided to return to the agency to get a proper guide. We had called the agent in la paz to tell him so by the time we got to the local agent, the lady in charge was clearly unhappy. As we asked for a younger driver/guide we were straight away accused of discrimination. Our queries turned very quickly in accusations and before we knew it, she was threatening to call the police, the one thing I would avoid in Bolivia. As we challenged her with this, we called the agent in La Paz who could hear the screams and hysteria in the background, the woman now accusing her to hit her (an entire desk was separating us), and as we smiled at her hysteria and exaggerations, she carrying on saying we were abusing her! After a light night sleep, this is not exactly what we had in mind. She called on to her 2 colleagues as witnesses and as I could see the situation was getting dangerously twisted, we decided to leave straight away.
We had to wait a couple of hours before another guide was sent to us, but it was worth it. Our new Guide was very gentle and kind and was a proper guide. She managed to squeeze the program of the day in half one, although still a little shaky about the whole experience.
We reached the lake, dry at this time of year, very quickly. It is dry season here so the ground is dry and has a honeycombed pattern to it, which is due to the expansion of the salt as it dries. Absolutely amazing. hundreds of square kilometres of the beautiful landscape, and this 6m deep! We visited La Isla Pescado, or Cactus Island, an island covered in cacti, an impressive sight in the middle of the lake; The Salt Hotel, a beautiful piece of architecture exclusively made with salt bricks and wood; a salt family factory, and it was time to head back!
The return trip felt even more epic that the way in as we were sat right at the front of the bus, thus witnessing the madness of the driving. Rj felt sick to his stomach at the site of the road and hardly managed to sleep as if every bent and down hill was an eminent danger, but we got ‘home’ save and sound once more and pleased to have got out of this incredible experience. A beautiful day that will not be forgotten!
We spent the following 3 days in La Paz. A mass of concrete, sat in a pollution cloud, jammed inside a valley and crawling up the hillsides all around it. The traffic is mad, the city is busy and from above must look like an ants nest. The side streets are narrow, often steep, and twirly. But La Paz has a lot of charms and Rj falls in love instantly.
We stayed in a hostel in a central popular area in town. Nearby is the beautiful San Francisco church, lots of tourists shops where you can buy extremely cheap Bolivian textiles, alpaca items and antiques and relics. A couple of streets from us is the famous witch market: narrow cobbled streets lined with little shops where straw baskets and wooden tables display the oddest items: dried alpaca foetus, dried alpaca legs, herbs, shells, claws, bottles with strange mixtures, sweet looking foods in fluorescent colour…The little shops wall are covered with shelves full of mixes and potions, boxes with unknown contents and on the tables outside are displayed some ‘packages’ on offer: a gift wrap containing a selection of fake food, fake money, a bottle (of alcohol?), an alpaca leg…These gifts seem to be made to measure to make the perfect charm, depending on what you want to wish the receiver, good or bad! There are queues in some of the shops, people coming to have their potions made: for health, for love, money, success…
A couple of streets down the road, to satisfy our taste for non touristy spots, we venture in the popular food market, recommended by a local guide for the best local food available. It is a big building with 4 floors, completely open, like a car park. Inside 2 little alleys follow the sloppy road up the building, alongside which hundreds of little stalls serving local dishes (soups, fried meats, eggs, rice) and all sort of simple but delicious food. Others offer cut fruits, some fresh juices, we are spoilt for choice. We finally settle (we have 4 opinions to take into account which make decision making tricky sometimes!) for a little place offering a noodle soup. As we sit down on the benches amongst the locals already eating, the lady brings us a massive soup bowl, as well as a plate full of rice, fried egg and panned beef. We are so full! All that for £1.2 each.
As we stroll through the streets, we come across an old lady squatting and relieving herself on the edge of the pavement, her long traditional black skirt hiding her privacy. What a sight! The boys found that hilarious!
We didn’t venture much further in La Paz or Bolivia, by lack of time, sadly. As we left La Paz we flew above the Atacama desert, the sights were amazing and we would love to go back and take time to visit the country, maybe one day….
We hit the road Bolivian style, the bus forcing his way through the thick traffic, turning 3 lanes into 4 leaving merely a couple of inches between vehicles.
This can usually be done by unscrewing a few bolts or clips that secure the seat in place. Once the seat is removed, you can access the ball seal by lifting up the toilet's flush pedal. With the pedal raised, you should be able to see the ball seal located at the base of the toilet bowl. To remove the old ball seal, you will need to unscrew the retaining nut that holds it in place. Use a wrench or pliers to loosen the nut and carefully pull the old seal out of the toilet. Be sure to properly dispose of the old seal. Once the old seal is removed, place the new ball seal into position and secure it with the retaining nut. Tighten the nut firmly, but be careful not to over-tighten and damage the toilet. After installing the new ball seal, it is a good idea to test the toilet to ensure there are no leaks. Turn on the water supply and flush the toilet a few times to check for any signs of water leakage. If everything looks good, reinstall the toilet seat and lid. Overall, replacing the ball seal on a Thetford Aqua Magic II toilet is a relatively straightforward process that can help restore the toilet to optimal function. By following these steps and using the correct replacement seal, you can ensure your toilet remains leak-free and odor-free for years to come..
Reviews for "Preventing Water Leaks: The Importance of Thetford Aqua Magic II Ball Seal Replacement"
1. John - 2/5 - I was really disappointed with the Thetford aqua magic ii ball seal replacement. I installed it as per the instructions, but it didn't provide a tight seal and led to constant leaks in my RV's toilet. I tried adjusting it multiple times, but nothing seemed to work. Additionally, the material used for the seal felt flimsy and cheap. I expected a better quality product for the price I paid. Overall, I would not recommend the Thetford aqua magic ii ball seal replacement.
2. Sarah - 1/5 - The Thetford aqua magic ii ball seal replacement was a complete waste of money for me. I followed the installation instructions carefully, but the seal did not fit properly in my RV's toilet. It was either too loose or too tight, and as a result, there were constant leaks. I reached out to customer service, but they were unhelpful and unresponsive. I eventually had to buy a different brand's replacement seal, which fit perfectly and resolved the issue. Don't waste your time and money on the Thetford aqua magic ii ball seal replacement.
3. Mike - 2/5 - I had high hopes for the Thetford aqua magic ii ball seal replacement, but unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. The seal did not provide a reliable and tight seal in my RV's toilet, resulting in leaks and unpleasant odors. I tried adjusting it multiple times, but the problem persisted. Furthermore, the material used for the seal felt weak and did not seem to be of good quality. I would not recommend the Thetford aqua magic ii ball seal replacement for anyone looking for an effective and durable replacement.