Customer Reviews

Coleman Portable Flush Toilet

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I just got back from a 12 day trip in the boat and this sucker got a lot of use so I'm the perfect candidate to leave the first review.
First of all I'm very satisfied with my purchase. The toilet works great and is very easy to use. It was a little bit bigger than I had pictured so I had to find a different space for it on the boat.

Pros:
-Huge bowl, much bigger than most porta-pottis - and it's almost the same height as a regular toilet.
-Easy to use/flush/fill etc. It's not hard to separate the units to empty the bottom tank. A convenient handle on both sides makes it pretty easy to carry to empty too.

Cons:
-Flushing can cause a little bit of splashback. I found that if you push the flush lever over to halfway before pushing it all the way over to flush, this prevents that. Expect to wipe a few drops off the seat either way though. No biggie to us, hard flushing regular toilets can do the same thing.

One thing I would add is that you might want to use a funnel to fill the top clean water tank. It's a small fill-hole and it makes it much easier to fill. And, this being a 5 gallon capacity toilet keep in mind what 5 gallons weighs. Ever carry a 5 gallon bucket full of liquid 400 feet down a dock? Yeah, keep that in mind. But being of bigger capacity meant we could stay out on the water for days at a time so for me it was worth it. Even though I was the one who had to empty it. The flush handle leaks just a little bit of water when pumping - not much, and it's clean water but it's worth noting.

Also, make sure when reattaching the top and bottom units you get a good seal. It's not hard to do, just look between the tanks when putting them together. Otherwise you might find yourself taking your boat carpet out on the dock to wash and dry it and spray it with febreeze. Like I said, this is easily preventable and I chock it up to operator error. Maybe just a few too many Coronas on vacation.

Good toilet. Happy shopper.

I don't know if I am doing anything wrong, as there are NO helpful tips in the instructions, but the pump loses its prime, so that in itself is a deal breaker. On top of that, the cap has to be tightened down very hard to prevent water from slooshing out from under it, every time you stroke the pump. When tightened hard enough to prevent this from happening, you ensure that it is very difficult to remove, as it is recessed into the unit and you can't get a decent grip on it. I am disappointed with Coleman. They should not have their name on such a bum design. NOW, we have the delicate task of returning it after use. :-(

The size and height were ideal. The round elongated seat made it very comfortable. It was very easy to dump and clean. Only problem, although we follow all the instructions it always smelled really bad.

The seat is extremely uncomfortable. If you're a male, you'll be dragging bottom because the bowl is so shallow. The pump does not work, and if you are lucky enough to get some water out of it, it's only after about 6-10 vigorous pumps and breaking into a sweat. Here's the most important defect: on a normal porta-potty, when you operate the knife valve, first a vent would open to release the pressure from the tank to prevent the poop from blowing into your face. Because this toilet does not have a vent operated by the knife valve, when you stoop down to move the lever to open the knife valve, the pressure in the tank can be released in your face along with any contents sitting in the bowl. Why not close the lid, you ask? Because the lever is so hard to operate that one has to nearly hug the toilet and move the lever s-l-o¬-w-l-y while watching the knife valve open otherwise you'll have an explosion onto the lid and have an even bigger mess to clean up. Extremely disappointing.

We are two adults (senior citizens). This portable flush toilet LEAKED around the fresh water pump the FIRST time and every time we used it, all over the camper floor.
also, it is too low. We bought it at Walmart and are returning it to the store today. It really spoiled our 5 day camping trip to the desert.

OK first a little background - My wife and I live up in the hills in an off-grid straw bale cottage we built for our selves back in 1998.
Being off grid without running water or power we naturally use an outhouse.
We do have a bathroom inside the cottage with a sink and bathtub as we do have drains.

When we built the cottage we installed an expensive Sunmar composting toilet in the bathroom for use on those winter nights.
Boy was that ever a mistake! It stank to high heaven and bred hordes of flies in our own waste. We fussed over it endlessly trying to get it to compost, feeding it the special peat moss mix and enzymes and what-not...
Long story short I grew to hate the silly thing so much I drug it out of the cottage and blasted it with my shotgun!!

So what does this have to do with porta pottys? Simple. We replaced that huge composting throne with a Coleman porta potty for use on those cold snowy night ( strictly for the wife you understand, real men don't mind trudging out in sub zero weather to go to the bathroom! Ahem...).

So we've been using porta potties of one type or another on a daily basis for over a decade now, mostly Coleman or Reliance products purchased locally.
They don't last forever. Even the best of them need to be replaced every four or five years and the bad ones may last only a few months of daily use.

THIS PARTICULAR VERSION IS BY FAR THE WORST WE'VE EVER USED!!

So much so, that I have been moved to write my first ever Amazon review about how horrible it is.
The seat it to big and it's very uncomfortable. I dunno what species of creature it was designed for `cause it don't fit Humans.
The bowl is to shallow.
It splashes when you open the trick sideways sliding valve ( which can require considerable force ) throwing urine about the place.
The bowl does not drain completely.
The pump "leather" routinely folds back upon itself rendering the pump inoperable until fixed.
Unlike most porta potties which latch the upper and lower halves together with clips of one type or the other, this unit twists the upper half off of studs on the lower section. At first it sticks hard and takes two people to undo, and after very little use becomes so loose as to not seal properly.
Over all, this unit is crap. Don't buy one.
I'm surprised at Coleman because their old unit was a decent enough product.

This is a poor choice! Beware! Bad design first of all - very low and you have to really work it to get down that low. Secondly, it is very wide and not easy to pack in my van. As the other customers reported, the pump doesn't work. And yes, the slide to empty the bowl will splash back at you! And even worse, it leaked! The weird 'twist' design that connects both parts leaves you wondering if it is fully secured. It is a huge waste of money. I wish I could return it full.

We use this product as we tailgate at race tracks to avoid public porta potties which are nasty. I love the personal use this provides. I also love that it is easy to use, clean, and transport. Thanks Coleman for making my tailgating an awesome experience.

I did notice the leaking as some people have noted in other reviews but it was just the clean water from the upper tank. It didn't work like a flush toilet at home but it worked well for camping. I thought it was more than adequate for it's desired use. I like the large holding tank and it emptied as well as could be expected. Overall I thought it was a good buy.

Water leaked from under pump cap. Tightened cap. Cap cracked. Returned item and same thing happened to second toilet. Went to [...]. No positive reviews. Called Coleman. Will send replacement part in 4-6 weeks. Returned toilet again. Will try a different brand.