Fitting a SOG extractor to Warwick Duo

The first shakedown cruise proved the necessity for some form of powered extraction in the loo compartment.
Previous experience tells me that a SOG installation is both cheaper and more efficient than a roof extractor.
In the Warwick the cassette door is inside the vehicle which dictates a need for a thro-the-floor or a through-the-roof fitting.
Could any Warwick Duo owner with a SOG system fitted please share their experience.
This is not a request for opinion of the veracity of SOG, thank you. I have already made that decision...if it is possible to fit.
Keith

Interesting question!

Speaking personally the only possible reason for drilling a hole through the vehicle skin is to fit a solar gland to pass the wires through!

It would simply not enter my head to fit either floor or roof vent just for the dubious benefits of a SOG.

This being my 5th MH, 2 of which were Warwick Duos, I can honestly say we have had absolutely NO odour problems with the as installed system.

Here, if it helps, is how we run ours......
1 Always use the PINK bowl flushing chemical, added to the flushing tank, tank is fully drained and left empty all winter to prevent any freezing risk
2 Always pre fill cassette with 1 to 2 ltrs of fresh water, refit cassette then open top and drop 1 x BLUE bag of the chemical
3 Irrespective of use, empty, flush and clean every 2 days when van is in use.

Sure I'm teaching granny to suck eggs here, but I certainly wouldn't consider SOG a viable option where the vehicle skin has to be drilled.

IanH wrote:Interesting question!

Speaking personally the only possible reason for drilling a hole through the vehicle skin is to fit a solar gland to pass the wires through!

It would simply not enter my head to fit either floor or roof vent just for the dubious benefits of a SOG.

This being my 5th MH, 2 of which were Warwick Duos, I can honestly say we have had absolutely NO odour problems with the as installed system.

Here, if it helps, is how we run ours......
1 Always use the PINK bowl flushing chemical, added to the flushing tank, tank is fully drained and left empty all winter to prevent any freezing risk
2 Always pre fill cassette with 1 to 2 ltrs of fresh water, refit cassette then open top and drop 1 x BLUE bag of the chemical
3 Irrespective of use, empty, flush and clean every 2 days when van is in use.

Sure I'm teaching granny to suck eggs here, but I certainly wouldn't consider SOG a viable option where the vehicle skin has to be drilled.

Same with us. Looking at SOG online, I would not think it was possible on a Duo, sounds like a disaster about to happen to me, but then what do I know  
-----------
Richard

Thank you both for your responses However, as I said in my post,  I have already made the decision, informed by fifty one years of campers and MHs, two of which were fitted with SOG systems.  The only question I have is whether it is possible to fit in a Warwick Duo.
Granny !

KMRTOPAZ wrote:Thank you both for your responses However, as I said in my post,  I have already made the decision, informed by fifty one years of campers and MHs, two of which were fitted with SOG systems.  The only question I have is whether it is possible to fit in a Warwick Duo.
Granny !

Let us know when you go ahead with fitting it and how easy it was and what problems if any.

You seem to be keen to carry it out.
----------
Richard

Sorry Granny!!
Please let me have its reg no so I can avoid it in future, should you succeed!!!

Richard, this was always an if-it's-possible project,  If it is, I will certainly report back in a manner that might be useful to others.  I will also report if it turns out not to be possible, which may also be useful to others.  Don't hold your breath, we are off for a couple of weeks in a few days.  Keith

I fitted a SOG to a Wildax Solaris but there the toilet hatch was inside the rear door. It was just a question of removing the toilet hatch and a longer plastic hose. Drilling through the metal skin of the vehicle was scarily easy to fit the fan on the rear doors. In your situation I would favour a roof system depending upon finding a suitable route. Through the floor means AS floor and the vans floor. Check how cluttered the underside of the van is. I found the SOG importers very helpful with advice. They would be my first contact with details of your layout and space around the cassette

I'm a fan of the SOG, I fitted one in our Duetto and it virtually eliminated the toilet smell. We did sometimes get smells from the waste water tank but that could be temporarily sorted with a shot of Domestos down the sink.

Whilst one of the selling points of a SOG is that chemicals don't need to be used, it meant that emptying the cassette at the chemical disposal point was a revolting experience. Eventually I continued to use chemicals to make this event more socially acceptable.

So far our Kemerton XL's toilet isn't smelly. There's a vent built into our cassette which goes down through the body of the cassette. I'm surprised why they didn't make a hole in the floor.

It looks like they make a SOG for our toilet, though the fitting would seem to be a bit more awkward than on our previous Duetto. Judging by my nose, so far me fitting another SOG doesn’t seem to be necessary.

I didn’t bother ever changing the carbon filter. If we sat outside in warm weather I don't particularly remember getting any smells from the outside vent when the fan was going.

Relaxez Vous.  Thank you for your post.  Clearly it isn't directly useful for my issue, but it speaks clearly for the decision to fit a SOG if this is possible.  I hope many of the SOG critics will read and reflect.
Keith

Hi to you all, I have successfully  fitted  S.O.G TO MY 2013 autosleeper  sleeper  Warwick duo[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Bingo !  Thanks for the information Delboy. That's reassuring.  Could you tell me which model SOG you used and did the installation instructions cover all points and show the potential for adaptation where necessary ?   Keith

Apologies for a basic question, but what's a SOG?

Hard hat now on.....................!!!
A SOG is a complex and expensive way to avoid the use of comparatively cheap chemicals in your toilet cassette!! And it needs electricity too!

OK, let me ask my basic question in a more basic way:-

What does SOG stand for?

(It sounds as though I won't need one, but I'd just like to know what it is!!)

Achilles heel wrote:OK, let me ask my basic question in a more basic way:-

What does SOG stand for?

(It sounds as though I won't need one, but I'd just like to know what it is!!)

Try this....https://www.soguk.co.uk/what-is-a-sog/

Yep, I don't need one...!

SOG is a great addition to a van...we have had one in our last two vans...factorry fitted.
its a simple device...when the toilet blade is opened, a fan starts and the air residing in the bowl is drawn away and expelled, so doesnt drift i to the toilet cubicle.
ours vents through a chimney in the roof and it continues to draw toilet smells away from the bowl and up through the roof all the time the toilet is in use...a far nice experience than a chemical fuelled aroma.
yes it needs electricity....a 12v supply which is always on in our van.
no filters required with our system, there is a hose connected to the cassette outlet which collects the stale air and whisks it away from the toilet room....simple, effective.
yes, you can use a SOG without toilet additives (most arent nice) but we use an ALDI/LIDL bio washing pod...they clean the cassette, are easy to dispense, are cheap and clean and being bio are great at sorting the waste.

KMRTOPAZ wrote:Bingo !  Thanks for the information Delboy. That's reassuring.  Could you tell me which model SOG you used and did the installation instructions cover all points and show the potential for adaptation where necessary ?   Keith

Hi Keith, I will try and find the information as I fitted  it 2 years ago, it was well worth fitting as now get no odours  inside, it wasn't  too bad a job to fit, the kit had everything  in it as far as I can remember,  I believe I paid £145 for the kit, Derek

For anyone wanting to fit a SOG, there is a good video by Jason who gave up work with his wife and before Lockdown did tours of many months.

He has a Hymer, but it may help you.

ourtour.co.uk

Also many many other useful tips and a jolly good blog.
----------
Richard

In addition to chemical toilet cassettes having a blade, they will most probably have a spring loaded vent on the top of the cassette. This is opened when you slide the cassette in. The purpose of the vent is to prevent blowback. Like your ears popping if you climb a steep hill suddenly in a vehicle or plane, with a chemical toilet cassette without this valve being open, the pressure in the cassette could be higher than your current ambient pressure. You go to open the flap and the pressurized air escapes upwards into the bowl along with any droplets or worse, potentially onto your face.

You can get toilet smells when the flap is closed because the vent on the cassette is open to equalise the pressures at all times when the cassette is in situ, but it can also allow the smells to escape into the toilet compartment.

With a SOG the vent isn't necessary, there's a pipe leading from the cassette to the outside at all times. Also when you open the flap the motor comes on, so the airflow is downwards from the bowl and vented to the outside.

I believe the SOG is a German invention. My understanding is that a few years ago they banned the use of the formaldehyde type of toilet chemicals and the SOG is a more environmentally friendly way of avoiding chemicals.

Hello and many thanks to several new contributors since my last visit here.  Some useful info and encouraging comment about SOG and it's fitting.  I am still away from home wandering down the Welsh coast with only occasional internet connection, so have made no further progress.  full report if and when it's fitted.  Keith

KMRTOPAZ wrote:Hello and many thanks to several new contributors since my last visit here.  Some useful info and encouraging comment about SOG and it's fitting.  I am still away from home wandering down the Welsh coast with only occasional internet connection, so have made no further progress.  full report if and when it's fitted.  Keith

Keith

Continue to enjoy your Welsh trip, at least you're away in it. Ours arrived 8 June, SORNED and hasn't moved yet!
I know I am one of the anti's but, like mine its your van to do as you see fit with. Good Luck
IanH

Feedback as promised from July discussion.  Decision was made to go up for a roof Vent.  Needed confirmation and asked two UK suppliers for information on which SOG kit, an indication of content, a diagram maybe, and a price. Wasted three weeks waiting so went direct to SOG Germany, the manufacturers. Emailed my questions. Got an immediate response, ordered the kit Friday, delivered Sunday morning. Saved approx. £20 on one UK price and £30 on the second.
Kit SOG*II Type D - Roof exit. comes with all necessities minus 28mm rigid tube, available locally from Caravan chandlers. It is the basic kit for through-the-door (Cassette door) but with roof-specific parts instead of door parts.
Had already assessed available space between shower room wall and facing wall, illustrated by photo here, by measuring the small cupboard internally.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The second assessment led to the cassette chamber. The photo. below shows the standard SOG type D arrangement.  The tube gathers air from the cassette vent and brings it forward and up through a hole drilled in the position marked by a coin. Delboy has this arrangement and shows it in his photo.  I didn't want any tube showing and opted to pass the tube to the left still at a low level, through the shower wall into the cavity shown below. This hole was drilled 29mm diameter FROM the cavity into the cassette chamber about 40mm from the floor.  Stop just through the wall to check for pipes or cables. None[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Next photo jumps ahead to show flexi tube inserted through the wall into the cassette chamber.  It also shows connection to a T tube connector. This connector also goes up to the rigid 28mm tubing; and down to a 10mm flexy drain through the floor.  The 10mm floor drain hole was positioned 15mm outboard from the water pipe and drilled from below, obscured in this foto. 5mm pilot drilled first.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The next two fotos show the rigid tube ascending to connect to the vent tail. It's a bit of a clutter but was all tidied and secured before closure.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

The lower bulge is the back of the basin assembly.  The upper is the vanity cupboard

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
This photo shows the vent tail with the 12v motor below and two bends leading to flexitube which connects to the top of the rigid tube.
The width of this cavity is shown by the fillet immediately to the left of the cupboard back.
Drilling (29mm) for the vent tail needed very careful placing in an upward section of the corrugated roof. See next photo. A pilot from below before the 29mm hole saw from above.  I pilot not exactly placed can be re-drilled as the vent flange will cover your mistake[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Vent centred on the raised section.  I did ponder whether I could fit a rotatable unit in the hope of parking by IanH but decided to be agentleman and fit this.  Tip from plumber;  let the Sikaflex set before tightening the ss screws.

Photo below
In order to do all this the outer wall plate must first be removed. Start with the structure holding the control panel. Six fasteners, remove screws and look for two or three more screws on the edge near. the door opening.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Then look for these fastenings, Five or six on each side of the outer panel and others in the cupboard void and along the lower edge.[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Nothing beyond a competent DIY person.  Think it through before cutting or drilling.
I will gladly expand on specific points if required.
Ian   It does what it sez on the tin.
Keith

KMRTOPAZ, not something I’m going to do but a great write up.