Incinerator Toilets

Just watched a motorhome prog on C5. Millionaire folks mostly lol but I was interested in the incinerator toilet. We have a new Warwick duo, just wondered if retrofit is an option at all.

Nice idea but £3500 plus it would only work on hookup.

Power consumption? and would you want to be parked close to one using this
unless they had an extra high vent.
frederic

Ah ok. Fair points!

Based on a short look-up on the internet, it seem just about the most environmentally unfriendly way of disposing of human waste that you could possibly find! Essentially what you are doing is putting your waste in an oven, so that it dries it almost completely and destroys all pathogens.

Then you have to "scrape out" the cooked remains and bury them, where presumably they acquire moisture again and then other bugs get in and break down the remains.

Power consumption (of one example product): 0.6-2.4kWh per "visit"!

I can see how "millionaire folk" would like the idea, because the output would be relatively small in volume, so they could simply employ someone to come around on a regular basis to scrape out and take away their cooked poo.

Yes, I saw them but there were also 'macerator' toilets....?....which is a unit that 'mashes' up the black waste and stores it in a Black Tank which allows you to be away from services for a longer while.. Most often seen on larger, top line Continental vans...
You also need the site infrastructure to be able to cope with the output...
If you look at the Thetford website, they have a 'sort of' black tank add on, currently being fitted as std to Burstner vans...
It has a small Black Tank and uses the grey waste to wash down the cassette every emptying and the grey and Black waste are emptied together...retro fitting is possible but expensive I seem to remember.

I just wondered! The clip on the programme showed the waste reduced to a very small amount of dust. I don't think motorhome owners can really lecture on environmental issues.

Sorry - there was no intent to lecture!

It was just a factual observation. Poo breaks down naturally of its own accord and requires very little energy to do so. Incinerating it takes a lot of energy for no particularly useful reason, as far as I can see. But I fully understand that other people might view the costs and benefits differently!

No I apologise. I was going to say I was just being arsey but that doesn't fit well!

Anyhoo - I got my answer and it seems like it's not a great idea

cheers.

I think that's one "hot seat" I'll definitely be avoiding.   

I think they're a great idea if you have the money.

You have to consider the market they are aimed at.  They are not for most of us on here that uses normal site disposal points etc though.

These are aimed at markets like the US or Canada etc where the touring is over much greater distance with less stops needed for disposal.

The waste is reduced to a small pile of ash - apparently 4 people using the toilet over a week will produce only a small amount of ash.  That means you can travel without needing to worry about where to get rid of the waste.  And when you do need to empty it, it's just a small amount of sterile ash that you could put in normal waste bins or even sprinkle on plants at the side of the road without any issue at all.

Yes energy usage is pretty high, but if you can afford to buy one of these you're probably not the sort to worry about that aspect.

Does it come with a packet of Imodium tablets for periods between hook-ups? 

IanH wrote:Still ZERO use without EHU
Or en route for comfort stops
Extra weight, extra complexity, no advantage I can see, esp if wild camping, pubstops, very basic CL's
All the uses of a chocolate fireguard for me!!!, Perhaps better, an ashtray on a motorbike!!!

They come gas powered too, so no problem without EHU and you can also use en route since the way they work allows use even when the incineration is taking place.  Pretty well designed to be honest.

Extra weight/complexity - the weight will be less than having litres of black waste sloshing around and the complexity isn't even as much as a modern motorhome fridge.  Also these aren't really meant to be put in a VW camper, they are for large 'money no object' style motorhomes.  

Wild camping is actually where these would come into their own though.  If you are in the sticks with a full toilet what do you do - disposing of it in the bushes is pretty grim at best, a pollution and major health risk at worst.  This means you have nothing but sterile ash to dispose of.

Agree it's not much use to most of us, but that doesn't mean there isn't a market or use for them.  As mentioned, in some places like US etc where touring can be long distance, these could be a great addition.

bolero boy wrote:Yes, I saw them but there were also 'macerator' toilets....?....which is a unit that 'mashes' up the black waste and stores it in a Black Tank which allows you to be away from services for a longer while.. Most often seen on larger, top line Continental vans...
You also need the site infrastructure to be able to cope with the output...
If you look at the Thetford website, they have a 'sort of' black tank add on, currently being fitted as std to Burstner vans...
It has a small Black Tank and uses the grey waste to wash down the cassette every emptying and the grey and Black waste are emptied together...retro fitting is possible but expensive I seem to remember.

RV system of deposing of waste and flushing tank and soil pipes. Laika from Italy used the same system back in the '90's

I think I would just save time and rather than throw the ash in a dustbin just cr@p in to it in the first place. It would save 15 minutes of incinerating and the environment. Greta would love it!

PS: Our son had a Laika from about 2003 and the toilet fell through the floor, it had a hose the size of the channel tunnel coming out of it. Otherwise it was a very well built van!!