Elsan and "Septic" Tanks....

Does this mean that you will allow its use on your CL please? Or were you wondering about peoples' experience of using it, or both? Thank you.
 
carolyn said:
Does this mean that you will allow its use on your CL please? Or were you wondering about peoples' experience of using it, or both? Thank you.
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You can use it on my CL and anyone elses come to that..

Its safe according to "Elsan"..

If it`s not I will Sue them... :wink: Elsan not you.... :rofl:
 
old-mo said:
You can use it on my CL and anyone elses come to that..

Its safe according to "Elsan"..

If it`s not I will Sue them... :wink: Elsan not you.... :rofl:
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I'm glad you have said you won't sue me, I retired early to get away from the worry about that sort of thing! Having said that I have book marked this page on my ipad, taken a photograph and printed the page, not that I'm paranoid of course but sometimes they really are out to get you.
 
carolyn said:
I'm glad you have said you won't sue me,
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Perhaps @Jim can throw some light on it.... He has had Septic tanks longer than me...

We had one at our last property that was staring to play up...

But then I did not realise Elsan Blue did damage... :crying:

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old-mo said:
Perhaps @Jim can throw some light on it.... He has had Septic tanks longer than me...

We had one at our last property that was staring to play up...

But then I did not realise Elsan Blue did damage... :crying:
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Is yours a septic tank that gets filled up and a sludge gulper comes along and empties it or is it a mini sewerage system with filters and bugs that clean it up before it goes into a reed bed or watercourse Mo?
And if Elsan green is ok, is bio washing liquid safe too?
 
I think the blue one kills the 'good' bacteria in a septic tank and the green one doesn't?
 
Badknee said:
And if Elsan green is ok, is bio washing liquid safe too?
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Been looking into it Paul.. And..

Bio is OK but non Bio is Not... as far as I can make out.. :wub:

We are on a bog standard suck out every 12 - 18 months...

Bog Standard...... :rofl::rofl: I`m wasted on this site.... :doh:
 
From what I know from years of caravanning on French sites with Fosse Septique (Septic tanks)

Normal Elsan Liquid and any other normal liquid contain Formaldehyde which kills all know germs

The NEW bio safe liquids do not but use other things to break down the solids

Wash machine liquids (and tabs) NOT washing up liquids
Non Bio ones are safer in Septic tanks than "biological"washing liquid which for some reason have chemicals that after a while kills biological action and chemical digesters

We don't use Elsan products simply due to the fact we have locally obtainable products at almost half the price that smell nicer and you use less for the same effect
 
Madcaravanner said:
From what I know from years of caravanning on French sites with Fosse Septique (Septic tanks)

Normal Elsan Liquid and any other normal liquid contain Formaldehyde which kills all know germs

The NEW bio safe liquids do not but use other things to break down the solids

Wash machine liquids (and tabs) NOT washing up liquids
Non Bio ones are safer in Septic tanks than "biological"washing liquid which for some reason have chemicals that after a while kills biological action and chemical digesters

We don't use Elsan products simply due to the fact we have locally obtainable products at almost half the price that smell nicer and you use less for the same effect
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Hi.
Well,don't just...... SIT:ROFLMAO: on it,share the product.......... NO!!! the locally obtained products that smell nicer....... DOH!
Tea Bag
 
I really hope you don't get let down Mo, the problem you will definitely face is people arriving with a full or part cassette or at best pre loaded with blue, they are not going to take it away with them, it will come your way :(

my hope is the odd one or two 'mistakes will not kill your system

we have had many discussions with site owners in the western isles with the same issues, they still get blue dumped and have virtually no controls to stop it o_O

we have a black tank and use no chemicals at all (y) cassettes don't need chemicals, it is only marketing that makes people use the blue stuff
 
Don't forget that the pink in the flush is no good either.
 
Just tell anyone staying they have to have a SOG and make loads of money flogging and fitting SOG's.:)
 
Theonlysue said:
Don't forget that the pink in the flush is no good either.
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Going to issue tie on labels.... (y)

So if the new system goes "Phut"....

I will be able to see who`s is floating... (y)

:doh::rofl:

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I wouldn't worry about folk using bio or non-bio stuff in their cassettes. We have a septic tank, a posh one with an air pump to make bubbles, and it works fine with them.
The only thing to avoid are the nasty additives so I suggest you go with your OP and say no chemicals other than the green ones or washing tablets/liquids.
How you police it is a different matter. Your tank will be at least 500 gallons and probably much bigger so the odd rogue contribution won't harm it. :)
 
There is actually a lot of debate online about this very subject. And it seems to come down to "opinion". It would appear the whilst the full on use of the Blue chemicals (containing Formaldehyde), is not advised, due to it`s propensity to reduce the bacteria necessary for the breakdown of sewage matter, the occasional "dose" makes little effect, and the larger the system the less effect it has. Dumping one or two cassettes would likely be far outweighed by the otherwise unaffected sewage coming from (say) an on site toilet or one in a property. There is actually an American Study by an Undertakers "association", which looked at the effects, Formaldehyde is of course used in Embalming, and there was concern that the amounts wasted may have had effect on rural small sewage systems. It was concluded that the effects where small, and the self recovery of the system was adequate. most of the Studies are American. But that reflects the fact that America is such a large country, and rural connections the big Sewage treatment plants are not cost effective.

Googling:- Formaldehyde use in septic tanks . Brings up a Lot of "Dirty" reading.:)
 
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Not used anything in our cassette for years! It is fine and no smells in van. Empty and rinse only once so as not to flush out the bacteria.
 
I'm new to motorhoming and have just returned from my first tour, mainly in Scotland. Having read a lot about cassette chemicals beforehand I opted to use bio washing liquid , not Thetford 'Blue' or similar.
I found it quite difficult to find many camping/caravan sites at all in W. Scotland (most seem to have changed into permanenly fixed green 'caravan' sites) but when I did find one the chemcal disposal point had a notice saying "Only 'blue' tanks can be emptied here - the bowl must be blue when you have finished". Luckily I still had some of the sample 'blue' that came with the toilet, so I threw some in. But what would I have done otherwise?

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I have to admit to being a little confused by this. The thetford blue states it has no formaldehyde in it....
I am unable to find out what then distinguishes it from the thetford green liquid.
Is there something else in the blue that is a problem to septic tanks, or is this just a hangover from previous times and people assume the 'blue' has formaldehyde in it?
Whenever this sort of thread comes up, formaldehyde is always the villain, if there isn’t any in the 'blue' where does the problem lie?

Or is thetford lying?
:D
 
Essentially in a septic tank, you want the bacteria to proliferate. That's what septic means.
The bacteria break down the solid waste. So, assuming you have a good colony of bacteria, you rarely need to get the tank emptied, as the waste gets eaten by the bacteria. The liquid usually dissipates into field drains (other types of system purify the liquid waste before releasing).

This is different from a cesspit, which is essentially a sealed container that has to be emptied when full.

As @DBK says, small amounts of chemicals that are toxic to the bacteria are ok, as long as the colony survives in sufficient numbers to continue to break down the waste.
We do use small quantities of bleach in our toilets, but overall that does not affect the function of our septic tank. The worst thing is people putting non-decomposable items down the bog that cannot be broken down whatsoever, adding to the quantity of stuff that has to be sucked out periodically.
 
Frankiej said:
I have to admit to being a little confused by this. The thetford blue states it has no formaldehyde in it....
I am unable to find out what then distinguishes it from the thetford green liquid.
Is there something else in the blue that is a problem to septic tanks, or is this just a hangover from previous times and people assume the 'blue' has formaldehyde in it?
Whenever this sort of thread comes up, formaldehyde is always the villain, if there isn’t any in the 'blue' where does the problem lie?

Or is thetford lying?
:D
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A lot of the blue ones contain formaldehyde which is designed to stop the rot (and hence the smell). The same stuff is used to preserve medical specimens (and Damian Hirst's art installations such as the shark, sheep and cow). More enlightened countries don't like that stuff entering their sewers -- especially landlocked ones that can't send it out to pollute the seas instead -- hence the green version is favoured. We have used the green version and cheap bio laundry liquid and have detected no practical difference between the two, apart from the optical brighteners in the laundry liquid that make any remnants of loo roll appear luminous! The enzymes in the bio laundry liquid should theoretically act to break down the organic matter.

Thetford blue does not contain formaldehyde, but some other leading brands contain up to 60%. But, as you say, that begs the question how is Thetford Blue different from their green version!!
 
MyrtleGuru said:
Essentially in a septic tank, you want the bacteria to proliferate. That's what septic means.
......
This is different from a cesspit, which is essentially a sealed container that has to be emptied when full.
.....
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Thanks. So, presumably the campsite where I ended up emptying my tank (I had been 'wilding' for a few days beforehand) had a cesspit and not a septic tank - since they insisted on blue. But how are we to know, before booking into a site, if it has the correct facilities for the type of chemical (or not) that we are using? Should we ask when booking?
 
Isn’t the difference between the blue and green, the same as bio and non-bio of washing liquid?

That is how I interpret it, and why you must throughly clean all the blue from your tank, before swapping to green.

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