Post by Mike Harding on Oct 30, 2024 12:54:33 GMT 10
I suspect most on here are sufficiently experienced to understand the issues discussed in this thread but it's something worth kicking around again.
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I'm camped in the forest in SW Victoria and there is no dump point within 80km, however the village 5km distant has some (quite nice - well... you know...) public toilets where I empty my caravan black water about every 10 days or so and last Friday morning at 1100h I parked the vehicle next to them, opened the tailgate, retrieved the tank and walked to the toilet to perform one of the lesser delights of caravanning - as I have at that location perhaps 15 times previously over the past couple of years. I could dig a hole in the bush but I need to visit the village for potable water and as they have a toilet facility it seems sensible to use it.
Upon alighting from the cubical I am accosted by a 50? year aged woman standing, arms folded, and clearly waiting for me to return: "WHAT CHEMICAL ARE YOU USING IN THAT" she demands. "Sodium percarbonate" I calmly reply. This clearly confuses her because, I suspect, she has no idea what sodium percarbonate is. She berates me regarding damage to the septic tank servicing these toilets. I know all about this but she seems to think anyone with a caravan waste tank is an ecological planet destruction robot. Oh Gawd :(
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In order to work septic systems rely upon bacteria. If you pour bleach or, even worse, the terrible chemicals they sell for chemical toilets down them you'll kill them stone dead. I know all this. Sodium percarbonate (Nappysan) is an organic chemical which breaks down to oxygen and water and is actually *good* for these systems because the oxygen encourages bacterial growth. I went into all this in depth years ago.
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Anyway; I convinced Mrs Chemical that I was not destroying the planet and she finally, sulkily, wandered away.
I do understand her concern but I always feel that if one opens the discussion with "Hello, how are you, my name is Jane" it sets up a much better interaction framework than "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
Anyway, I've decided to make my trips into enemy country on Sunday mornings when the sewerage patrols are still asleep. Also I'm keeping a container of Nappysan in the vehicle because in "large friendly letters" on the front it displays "Septic tank safe".
Incidentally: they do not have any notices about emptying caravan/boat waste... which they should. If people don't understand and are not educated about this stuff they cannot, reasonably, be expected to know.
The moral of this tale: don't use those damn Thetford or similar chemical - they are planet destroyers. If you do use them then *ONLY* put them down urban type sewerage systems. Sodium percarbonate works well, is planet friendly and about one twentieth of the price:
Woolworths - sodium percarbonate
Also I put about 50gm in with my laundry, it works well there too.
Do check the label of these products carefully; they should contain at least 30% sodium percarbonate.
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An aside:
I stayed in this same forest last summer and one week we had a *lot* of rain. I didn't wish to drive out of the forest until it dried out so, for a couple of weeks, I drove 500m distant, dug a deep hole and burried my waste tank contents in the bush. Now I have a habit which I've done for many years: when I dig/fill in a latrine; I find two sticks each about 600mm long and push them into the filled in latrine earth such that they form a cross (an X). It looks very man made and warns people (including me!) not to dig there. Last week I happened to be in that same spot and my crosses were quite visible as were the two very decent patches of grass and flowers growing around them. Nearby ground, being very stoney, was devoid of vegetation but clearly my fertilizer was working a treat :)
-----
I'm camped in the forest in SW Victoria and there is no dump point within 80km, however the village 5km distant has some (quite nice - well... you know...) public toilets where I empty my caravan black water about every 10 days or so and last Friday morning at 1100h I parked the vehicle next to them, opened the tailgate, retrieved the tank and walked to the toilet to perform one of the lesser delights of caravanning - as I have at that location perhaps 15 times previously over the past couple of years. I could dig a hole in the bush but I need to visit the village for potable water and as they have a toilet facility it seems sensible to use it.
Upon alighting from the cubical I am accosted by a 50? year aged woman standing, arms folded, and clearly waiting for me to return: "WHAT CHEMICAL ARE YOU USING IN THAT" she demands. "Sodium percarbonate" I calmly reply. This clearly confuses her because, I suspect, she has no idea what sodium percarbonate is. She berates me regarding damage to the septic tank servicing these toilets. I know all about this but she seems to think anyone with a caravan waste tank is an ecological planet destruction robot. Oh Gawd :(
-----
In order to work septic systems rely upon bacteria. If you pour bleach or, even worse, the terrible chemicals they sell for chemical toilets down them you'll kill them stone dead. I know all this. Sodium percarbonate (Nappysan) is an organic chemical which breaks down to oxygen and water and is actually *good* for these systems because the oxygen encourages bacterial growth. I went into all this in depth years ago.
-----
Anyway; I convinced Mrs Chemical that I was not destroying the planet and she finally, sulkily, wandered away.
I do understand her concern but I always feel that if one opens the discussion with "Hello, how are you, my name is Jane" it sets up a much better interaction framework than "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
Anyway, I've decided to make my trips into enemy country on Sunday mornings when the sewerage patrols are still asleep. Also I'm keeping a container of Nappysan in the vehicle because in "large friendly letters" on the front it displays "Septic tank safe".
Incidentally: they do not have any notices about emptying caravan/boat waste... which they should. If people don't understand and are not educated about this stuff they cannot, reasonably, be expected to know.
The moral of this tale: don't use those damn Thetford or similar chemical - they are planet destroyers. If you do use them then *ONLY* put them down urban type sewerage systems. Sodium percarbonate works well, is planet friendly and about one twentieth of the price:
Woolworths - sodium percarbonate
Also I put about 50gm in with my laundry, it works well there too.
Do check the label of these products carefully; they should contain at least 30% sodium percarbonate.
-----
An aside:
I stayed in this same forest last summer and one week we had a *lot* of rain. I didn't wish to drive out of the forest until it dried out so, for a couple of weeks, I drove 500m distant, dug a deep hole and burried my waste tank contents in the bush. Now I have a habit which I've done for many years: when I dig/fill in a latrine; I find two sticks each about 600mm long and push them into the filled in latrine earth such that they form a cross (an X). It looks very man made and warns people (including me!) not to dig there. Last week I happened to be in that same spot and my crosses were quite visible as were the two very decent patches of grass and flowers growing around them. Nearby ground, being very stoney, was devoid of vegetation but clearly my fertilizer was working a treat :)
