what do you put down the loo! Forums

CaGreg

We used Biomagic for the first time on our two week trip in July and we were SOOO disappointed with it. We had a bad smell nearly all the time, despite using more and emptying often etc etc. My relatives spent a day on the beach with us and they used the loo and I was embarrassed by the smell. Thankfully they didn't comment but I wonder if they thought we were a bit scruffy?

We had no other 'stuff' with us so had to put up with it. Bit downer esp as we (well Greg actually) had flushed and flushed a lot before we changed over.

Don't know what we were doing wrong but wouldn't be thrilled to be using it again.

Ca

Shelton

We use a product called Carasept which I believe is similar to Biomagic - I bought this at the Shepton Mallet show last year and was so pleased with it I purchased in bulk from Newbury - bought this way it seems quite economical. If you google Carasept you can read all about it.

Incidentally, am I the only one who finds Sog plain anti-social? I was camped next to a motorhome a couple of weekends ago (at a Dog Agility show, where van's are parked closer than in a normal campsite). The smell from his Sog extractor was truly disgusting, it appeared that the fan turned on when they used the loo and then for about 2 mins afterwards. Unfortunately I was downwind and the smell was so intense I had to shut the windows of my van - the heat was the lesser of the evils!

Melly

Anyone tried this one http://www.purplepottimaster.co.uk/index.html
Its biological the same but is a bit cheaper and they also do stuff called clogmaster for your grey waste pipes.

sundial

We swear by Biomagic, but the cassette must be really cleaned of chemicals before the first use or the biological thingys don't work. WE don't have any smells at all and it dissolves absolutely everything! Embarassed

Sundial

Telbell

Same here. I think the advice given by Froggy earlier is sound-it's critical that there should be no contamination by previously used chemicals and that it should be used exactloy as instructions.

Cherekee

I agree that BioMagic works just fine (as it says on the bottle) but one has to adhere to the instructions. Its a new and completely 21st century way to operate the toilet system. Hang on in there, you will become a convert.

Alan

Pollydoodle

Just reading through this thread, as today someone posted asking where they can buy Bio Magic. It seems to me that if your flush tank runs off the fresh water tank and that had a sterilising fluid in it, wouldn't that negate the effects of the Bio Magic?
Cant say I have been really impressed with it, but I will keep going for the moment
Looks like I'm going to have to wait for Shepton Mallet in January to buy some more - no agents in this part of the country

silversurfa

IF its emptied daily it should not be a problem a very good wash out and a refil of Aqua kem will keep it fresh. but it depends on what you put into it ,we only used ours for liquid deposits only. because of smells. Ours is Immaculate !my husband practically polishes it

Tessy

The biomagic patent is available online for free. You may have to create an account and log in to see it.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP1648525.pdf

Reading this doesn't give me confidence. It basically says that to help breakdown of waste and remove odours, you need to assist the natural bacteria (all well known).

It says that to do this you need to provide a Nitrogen and Oxygen source, and a surfactant (a substance capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved. In other words, soap.)

It recommends using one single compound for both the Nitrogen and Oxygen source (such as Urine, or Ammonium Nitrate and Calcuim Nitrate and Potassium Nitrate -- in other words, fertiliser) with a small amount of surfacant. It prefers nonylphenol- ethoxylated surfactants, which are non-ionic (these are commonly detergents, defoaming agents, spermacide cream).

So the BIOAGIC patent seems to advocate using fertiliser mixed with detergent (and possibly urine). Then it starts going on about how to market this stuff on the internet as a treatment to remove odours. It recommends one ounce of compound for 20 litres. (What's that? About 30-50mls?)

There doesn't seem to be anything "magic" about this at all. The nitrate source is present in urine anyway, so if you used a simple detergent to provide a surfactant, wouldn't that have a similar effect? For a better solution, detergent mixed with typical garden centre fertiliser ought to work as well? Of course you could also use gentle bio-friendly detergents, hand washing soaps and so on.

Coincidentally, Biomagic also has a patent for using fertiliser to promote plant growth. One would suppose they are in the Fertiliser industry.

How much does this stuff cost again?

RobMD

As has been mentioned above, Carasept is good. It assists the natural bio activity and as such can be safely dumped into septic tanks etc. I've been using it for around 5 years now without problems.