Herefordshire CC is promoting GDUs as a means
of reducing waste collection. They are even
offering a subsidy of up to £80 and I am
tempted to go for it.

I've had a couple of opinions re GDUs, the
most concerning being the claim that their
use requires regular rodding of the gully
trap and sewer.

Does anyone have experience of using a GDU?

Thanks,

--
Tony Williams.

Had one for years and at first we had bother but it was fitted with a
bottle trap , i changed that out for a full bore U bend and had no
trouble since.
Couple of things does the sink waste go directly into a drain or does
it go to a gully as i would not like to have food waste in a open
gully.
Rob

On 2007-06-06 07:28:25 +0100, Tony Williams said:

Herefordshire CC is promoting GDUs as a means
of reducing waste collection. They are even
offering a subsidy of up to £80 and I am
tempted to go for it.

I've had a couple of opinions re GDUs, the
most concerning being the claim that their
use requires regular rodding of the gully
trap and sewer.

Does anyone have experience of using a GDU?

Thanks,

Well what a surprise.

Of course they would promote this because it is a way of shifting some
waste collection off of their shoulders and onto those of the sewerage
operator.

I've had one of these in the past and didn't find any issues with
drains blocking etc. This was a fairly new house with new plastic
drains correctly sloping etc. Also, we made sure that plent of water
went through with the garbage.

Realistically, though, most of what can go through them is waste
vegetable matter such as peelings and a few bones. Meat, fat etc.
should be avoided anyway.

Given that, I don't see too much of a point in them and we didn't fit
one in a new kitchen a few years ago.

I would either sling out the vegetable peelings with the rest of the
rubbish, or if you see a value in it, compost them.

In article .com,
rob wrote:
Had one for years and at first we had bother but it was fitted
with a bottle trap , i changed that out for a full bore U bend
and had no trouble since.

What make do you have?

Couple of things does the sink waste go directly into a drain or
does it go to a gully as i would not like to have food waste in a
open gully. Rob

Well this is a problem I have been concerned about.

The kitchen sink has a boxed-in run to somewhere
unknown and a blockage would be difficult to clear.
The kitchen is also overdue for a complete refurb,
so I don't want to add anything there atm.

The sink by the utility room back door only has an
8ft run, all above ground. But the waste pipe does
go into a gulley trap, shared with two pipes from
the bathroom. I think something would have to be
done about that.

Thanks,

--
Tony Williams.

In article ,
Andy Hall wrote:

Well what a surprise.

Of course they would promote this because it is a way of shifting
some waste collection off of their shoulders and onto those of
the sewerage operator.

Herefordshire is worse off than most councils
because there is no local rubbish tip. AFAIK
the dustbin lorries have to trek over to
somewhere near Evesham.

I've had one of these in the past and didn't find any issues with
drains blocking etc.

Do you remember what make?

This was a fairly new house with new plastic drains correctly
sloping etc. Also, we made sure that plent of water went
through with the garbage.

We have big falls on all pipes and the washing
machine outlet would go down the same pipework.

I would either sling out the vegetable peelings with the rest of
the rubbish, or if you see a value in it, compost them.

We eat a lot of fruit. Things like melon skins
and orange peel don't compost well.

--
Tony Williams.

On 2007-06-06 09:20:53 +0100, Tony Williams said:

In article ,
Andy Hall wrote:

Well what a surprise.

Of course they would promote this because it is a way of shifting
some waste collection off of their shoulders and onto those of
the sewerage operator.

Herefordshire is worse off than most councils
because there is no local rubbish tip. AFAIK
the dustbin lorries have to trek over to
somewhere near Evesham.

I've had one of these in the past and didn't find any issues with
drains blocking etc.

Do you remember what make?

I *think* it was Insinkerator but it was a while ago.



This was a fairly new house with new plastic drains correctly
sloping etc. Also, we made sure that plent of water went
through with the garbage.

We have big falls on all pipes and the washing
machine outlet would go down the same pipework.

I would either sling out the vegetable peelings with the rest of
the rubbish, or if you see a value in it, compost them.

We eat a lot of fruit. Things like melon skins
and orange peel don't compost well.

Quite. Could be worth it for these although is the volume really that much.

I don't have a particular problem with them, but didn't feel it was
worth getting a new one when the kitchen was redone.

The point about the waste is well made. Really you don't want to
have a bottle trap - U bend or perhaps a HepVO would be OK and ideally
ot should go into a soil stack and not a gully.

On 2007-06-06 09:14:07 +0100, Tony Williams said:

In article .com,
rob wrote:
Had one for years and at first we had bother but it was fitted
with a bottle trap , i changed that out for a full bore U bend
and had no trouble since.

What make do you have?

Couple of things does the sink waste go directly into a drain or
does it go to a gully as i would not like to have food waste in a
open gully. Rob

Well this is a problem I have been concerned about.

The kitchen sink has a boxed-in run to somewhere
unknown and a blockage would be difficult to clear.
The kitchen is also overdue for a complete refurb,
so I don't want to add anything there atm.

The sink by the utility room back door only has an
8ft run, all above ground. But the waste pipe does
go into a gulley trap, shared with two pipes from
the bathroom. I think something would have to be
done about that.

Thanks,

Given that, I would wait until you redo the kitchen.

Another thing that could be done is to increase the size of the waste
pipe to 50mm.

On Jun 6, 7:28 am, Tony Williams wrote:
Herefordshire CC is promoting GDUs as a means
of reducing waste collection. They are even
offering a subsidy of up to £80 and I am
tempted to go for it.

I've had a couple of opinions re GDUs, the
most concerning being the claim that their
use requires regular rodding of the gully
trap and sewer.

Does anyone have experience of using a GDU?

Thanks,

--
Tony Williams.

Hi

We've had an Insinkerator ISE55 for years and never had any problems
with it.

It appears to be indestructible. I noticed one of the other posters
recommending against putting bones down there - that only applies to
the cheap and nasty units. Insinkerator actually recommend putting
bones down there to clean the unit out!

Again, as mentioned by another poster, bottle traps are a no-no and it
should if at all possible be plumbed direct into the main soil.

We've had no pipe blockages in seven years of use. It's important to
follow the manufacturers instructions though - in particular that you
should always use cold water. This causes fats to solidify and get
chopped up rather than flowing down the drain.

I've always had - and would always recommend - controlling the unit by
an air switch. These are safe to use with wet hands.

When we moved house, we took our Insinkerator with us and installed a
cheap screwfix one in it's place. It was absolutely awful...

Steve

In article ,
Andy Hall wrote:

The sink by the utility room back door only has an

Given that, I would wait until you redo the kitchen.

Another thing that could be done is to increase the size of the
waste pipe to 50mm.

Using the sink by the door has since become academic.
It's an old Belfast and my antennae went up when the
Insinkerator website showed an extension piece for
china sinks, but then said 'not Belfast'. A long,
(and helpful) chat with Panda confirmed this.

There are two problems with a Belfast.... the hole
is nowhere near the now standard 89mm and the
GDU thickness extension pieces do not have the side-
-slots to take water from the B's integrated overflow.
Cutting slots is easy enough, but not grinding out the
hole size.

--
Tony Williams.

On Wed, 06 Jun 2007 07:28:25 +0100, Tony Williams
wrote:

Herefordshire CC is promoting GDUs as a means
of reducing waste collection. They are even
offering a subsidy of up to £80 and I am
tempted to go for it.

I've had a couple of opinions re GDUs, the
most concerning being the claim that their
use requires regular rodding of the gully
trap and sewer.

Does anyone have experience of using a GDU?

Thanks,

I put mine in in 1987 and we have never looked back. It gets replaced
when I can be bothered to unpack the new one in the garage.

You must run the water for some time after use to clear pipes but ours
has only blocked local pipes under the sink one Xmas when MIL came to
stay and caused chaos. Don't put teabags down them.

On Wed, 06 Jun 2007 07:28:25 +0100 someone who may be Tony Williams
wrote this:-

Herefordshire CC is promoting GDUs as a means
of reducing waste collection. They are even
offering a subsidy of up to £80 and I am
tempted to go for it.

Why use the electricity and water you pay for on a waste disposal
unit which will flush an edible slurry into the drains to the
delight of rats?

If you have little bit of garden then a much better bet is something
from http://www.greencone.com/home.asp?lang=1


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

On Wed, 06 Jun 2007 09:20:53 +0100, Tony Williams
wrote:

In article ,
Andy Hall wrote:

Well what a surprise.

Of course they would promote this because it is a way of shifting
some waste collection off of their shoulders and onto those of
the sewerage operator.

Herefordshire is worse off than most councils
because there is no local rubbish tip. AFAIK
the dustbin lorries have to trek over to
somewhere near Evesham.


Cos there are no fields to dig up in Hereford?
Why should people in evesham put up with other people's rubbish?

I've had one of these in the past and didn't find any issues with
drains blocking etc.

Do you remember what make?

This was a fairly new house with new plastic drains correctly
sloping etc. Also, we made sure that plent of water went
through with the garbage.

We have big falls on all pipes and the washing
machine outlet would go down the same pipework.

I would either sling out the vegetable peelings with the rest of
the rubbish, or if you see a value in it, compost them.

We eat a lot of fruit. Things like melon skins
and orange peel don't compost well.
--
http://www.orderonlinepickupinstore.co.uk
Ah fetch it yourself if you can't wait for delivery
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
Or get it delivered for free

"David Hansen" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 06 Jun 2007 07:28:25 +0100 someone who may be Tony Williams
wrote this:-

Herefordshire CC is promoting GDUs as a means
of reducing waste collection. They are even
offering a subsidy of up to £80 and I am
tempted to go for it.

Why use the electricity and water you pay for on a waste disposal
unit which will flush an edible slurry into the drains to the
delight of rats?

I was going to say that!

But why is anybody wasting food anyway?

If you have little bit of garden then a much better bet is something
from http://www.greencone.com/home.asp?lang=1

And a local dog will love bones.

Mary

"Tony Williams" wrote in message
...
Herefordshire CC is promoting GDUs as a means
of reducing waste collection. They are even
offering a subsidy of up to £80 and I am
tempted to go for it.

I've had a couple of opinions re GDUs, the
most concerning being the claim that their
use requires regular rodding of the gully
trap and sewer.

Does anyone have experience of using a GDU?

Couple of things in my experience.

- Feed into a U-trap as per manufacturers instructions.
- Use an air switch to turn on rather than electrical switch on the wall.
- They come in two price brackets cheap and not cheap.
- Not cheap will take bones and anything you throw at (whole turkey carcass
once) with out any bother. Contrary to other reports will take tea bags.
- Cheap will jam and thermally cut out leaving you with a sink full of crap
as most inopportune moments.
- Cheap will vibrate the place to bits whilst waking all the neighbours.
- You lose a lot of valuable storage space under the sink.

Just run with lots of water to keep things flowing. Not had any blockages or
problems in the years I have had one. Mind you tend to only use for plate
scraps as we compost all vegatable waste.

Tony Williams wrote:

We eat a lot of fruit. Things like melon skins
and orange peel don't compost well.

I bet you could find space for a "compost blender"
i.e. a cheap liquidiser/blender you chuck your peelings in until full,
upon which you add a cup or 2 of water then blend into a peeling soup
which would almost certainly make for easy composting or be flushed down
the drain.

As it happens...
When I re-did our kitchen I had every intention of putting in a hefty
WDU, as such re-plumbed waste pipe in 50mm through to the waste stack,
added a "rodding" point below sink trap and have dishwasher plumbed in
which would help keep pipes clean, also had fused spur under sink.

To date We have never had a requirement to fit one,
but then we don't do a lot (if any) vegetable preparation etc and what
little we do just goes in the bin as the amount is so small.

Pete

--
http://gymratz.co.uk - Best Gym Equipment & Bodybuilding Supplements UK.
http://fitness-equipment-uk.com - UK's No.1 Fitness Equipment Suppliers.
http://water-rower.co.uk - Worlds best prices on the Worlds best Rower.
http://trade-price-supplements.co.uk - Bulk Order Supps. at Trade Prices

"Tony Williams" wrote in message
...


I would either sling out the vegetable peelings with the rest of
the rubbish, or if you see a value in it, compost them.

We eat a lot of fruit. Things like melon skins
and orange peel don't compost well.

There's no problem with orange peel., Melon skins cut up are no problem
either, if you can't be bothered just put them in with the general waste.
Why waste energy on a device to save the trouble of dumping the odd meln
skin in the bin?

Mary

--
Tony Williams.

In article ,
David Hansen wrote:

If you have little bit of garden then a much better bet is
something from http://www.greencone.com/home.asp?lang=1

Interesting, thanks. We have a stream at the bottom
of the garden, which means rats if you are not careful.
A composter on (or in) bare ground is rat-heaven.

eg, We used to shove food scraps through a wormery.
Took the lid off one day and there was a rat in there,
not 12" from my face. It is on concrete blocks now,
but is nowhere near as successful.

--
Tony Williams.

In article ,
Ian_m wrote:

Couple of things in my experience.

- Feed into a U-trap as per manufacturers instructions. - Use an
air switch to turn on rather than electrical switch on the wall.
- They come in two price brackets cheap and not cheap. - Not
cheap will take bones and anything you throw at (whole turkey
carcass once) with out any bother. Contrary to other reports
will take tea bags. - Cheap will jam and thermally cut out
leaving you with a sink full of crap as most inopportune
moments. - Cheap will vibrate the place to bits whilst waking all
the neighbours. - You lose a lot of valuable storage space under
the sink.

Yes, somewhat similar to garden shredders.

--
Tony Williams.

In article ,
"Pet @ www.gymratz.co.uk ;¬)" wrote:

I bet you could find space for a "compost blender" i.e. a cheap
liquidiser/blender you chuck your peelings in until full, upon
which you add a cup or 2 of water then blend into a peeling soup
which would almost certainly make for easy composting or be
flushed down the drain.

My first thought. But then suggested that it was
best flushed down the toilet. At which point the
whole idea went down the gurgler.

An idea worth re-visiting though.

--
Tony Williams.

On Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:05:50 +0100 someone who may be Tony Williams
wrote this:-

A composter on (or in) bare ground is rat-heaven.

eg, We used to shove food scraps through a wormery.
Took the lid off one day and there was a rat in there,
not 12" from my face.

One can buy wormeries that are contained in plastic bins. I would
like to see a rat get into one of those.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

"Tony Williams" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Ian_m wrote:

Couple of things in my experience.

- Feed into a U-trap as per manufacturers instructions. - Use an
air switch to turn on rather than electrical switch on the wall.
- They come in two price brackets cheap and not cheap. - Not
cheap will take bones and anything you throw at (whole turkey
carcass once) with out any bother. Contrary to other reports
will take tea bags. - Cheap will jam and thermally cut out
leaving you with a sink full of crap as most inopportune
moments. - Cheap will vibrate the place to bits whilst waking all
the neighbours. - You lose a lot of valuable storage space under
the sink.

Yes, somewhat similar to garden shredders.

You keep your shredder under the sink?

(sorry - someone had to ask)

Mary