Raphite01





Posts: 132





Silver MemberPosts: 132 A no-smell maceration tank for urban boneheads! « on: June 13, 2014, 10:50:59 PM »



Basic materials:



- A 5-gallon bucket or other robust container.

- Two half-inch PVC ball valves.

- Two 3/4 x 1/2 reducing female adapters (PVC).

- Two hose adapters.

- A length of PVC pipe that fits snugly into the ball valves. The picture shows four pieces I cut from the pipe, each approx 2" long.

- Two garden hose thread adapters.

- A hole saw that matches the pipe width (I think it was 7/16) plus drill.

- Some silicone sealant + caulking gun.

- NOT PICTURED: A larger-diameter PVC pipe that can easily accommodate an aquarium heater.

- NOT PICTURED: Epoxy, which I didn't use on my prototype, but you should use it.

- NOT PICTURED: A cheapo garden hose for the drain.

- NOT PICTURED: Aquarium heater that can reach 80 degrees F or higher.

- NOT PICTURED: Duct tape.



You can pick up everything at Home Depot or Lowes, aside from the aquarium heater.



Drill holes in the lid of the tank, and on the side near the bottom. Don't get too close to the bottom or teeth may flow out of the drain.







Stick one of the small lengths of pipe into one end of each of the ball valves. Secure with a tiny amount of silicone or epoxy. Then, plug the pipe-end of each ball valve into the holes you drilled. Affix it with epoxy and then cover the joint with silicone.





Stick the remaining two lengths of pipe into each of the female adapters, secured with a tiny amount of silicone or epoxy. Screw the hose adapters into the other end.





Drill another hole in the lid, this one large enough to accommodate the plug of your aquarium heater. Thread the plug through from underneath.





Cut a length of your larger PVC pipe that is slightly shorter than the bucket. Secure it upright in the bottom of the bucket with epoxy, and seal the seam with silicone. (It's probably a good idea to epoxy in a plastic support between the pipe and bucket closer to the top, to keep the pipe more stable.)





Stick your heater into the larger PVC pipe, throw in some prepared bones (this one contains four coyote heads), and you're ready to go.





Fill the tank with water to a depth just below the top of the internal PVC pipe, as normal for maceration. Fill the PVC pipe with water. The PVC pipe will allow the heater to keep the maceration soup to the desired temperature without having the maceration soup touch the heater, which in my experience causes a horrific fleshy buildup to accumulate on the heater. It also keeps the heater from contacting the specimens, which in my experience sometimes leads to burns. Cover the heater cord opening with duct tape, so that no smells escape through there.



Snap on the lid, plug it to your extension cord, and let it sit for ten days or so.



When the time is up, connect your cheapo drain hose to the adapter setup you built earlier, and run the other end out to a storm drain on the street. No one will find this suspicious at all, I swear. (Or to a drain to your actual sewer system if at all possible, as someone mentioned in the comments below). Plug your adapter into the bottom ball valve on your tank.





Connect the other adapter to your regular garden hose (attached to the faucet), and plug it into the top ball valve.





Open your ball valves, and let it drain! After a few seconds, turn on your garden hose and let it flush for a few minutes. Be careful not to turn the flow on too strongly, or the tank will fill faster than it drains, and the water pressure will pop the lid off and then you'll have a minor fiasco on your hands.





After awhile, I pull out the top hose adapter, squirt in some Dawn, and then plug it back in and let it run for awhile longer. After a bit longer, you can take the lid off and spray down the interior and your specimens. At this point the smell is no worse than being near a Port-a-Potty, and will dissipate very quickly. I've done this with neighbors standing nearby, and no one seemed to notice at all, and I was able to semi-comfortably breathe though my nose the entire time. Take out your specimens and quickly stick them in a container with some dilute peroxide to disinfect them and nuke most of any remaining smell, letting you proceed with degreasing at your leisure.





Unfortunately, doing multiple skulls at once like this means that the teeth and jaws are all jumbled together, which will take some time to sort out. I didn't put them in individual bags for my trial run because I was worried that the plastic bags would block the drain, but perhaps some kind of mesh bag could be used. Alternatively, you could just make multiple small tanks intended for single skulls.



Obviously, antlered skulls aren't suitable for this model, but it may be possible to modify the lid to make it work.



Good luck, and I very much welcome any ideas for improvements!







Well, "low-smell" is more accurate, but close enough. Those of us who live in the city know the perils of trying to macerate anything at all in our tiny yards with close-packed neighbors, and any kind of large-volume work is nearly impossible. Hopefully this maceration tank design will help some people out. I'm sure others have used similar setups, but I haven't come across a post.Basic materials:- A 5-gallon bucket or other robust container.- Two half-inch PVC ball valves.- Two 3/4 x 1/2 reducing female adapters (PVC).- Two hose adapters.- A length of PVC pipe that fits snugly into the ball valves. The picture shows four pieces I cut from the pipe, each approx 2" long.- Two garden hose thread adapters.- A hole saw that matches the pipe width (I think it was 7/16) plus drill.- Some silicone sealant + caulking gun.- NOT PICTURED: A larger-diameter PVC pipe that can easily accommodate an aquarium heater.- NOT PICTURED: Epoxy, which I didn't use on my prototype, but you should use it.- NOT PICTURED: A cheapo garden hose for the drain.- NOT PICTURED: Aquarium heater that can reach 80 degrees F or higher.- NOT PICTURED: Duct tape.You can pick up everything at Home Depot or Lowes, aside from the aquarium heater.Drill holes in the lid of the tank, and on the side near the bottom. Don't get too close to the bottom or teeth may flow out of the drain.Stick one of the small lengths of pipe into one end of each of the ball valves. Secure with a tiny amount of silicone or epoxy. Then, plug the pipe-end of each ball valve into the holes you drilled. Affix it with epoxy and then cover the joint with silicone.Stick the remaining two lengths of pipe into each of the female adapters, secured with a tiny amount of silicone or epoxy. Screw the hose adapters into the other end.Drill another hole in the lid, this one large enough to accommodate the plug of your aquarium heater. Thread the plug through from underneath.Cut a length of your larger PVC pipe that is slightly shorter than the bucket. Secure it upright in the bottom of the bucket with epoxy, and seal the seam with silicone. (It's probably a good idea to epoxy in a plastic support between the pipe and bucket closer to the top, to keep the pipe more stable.)Stick your heater into the larger PVC pipe, throw in some prepared bones (this one contains four coyote heads), and you're ready to go.Fill the tank with water to a depth just below the top of the internal PVC pipe, as normal for maceration. Fill the PVC pipe with water. The PVC pipe will allow the heater to keep the maceration soup to the desired temperature without having the maceration soup touch the heater, which in my experience causes a horrific fleshy buildup to accumulate on the heater. It also keeps the heater from contacting the specimens, which in my experience sometimes leads to burns. Cover the heater cord opening with duct tape, so that no smells escape through there.Snap on the lid, plug it to your extension cord, and let it sit for ten days or so.When the time is up, connect your cheapo drain hose to the adapter setup you built earlier, and run the other end out to a storm drain on the street. No one will find this suspicious at all, I swear. (Or to a drain to your actual sewer system if at all possible, as someone mentioned in the comments below). Plug your adapter into the bottom ball valve on your tank.Connect the other adapter to your regular garden hose (attached to the faucet), and plug it into the top ball valve.Open your ball valves, and let it drain! After a few seconds, turn on your garden hose and let it flush for a few minutes. Be careful not to turn the flow on too strongly, or the tank will fill faster than it drains, and the water pressure will pop the lid off and then you'll have a minor fiasco on your hands.After awhile, I pull out the top hose adapter, squirt in some Dawn, and then plug it back in and let it run for awhile longer. After a bit longer, you can take the lid off and spray down the interior and your specimens. At this point the smell is no worse than being near a Port-a-Potty, and will dissipate very quickly. I've done this with neighbors standing nearby, and no one seemed to notice at all, and I was able to semi-comfortably breathe though my nose the entire time. Take out your specimens and quickly stick them in a container with some dilute peroxide to disinfect them and nuke most of any remaining smell, letting you proceed with degreasing at your leisure.Unfortunately, doing multiple skulls at once like this means that the teeth and jaws are all jumbled together, which will take some time to sort out. I didn't put them in individual bags for my trial run because I was worried that the plastic bags would block the drain, but perhaps some kind of mesh bag could be used. Alternatively, you could just make multiple small tanks intended for single skulls.Obviously, antlered skulls aren't suitable for this model, but it may be possible to modify the lid to make it work.Good luck, and I very much welcome any ideas for improvements! « Last Edit: June 18, 2014, 01:30:27 PM by Raphite01 » Logged