Dear Jim McHale (c/o SATO),
dear all,

I refer to my questions 2 1/2 months ago of which the first two have been kindly answered by SSG (thank you, Sherina) while I still await detailed information on the SATO stools (products 203, 206). I have been even in contact with LIXIL directly but to no success. I wonder how the SATO techniques can have such high reputation, when the company cannot provide basic information like installation manuals, explosion and constructional drawings. I am especially interested to see how the SATO 'mechanism' is integrated in a sitting pedestal.

ciao
Hajo

Dear Sherina,

thank you for your response. Seems to be a very practical way of 1) getting access with the gulper and 2) repairing/replacing the SATO if necessary. But eventually also the user may come across that he can remove the SATO to throw the rubbish into the pit. But we cannot rule out/prevent all sorts wrong behaviours.

Good luck with your pit-emptying business,
ciao
Hajo

Dear Hajo

In response to your question, the SaTo pan can easily be removed by knocking round the edge with a hammer which allows the pan to be lifted off the slab. The emptying can then be done with a Gulper after which the SaTo pan can be re-installed on the slab using about one kilogram of cement. I hope this is helpful.

Kind regards
Sherina

Thanks very much with this research. Am a Ugandan sanitation promoter working with rural communities in development programs, kindly put me in the flashlights of this type of latrine so that we may adopt and disseminate this technology for human benefits in living condition.

Your kind reply is highly welcome.

Kizito Richard Coordinator ApproTech and development

Dear Jim McHale (c/o SATO),
dear SSG
dear all,

although it is desirable in the foreseeable future to replace the +/- 100,000 pit latrines in Lusaka's peri-urban areas with a more sustainable solution and move the users up on the sanitation ladder, until this is achieved in 10 to 20 years, it will be necessary to service the pit latrines during this long transition period. One way to ease the services could be the installation of SATO devices. Therefore the following questions:

1. Installation manuals for the SATO show that it is either concreted in the floor slab during new construction or be set in cement mortar on an existing concrete slab. Eventually the flap only or the whole SATO need replacement when the flap mechanism has been broken by brutal force or by wear and tear. Does this require breaking and redoing the concrete or does the plastic do not bond completely to the concrete/mortar and can therefore easily be removed for repair/replacement?
2. Second question is directly related to the first. SSG from Kampala reported to us in Lusaka that they promote the 'upgrading' of pit latrines to SATO because of two reasons: 1) it prevents the dumping of too much solid waste/plastic bags in the pit which makes emptying then easier with the gulper; and 2) the SATO can be 'removed' to allow easy access for the gulper. How does the temporary 'removing' of the SATO works?
3. How is a SATO converted to a sitting pedestal? I have seen the models 203 and 206 on the product catalogue. Can possibly more detailed 'installation' manuals be posted here on the forum?

Thanks for any help, we will come back with more queries as they arise,
ciao
Hajo

Dear Andrew,

Thanks for your interest in SATO.

BRAC in Bangladesh has installed literally hundreds of thousands of SATO toilet pans in offset pit latrines. Before the introduction of the SATO collection box they utilized hand-constructed concrete collection boxes, but now exclusively use the SATO collection box due to reliability, performance improvement, and reduced construction costs.

The new SATO GEN2 product line which is about to launch in India is an even further improvement for construction of offset pit latrines. Please refer to links below for more information.

SATO GEN2 Thread
SATO GEN2 Video

Regards,

Jim

Hi, I am very interested to hear details of peoples experience when using the SaTo pan with off-set latrine pits. In particular:
- Was the SaTo pan installed with or without the complimentary SaTo Collection Box?
- And have people found any blockage issues due to the build-up of faeces/solids in the pipe connecting to the off-set pit due to the small amount of water used to flush the SaTo pan?

The key concern I have when installing without the plastic collection box is that faeces might easily get stuck/block in a concrete collection box. A concrete collection box would have a much 'rougher' finish than the plastic version, and with the small amounts of water used to flush the SaTo I thought this could easily lead to significant blocking issues. Particularly in Cambodia where off-set pits are common (instead of direct pits).

Any comments on experiences welcome!

Thanks,
Andrew

Hi Nicola,
Steve might provide more details and photos, but meanwhile you can find some information here in the project database (the project title at the time was "Prototype Microflush-Biofil Toilet Facilities"):
www.susana.org/en/resources/projects?search=GSAP

Or directly here in this forum thread:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/106-us...roject-usa-and-ghana

Oh and there's also this forum category about "Toilets with combined vermicomposting and filtering (such as Biofil toilet)":
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/205-to...uch-as-biofil-toilet

Hope this helps, and looking forward to further discussion (maybe rather, or also, in that thread, not in the SaTo pan thread).

Regards,
Elisabeth

Where can I find more details of the GSAP microflush? Concept sounds good but I can't find a good photo to match your explanation.

It would be great if there was a very clear 1 pager to help spread the knowledge of this system with diagrams. I've searched online and found 2 explanatory videos - neither of which actually showed an example of the system.

Nicola

THe SaTopan is generically related to the microflush valve we developed years ago and have been using on the GSAP Microflush toilet. The 'pan' releases waste with a handle and the water seal is made with just 150 cc of water from the previous user's hand wash. It is made with local parts - PVC, a pan (which can be press molded from PVC sheet and a concrete counterweight. The toilet MAKERs we have trained around the world are versed in making these. We have an auto flushing one but there is sensitivity to the correct counterweight.

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Note by moderators: This post was made by a former user with the login name smecca who is no longer a member of this discussion forum.

Hello Arjen,

The reason it was designed with a larger cup is to decrease the sound. The extra plastic was to act as a sound buffer decreasing the 'tak' as it was a concern with consumers during the original design period.

We are not able to share the full design of the non-cement slab without approval from our partners quite yet, but Arjen if you send me an email, I can see what I can do. - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Hi Jess,

Thank you very much for your valuable contribution. Indeed many fill up the cement cup completely. It makes me wonder, why the cup should not be made smaller?

Please do share the non-cement slab details with me/us, as I know there has been some interest in Nepal as well (also because of the difficulty of transporting cement).

thank you,

Arjen