Elsans

[ditchcrawler]

28 minutes ago, frangar said:

  tap and Elsan....

Sounds a good name for a pub

 

[Mike Todd]

1 hour ago, smiler said:

I sense a little pedantalism creeping into the forum.

Is it contagiousable?

Since we cannot currently touch each other it is unlikely to be contagious but, since we use the term virus for unwanted effects, it might well be infectious!

[Maffi]

On 23/04/2021 at 22:06, Machpoint005 said:

 

Could it just be that they put them down, install the spare, then forget them?

 

No! The places I find them are intentional dumping. They usually have the top section on too!

[Maffi]

On 23/04/2021 at 22:07, The Happy Nomad said:

 

Not in common useage it isnt. That merely says its a 'type' of trasnportable toilet.

 

Elsan make two types, but I still dont think the OP was refering to those two models.

 

Edit - Laugh you may @Jerra but it hasnt become colloquially synonymous in the same way 'Hoover' has for vacuum cleaners.

Elsan is a generic term like hoover.

On 23/04/2021 at 21:55, Jerra said:

Do I take it you unfailingly call the thing you clean the floor with a vacuum cleaner rather than as many do a "Hoover"?   Or for that matter you never use a "biro" unless of course you have checked that it is actually a Biro and not a Bic or some other make?

Point of order Jerra elsan is used as a generic term.

[Maffi]

On 23/04/2021 at 21:55, Jerra said:

Do I take it you unfailingly call the thing you clean the floor with a vacuum cleaner rather than as many do a "Hoover"?   

No I call my floor cleaner a mop! ?

[Jerra]

4 minutes ago, Lord Maffi of Oxford said:

Elsan is a generic term like hoover.

Point of order Jerra elsan is used as a generic term.

That is the point I am making to me an "Elsan" is a is chemical toilet in the way a vacuum cleaner is a  "Hoover".    It would appear that for many an "Elsan" is what I call an Elsan point.

[Jackofalltrades]

21 minutes ago, Lord Maffi of Oxford said:

No I call my floor cleaner a mop! ?

I call my floor cleaner Doreen.

 

[ditchcrawler]

44 minutes ago, Lord Maffi of Oxford said:

No I call my floor cleaner a mop! ?

I could make a comment here but Diana may find out

[Guest]

57 minutes ago, Lord Maffi of Oxford said:

Elsan is a generic term like hoover.

 

No it isnt.

[David Mack]

3 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

No it isnt.

<pantomime>

Oh yes it is!

</pantomime>

[Guest]

42 minutes ago, David Mack said:

<pantomime>

Oh yes it is!

</pantomime>

 

I did wonder who would be first....

[David Mack]

Elsan was originally a brand of toilet and of the chemical fluid used in it. As such I think it is fair to say that it has become a Hoover-type generic term for all types of toilet and toilet fluid (particularly toilets of relatively small capacity that have to be manually emptied, rather than pump outs), even though the small toilet market is now dominated by brands like Thetford.

And for whatever reason, the toilet emptying facilities at "Sanitary Stations" became known as "Elsan emptying points", or "Elsan points", or simply "Elsans".

Language changes!

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Elsan was originally a brand of toilet and of the chemical fluid used in it. As such I think it is fair to say that it has become a Hoover-type generic term for all types of toilet and toilet fluid (particularly toilets of relatively small capacity that have to be manually emptied, rather than pump outs), even though the small toilet market is now dominated by brands like Thetford.

And for whatever reason, the toilet emptying facilities at "Sanitary Stations" became known as "Elsan emptying points", or "Elsan points", or simply "Elsans".

Language changes!

 

Ive been caravanning and boating the best part of 40 years and have not heard 'elsan' used generically. 

 

Ive heard empty the 'bucket and chuck it' in the 80's through to empty 'the cassette' into the Elsan in th 90's and 00's

 

Ive never heard of an Elsan as in sanitary point being found floating in the canal though,  which is where this thread started.

Edited April 26, 2021 by The Happy Nomad

[Maffi]

2 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

No it isnt.

It is. If a lot of people call a porta-potty type 'commode' an elsan it becomes an accepted 'thing'. Such a thing only needs to become a written about thing in publishing and it will be considered for inclusion in the Oxford dictionary.

[BEngo]

8 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

Ive never heard of an Elsan as in sanitary point being found floating in the canal though,  which is where this thread started.

What about the lavender boat at assorted festivals etc?  Two Loos Lootrek or summat similar.

 

[Idle Days]

I think the correct name is "Elsan Disposal Point" which has become truncated by linguistic laziness into "Elsan". 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Lord Maffi of Oxford said:

It is. If a lot of people call a porta-potty type 'commode' an elsan it becomes an accepted 'thing'. Such a thing only needs to become a written about thing in publishing and it will be considered for inclusion in the Oxford dictionary.

 

I understand the term 'colloquial use'. In my experience it doesnt apply here.

[Feeby100]

What it stand for Elsan ? 

[Athy]

8 minutes ago, Feeby100 said:

What it stand for Elsan ? 

It stand for Ephraim Louis Sanitation.

 

Though these days they're best known for their toilet fluid, Elsan did (and still do) make chemical toilets. However, these are fairly basic, little more than a glorified bucket-with-seat. I suspect that the term "Elsan disposal point" dates from the era when this would be a standard type of toilet on a boat, before the more sophisticated models such as Thetfords came to dominate the market.

[Jerra]

8 hours ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

Ive been caravanning and boating the best part of 40 years and have not heard 'elsan' used generically. 

 

Strange.  I have been caravaning and boating for about the same length of time and taking scouts camping, where we had chemical toilets before that, and like Lord Maffy Elsan has always been a colloquial name for the actual thing you sit on.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Jerra said:

Strange.  I have been caravaning and boating for about the same length of time and taking scouts camping, where we had chemical toilets before that, and like Lord Maffy Elsan has always been a colloquial name for the actual thing you sit on.

 

Strange indeed.

 

Ive also been familiar with it being assigned to a basic 'bucket and chuck it' type loo but not to the more moderm cassette type loo.

Edited April 27, 2021 by The Happy Nomad

[Athy]

The term has been in common use for many years. In the 1970s I had a friend whose surname was Elson. People often told him he was full of s**t and, while not the greatest quip in the world, the comment was generally understood.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Athy said:

The term has been in common use for many years. In the 1970s I had a friend whose surname was Elson. People often told him he was full of s**t and, while not the greatest quip in the world, the comment was generally understood.

 

A member on here per chance?

 

https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/profile/7323-lord-elsan/

[magpie patrick]

8 hours ago, Lord Maffi of Oxford said:

It is. If a lot of people call a porta-potty type 'commode' an elsan it becomes an accepted 'thing'. Such a thing only needs to become a written about thing in publishing and it will be considered for inclusion in the Oxford dictionary.

 

Indeed - I refer to mine as the Elsan, but only yesterday I noticed it said "use only Thetford products", erm... oh dear  

 

I wonder how @Athy will feel if a town near to his home becomes synonymous with a boaters bog... "Emptying the Thetford..." 

[Tacet]

I am not sure that Elsan ever dominated the equipment side of the market.  From what I remember. Racasan seemed to be the major player in the galvanised container-within-a-container toilet,   But Elsan reigned supreme in the chemical side with its Elsanol product; something akin to a mixture of creosote and oil.  

 

For the pedantic. this type of toilet and its successors, such as the Elsan Bristol are not really fairly described as bucket-and-chuckit.  That honour goes to a more basic arrangement of a true bucket where the deposits would typically have been discharged immediately (or perhaps early next morning)- not least, for fear of being knocked over.   No doubt the type of bucket varied - but an enamelled, hospital style bucket with a loose fitting lid would be a fair bet in its heyday.