By all means, locate a previous thread on this topic. I searched “airplane” and did not find it.
How does the toilet itself work? It uses suction of some sort. Where does all the waste go?
How does the sink work? Where does the water come from? I’ve noticed that on some planes, it is a slow trickle, while others have a strong blast. What’s up with that?
The waste goes into a tank. The water comes from a tank. They are not the same tank, unless you fly on Southwest. (Those cheap fairs gotta come out of something).
They empty the poop tank and refill the water tank when they land.
ETA: I’m not sure about the suction; I always assumed there was some sort of pneumatic pump on the toilet drain so as to conserve water.
Does the tank of poop hook up to a septic tank or something?
I assume they pump it into whatever sewage facility is available at the airport where they land.
You mean Joe Dirt wasn’t factually accurate?
I only get an error from your link.
Oops. Hotlinking prohibited.
It’s thefirst few images on Google.
(If you’ve never seen the movie, Joe stumbles across ejected plane-poop and think it’s a special meteor.)
Sort of. Generally, a lav cart is employeed. You empty the poop tank from the plane into the lav cart, and what happens next varies from airport to airport. Usually, a business partner of the airline (or a business partner employed by the airport) will come along and dispose of the waste.
Southwest uses the same system used on every other 737. It is called a vacuum waste system, there a a vacuum pump next to the waste tank. Pressing the flush button activates the pump along with about 8 ounces of water to rinse the bowl. All ends up in the waste tank. All other Boeing aircraft use the same system, the only difference is the size and number of waste tanks. The 777 has two 100 gallon waste tanks, the 737 has one 60 gallon tank.
Older aircraft still have blue water systems. The waste is contained under the toilet in a holding tank much like a porta-potty.
All the water used on the airplane, toilet flushing, hand washing and making coffee comes from the same potable water tank. On the 737, these can be anywhere from 50 to 80 gallons, it depends on the customer preference.
The water from the sinks and galleys is called gray water and it is dumped out of the airplane through a device called a drain mast. If the airplane is on the ground, that is where the water goes. If it’s in the air, it will mist when leaving the airplane and generally evaporate before going too far.
My first 3 years working on the Next Generation 737 was performing functional testing of the vacuum waste and potable water systems.
Another reason I love the Dope! Someone can answer anything.
Thanks, guys!
Do you think the water in the plane is safe to drink? I brush my teeth with it, usually.
Bad idea?
Terrible idea. The drinking water they provide should be safe but that from the lavatory likely contains all kinds of nasty.
I know that some of the older, slower military planes (observation types) had relief tubes that dump liquid waste overboard. Think of the possibilities.
Is the hand washing water and the coffee making water really from the same tank? I’ve seen warning signs in airplane bathrooms warning that the water is not drinkable - is this the same water used for coffee? I suppose if they boil it could be okay.
Mahaloth, I first assumed you meant brushing your teeth in the bathroom with tap water. As mentioned in the article and its links that is probably not safe.
If though you’re taking water they provided for drinking into the bathroom with you to brush then yes, that should be safe. Sorry if I misinterpreted your statement.
The fresh water all comes from the same tank, the difference is the water used in the galleys is filtered, in the lavs, it’s not. The risk of drinking water straight from a lav faucet would be if the airline does not properly maintain the water tank. During testing in the factory we add a product called Purogene to the water, it prohibits the growth of various nasties and can be used to sanitized water. Most airlines use it in their potable water. Other that a funky taste, it will not hurt anyone.
