Operation
1. Light the incinerator with paper and wood or dry non-toxic waste at the bottom of the primary chamber. The loading door may be kept open for this operation. Add more wood or waste with a small quantity of diesel oil/kerosene (if available) till the flame is burning well. Add more dry waste and close the loading door. Light smoke should be observed coming out of the chimney top. Add more fuel at regular intervals till the flame can be seen burning fiercely through the primary air holes. After about half an hour (longer if the incinerator is very cold or wet) the chamber should be hot enough to start loading.
2. Make sure that the chamber is at least 2/3 full of dry matter before adding waste. Before infectious waste is added, flames should be observed through the rear air hole in the secondary chamber. To hurry this process, more diesel/kerosene can be added in the liquid fuel version.
3. Thereafter keep feeding waste in at regular intervals, of between 5 and 10 minutes, keeping the primary chamber as full as possible.
4. If the flame appears to be burning less fiercely, poke out any blockage in the transfer flue between the two chambers. This can be done using a length of steel pushed in through the air holes at the front.
5. Very wet loads should be separated with drier material, and in extreme case supplemented by an extra increment of diesel/kerosene.
6. If the incinerator is being loaded with entirely plastic materials, such as syringes in sharps boxes, it is advisable to let one box burn almost completely before adding the next. The time can be gauged by noting when the smoke level decreases.
7. When the loading door is opened combustible gases may come into contact with air and burn suddenly and fiercely. This is harmless providing the operator is wearing a face mask / eye protection and is not peering directly into the chamber.
When the loading door is closed suddenly more burning gases may come through the air holes. Thus the operator should load from the side.
The "De Montfort" incinerators
These incinerators are of a high thermal capacity design, and thus need to be heated up before infectious wastes are added. It follows that they should be operated for long periods (minimum 2 hours) to avoid using unnecessary amounts of fuel.
Safety issues
To minimize the risk of injuries, the use of heavy duty gloves as well as an apron are indispensable.