Maxmatic FAQs

YES
As waste is safely flushed through your existing drainage system to a treatment works, there is a reduced reliance on refuse collection and associated fuel consumption. The addition of food waste to sewage aids the production of a valuable resource, currently the majority of this is recycled for forestry and other agricultural uses.

Although conventional waste disposers have been available in the UK for at least 40 years it is only recent environmental concerns that have started to encourage more general adoption. Concerns that adding food waste could overload waste water treatment plants have proven to be unfounded in the many studies that have been conducted throughout the world.

In New York City, for example, waste disposers were banned for many years as it was thought their antiquated sewerage system would not cope with additional burden. However an extensive study was undertaken in the 80’s to determine the net environmental effect of waste disposers resulting in a lifting of the ban and a $300 grant to encourage their use.

Documentary evidence in favour of waste disposers is now considerable. The CIWEM (Chartered Institution Of Water And Environmental Management), an independent professional body representing over 12,000 environmental managers….concluded in their evaluation that food waste disposers may have a useful place in the management of food waste – “they might well be a more convenient and environmentally superior alternative to separate storage and collection”. In Italy a general ban on Waste Disposers was lifted recently in recognition of their waste management potential in large-scale landfill reduction strategies.

Landfill increases Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) which by starving oxygen can devastate local waterways and ecologies. Anaerobic Biological waste decomposition in landfill can produce Methane -a greenhouse gas that can also 20 times more damaging to the ozone layer than CFC’s – and acid leachate that can contaminate the soil and groundwater (this is more damaging than raw domestic sewage).

Our government along with many others is committed to reduce landfill as set out in the EU Landfill Directive [1999/31/EC] adopted on 16 July 1999. The Directive aims to improve standards of land filling across Europe, through setting specific requirements for the design, operation and aftercare of landfills, and for the types of waste that can be accepted in landfills. The Directive is to be implemented over a period of years, impacting directly upon the industry this year.

Targets for Reducing Biodegradable Waste
The Directive sets out successive targets for reducing biodegradable municipal waste (BMW). BMW must be reduced to 75% of the 1995 baseline by 2010, 50% by 2013 and 35% by 2020.

Incinerators are planned to help meet the government’s commitment to reduce landfill. Construction on green field sites will increase heavy traffic in local communities and it is unclear how the emissions will affect our health and the environment. Incineration leaves a residue of 25%-30% of the original mass, which may contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals, and which still has to be disposed of by landfill.

Composting at home cannot be attempted by everyone, proper management is required to avoid health hazards and similar problems associated with landfill. As it can only be used for true green material it leaves behind any ‘animal based’ or other food waste such as pasta and rice to be disposed of by one of the other methods.

Pig Swill and other methods of returning untreated waste to the food cycle have had devastating consequences in recent years. The outbreaks of Foot and Mouth, BSE and Swine Fever have been linked to untreated food waste being fed to animals.

With MAXMATIC you can make a further positive contribution to your environment.

Many disposers use a pair of rotating swivel hammers to drive the food waste against a ring and shred the food waste, these are noisy and can get stuck, throwing the machine out of balance. They take longer to process harder materials and the waste produced can be in the form of strands that could block pipes.

Maxmatic’s have fixed fin rotors. This quieter system grinds the waste into smaller pieces and will process harder materials in a reduced time.

Batch feed – Waste is first fed into the large 1.7 Litre hopper and after turning on your tap, the unit is activated with our unique Magnitop plug. This makes the unit very quiet in comparison with other units and there are no electrical switches to operate when you have wet hands.

Continuous feed units are started from a wall switch or our optional remote air switch and the waste is fed with water. This method allows more waste to be processed in one go.

 A Maxmatic will safely dispose of vegetable peelings, fruit skins, fruit stones, nutshells, corncobs, crusts, meat leftovers, fish bones, chicken bones and even small cooked chop bones

A Maxmatic will normally handle the carcass and remains of a cooked 3lb chicken within 30 seconds

A Maxmatic is not recommended for uncooked or large joint bones, stringy items like leek leaves or asparagus haulms, these are best disposed of with other household waste. 

Our fixed fin rotor systems with no swivelling hammers means that noise generation is kept to a minimum.

Installations vary and will effect the overall noise when grinding, mounting a unit in a cast sink will be quieter than a pressed stainless steel one.

Into any sink with an 90mm (3½”) diameter outlet. If your sink is more than 20mm thick, we will need to supply you with a longer outlet 

There are three different ways:

Electrical switch: Usually wall mounted.
Air Switch: Push to start and push to stop, safer with wet hands and can be mounted close to the sink. Standard on our Mayfair and an option on other models.
Sink operated: With our Maxmatic 5000,4000 and 3000, you simply twist the plug or tube in the sink and the unit starts, There’s no need to install another switch in the wall or worktop.

1) Fitting to sink
Most sinks have a 3.5 Inch outlet to accommodate a waste disposer, if not please contact us as we have adapters to suit other diameters. The standard sink mounting supplied with the unit will fit the majority of sinks with a thickness of up to 20mm or more. If your sink is a “Belfast” or similar, check the thickness at the outlet, we can supply extended mountings.

2) Waste Pipe
It is most important that a few basic rules are followed to ensure correct operation. A bad installation will result in pipe blockages, smells and a greatly reduced life expectancy of the unit and may invalidate your warrant

a) A ‘P’ or ‘S’ type trap should be used. Bottle traps must not be used

b) Stop ends and tee connections should be avoided

c) The diameter of the pipe work must not be reduced from the disposal unit to the drain. If the run to the drain is long or meandering, it is advisable to            increase the diameter to 54mm (2″)

d) A fall of 15 Degrees is ideal

e) It is most important that the unit drains fully

f) The waste outlet must not discharge over a grate

g) The connection of a dishwasher or washing machine outlet to the same waste will help to flush the pipe work, our units are supplied with a connection

 3) Electrical supply
Our standard domestic units run on standard household 240 Volt 50 Hz supply (other voltages and frequencies are available on request). We recommend that the supply to the unit is RCD protected and a suitably qualified person makes the connection. In most kitchens, a supply will be available to a dishwasher or washing machine close to the kitchen sink.

4) Water supply
Water is supplied to the unit from the sink tap, so no changes are necessary.

Even though a Maxmatic is fitted with a very powerful electric motor, it uses very little electricity as it only runs fro a very short time. For example if one of our larger units was used for say 10 minutes a day, it would use around 20 KwHrs of power in a year around £3 at today’s prices. An independent test with a typical family of four produced an actual cost closer to 50p in a year.

We always recommend a good flow of water when disposing of waste and for a few seconds after all the waste has passed through the Maxmatic. However as it is so fast, very little water is used and this can often be combined with other tasks like washing your hands.

Maxmatic’s work with septic tanks too – you don’t need to be on mains drainage to use a Maxmatic’s. There are thousands of successful users who have septic tanks.

The majority of calls we get are easily fixed by following these steps:

1) Turn off the power to the unit, preferably by unplugging it or turning it off at the mains.
2) Make a visual inspection of the unit, if there is any water on the sides or underneath, please go to 7)
3) With the de-jam key supplied with the unit, check that the rotor is free to turn in both directions. If it does not check with a torch to see if there is something stuck between the cutter ring and rotor. If so remove it with long nosed pliers or grips, do not try to put your hand into the unit.
4) All our units are fitted with overload protection, this is a switch to disconnect the power if it jams or runs for too long in one go. The switch is on the base of the unit marked RESET, and should be pressed FIRMLY, if it has operated a “click” will be heard as the switch resets.
5) Reconnect the power.
6) Retry the unit.
7) Please email us at web@max-appliances.co.uk with your unit serial number.

Service and Repair

Please use the Contact Us page to send us your details, including the serial number of your unit and a brief description of the problem, we will come straight back to you. Please note that we may forward you details on to the local service agents for your convenience.

All our models are tested by an independent UK test house and comply to the latest European standards EN 60335 parts 1 and 16.

Treat your Maxmatic like you would a kettle or toaster, not for children to use, but perfectly safe if you are sensible. Remember our 5000 in batch feed has the added peace of mind of the Magnitop plug.

All new Maxmatics are guaranteed under normal household.  The guarantee does not apply to any detachable items and all splashguards. Maxmatic waste disposers are designed for household food-waste only.

Please note that free product registration within 14 days of purchase is required for in-home labour and to extend the product warranty beyond the statutory period of 12 months. Details come with the operating and instruction manual.

These additional notes are in addition to the booklet supplied with your unit.

1) This appliance is not intended for use by persons (including children) with reduced physical sensory or mental capabilities, or lack of experience and knowledge, unless they have been given supervision or instruction concerning use of the appliance by a person responsible for their safety.
Children should be supervised to ensure that they do not play with the appliance.
30th July 2007.