Crematorium Technician here

[CodLiverOil556]

I see lots of threads about cremations and Crematoria. I'm currently a crem tech so please ask me questions and I will endeavor to answer them.

[lastnightidreamtofpotatoes]

Also aren't you ever afraid that someone might be still alive in the coffin I need to stop watching US grave shows?

[CodLiverOil556]

@lastnightidreamtofpotatoes yep that's when we know a cremation is finished when everything glowing red. We have to be careful of any surgical metal at this point as when raking can get stuck in the ashing chute and is literally red hot.

[GerdaLovesLili]

What do you think of the "Death Maidens" movement who are trying to make Death a natural part of life again? They believe that most funeral directors and the associated modern funeral practices make it harder for people to grieve effectively and that people should be less afraid of talking about death. twitter.com/deadmaidens

[cjt110]

Sorry if it's been asked.... the ashes you receive - is that the whole of your loved one? As in all of them, not just part. And is the "oven" cleaned between use so you don't get any of someone else mixed in with your love one's ashes?

[lastnightidreamtofpotatoes]

Oh so the whole skeleton is still intact and glowing bright red?

[CodLiverOil556]

@Bugjune implants tend to be saline nowadays so they don't need to be removed. Silicon ones used to be I believe and that would be the funeral directors job.

[CodLiverOil556]

@lastnightidreamtofpotatoes 3 different doctors have checked that the person is dead so if there was ever any knocking I would run away I think

[CodLiverOil556]

You can see the form of the skeleton but it's certainly not intact.

[TakemedowntoPotatoCity]

This thread is definitely fascinating, not least because it'll be the last thing to happen to many of us. I kind of wish I could be alive to experience it iyswim

[CodLiverOil556]

@cjt110 yep, 100% of the ashes are your loved one and the cremator is swept before the next coffin is charged.

[CodLiverOil556]

The way I see it is I'm the last person to touch your loved one and for that I feel very honored. I always say see you on the other side wherever that may be.

[PandaG]

I had read you could hire a coffin, and then just be cremated in a shroud. That seems a more environmentally friendly method to me, as I wouldn't want to waste all that wood, and I truly don't want a lot of money spent on my funeral, unless it is to help my loved ones grieve. I suppose my question is, have you known coffins to be hired?

[cjt110]

Kermit My cousin lost his best friend and when they had received his ashes, they were putting them into a rocket/firework to send up as a memorial to him. He said he found his friends tongue bar in the ashes. Based on what you read, this cannot be true that such metal would have survived?

[SomeDyke]

"I've heard a pacemaker go off and it was a very large explosion but fortunately didn't damage the cremator......"
So the opening scene from The Crow Road (Iain Banks), where his grandmother exploded was (sort of) true!

"I always say Cheerio and wish them well when charging a cremator."
That's just so nice!

Do you have any thoughts about the alkaline hydrolysis 'water cremation'? Seems to take longer, and not used here because effluent not approved for going into sewers (yet). Personally, I'd rather go up the chimney than down the drain..........

[ciderhouserules]

Does a fat body melt? I imagine the fat to render down...

I think looking through that spyhole would be like looking into hell. I'm in awe of you doing that all day.

[CodLiverOil556]

@PandaG I've never known a coffin to be hired

[ciderhouserules]

How do you 'sweep' the cremator clear if it doesn't ever cool down?

[CodLiverOil556]

@cjt110 it may have slipped through the net but we run a magnet through the remains but tongue bars are surgical steel aren't they? Depends on how big it was tbh

[Pinkroses18]

Not only a fascinating thread but just so touching by the respect you and your colleagues show the deceased. I’m sure a lot of people grieving will be greatly helped by your thread. Thank you. Btw I also believe in life after death as well.

[QuimReaper]

I was under the impression that pacemakers were REALLY dangerous in crematoriums, and that crematoriums required a signature from a doctor certifying that there isn't one before they'll accept a body?

[CodLiverOil556]

@ciderhouserules it metals along with any other fluids and evaporates away. We cremate at 1000 degrees c

[TimeIhadaNameChange]

What are you allowed to put in a coffin with the body? I really want to put the ashes of my dead pets in with me, but someone told me this wouldn't be allowed. What's the truth of the matter?

[cjt110]

I have hydrocephalus and used to have a shunt. I still have a resevoir in my skull. On the lines about pacemakers, are all "foreign bodies" removed, or just certain ones?

[CodLiverOil556]

@ciderhouserules we have a metal rake that sweeps the cremator not a sweeping brush

[brizzledrizzle]

@crumbelina you should have seen the thread when a tax credits official volunteered :-)