Additional freshwater tank/composting toilet

[xrvr]

Wow, did I hurt your feelings? My opinion is allowed even if it differs from yours. And I stand by my statement that the vast majority of rv owners would think this was a joke. You can put whatever you want in your AS, and I can disagree with your choice.

[xrvr]

Oh, I forgot, you also proved my point. Thanks, my last comments on this thread, you all can be happy now.

[B_Boult]

This is not a Joke!
The whole composting toilet conundrum/topic constantly surfaces. It is just another way of disposing of waste that most people are not comfortable with because they are not educated about the process and aware of the need.
When you do your business in a conventional toilet and flush, you are flushing the responsibility of your "business". It creates a senses of ease and you never have to think about where everything goes. Well everything goes to a massive tank that someone else has to deal with.
It is easy to flush and walk away. But in a RV you are confronted with all that flushing and someone has to be the mover-on of the crap to a "giant tank" that they have to eventually suck out and dispose of in some other facility that can cope with all the RV waste from all the RV sites scattered around the country.
In comes the composting toilet. With a small amount of retraining you could have a composting toilet that doesn't smell and you can carry around for 3 months without having to go through the process of dumping. Having said that there is the "retraining". How do you crap and what happens.
First you will have to dispose of urine on a regular basis unless you decide to pee outside or in a washroom stop. In other words it can be of a benefit to cut down on peeing in the container that separates the solids from liquids. You can just do regular peeing but it fills up the pee container fast and this is the only bad part of composting toilets but it is not as bad as disposing of the mixed urine and crap you have collected on a long trip. Urine containers are easily carried and disposed of.
I don't want to discourage anyone from buying a composting toilet because, when compared to a regular toilet it is better. You just have to retrain yourself from a lazy unconscious way of flushing/disposing of your crap and passing it on to someone else to deal with to a simple way of letting nature deal with your waste. After three months of use just dump in a non veg growing compost pile spray out container and reinstall.
Just keep in mind that there are a whole new set of rules and measures you need to learn. But they can be fulfilling to take on.
Building up three months of waste can be hard to turn with the hand crank supplied on the side of the toilet. If you have kids turning the crank could be difficult. So you have to start small and efficient with your starter fibre (usually coconut fibre). It is easy to turn but as trip progresses it becomes more difficult for some.
I need to mention there are many different composting toilet ideas out there and I am concentrating my concerns on a "Natures Head and Air Head " style toilet. I have an Airhead. It is great and I embrace the challenge to my conventional ideas of disposing of waste. When I am at home I just flush and it is someone else problem (ya bad). But my 1955 airstream is like a fantastic challenge to integrate old and new, vintage looking with newer tech and ideas. In the process of restoring it I took on every wasteful process. I wanted off the grid, clean minimalism. This concept is not for everyone but I do think a composting toilet is. Do it and you never have to carry around the weight of a sloshing black tank and never have to empty it. The deal is you just have to learn a few new conscious toilet ways and then you are free. And hey if you like to dictate new rules of efficiency and eco friendly ways then you get to be King, Queen, Grand Pubba, Chief or Boss of this way of crapin. Kids too, they can learn new ways of helping with environment and understanding exactly where all their waste goes and how it can be a benefit to be aware of it.

Just keep in mind a few new rules:
- Turning the crank can get difficult as trip progresses.
- the process of a number 2 means flipping a leaver to open to solids area.
- lid must be down when done to keep airflow moving across composting waste and out of RV.
- Spray bottle to spray down bowl after use and a spray bacterial liquid to spray inside once in awhile. (this takes no more effort than cleaning a conventional toilet)
- Understanding you are consciously taking an interest in where your wastes goes and how it impacts environment.

If you use fresh water to flush your toilet in an RV then you are going to go through way more drinkable water or water you could be washing with. A composting toilet uses no water. The whole idea of replacing a black water tank with more fresh water creates a few questions. If a composing toilet used no water is there a need for more if you are using less. Why would you want carry around more water weight if you are not flushing your fresh water and it is going to more useful things.

Eliminate water weight, mess, smell and be more efficient. get a composting toilet. I have one and it works just fine.

[labtopia]

Originally Posted by avionstream

Oh, I forgot, you also proved my point. Thanks, my last comments on this thread, you all can be happy now.

+1 Hope you can find some threads that you have qualified experience to give valuable feedback on to help people that ask. It might make you feel happy to have helped someone with your experience Airstreaming.

cheers,

dave

[labtopia]

Originally Posted by B_Boult

Just keep in mind a few new rules:
- Turning the crank can get difficult as trip progresses.

I found that i was using too much TP than needed and i think that made it difficult because i think it felt to start bunching up around the beater. also there seems to be a tipping point during breakdown. about 1.5 mos in, it got hard to crank, but then loosened up for the next 1.5mo before i emptied it after total of 3mos. i think the composting process started really getting to the TP and things loosened up.

Originally Posted by B_Boult

- Spray bottle to spray down bowl after use and a spray bacterial liquid to spray inside once in awhile. (this takes no more effort than cleaning a conventional toilet)

What bacterial liquid? and where are you spraying it, in the bowl? I've been just using diluted vinegar.

Originally Posted by B_Boult

- Understanding you are consciously taking an interest in where your wastes goes and how it impacts environment.

Eliminate water weight, mess, smell and be more efficient. get a composting toilet. I have one and it works just fine.

Perfect write up, should sticky it. My '58 has no tanks and i urban boondock fulltime so this toilet is the only option and i cant be happier with it. very little maintenance, comfortable, functional, responsible.

thanks for the write up, should help wrap this thread up!

dave

[labtopia]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

How fast does it compost? Do you have to "stir the pot"?

Yep, every time you #2, there's a crank on the side that turns a beater, just give it 3 or 4 turns. I went about 3.5 mos before i emptied the base, i could have gone longer because it had all reduced so much and wasnt to the emptying level yet. When i took it out the first time to empty i winced until i took a wiff and looked, it was fully composted and smelled of dirt. The roses never had it so good

dave

[J. Morgan]

Say you use the toilet daily to the 89th day, and on day 90 you dump it, is the "fresh stuff" composted or kinda not composted?

Maybe a "rest period" between use and putting the compost to work is in order, or maybe a few turds among the roses is not a big deal?

Brevi tempore!

[BoldAdventure]

These super long durations of dumping are the most appealing aspect to me, right behind the environmental aspect. Might go on the upgrades wish list.

[xrvr]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Say you use the toilet daily to the 89th day, and on day 90 you dump it, is the "fresh stuff" composted or kinda not composted?

Maybe a "rest period" between use and putting the compost to work is in order, or maybe a few turds among the roses is not a big deal?

Brevi tempore!

That's the reason one needs two pit toilets. One to use while the other is composting.

[J. Morgan]

Not to worry, this will make everything ok.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...&v=YbYWhdLO43Q


Brevi tempore!

[mandolindave]

Originally Posted by avionstream

That's the reason one needs two pit toilets. One to use while the other is composting.

You could use a porta potti in between " cycles ". Might make a good back up as well.

I have conventional toilet/blacktank….but often bring the porta potti as back up on long trips

[J. Morgan]

Or a five gallon bucket with a trash bag?


Brevi tempore!

[labtopia]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Or a five gallon bucket with a trash bag?

I've heard of this as a 'go to' for some and 'backup' for others. when you gotta go you gotta go.

dave

[labtopia]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

Say you use the toilet daily to the 89th day, and on day 90 you dump it, is the "fresh stuff" composted or kinda not composted?

I actually have the same question. I am guessing with my camping & outback experience it should not pose no more problem than a dog or deer pooping in a spot once. The rest is composted. The directions indicate that you can empty if full before it's composted & let it more fully compost if you like (assuming you have a spot for this).

I'll call them tomorrow (i think it's larry) & report back tomorrow on this J Morgan.

dave

[labtopia]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

These super long durations of dumping are the most appealing aspect to me, right behind the environmental aspect. Might go on the upgrades wish list.

Definitely consider it. I'm the only one using mine so that may be the reason i can go so long before emptying #2 base at 3+mos. after the first 'batch' you should be able to accelerate and keep the process going since you dont rinse, you keep the same established bacteria doing it's thing from the sidewalls and beaters.

it definitely reduces and reduces.

the #1 jug is big, i'm emptying it 3-5 days at a time and dont find it a chore. I did however once not pay attention to the level and overfilled it and made a mess...lesson learned.

cheers
dave

[calais66]

The live-aboards we know who use them typically have a secondary storage container that they empty it into to allow the composting to complete. You can get them from the supplier or just seal it in a garbage bag if you're doing it on the cheap. I'm sure this'll be a hit with those already squeamish with these toilets!

We don't live-aboard, so we've never had to go this route, which I'm happy about--if I wanted to deal with raw poo I'd just get a black tank!

[labtopia]

Originally Posted by calais66

You can get them from the supplier or just seal it in a garbage bag if you're doing it on the cheap. I'm sure this'll be a hit with those already squeamish with these toilets!

yep, that's what i figured, i was a little a little squeamish at first when doing my first 'dump' but no poop, just compost-imagine that.
I'll post what i hear from the manny tomorrow about 'recent' poop and emptying it.

dave

[Tincampers]

I pulled the trigger and ordered one. Found a coupon code for $25 off. Larry is pretty good to deal with. Even though I ordered on Sunday, he sent me a UPS tracking number pretty quickly. I figure it will be here on Wednesday.

[xrvr]

Bold adventure, it will be interesting to see your report if you buy one. You seem to be the type of owner that will use one to its capability. You look at things logically and objectively and will give it a good test. Others seem more interested in the environmental part rather than the realistic utilitarian daily use of the toilet. Will be looking for your comments. Good camping, be safe.

[labtopia]

Originally Posted by mrprez

I pulled the trigger and ordered one. Found a coupon code for $25 off. Larry is pretty good to deal with. Even though I ordered on Sunday, he sent me a UPS tracking number pretty quickly. I figure it will be here on Wednesday.

Cool! If you would like any install tips about how i put mine in let me know. Also after using mine for 5 mos. I'm concidering a second liquid container, I've found myself a couple times in the middle of the night with a full container and gotta go. Just keep a heads up on that-you might want a backup jug.

MY NATURES HEAD INSTALL

Dave