Level Up Your Boondocking - Composting Toilet Install

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

The unspoken answer to this argument is that the waste can be dumped anywhere "legally or illegally" so long as the disposer does not get caught.

If you are regularly going to toss your human compost you might want to check state and local regulations to see if it is legal where you are or not.

If compost is going to be used for fertilizer I would feel a lot easier using animal compost than human. Humans are a lot nastier than cows, pigs and the usual barnyard critters. Bugs like ecoli (which is ubiquitous) and listeria come to mine. If you are comfortable with using human compost in your tomato patch that's your deal.

In that regard I would rather see human compost go seruptitiously into a dumpster than into the food chain.

End of my 2 cents.

[J. Morgan]

I would not consume any product that I knew was grown in human waste. It grosses me out, but for good reason.

The fact is, the "bugs" and strains that are suited for, and affect humans most, are going to tend to be in human waste more than in animal waste.

Did typhoid Marry (quite contrary) grow her garden in human compost? Who knows?

I am with you, I would prefer to see it in the dumpster too.

Brevi tempore!

[field & stream]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

The unspoken answer to this argument is that the waste can be dumped anywhere "legally or illegally" so long as the disposer does not get caught.

Frankly, I am not a composting toilet fan, but imho, disposal is not a really a valid argument against their use.

Garbage is garbage, apart from toxic chemicals, (which poo does not have), there is really no valid moral argument against throwing a bag of composted or even partially composted poop in a dumpster. (Never to be thought of again... )


Brevi tempore!

No argument? How about concern about transmission of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, dysentery, norovirus, e-coli and more.

I'm not saying this isn't manageable, but it is not an issue to be casually dismissed.

[AnnArborBob]

Hi Mike,

I'm following this thread with great interest. Please do us a favor and post an update in a month or two after you've had a chance to experience all aspects of this device, including a couple of dump episodes, how clean does the bowl stay (really) and also some comments on the real world savings in fresh water, and your real world experience with combining the grey/black tanks.

Thanks!
Bob

[KJRitchie]

What is that hose coming out the side of the toilet. There seems to be an electric cord attached to it.

Kelvin

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by field & stream

No argument? How about concern about transmission of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, dysentery, norovirus, e-coli and more.

I'm not saying this isn't manageable, but it is not an issue to be casually dismissed.

The fact is, a lot of poop goes into landfills from baby diapers to adult diapers... Not to mention dog poop and the contents of millions of cat boxes.

We have a fairly effective solid waste disposal system of "can to landfill" with minimum of human contact.

As a practical matter, a relatively few people using composting toilets isn't going to raise a huge stink.....

That said, so long as I have access to a good water supply and a sanitary sewer or septic system, I wont be composting my poop inside of a habitable structure or trailer.


Brevi tempore!

[AnnArborBob]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

What is that hose coming out the side of the toilet. There seems to be an electric cord attached to it.

Kelvin

There is a 12 volt fan that continuously and slowly exhausts air from the compost receptacle. In this case, Mike has connected the exhaust hose to his black tank vent stack and the wire is undoubtedly powering the fan.

[BoldAdventure]

Originally Posted by avionstream

But dumping grayvwater might still be illegal even if using a hose dispersal method. Get rid of it at a dump statuion or where it us legal. Combining both tanks seems like a good solution. In my case that would over sixty gallons of gray. You could also dump the gray into another tank in the truck bed to extend the amount if time, using a macerater pump.

This is the caveat. Some places you can dump gray on the ground, other places no. We check with BLM or field offices when we can. The BLM office out of Yuma gave us a list, they have a classification system of areas that are considered Environmentally Sensitive. The desert does have some of these areas. And then there are other areas where it's not a concern.

We use bio-degradable ph safe soaps anyways.

There is also another way you can get rid of gray. You can take a large black tarp, use 4x4s around the perimeter and fill up your tarp and let it evaporate in the sun.

Or just keep it in your tanks. I'll be combining mine, after I've had them professionally cleaned out. But not before. I don't want surprises coming out of my drip hose.

Originally Posted by AnnArborBob

Hi Mike,

I'm following this thread with great interest. Please do us a favor and post an update in a month or two after you've had a chance to experience all aspects of this device, including a couple of dump episodes, how clean does the bowl stay (really) and also some comments on the real world savings in fresh water, and your real world experience with combining the grey/black tanks.

Thanks!
Bob

That's the plan for sure. I'll probably write a follow-up post in a month or two.


-----

As for the discussion about human waste, germs and disposing of it, you are all forgetting a big key here. This material is not human waste by the time it's disposed of. It's HUMUS. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humus - You can google the compost process yourself. And how things break down. Also see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urine-...ing_dry_toilet

The point of the composting toilet is to let natural bacteria's do their work and break down the material. It's safe within 6-8 hrs and is no longer human waste. That's why you can dispose of it legally.

If you wanted to get really into it, there is even an entire book dedicated to the subject called The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure. And let’s not forget the liquids! Ammonia in pee has tons of great nitrogen (the stuff in fertilizers) and can be used for landscapes, food, fuel, and fiber. Its liquid gold, or at least according to the book, Liquid Gold: The Lore and Logic of Using Urine to Grow Plants.

If you take a dump in a plastic bag and pee into a zip lock bag and throw that in the trash, that's a totally different subject. And some of you are treating it as such. But why then is that a problem but your dog's crap isn't?

But feel free to debate it till the cows come home.

[AnnArborBob]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

It's HUMUS.

All we need is some Pita Bread and we can have a party!

Oh, dang. Where is a second "M" when you need one??

[shineybullet]

Kind of like a cat box ---no thanks

[Cleosdad]

We have the exact one with a solar powered exhaust fan in our RV on the river. We only use it a couple of times each month and for almost a year have not had to do anything to it. Have also never had a smell. This is a great option. We also leave the TP in the toilet where it belongs.

[twolanehwy]

so you need fresh air vent in and exhaust vent out?
12 volt to run fan?

[BoldAdventure]

Just exhaust vent out and 12v. Fresh air is on the other side of the unit, no need to source it from outside or anything.

[Foiled Again]

Birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it,
Let's do it (let's fall in love)

Fertilizer is Fertilizer. Well rotted manure as the Brits would say.

For the squeamish, DO NOT visit your local sanitation plant and ask for a tour. You might just find out that well rotted human manure is sold to "agribiz" customers. I'm kinda betting that almost all chemical fertilizer started out as guano or poo... And if you love Tilapia but wonder why you never heard of it 20 years ago. Find out where THAT is sourced from. (They clean up the water after the trout use it in trout farms for starters. And you thought catfish were nasty bottom dwellers.

Oh and last gross thought. Food is just unprocessed.....

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

And you thought catfish were nasty bottom dwellers.

And certain politicians, depending on your political affiliation.

[Lumatic]

Pete Seeger on compost:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=Pty6zuNLoGw

[D. Novak]

Malorganite is a fertilizer produced by the Milwaukee waste treatment system. Works better than Miracle Gro. I am betting it is composted treated sewage made into pellets. Available at big box garden centers.

[Tincampers]

Anyone who is squeamish about composting toilets should be wearing gloves anytime you handle cash, gas pump handles, grocery cart handles, anything in the public with a button on it, your own cutting board, not to mention that sponge in your kitchen sink...they are all possible sources for fecal matter and/or other contaminants. If you choose not to go with a composting toilet, that is your choice.

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by twolanehwy

so you need fresh air vent in and exhaust vent out?

12 volt to run fan?

The fan is a tiny one usually seen on a computer chip. It uses 2a over a 24 hour period.

[Air83]

Is there a toilet size different? I can see from the photos that it is not up against the wall. Is that so you can remove it to clean? Did it take up more or less space in the room?