Level Up Your Boondocking - Composting Toilet Install

[KJRitchie]

I just wanted to post that video because it is the opposite of the squeaky clean Gone with the Wynns composting toilet video. For informational purposes only to hopefully help someone decide if a composting toilet is right for them.

Kelvin

[J. Morgan]

I am sure the maker of the video also raises some plump, juicy, and delicious tomatoes grown in fertile recycled slurry.

Yum!


Talis gentium ceciderunt.

[Greenfire]

In contrast to the Gone with the Wynne's videos yes, it shows some of the downsides to the Nature's Head, in that, if you DON'T clean it... or empty the container, then it's a huge fail. If that's a concern at all, then it's not the right toilet for you. (I'm not a fan of anything but its smaller size myself, why you need to crank and stir your poop is just beyond me when other, better solutions exist)

To contrast the Nature's Head with another option, this is a little more expensive, a little larger, but you never, EVER, have to worry about spilling your pee or emptying it, because it separates the urine directly into your greywater tank rather than into a jar that you have to watch religiously and keep an eye on. What else, is that you don't need a "cover" material on the poop (unless you want one) because the fan runs constantly and dries it out (though you will want to use toilet paper in it to aid in that, and it might not be a bad idea to save some cover material for any time someone may be ill, I would on a just in case, and then empty it right away)

The people I know with this one, say that it only needs to be emptied around every 6-8 weeks with two people, which fits with their 3-4 weeks for a family of 4. (it even comes with a potty seat if you have little ones, that's a handy feature) and it's used a hell of a lot more like a normal toilet. Men can even pee standing up, so long as they aim!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duoT34h5dzI

Here's a link to the people who made the video, where they have a little more of a blurb on this toilet: http://tinyhousebuild.com/composting-toilet-options/

[BoldAdventure]

Not the right toilet for you if you are a lazy slob. Got it.


The above toilet looks pretty cool, but more suited for a tiny house. Downside of an Airstream, have to find something that fits in that bathroom. That leaves Natures Head and the AirHead as the two go-to options.

[andreasduess]

If you want to, you can divert a Nature's Head into the grey tank. Not an issue.

The toilet shown in the video is an excellent choice is space and weight are of no concern, i.e. in a tiny house.

[Greenfire]

They do make a weekender model that takes up a lot less room, but you lose a few bells and whistles. I think it's a better choice in a tight space, hard to find specs on these though.

[MaggieMarty]

I have been a big fan of composting toilets for a long time and will definitively put one into my trailer.
Besides Nature's Head and Airhead there is also C-Head, which might be more aesthetically pleasing to some, since they offer them in teak and mahogany besides plain white. http://www.c-head.com

[andreasduess]

I looked at the C-Heads, but decided against them. Their capacity is about a third of that reported by Nature's Head and Airhead users. Too small to be usable for a family of five.

[Wayne&Sam]

The woman in that video never hooked up the fan either. Maybe that contributed to the odors and moister compost.

Yes, I'm sure there's a short learning curve for new users so a party might be frightening. Think about public restrooms with standard toilets and now ask them to flip levers and pee in the right place.

[KJRitchie]

Looked at the Separett Villa composting toilet video. This toilet doesn't have the wheel mechanism to mix the feces and paper with the peat moss/coconut fiber. When the reviewer opened the toilet it didn't look like much had composted. Wouldn't the feces just sit on the top of the composting agent and not compost? I can't see how you can safely dispose of the composing bag with this design of toilet.

Kelvin

[MaggieMarty]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

I looked at the C-Heads, but decided against them. Their capacity is about a third of that reported by Nature's Head and Airhead users. Too small to be usable for a family of five.

Yes, I can see that the C-Head might be too small for some, but probably just right for a single person or a couple. I have to say that visually they are much more pleasing to me, I like the teak or mahogany look...

[Greenfire]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

Looked at the Separett Villa composting toilet video. This toilet doesn't have the wheel mechanism to mix the feces and paper with the peat moss/coconut fiber. When the reviewer opened the toilet it didn't look like much had composted. Wouldn't the feces just sit on the top of the composting agent and not compost? I can't see how you can safely dispose of the composing bag with this design of toilet.

Kelvin

The composting takes place outside of the toilet, and it uses no peat moss/coconut fiber, it dries the feces and you can either put it in a compost pile, or leave it in the bin as is for 6 months to compost it. Really very little composting happens inside the other toilets either... if you read the humanure handbook to read how long it takes for things (poop) to compost outside of a compost pile (like in a toilet) you'll realise that it's pretty well not composting at all in the other toilets either. After reading it, I can't see any reason at all to have a stick inside the toilet to stir it anyway, and it's one feature of the other toilets I'm not at all a fan of. (I do like their smaller size though)

As to disposing of it safely, you can either put the bag directly into a compost pile, or remove the entire assembly and put the lid on it, and leave it for 6 months. If you have room for the second, it's probably more sanitary than worrying if you rip a bag on the way to the compost... but at the very least you can still carry the entire bin to the compost and then dump the bag in... compared to some of the emptying videos I've seen of the airhead and nature's head... no bits of cover material flying around as you shake and bang it to empty it seems like it's actually a little less messy. And no clog to ever have to unclog (ever read people who have little ones using too much toilet paper and clogging up the other style? Or dropping in a toy?) Personally, I think without the inner guts to worry about, it's going to be a lot easier to keep clean, and to empty, especially because it has its own bucket to carry the bag in.

What I really wish though, is for them to have made the weekender version with the fan up higher like on the normal one, I really don't know how the fan at the bottom is supposed to be a good idea?? They say it holds the same amount as the regular one, same capacity, but it's only for occassional use, and to me, that's gotta be because it doesn't have the fan in the right spot! Someone still needs to come up with a better version of all of these.

[MaggieMarty]

Originally Posted by MaggieMarty

I have been a big fan of composting toilets for a long time and will definitively put one into my trailer.
Besides Nature's Head and Airhead there is also C-Head, which might be more aesthetically pleasing to some, since they offer them in teak and mahogany besides plain white. http://www.c-head.com

Another feature that interests me a lot on the C-head is their "external urine diverter" or EUD. It is an accessory that comes installed in place of the one gallon urine collection jug. The EUD system is a gravity feed system desinged to divert the urine to a portable jug, fixed tank or drain field outside the toilet housing. The EUD accessory can be incorporated in any of the C-Head models.

So no pee bottles to empty if plumbed into the existing gray tank. I like that idea!

[Greenfire]

Simploo makes a really nice looking toilet, this is the large one, but the smaller version should fit into most tight spaces, it's a much better design I think with the higher fan, and not as many places to catch water if you have a wet bath (like mine). I wish this was available on this side of the pond though, so far it's the nicest I've seen, and also has a urine separator (though I do like the one for the big separett better). How many of us spend so much time looking at toilets?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxo8byEJTdA

[labtopia]

It's been a bit since stepping back into this thread for a couple reasons-

I havnt bothered to look at evidently negative videos on the NH, I dont have time for that, but my experience with it closing in on 1yr is still positive despite any contrary posts to this toilet. I fulltime as one person in the trailer with it. it's vented properly and installed in my tight 22ft '58 shower area. i've jacked it up on 4x4 and plywood making it a very 'adult' height and very comfortable.

I fulltime mostly near my office so it gets maybe 'half or 3/4 time use'. i installed it June 2015 and since have emptied it 2 times, once in october and once again at the beginning of feb (to a friends flower bed). so it seems i'm getting a good long time before the dumps which are not gross or resemble feces, it's compost and earthy. the 2 dumps i've done have taken maybe 10 min each and clean no mess. i have 2 liquid jugs and swap and empty every couple days, not a chore for sure.

not sure the entire process of a sewage black tank( the time it takes to maintain and empty and how hard it is to find facilitys for this in the city limits), but NH gives me a clean odorless and way low maintenance solution.

I entirely endorse the NH and Larry there. I guess i'm not as Sh$*Ty person some might think

CHEERS!

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

The woman in that video never hooked up the fan either. Maybe that contributed to the odors and moister compost.

......

I noticed that also, and my alarm bells went off. We spend most of our time in the eastern half of Texas, much of that near the coast. Fan or no fan, our humidity is so high that no material is ever going to begin to dry out here. Which means that, if I had this loo, I might be looking at trying to dump something the consistency of a stiff pancake batter (which is not going to "dump" at all... maybe it gets scraped out? Ugh). It's not going to be a nice coarse, loose granular derivative like what might form by stirring the same material in the aridity of the Arizona desert. Definitely something to think about.

[xrvr]

Seems like those on here with common sense and can follow instructions have few problems, those that do not, well, deserve the problems they create with their ineptness.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Greenfire

The composting takes place outside of the toilet, and it uses no peat moss/coconut fiber, it dries the feces and you can either put it in a compost pile, or leave it in the bin as is for 6 months to compost it. Really very little composting happens inside the other toilets either...
. . .

Ah so . . . Grasshopper!

Thank you for the clarity. It always seemed like earlier comments about removing the solid material right after the last deposit were missing the point.

Thanks.

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Ah so . . . Grasshopper!

Thank you for the clarity. It always seemed like earlier comments about removing the solid material right after the last deposit were missing the point.

Thanks.

Further clarity for you. He was referring to the Separett toilet, not the NH.

[BoldAdventure]

Looks like starter dirt you might get from the store.