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B_Boult · 11-25-2015, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by labtopia

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

I have been using one spray bottle with plain water to do simple cleaning with after each use. Then I have another bottle of liquid that I found that is used for spraying inside the container. This liquid contains good bacteria that helps with composting. It is probably over kill since the whole process is already happening. I am not at my trailer right now and can't remember the name of product.
Will find out for you.

2ndWind · 12-06-2015, 07:52 PM

I have learned a lot from the experience and opinions on this thread. Thanks for all the input. This forum has been a huge help to us!

nickclifford · 12-06-2015, 08:42 PM

from what I've read it makes SO much sense, to point of why don't they often now as a factory option. some people are just hung up on the old "poop" thing .. something we don't like to talk about it ! The more you read though, the more you'll open your mind to the idea. I'll be ripping out my old water flush toilet at some point for sure. Just have other priorities expense wise for now ..

check out this video from some full time rv'ers ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E2xOoNov9s

BoldAdventure · 01-24-2016, 03:22 PM

It does make a lot of sense! So much, that I decided to finally pull the trigger today.

**Rocinante** · 01-24-2016, 03:31 PM

Looking forward to reading about your experience. Will you be combining gray and black tanks via that simple external valve so they both hold gray water? Heres hoping it's a serious boon for all that wild camping you do!

knotdonne · 01-29-2016, 11:17 AM

We pulled the trigger too. We have Airstream Interstate van and am worried about the install. It won't happen until March because it's in storage. I'm worried we'll have to drill a hole in the side of the van for the vent. And I'm worried about finding the 12v wire. We are not handy AT ALL. Open to all advice! Thanks for all the great ideas on this forum--I know that will help.

2ndWind · 01-31-2016, 10:40 AM

So grateful for the ideas/advice/experiences in reply to my question. We put a deposit on a consignment 28' unit that is supposed to arrive at our dealer soon. Hopefully, all goes smoothly and we'll be setting sail shortly. It seems the owner passed away and the family is responsible for making the transaction. If we do get the deal done, we'll certainly raise many a toast to the former owner and all the good times he had in his Airstream, while we carry on the good times and traditions for him. Fingers crossed.

BoldAdventure · 01-31-2016, 12:32 PM

The install really is pretty simple and straight forward. Took maybe an 1 hour and a half.

Gringo · 07-21-2016, 10:40 AM

Bumping up an old thread here because we've been boondocking a month this summer and dealing with the black water tank is a huge hassle. It's a 70 mile round trip for us to get to the nearest dump station, which charges $20.

We spend the winter on our 40 ft. sailboat in the tropics. It's an old boat, and after a hideous experience with the 30 gallon stainless holding tank I ripped all the plumbing and valves and marine toilets out of it ( anyone know where I can sell two Baby Blakes?) and we replaced them with two Nature's Heads. We just spent six months on the boat before coming up to the Rockies so we have a lot of experience with them already. My comments so far:

-ignore the advice from people who don't actually have any experience with composting toilets. They don't know what they are talking about and will never admit, nor possibly even realize it. But their comments are worthless to you. The real adamant nay sayers likely have their own little poopie hangups to deal with.
These things wouldn't even be sold in the US if any part of the process was illegal. period. There are many thousands of them out there working just fine.

-we have had better results with coconut coir than with peat moss. It's a different procedure to use the coconut, but the bricks are easy to store. Most importantly, though, is that sometimes you get gnat eggs with loose peat moss. Not an issue for gardeners, but definitely an issue inside.

-the solar vents work great, although they're a bit expensive. We have six of them on the boat for two years now. First thing you replace will be the rechargable battery, but it's a simple job to replace a C cell and you buy a much better one for the replacement.

Now my question:
How do you "combine" the gray and black water tanks? We also have a 27 FB Int'l.

VTSmitty · 07-22-2016, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gringo

Now my question:
How do you "combine" the gray and black water tanks? We also have a 27 FB Int'l.

How you combine depends on your trailer and tank configuration. In a 23FB the black tank is significantly higher than the gray, so you can't combine at the drain valve. After looking at various options (pumps, reconfiguring, etc.), we opted to modify our sink and vanity drains so that we could direct them to either the gray tank or the black tank as we choose. In the pictures the valves are the same type ones that you have at the drains (dump gate), and we just open and close as desired to direct the gray water to the appropriate tank. By doing this we are able to use the gray tank normally, but have the black tank as a reserve. It increased our gray water capacity from 30 to 48 gallons, and given that the gray water was usually our limiting factor for boondocking that helps a lot. If we ever chose to return to the original toilet from the Nature's Head (doubtful!) we could still flush into the black tank.

Hittenstiehl · 07-22-2016, 06:50 AM

This is very good information bring shared.

We have new tanks underneath with no spin welds yet as they were not sure what the interior layout would be. So no holes in the floor for plumbing yet. If we opted for the Nature's head or other we could save one hole in the floor and seriously increase our gray water capacity.

Thx

gypsydad · 07-22-2016, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2ndWind

Thanks for the input. To me, the appeal of the extra integral tank is not having to lift heavy jugs of water, but certainly the cost would have to be a consideration. Can anyone tell me if the jugs that were suggested impart any off flavors to the water if they are left in the TV in warm climates for a week or two?

I gotta say, I'm not totally keen on the composting toilet. My wife is, completely.

The deal she offered me was she would take care of emptying it as needed, if I agreed to keep us in fresh water and empty the gray tanks. Lol. Seems like a great trade off, provided I can't smell the toilet in the meantime. I need more input to be sold on that!

We also use the Rhino 5 gal containers...they do not have ad smell nor flavor to water...we have filled and travel with 4, but found it much easier to fill at our camp site area, assuming there is access. When boondocking outside Borrego Springs, that means a trip to town every 5 days to fill and we dump black in 10-12 days and will fill again. We run gray where we can at our sites and make sure we have biodegradable soaps. In other campgrounds where there is water, we can usually make a couple trips to the water to fill every few days. We also found 20 gal every couple days works fine and takes no time.. We have been happy with this arrangement.

Adventure.AS · 07-22-2016, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gringo

Now my question:
How do you "combine" the gray and black water tanks? We also have a 27 FB Int'l.

Check out this YouTube video from the Wynn's. They have a composting toilet and combined the grey/black tanks easily.

Gringo · 08-04-2016, 08:29 AM

Thanks for the info. I like being able to change back to a standard RV toilet setup. Resale value.

We've now been boondocking a few months at 7300 ft. this summer. 53 deg.F this morning. We've worked out most of our off-grid requirements now. 200 watts solar, Honda 2000, mobile hot-spot, Wilson amp, iPhone. One of us ( not me) is working 30 hours a week on the internet as a software consultant. We are about 30 miles from the nearest town, six miles from the nearest pavement. We have a 45 gallon flexible water bladder that we fill when we're in town, or sometimes from a nearby (3 miles) neighbor. It takes up very little room when we store it, and fits into a plywood frame I built into the bed of the pickup truck when we transport it. Stable at highway speeds.

For transferring from the vinyl "water bed" truck tank into the 27FB, I bought a 12volt water pump, 3gpm. from camping/RV store, 20 ft. of two conductor wire, two alligator clips, and a toggle switch from ACE hardware, and I crimp-lugged all that to the pump. So I can power it from the battery box, or the pickup truck, using the alligator clips. I cut a white water hose about six ft. from one end and placed the pump in-line there. So the 3 gpm pump will fill the 30 gallon RV tank in ten minutes.

(This setup would empty one of those five gallon tanks in 90 seconds, by the way, without having to ever lift the full tank.)

We just recently bought a "leg tank" from a Farm/Home style store that sits on the ground and holds 35 gallons. So now we can ferry water when convenient, and store more than another trailerful in the rotomolded tank. I bought a particle/carbon water filter that uses standard Camco cartridges, and put that on the output side of the pump. So all transported and stored water runs through fine particle and carbon filters before going into the trailer tank. I'm no longer known as the water Nazi. (Still called the amp Nazi, though)

The pump also serves as an emergency spare for the trailer's 4 gph water pump, which I've already replaced once. Same fittings. quick swap. The roto-molded leg-tank will fit in the bed of the pickup truck and is easy to transport and store. Only weighs a few pounds empty and impervious to weather.

We're on private land and can drain gray water into gopher holes all day and it disappears instantly into thirsty dirt. So our limiting factor is the black water tank. We have to haul the trailer to town every couple of weeks to dump the tank. KOA charges $ 20 to dump, but we spend another $20 and hook up for the night. Watch some cable TV. Do the laundry, grocery shopping. But KOA : boondocking :: marinas : remote anchorages.

I just realized we have not seen another human being since last Sunday. Today is Thursday. We like that.

Hittenstiehl · 08-04-2016, 08:58 AM

Gringo excellent post with great ideas.

stephseattle · 08-04-2016, 08:58 AM

I've been having trouble getting info on replacing my fresh water tank for my 1978 31' as it is under the sub floor (and this is where I want to put it). I do plan to replace the sub floor, just not for a few weeks and am trying to get the total budget together.

I've called several places and just not getting an answer on this. I've got a rear bath. The service manual has a picture of the tank, just no dimensions.

Your flexible bladder sounds intriguing. Do you think something like that would be able to be installed under the sub floor? (with adequate insulation so it doesn't pop!)

I just want to get all my reconnaissance behind me so I can dive in and finish the project on schedule (including the invariable setbacks

Gringo · 08-05-2016, 07:17 PM

This is the flexible tank we bought last spring:
http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...45-gallon/1605
It's basically identical to a water bed mattress in construction, fairly heavy gauge vinyl, a vent and a fill spout. It's also heavy when it's full. I've used the patch kit twice on ours, but it's been living in the back of a pickup truck and getting scuffed up. I think it would last a long time in a soft, protected and structurally supportive box. I built a plywood frame for this one in the bed of the truck. The solar panels fit into the same space.
And it's vinyl. Can be easily patched and welded.