Level Up Your Boondocking - Composting Toilet Install

[BoldAdventure]

Two inches, to the left side of the head (as you face it), is required to slide the bowl off the slip hinge for servicing the base. And 1 1/2 inches is required to lift the bowl to remove the urine collection jug. The unit is 17 ¾ inches wide. It's a big bigger and did take up a bit more space.

But if anything, it is similar to our Thetford that we replaced with our Dometic 310 porcelain.

[andreasduess]

Personally speaking, I would not use low temperature generated humanure on crop yielding plants. Thermophilic, high temperature composted, humanure is perfectly safe for almost all applications but that's not how the small composting toilets work.

Having said that, the compost created by these toilets is safe for as long as the people creating the manure in the first place are healthy. If you add illnesses or parasites into the mix, then there would be some cause for concern, but even these tend to die outside a suitable human host within a week or so. There are some exemptions to this, but they are rare.

As we are weekend users, I don't expect to have to empty the toilet more than twice or three times a year. It will get added to the compost bin in our garden that we then use for flowers and decorative plants.

[InterBlog]

I'll be interested in seeing how this device works out in the longer term. I have a couple of general observations:

(1) Slight negative air pressure may be key to success in managing the #2. Earlier generations of composting toilets were well known for triggering feminine infections in susceptible women. A little bit of sawdust or sphagnum particulate matter floating upward on air currents generated by flipping open the trap door, and of course there's bacteria associated with particulates, and the rest becomes medical history. If the vacuum system is effective, perhaps this manufacturer has resolved that limitation.

(2) With that in mind, what's the load on the house battery(ies) from the fan?

(3) Anyone who has ever used a self-contained manually-operated portable boat toilet (which uses very little water) knows that air-gap dumping significant accumulations of #1 (pure urine) is a surprisingly unpleasant task. I'd take dumping black water via semi-sealed stinky slinky any day of the week. Such a container taken inside a building for dumping in a toilet for instance... the odor might just clear the building. I speak from prior experience in having tried it during family car-camping days.

(4) A two-gallon #1 reserve is not much. The west Texas desert mantra of "one gallon per person per day" drinking water comes to mind. I am a 130 pound woman and I drink at least a gallon a day under those conditions. Of course, a good bit of it is excreted in sweat rather than #1, but I'm wondering how long it would take two active adults to fill up the reservoir.

[field & stream]

I am one of those who have raised concerns here, and one who is a fan of composting toilets, too. My point earlier was that legitimate concern is not responsibly addressed by denial or dismissal.

As with most technologies, the critical questions are not about how they work when they work, they are about how do they fail when they fail?

If the composting toilet is operated properly, if the "environmental" conditions for composting are maintained, if the operator waits the minimum amount of time before emptying, and if the operator disposes of the material properly ... then everything is OK.

There is a saying in the venture capital business: never invest in a proposal with two "ifs". The above sentence has four.

Personally, I think these things are great. If I had a cabin in the woods I would have one. If I camped the way Bold does, I would have one. But I wouldn't ever dismiss the health-related issues.

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by field & stream

There is a saying in the venture capital business: never invest in a proposal with two "ifs". The above sentence has four.

So how do you ever leave your driveway to go camping? I can easily think of a sentence with 10+ ifs related to towing safety.

In investing, not all "ifs" are created equal. There's a difference between "I hope this will work" and "I am making sure this will work".

The Nature's Head and equivalent composters fall into the second category. They are mature, proven, technology that is used by thousands of boaters and RV owners to great satisfaction.

[BoldAdventure]

Plus, I'm not growing crops or putting this in my garden. It will probably end up deep within a national forest or more than likely a public dumpster.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[field & stream]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

So how do you ever leave your driveway to go camping? I can easily think of a sentence with 10+ ifs related to towing safety.

In investing, not all "ifs" are created equal. There's a difference between "I hope this will work" and "I am making sure this will work".

The Nature's Head and equivalent composters fall into the second category. They are mature, proven, technology that is used by thousands of boaters and RV owners to great satisfaction.

Good question, and funny too! The answer is I try to deal with the issues, not deny or dismiss them. And my only point about composting toilets was that there are issues. As I said: I like them.

[BoldAdventure]

Doesn't bother me. What does, is comments like this: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f314...ml#post1712985

Which I would hope stay out of this discussion.

[A W Warn]

How are composting toilet bowls cleaned? Most standard cleaning products would kill the bacteria required for composting.

[SeaLevel]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

Doesn't bother me. What does, is comments like this: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f314...ml#post1712985

Which I would hope stay out of this discussion.

Yeah. The comment you linked to was so 2015.

[xrvr]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

Doesn't bother me. What does, is comments like this: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f314...ml#post1712985

Which I would hope stay out of this discussion.

Those were comments I made before knowing more about these things. I now think they are probably okay for many such as you, and I think they are probably safe, but I still think they are a hipster idea.

[BoldAdventure]

Originally Posted by avionstream

Those were comments I made before knowing more about these things. I now think they are probably okay for many such as you, and I think they are probably safe, but I still think they are a hipster idea.

Hey man just because I drink locally sourced, hand-crafted, artisanal, sustainable coffee... oh crud ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[xrvr]

I gotcha, thanks.

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

How are composting toilet bowls cleaned? Most standard cleaning products would kill the bacteria required for composting.

Water and vinegar, 50/50.

[MaggieMarty]

I am in California - "State of the Big Drought". We have a saying here “If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down” it's a well meaning, but controversial guide to preventing unnecessary toilet flushes and sending less water down the toilet.

The problem is that the pee develops an unpleasant smell rather quickly, but I have noticed that pouring a little vinegar in the bowl reduces the smell drastically. Worth a try with the pee container of the composting toilet? And there is always the option of using a little bit of (preferably biodegradable) black tank additive, no?

I am a big fan of composting toilets and have been researching numerous RV and boater boards about this topic. It's DEFINITIVELY going into my AS!!

[BoldAdventure]

We are using two tablespoon's of sugar based on the recommendation of another full timer who has one in their Airstream. That being said, when it's in the toilet there is still no odors. Zero odors in the bathroom.

[MarkR]

there ya go again, claiming your $#!+ don't stink . . .

great thread, great info, seems like a great product . . . they just need to make one with a porcelain bowl . . . or somehow reshape the whole thing so it looks like it was made in the '50's / '60's, then I'd maybe cross over.

[Tn Traveler]

Originally Posted by AnnArborBob

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.

I think that fan introducing oxygen into the composting bin is what keeps the odor down. The odor of breaking down human waste is mostly caused by anaerobic bacteria. When anaerobic bacteria digest the waste they give off sulfides which cause the sewer odor. Aerobic bacteria do not give off the sulfides. If you can put a fan powering in fresh air to your black water tank, and venting up the vent system it would virtually eliminate the odor of the black water tank. Oxygen promotes the growth of aerobic bacteria and impedes the growth of anaerobic bacteria.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

[snip]
Some photos of the end results:
[snip]

I must admit to a significant degree of hesitation to proceed beyond that sentence, not knowing which "end results" were about to be presented visually!

Will be curious to hear your feedback in the end . . .

Thanks for your excellent posting of information and photos on many threads, not to mention the outstanding photos on Where Are You Now (sp?).

[Ted S.]

Whatever the trick is with those compositing toilets I wish they'd share with the Forest Sevice vault toilet crew...

Anyway, as part timers, we're not quite there ready for the composting toilet. What would be extremely cool, is a built-in composting toilet that dropped the waste down into larger tanks below the floor. Then the toilet would be emptied from the exterior.

Another one to add to the "Boondocking Airstream" Thread.