C-Head, Natures Head or Air Head- which is best overall

[Ram]

C-head is out , only because it holds less Crap-

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by boatsail

problem i see with natures head and air head is that if you dont put a cofee filter there you get crap on the toilet....design flaw imho.....chead lets you direct deposit, no filter needed.....no cleaning wahat you crapped on after you crap, no filter needed...that would be a pita if i had to do that, i would plrobably think about a holding tank!

Don't know about AH, but NH has a trap door which can be left in the open position when making a deposit. I've yet to put it into practice (it is to be installed in a month or so), but it looks like NH would not need the coffee filters. It's what other users have said as well.

[boatsail]

interesting poll....low numbers, just voted myself..dont want ot give away the numbers before anyone votes.....please, don't vote unles you have one of the 3.

not what i anticipated in reards to results

[Greggegner]

Originally Posted by boatsail

problem i see with natures head and air head is that if you dont put a cofee filter there you get crap on the toilet....design flaw imho.....chead lets you direct deposit, no filter needed.....no cleaning wahat you crapped on after you crap, no filter needed...that would be a pita if i had to do that, i would plrobably think about a holding tank!

Other option is to open the trap door before...we like our NH....yes must sit to pee, but that was the rule before we replace the marine head.

[brad torrence]

Simply Sailing Online has a great discussion comparing the 3 brands here. Really its between the AH and Nature's Head, with the C Head being a far inferior and cheaper option
Simply Sailing Online

[boatsail]

Originally Posted by brad torrence

Simply Sailing Online hasd a great discussion comparing the 3 brands here. Really its between the AH and Nature's Head, with the C Head being a far inferior and cheaper option
Simply Sailing Online

picked on comparrison, without cost being of a concern at all in the decission, chead won for me.

[boatsail]

just read the article....agree that airhead and natures head have few real differences....the chead is a totally different unit. it is the opinion of the author who decided between airhead and natures head, picking natures head that the c head did not compare....the author has the same bias in regards to his crapper as i have ot mine...so, wich one is better?

i drive 2 vehicles...a volvo s60 and a ford ranger beater truck....i like my ford better, more reliable and twice as many miles on it as my volvo....my volvo cost a lot more, but i would not buy another one and cost is not the concern...price does not always make a product better, functionality and dependability imo make the product better....there is something to be said about simplicity....the volvo has been in the shop more than any vechicle i have ever owned....the chead is as simple as it comes....someone wrote earlier that there were no precccconceptions when the deisgner made the crapper...there obviously was when the natures head came out...i believe the airhead was first.

just an opinion, not right or wrong, just like the article that was written by a natures head owner.

[boatsail]

i sell hosues for a living....funny how everyone i talk to about selling thier home tells me why their home is better than every other home in the neighborhood....we all have a bias toward our stuff (check out george carlins stuff video on youtube...its great)

in truth, i dont think you will go wrong with any of the 3 toilets...i guess im being that person who thinks they have the best home in teh hood

[s/v 'Faith']

I have no experience with the c head, but have installed and lived with the natures head and the air head.

The boat I am on right now (anchored off of volley ball beach in Georgetown) has an airhead.

Of the two, I like the natures head better. The urine container is easier to empty (the air head uses tiny thumb screws that try to drop out and head for the bilge).

The natures head has good latches, the airhead uses more of those little thumb screws... You attach the top to the bottom with the and twist it n to lock... I have been aboard ever day with this since November and the plastic is getting distorted where it attaches.

Natures head is better made, and last time I checked it is $100 cheaper.

I am on a Batelco cell connection right now, so I can not post pictures but here are some of the install of my natures head.

[Mike OReilly]

I chose NH over AH b/c it fit slightly better in our head, but also b/c it had some design features which looked somewhat improved over AH. E way it locks together, the one-piece seat, and the new spider churn handle for example. I also prefer the way the pee bottle is supported with NH. All that said, I suspect I'd be happy with an AH as well.

I looked at the CH, but its smaller capacity (about 1/2 of the other two) quickly removed it from contention for us. I do think it would be fine for the right set of circumstances. I do appreciate its simplicity.

[KeysDreaming]

Love my NH. No smell. Don't have to empty that often either.

[brad torrence]

I find it difficult to believe someone would choose the C Head for any reason other than money. Look at them all, side by side. It's pretty obvious that the c head is not built to the same standard. The C head has no fan! A fan is vital. That's how composting toilets work. The fan makes the poop dry out fast, and dried poop does not stink. Dried poop shrinks to very little volume, meaning less frequent emptying. After using a composting toilet at home and at sea for many years, I can say with 100% certainty - the fan is needed. All professionally made composting toilets for marine and home use have fans. No fan - you are pooping in a bucket.

The C head is not simpler. You have to empty fresh turds EVERY WEEK into a bucket somewhere on your boat. I don't call that simple. I call that a pain in the a**. These turds will not have dried out in that short a period, especially with no fan. They will stink. Yuck.

The c head is simple plastic panels, somehow glued together. The other manufacturers have invested over $100,000 in doing it right - roto-molding. Its stronger. It lasts longer.

If you want something cheaper, fine, go for it. But presenting these c toilets as equivalent to AH or NH is simply not honest.

[boatsail]

Originally Posted by brad torrence

I find it difficult to believe someone would choose the C Head for any reason other than money. Look at them all, side by side. It's pretty obvious that the c head is not built to the same standard. The C head has no fan! A fan is vital. That's how composting toilets work. The fan makes the poop dry out fast, and dried poop does not stink. Dried poop shrinks to very little volume, meaning less frequent emptying. After using a composting toilet at home and at sea for many years, I can say with 100% certainty - the fan is needed. All professionally made composting toilets for marine and home use have fans. No fan - you are pooping in a bucket.

The C head is not simpler. You have to empty fresh turds EVERY WEEK into a bucket somewhere on your boat. I don't call that simple. I call that a pain in the a**. These turds will not have dried out in that short a period, especially with no fan. They will stink. Yuck.

The c head is simple plastic panels, somehow glued together. The other manufacturers have invested over $100,000 in doing it right - roto-molding. Its stronger. It lasts longer.

If you want something cheaper, fine, go for it. But presenting these c toilets as equivalent to AH or NH is simply not honest.

What one of the three do you have?

The chead does not come with a fan. But it needs a fan. I use a solar vent.

BTW, what kind of boat do you have? I did not notice your boat type by your screen name. I'm wondering what type of head you have?

[Reiheld]

Whatever, Brad. I chose to buy a C-Head, I am content with it, it does the job that I expected. I have not found, so far, that we need a fan, a gentle Venturi effect seems to suffice just fine in our situation. If we decide to install one, $10 and twenty minutes will do the job.You seem very thrilled with the plastic technology of the other two, and that is wonderful. I remain impressed at the ease and simplicity of installing and maintaining the C-Head, and prefer the lower height that matches that of standard home toilets. Dumping the bucket once a week bothers me not in the slightest, I find I can spare the couple of minutes, and rather prefer transferring the used product to a more remote receptacle or simply tossing it in a dumpster that often. Maybe the bigger-load models DO need more ventilation, eh? And maybe there are boaters who really require a highly-impact-resistant head. Our parties aren't that rowdy...this thing looks as if it will last very well under what we consider normal use. If not, I expect Sandy will stand behind his workmanship. He has certainly answered all my questions thoroughly and promptly.
Not understanding the angry and suspicious denunciation. What in the world is your problem, Brad? Are you that upset at every situation where other consumers' choices differ from your own?

[MichaelC]

I have been using my NH for two years in a 30' 5th wheel while building the 34' sailboat it will eventually go into. [Well, okay, mostly playing, but some building, too ...] The fan has been running 24/7 for 3 yrs [I was gone for one year] and is still running. I have forgotten to change p jugs 3 or 4 times in the 2 yrs of use, and it is definitely not pleasant. But in my trailer there is no smell of any kind. I am single, and dump the head solids about every 1.5 month. Have never had a solids leak. If somebody got a leak thru the handle, he had way too much liquid in the box. Follow the very simple directions and you will have no problems with your NH, which is far more than I can say for a marine head with holding tank. For me, bulding this time from scratch, it costs no more to buy the NH than to install a head with holding tank. Overall I would rate the NH as an 8 on a ten pt scale. That puts it slightly above a standard toilet in a house. Everybody sits to pee. If you use your head you won't have any problems with it.