Composting Toilet - Nature's Head

[KenH]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I looked hard at the three options before purchasing our Nature's Head. From my analysis, both NH and AirHead are pretty much identical. The differences are small. C-head seems great, but the composting (desiccating) bin is basically 1/2 the size of the others. This means more frequent dumping. I don't think that necessarily a bad thing, but for me it kicked C-head out of the running.

I went with NH over AH because it fit better in our space, and it was slightly cheaper. But I know I would be happy with either.

Thanks Mike..
So, when you dispose of the waste. is there any difference as, a filter or bag or anything with the NH? or do you or can you just dump it out or do you need to transfer it?


Thanks for the help guys!

[BobnCamie]

We have lived on the boat since 8-1-14. Now in Fl from Superior, Wi. I say that to qualify myself and our use. Only problem we have had is the fan soldering came loose. I could have fixed it, but thought 4 months was not enough time for anything to break. Called the dealer we bought the NH from, and he sent a replacement, no questions asked. We also found that throwing in a couple hand fulls of cedar chips helps dry the contents of in the bin. We empty ours every 15 days,do not put second helping of peat moss in. It is fantastic, and my wife cleans and empties it. Her job, I guess. She states to all who ask that there is no way we are going back to a regular marine head. We are at Ft. Myers Beach now, and on a call.city sends a pump out boat somewhat regularly. But you gotta wait for him. Many places are now charging $8-$10 pump out, or more. And coming down the rivers they were few and far between. If they even worked. One of the better investments I have made on the boat. I meant on a ball. I hate auto spell. Natures Head for us. Another boat, there will be a NH installed first thing!


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[smj]

We have owned all three. The Airhead and Natureshead are basically the same but the NaturesHead to us was much more user friendly than the Airhead. We now own a C-Head which we love. The urine container is a one gallon milk jug so when it starts to hold an odor just throw it away and replace it. You do have to change the solids bucket more often but is really easy compared to the other two composters and because it gets changed more often the contents are dry. Just tip it upside down and it's like a bunch of large irregular sized marbles rolling out. It's also less expensive!

[KenH]

Does any one have a Sun-Mar? If you do how does that one work?

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by KenH

Do you like the C-head for the simplicity?
I just watched the video. It does seem pretty basic with parts that could be readily available all over the place. 5 gallon buckets and 1 gallon containers.. easy to obtain..
This this why you would go with it?
I was looking at the Natures head but now if those Items break or something happens the C-head seems a whole lot easier to fix or get parts, it's really nothing to it.

We have had the natures-head for several years. Unless the air-head has changed, I hope your rear is the size of a 10yr olds. That was our major reason for selecting the natures head...it was adult sized.

The C-head wasn't available at the time but I do like the idea. Yes, it has smaller capacity but with easy swap out it has advantages in that it should be easier to empty. The thing I don't care for is the 1 gal jugs being used. Emptying the liquid is by far more common and a 1 gal jug will need to be emptied a couple times a day.

As far as breaking goes, that's the beauty of a composting head. There really is nothing to break like on a traditional head.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by KenH

Thanks Mike..
So, when you dispose of the waste. is there any difference as, a filter or bag or anything with the NH? or do you or can you just dump it out or do you need to transfer it?

Not sure what you mean by a filter. We average over a month of usage (~5 weeks) between dumps. That's for two adults, pretty much full time. I usually transfer the composted/desiccated material into a bag. Most of the time I've been able to find a place in the forest to dump the material.

Although it's true that the material cannot be fully composted, it is completely inoffensive and easy to handle. Without getting too graphic, I'm even able to get my hands right in there, without any yeck factor at all. By every measure (sight, smell, feel) the material is like moist soil.

Originally Posted by KenH

Does any one have a Sun-Mar? If you do how does that one work?

Sun-Mar makes a whole range of composting heads, including one aimed at the boat/RV markets. Sun-Mar's don't separate the urine and feces, relying instead on a heating element and venting to dehydrate the liquid away. I've used them on land in remote camps. They work great. The problem with the marine version is the power consumption (the heater and fan), but the big negative for us was that they are rated for only 1 to 2 people for full-time use. This seemed too small, but I have never actually lived with one. I know one person who used a Sun-Mar for a few seasons and then switched it out in favour of a Nature's Head.

[smj]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

We have had the natures-head for several years. Unless the air-head has changed, I hope your rear is the size of a 10yr olds. That was our major reason for selecting the natures head...it was adult sized.

The C-head wasn't available at the time but I do like the idea. Yes, it has smaller capacity but with easy swap out it has advantages in that it should be easier to empty. The thing I don't care for is the 1 gal jugs being used. Emptying the liquid is by far more common and a 1 gal jug will need to be emptied a couple times a day.

As far as breaking goes, that's the beauty of a composting head. There really is nothing to break like on a traditional head.

With two people the urine container is usually half full when we dump it which is once a day. At the price of .89 cents you can purchase extra urine containers which also come with a gallon of drinking water! Much less expensive than buying the extra container from the other two brands. All in all we were more than satisfied with all three composters, but the C-Head gets our thumbs up at this point.

[Feral Cement]

We chose the C-Head over the others simply because of the smaller size - fits well in our Tartan 34C. The price is correspondingly smaller, as well. Happy with the purchase and performance, living aboard and cruising full-time.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by KenH

Do you like the C-head for the simplicity?
I just watched the video. It does seem pretty basic with parts that could be readily available all over the place. 5 gallon buckets and 1 gallon containers.. easy to obtain..
This this why you would go with it?
I was looking at the Natures head but now if those Items break or something happens the C-head seems a whole lot easier to fix or get parts, it's really nothing to it.

Yes, I would prefer the simplicity of the C head, I really like the use of non propriety parts , the top churn handle and the easy emptying, actually I like everything about it including the very reasonable price. If I were outfitting another boat my order of choice would be C-head, NH for the larger seat and then the Airhead. To be clear I have had no problem with the AH and am very happy with it but I have heard of poor customer service whereas I have heard nothing but good in this department about the others, the full size seat on the NH would give it the nod over the AH for me although the smaller seat is no problem for me as I do not have an oversize ass. When I was shopping I was ready to buy a CH but the AH came up on ebay and I bought it for $375 plus shipping, it was new still in the box, the guy had sold his boat before installing it, this is the second AH I have bought this way so keep a lookout on ebay and craigslist.

Steve.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

Yes, I would prefer the simplicity of the C head, I really like the use of non propriety parts , the top churn handle and the easy emptying, actually I like everything about it including the very reasonable price.

I too was really attracted to CH's use of non-proprietary containers. If CH had the same volumes of my NH, I would have gone with it. I'm sure I would be happy with a CH, but I really appreciate the freedom of being able to go for over a month without dumping my NH. Even the NH's urine bottle lasts us two to three days between dumps (although I do pee over the side when possible ).

All three (NH, CH, AH) work the same way, and all do a great job. Which ever one you chose Ken, I'm sure you'll be happy.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I too was really attracted to CH's use of non-proprietary containers. If CH had the same volumes of my NH, I would have gone with it. I'm sure I would be happy with a CH, but I really appreciate the freedom of being able to go for over a month without dumping my NH. Even the NH's urine bottle lasts us two to three days between dumps (although I do pee over the side when possible ).



All three (NH, CH, AH) work the same way, and all do a great job. Which ever one you chose Ken, I'm sure you'll be happy.

I had the same thoughts when purchasing the C-Head, there just isn't enough volume. But to be honest, it takes about a minute at the most to dump the solids and ad new peat and we have never had a problem with damp messy compost. We probably have to dump the solids 4 times as often but the process is a more pleasant experiance!

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by smj

With two people the urine container is usually half full when we dump it which is once a day. At the price of .89 cents you can purchase extra urine containers which also come with a gallon of drinking water! Much less expensive than buying the extra container from the other two brands. All in all we were more than satisfied with all three composters, but the C-Head gets our thumbs up at this point.

The point point is we don't need spare jugs as it holds 2-3 days worth.

As I said, I like the solids option with the c-head as a full timer as you can set it aside and let the composting finish.

I have heard of a couple where they plumbed a small pump to the old holding tank. With only urine and no flushing water, a 20 gal tank will last quite a while.

[smj]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

The point point is we don't need spare jugs as it holds 2-3 days worth.

As I said, I like the solids option with the c-head as a full timer as you can set it aside and let the composting finish.

I have heard of a couple where they plumbed a small pump to the old holding tank. With only urine and no flushing water, a 20 gal tank will last quite a while.

The only problem with diverting the urine to a holding tank is now your back to the complexity, weight and odor of the holding tank. The main reason we went with the composter was to get rid of the complexity.
I understand your thoughts on the size of the urine container, but to be honest we had to use a second container only a couple of times. The main advantage of the water/milk jug used as a container is the ability to trash the container when it starts to get an odor. And anyone who has used one of theses set ups knows what I mean by the odor

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by smj

I had the same thoughts when purchasing the C-Head, there just isn't enough volume. But to be honest, it takes about a minute at the most to dump the solids and ad new peat and we have never had a problem with damp messy compost. We probably have to dump the solids 4 times as often but the process is a more pleasant experiance!

Sounds good SMJ, although for the benefit of those considering these heads, dumping our AH is not unpleasant at all, although it does take more effort than the CH (so I'm told). It's like dealing with good topsoil. There's a musty peaty smell, and there's nothing offensive with the material. I can dig it out with my hand. Since we only do it less than once a month, it's really a pretty insignificant task. And I like the fact that we have more leeway with timing. This way we can be more opportunistic about when to dump. I prefer to heave the desiccated material into the forest, or into an outhouse, not into the trash can if I can avoid it.

I've never heard of anyone getting damp, messy compost. If that happens, then something has gone terribly wrong.

The urine container will get stinky. We've dealt with it by adding a bit of baking soda before re-installing each time. This seems to do the trick. Besides, it's only smelly during the dump, so no big deal (although my spouse tells me I have a lousy sense of smell ).

[smj]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Sounds good SMJ, although for the benefit of those considering these heads, dumping our AH is not unpleasant at all, although it does take more effort than the CH (so I'm told). It's like dealing with good topsoil. There's a musty peaty smell, and there's nothing offensive with the material. I can dig it out with my hand. Since we only do it less than once a month, it's really a pretty insignificant task. And I like the fact that we have more leeway with timing. This way we can be more opportunistic about when to dump. I prefer to heave the desiccated material into the forest, or into an outhouse, not into the trash can if I can avoid it.

I've never heard of anyone getting damp, messy compost. If that happens, then something has gone terribly wrong.

The urine container will get stinky. We've dealt with it by adding a bit of baking soda before re-installing each time. This seems to do the trick. Besides, it's only smelly during the dump, so no big deal (although my spouse tells me I have a lousy sense of smell ).

Maybe our bathroom habits are different but we have had times where the compost was moist, but then again no offensive odor. We have never felt the need to dig it with our hands though!!! With the C-Head the contents so far have been completely dry, all it takes is a dumping of the bucket and it all falls out.
Thanks for the tip on the baking soda, I will give that a try. It's the odor while dumping the urine that worries me. If dumping in a public restroom that odor lingers for hours