Composting Toilet - Nature's Head

[ReMetau]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

If the city sells compost, it goes on someone else's veggies?

That does read funny. Almost like "I am not going to use my own compost, but everybody else's is fine."

[Mirage Gecko]

We are becoming interested in a composting toilet but one thing could be a showstopper.
I have read thru this thread and only saw one mention of the used toilet paper.
Can it go into the composting toilet in volumes that would be normal for everyday use.If putting used paper in a bin or bucket separately is a must then this system will not work for us.So is there a definitive answer yes in the toilet or no it can not ?
Also a bit confused with different opinions of how long before you need to empty.Someone said about a week and others months or more.How long for two people on board full time away from marinas or facilities before it is required to be emptied.
Chris

[ElGatoGordo]

Originally Posted by Mirage Gecko

.So is there a definitive answer yes in the toilet or no it can not ?
Also a bit confused with different opinions of how long before you need to empty.Someone said about a week and others months or more.How long for two people on board full time away from marinas or facilities before it is required to be emptied.
Chris

The answers to all your questions are in another question: How much will it be used?

It's definitive that you CAN put paper in the head. It will not affect the "compostin/desicating". Many don't because it will add to the filling and thus speed up the need to empty. I would add here that many (most? I'd have to think hard) of my sailing friends DON'T put TP in their traditional head. My wife and I (we use ours full time) have reached a happy compromise. She puts the paper from peeing in a special little trash can, and we both put the paper from pooping in the head. It works for us.

Again, how often it's emptied depends on how much use it gets. Many who day sail weekends report they empty yearly (seasonally) while most couples living aboard report about monthly. Since mine is "supersized" I could likely go much longer, but I do monthly.

[Mirage Gecko]

Thanks Gordo
We have used standed manual and electric heads with and without macerators for the last 30 years and the paper always goes in.Same in the porta potti used in our caravans.Only ever had one problem that required pulling the system apart and that was on a boat we had owned for only a week and the prior owner had put stuff in the head.Also had holding tanks and hate them.
Our rule has been pretty simple other than TP if you haven't eaten it it doesn't go in the toilet.
I am now close to being sold on the composting units so all that is left is to see if I can actually get my eyes on the main brands in this forum and a reasonable price.From the quick look I have had online it seems I am going to pay about 30% more here in Aus than USA.
Chris

[ElGatoGordo]

Man, with your location I guess seeing one in person would be hard. I've seen nature's head and Air head in person. Both look to be very well made, I'd say 50% more sturdy feeling than "porta-potties" I've had. I've heard good about C-head but never seen one. I did see the urine diverter for a C-head and it looked to be built like a tank.

I have a trailer boat I need to fit a head to, and I guess I'm going with a "porta-pottie" I hate to, but there isn't a Composter that will fit :-(

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by EighthWonder

I'm not referring to composted veggies, fish poo or grass grazing cattle manure....
I believe in them and have used such compost on vegetable gardens for years.
I'm referring to disease riddled human excrement that has nothing positive about it but illness. Very different composting material. I'll bow out of this one...research is plain on it. As I said...just a friendly word of warning.
Do as you will. ;-)

Eighth Wonder

I think there are a few billion Asians who would disagree.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Mirage Gecko

We are becoming interested in a composting toilet but one thing could be a showstopper.
I have read thru this thread and only saw one mention of the used toilet paper.
Can it go into the composting toilet in volumes that would be normal for everyday use.

Hi Chris, it looks like you've got you answer, but just to add another voice. All our feces TP goes in the head, and gets churned in. There are two of us, and we are both conservative in our paper use (as I'm sure most boater/RVers are), but we've had no problem with our Nature's Head this way. It probably does diminish the period between dumping, but so far we're getting about a month of usage, which is fine for us.

In thinking about this question, I wonder if adding TP might actually help in some ways. Since the key to proper functioning of these heads is all about drying the main compartment out, I wonder if added TP might actually help.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

If the city sells compost, it goes on someone else's veggies?

Sorry, I guess I didn't explain properly, the citys composting facility is for yard waste only, grass clippings, leaves, chipped up branches, etc, so you get nice compost. If I compost my own it will only to keep my kitchen scraps out of the garbage, my mother always had a compost pile. I might as well empty the airhead contents as well otherwise that will have to go into the garbage too .

Steve.

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by ElGatoGordo

... I've heard good about C-head but never seen one. I did see the urine diverter for a C-head and it looked to be built like a tank... -(

I haven't seen the other two in person but I have a C-Head, and have begun to notice that I don't get a month between emptying as I said in the past. I've now started to log several maintenance chores, and it seems that I get two weeks (one guy, full-time liveaboard), with TP going in a separate bag.

I found this a disappointing stat. It's not that the container bucket is full but that it becomes too hard to turn the agitator crank. I broke the glue seal on the crank is what made me start paying more attention. Easy fix but ...

The urine diverter works fine. The tp in a separate bag is very unpleasant. I know this is a routine practice in some spots but I'm not keen on it. This cycle, since I know it's going to be about two weeks, I'm putting the TP in, since it doesn't weigh anything, and there is beaucoup room in the bucket. We shall see.

Bottom line is that obviously there isn't much composting going on in a mere two weeks. In an isolated/island context, I'd distribute or bury the 2 week product but I'm at the dock so it's going in the dumpster. This troubles me some, but far less than dumping raw sewage.

I got started because my new/old boat didn't have a holding tank. I'm generally OK with this solution but note, "composting" head is a misnomer. It's a dry porta potti plain and simple, and as porta potties go, it's just great.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

I haven't seen the other two in person but I have a C-Head, and have begun to notice that I don't get a month between emptying as I said in the past. I've now started to log several maintenance chores, and it seems that I get two weeks (one guy, full-time liveaboard), with TP going in a separate bag
....
I got started because my new/old boat didn't have a holding tank. I'm generally OK with this solution but note, "composting" head is a misnomer. It's a dry porta potti plain and simple, and as porta potties go, it's just great.

This is the main reason I didn't consider a C-Head when shifting to a composting head. I forget where I learned this fact, but I became aware that the C-H had about 1/2 the feces volume compared to both Air Head and Nature's Head. The C-H has some nice advantages, and most users seem to be pleased with theirs, but for us, this smaller volume was a key factor in NOT choosing a C-H.

BTW, you're right that these heads are not really composters. Even our bigger N-H does not produce compost after a month. What it mainly does is desiccate the feces, making it dry and easy to deal with. It would need to sit for another few months to complete the composting process.

[reiner]

Originally Posted by Mirage Gecko

We are becoming interested in a composting toilet but one thing could be a showstopper.
I have read thru this thread and only saw one mention of the used toilet paper.
Can it go into the composting toilet in volumes that would be normal for everyday use.If putting used paper in a bin or bucket separately is a must then this system will not work for us.So is there a definitive answer yes in the toilet or no it can not ?
Also a bit confused with different opinions of how long before you need to empty.Someone said about a week and others months or more.How long for two people on board full time away from marinas or facilities before it is required to be emptied.
Chris

We fitted a airhead in our boat about two years ago and would never go back to any of the standard macerator toilets
Sailing on weekends only we emptied it after 10 month but we did a 6 month trip and found it needs emptying every 4 weeks
And yes the toilet paper goes in the toilet. The pee bottle we just empty every night .
It takes a bit of learning to get the moisture content right but with pet moss it's not hard to do.
Cheers
Reiner

[Mirage Gecko]

Thanks all I reckon I am sold in principal on one now I just need to have a hands on and find someone to take my money.
Chris

[BobnCamie]

Mike, installed my NH today!!! Nearly 50 deg. About time. Anyway, I have rad some did not hook up the power vent. Did you? I am sure I will tomorrow, but sitting in the marina where our boat is, it got thirsty quick! What did you use for the vent cap? I can hook direct to waste pump out port, just need a new cap of some sort. As it is in a high travel spot, kind of at a loss. Just wondering. Thanks,Bob

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by BobnCamie

Mike, installed my NH today!!! Nearly 50 deg. About time. Anyway, I have rad some did not hook up the power vent. Did you? I am sure I will tomorrow, but sitting in the marina where our boat is, it got thirsty quick! What did you use for the vent cap? I can hook direct to waste pump out port, just need a new cap of some sort. As it is in a high travel spot, kind of at a loss. Just wondering. Thanks,Bob

Congrats. I'm sure you'll love it.

I did install the vent through the old pump-out deck fitting hole (and used some of the old hose). I replaced the deck fitting with a stainless mushroom vent. It's the screw-down style so I can seal it up entirely if we were to get into really ugly seas. And it's low enough to the deck, and off to one side for us, so it doesn't impede walking at all. But this will obviously depend on where your port is located.

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

SNIP

BTW, you're right that these heads are not really composters. Even our bigger N-H does not produce compost after a month. What it mainly does is desiccate the feces, making it dry and easy to deal with. It would need to sit for another few months to complete the composting process.

The key phrase being 'desiccate feces making it dry and EASY TO DEAL WITH'.

The PO of my boat had installed a Nature's Way head and over the past year the only problem I had was needing to replace the computer fan. I upgraded from a 30mm to a 50mm fan, think it costs around $US3.80, but I did buy the fans in bulk and got five for that price.

A composting head is much easier to maintain and parts are easy to find and less expensive. There is much less odor and no need of the extra weight and space a holding tank requires.

Not sure what the big deal is about emptying it. It is easy to simply throw it over the side, bury it, or put it into a plastic bag and store the plastic bag in a five gallon till you can take it to a city dump if you feel the need to do so.

Count me as a happy camper.