Composting toilet: rules, regulations, and "real life" use etc.?

[fryewe]

Living in the Gulf South, bugs are a fact of life. When we began using our C-head, the little flying critters found it within days.

Diatomaceous earth stopped them almost immediately. A couple of tablespoons with the initial load after each bucket dump. A small bag from Wally World is cheap and lasts a very long time.

My experience is that you can leave a well stirred bucket that’s partially full for several weeks when you’re off the boat, but the jug has to be emptied frequently. It will stink up the place in your absence of more than a couple of days of warm weather.

YMMV.

[cardude]

I will buy some of that earth. Thanks !

Yes, so far my experience is that the urine jug is the stinkiest part of the system.

I just worried about already seeing fruit flies flying around and don’t want a big mess of flies when I get back. Wife is a bit sketchy on my NH install so I don’t want to do anything to screw it up or give her a reason to hate it.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by cardude

I will buy some of that earth. Thanks !

Yes, so far my experience is that the urine jug is the stinkiest part of the system.

I just worried about already seeing fruit flies flying around and don’t want a big mess of flies when I get back. Wife is a bit sketchy on my NH install so I don’t want to do anything to screw it up or give her a reason to hate it.

Definitely empty it then. Zero risk that way.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by cardude

I will buy some of that earth. Thanks !

Yes, so far my experience is that the urine jug is the stinkiest part of the system.

I just worried about already seeing fruit flies flying around and don’t want a big mess of flies when I get back. Wife is a bit sketchy on my NH install so I don’t want to do anything to screw it up or give her a reason to hate it.

add a teaspoon or so of sugar to the urine tank it takes care of the smell .

[senormechanico]

Mmmmm. Fermented urine. What would the resultant alcohol % be after a month?

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by cardude

I will buy some of that earth. Thanks !

Yes, so far my experience is that the urine jug is the stinkiest part of the system.

I just worried about already seeing fruit flies flying around and don’t want a big mess of flies when I get back. Wife is a bit sketchy on my NH install so I don’t want to do anything to screw it up or give her a reason to hate it.

I wouldn't worry about fruit flies. Once you remove the fruit from the boat, they leave as well. It's common house flies you have to worry about- and that's why you need a screen on the vent hose. When they hatch, they look like fruit flies (being small), but they're just common flies.

I've found the trick to keeping the urine jug fresh is spraying a mist of vinegar and water in the bowl after every use and dumping every night. I keep a spray bottle in the head with the vinegar solution. Also, after dumping, it's a good idea to use the same vinegar/water solution to rinse the jug. It doesn't take much. When I leave the boat unattended, I always leave a little vinegar in the jug to keep it fresh.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

Mmmmm. Fermented urine. What would the resultant alcohol % be after a month?

that's one mash I wouldn't run thru my still
It has something to do with the ph of the urine .
All I know is it works .

[Othergoose]

We have the Canadian version "Air-head" on our boat.It looks to be slightly smaller and not so tall as the HN version. We found that gardening stores or Home Depot have a good selection of coco coir. There is a product called "Out" sold in pet stores for cat/dog urine. This will keep the smell from the urine container in check...just add a few drops after every cleaning. Also a product called Compost Quick, by Sun-Mar that's meant for composting heads, also helps advance the composting and defeat the smell. When all else fails, I haul out the Febreeze and spray the room!

[fryewe]

The vinegar spray is a great idea. Thanks.

[Simply Sailing]

Originally Posted by cardude

Two “kids”. HS and college age. Yes it is vented.

I think there is way too much paper in there. I was going to try to let the paper go in, but I guess not. Maybe with one or two people using it paper in there would be ok.

But there is no smell!

We used our Air Head fulltime with 3 people (one a teenage boy) for a few years and while it's do-able, it's not nearly as pleasant as after he moved out and only the two of us are using it. (8 years) I'd say 4 people worth's of TP would make the unit unpleasant. We try to only put "dirty" TP in the unit and "wet" TP in the trash. Sounds like the unit was just overworked.

[Mike OReilly]

The urine bottle definitely is the aromatic part of the system. I tried adding sugar and vinegar to the spritz. Now we just keep a spray bottle of fresh water in the head and give the urine track a spritz after every use. This works as well for us as any other option, but I say go with what works for you and yours.

[davil]

New question
did get rid of the Groco contraption,installing a new "throne" and was very rewarding to rip out all the hoses etc.
Now I have a nice bronze truhull Spartan bronze valve that was the direct discharge not longer needed.
What have you done? do not like extra holes on my boat.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by davil

New question
did get rid of the Groco contraption,installing a new "throne" and was very rewarding to rip out all the hoses etc.
Now I have a nice bronze truhull Spartan bronze valve that was the direct discharge not longer needed.
What have you done? do not like extra holes on my boat.

Same situation here. I would like to remove and glass over the hole, but it is a very tight spot such that I can’t do a proper job from the inside. I also have a cored hull. So all I’ve done is close it, and cap it off. I inspect it as per normal for all my thru hulls. I don’t think it is any more at risk than if it were normally in use.

In theory, this means a possible future owner of my boat could install a standard marine head fairly easily, but that’s not my reason for leaving it. I really don’t think about possible future owners when making changes to my boat.

[davil]

feel the same,the boat is out for painting but do not feel like glassing over from the outside,I suppose that will be the right way,or removing the thruhull and re glassing,either way more work I care to do,serviced the valve,looks good, will leave it closed and more likely remove the handle for safety,also perhaps adding couple of feet double clamped hose and a regular valve on the free end,that should be an overkill to sleep better.
I was asking in case was a better and more rational way.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by davil

feel the same,the boat is out for painting but do not feel like glassing over from the outside,I suppose that will be the right way,or removing the thruhull and re glassing,either way more work I care to do,serviced the valve,looks good, will leave it closed and more likely remove the handle for safety,also perhaps adding couple of feet double clamped hose and a regular valve on the free end,that should be an overkill to sleep better.
I was asking in case was a better and more rational way.

cap it off your on the hard just remove the valve and cap it off otherwise just double clamp a plug into the hose and removing the handle is a good idea.