Best composting head?

[Gordon Nicholl]

We have limited space and the old head area follows the hull contour.

I looked at another cruisers Nature's Head and built my own. Time consuming but perfect fit and works great.

Smaller tank so we get 3 weeks, 2 live aboard.

Two vent lines, one fwd one aft each with dedicated fans, either or ON.

More details as I document the build. Photos to follow.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Gordon Nicholl

We have limited space and the old head area follows the hull contour.

I looked at another cruisers Nature's Head and built my own. Time consuming but perfect fit and works great.

Good on you . The principles behind how these heads work are quite simple, which is partly what makes them so good. The commercial versions will set you back a boat-buck or two, but it would be pretty easy to build a functional composter for a lot less. I know a few on CF have done just that.

[KayZee]

The way I see it as I prepare to see why my Jabsco isn't quite working is that the C-toilets are a lot of little work all the time while a traditional raw water head is almost no work until occasional big work is required i.e. once or every year or so rebuild and once every 5 years or so wasteline replacement.


edit: there's a lot to be said for a toilet that never clogs but good practices, like good practice with managing #1 and #2 on a c head mitigates that problem. I also can buy 3 Jabscos for the price of one composter.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by KayZee

The way I see it as I prepare to see why my Jabsco isn't quite working is that the C-toilets are a lot of little work all the time while a traditional raw water head is almost no work until occasional big work is required i.e. once or every year or so rebuild and once every 5 years or so wasteline replacement.

True... although it greatly depends on where and how you cruise. If you can discharge over the side, then that's probably the best and easiest approach. But this requires travelling 3 nm off shore, or potentially further depending on where you're located. And then there are the vast NDZones where discharge of any sort is simply not possible.

The reality is that most people spend most of their time near the coast or in an NDZ, so then you're into holding tanks and pump outs, which greatly increases the jobs. But again, this depends on location. Some areas it's easy to pump out, some places are hard.

And then there's the limiting factor of holding tanks. I go for a month between emptying. And even then I don't have to go in to a dock. With a holding tank system, I have to find civilization, and I'd be limited to days or a couple of weeks at best.

Not everyone wants or needs to be away from a dock for long periods. But for those like me, it's essential.

Originally Posted by KayZee

edit: there's a lot to be said for a toilet that never clogs but good practices, like good practice with managing #1 and #2 on a c head mitigates that problem. I also can buy 3 Jabscos for the price of one composter.

Agreed. I never had a major problem with any of my standard marine heads. And I even flushed paper through them. Like most systems, if it's properly maintained, a standard marine head can be just fine.

And you're right about Jabsco vs say Nature's Head. Although if you compare NH to a quality standard marine head like Raritan or a Groco, the price difference isn't that great. But I take your point... these heads aren't cheap.

[pbdayger]

Well on our 31 Dufour we purchased one of the least expensive, Smart Jon I think. We use peat after each use, sometimes some cedar chips if we sense some smell. Use composting bags,,,maybe 3 for the Summer season, throw out with the garbage. No fan, no moving parts, no smell. I don’t use the urine bottle, I rigged a funnel/hose to thruhull ….works for him&her no problem.

Best move we ever made…sailed older 31 for 15 years….44 PS w/ 2heads for 10….Whata pain!!!

Peter B

[paul2884]

We sail in the UK and France so things may be diffrent elseware. Many marinas have "Free" pump out for the holding tank but I have never seen any way to despose of the contents of a composting toilet, the lower-levels may well be fully composted (probably not all the contents) but I am sure it would be illegal to put the contents in the marina mixed waste bins or the re-cycling bins. What do you do with it?

[pbdayger]

Well……technically it goes is a compost here at home….we sail from our home port weeks and w/e’s….but we may have put it in the garbage bag on an occasion.

[tbodine88]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

Not sure C-Head is still an option. They seemed to have gone dark last year.

Looks like they are out of business

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/c-head.com


A customer " called the Astor chamber of commerce and they said they (C-Head) closed doors this summer."

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by paul2884

We sail in the UK and France so things may be diffrent elseware. Many marinas have "Free" pump out for the holding tank but I have never seen any way to despose of the contents of a composting toilet, the lower-levels may well be fully composted (probably not all the contents) but I am sure it would be illegal to put the contents in the marina mixed waste bins or the re-cycling bins. What do you do with it?

So used diapers and feminine hygiene products cannot be put into waste bins?

I know of no place in North America where it illegal to put any of the above into the general waste stream. Perhaps Europe is different, in which case I wonder where all the above mentioned items go.

In my personal case, I mostly dump over the side, out past the 3 mile limit, when we're underway. Or I take it into a forested area, away from human contact. I've only had to resort to a dumpster a few times over the years.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by tbodine88

Looks like they are out of business

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/c-head.com


A customer " called the Astor chamber of commerce and they said they (C-Head) closed doors this summer."

I've heard this from other forum sources as well. Too bad... they seemed to be good heads. Luckily there are now other options now which are similar to C-head.

[rwidman]

You are fooling yourself if you think you are making compost by adding poop to sawdust. As long as you keep adding frech poop every day or two, it will never be compost.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by rwidman

You are fooling yourself if you think you are making compost by adding poop to sawdust. As long as you keep adding frech poop every day or two, it will never be compost.

I don't think anyone who actually considers a compost head is fooling themselves. Sure, the term "compost head" is used liberally, but to anyone seriously considering one, it's clear the process is best termed 'desicatting' or 'urine-diversion.'

Frankly, the original off-grid 'compost toilets' that combined solid and liquid waste didn't compost particularly well either due to very high moisture rate of raw sewage. But the name 'compost toilet/head' stuck as a vernacular description of the genre. I'd guess that the desicatting process via urine diversion works better in a few weeks than the 'compost' process of the original self-contained compost toilets did in many months.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by rwidman

You are fooling yourself if you think you are making compost by adding poop to sawdust. As long as you keep adding frech poop every day or two, it will never be compost.

Wheewy! Thanks for clearing that up. Boy, was everyone here confused. What would we do without your insightful comment .

... oh wait, NO ONE here has written what you said. Any other straw men you'd like to kick at?

Or maybe you'd like to address the actual topic of the thread. Since you're here, tell us about your experience owning and operating one of these heads. Which one do you think is best.

[SomeGuyInaShirt]

Best addition to my boat by far was the Air Head composting toilet, zero regrets. Now the idea of leaving a beautiful remote anchorage because the poop tank is full is a laughable memory. :-)

And the smell! Almost nonexistent. Occasionally you catch a waft of the exhause fan but it's easily avoided.