Composting Toilet (AirHead) going sour after 5 years

[mickt243]

its also possible that your "failed compost" is related to the antibiotics - some are excreted and can kill the bacteria that composting relies on, you might need to strip the whole thing down for a really good cleaning to decontaminate any antibiotic residue and start your compost from scratch.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by 19523

...Pardon the stains in the following photos, got it clean as I could! While inspecting and emailing AirHead customer service, there's a caulked/sealed part under the trapdoor to inspect, although ours seems sound. Upon further inspection, there's also a rubber seal railing on either side that is pulling away from the trap door. When the trap door is closed, they push up against against the floor of the bowl when it's right side up. We've siliconed that back, and also adjusted a screw to increase tension on the trapdoor. Have yet to hear back from customer service, so we'll see if this does anything as well.

Good on ya. I won’t be surprised if this isn’t part of the problem. As I hope has now been settled, the fan draws air through the main bin, and then pushes it out through the vent hose. It creates a negative pressure to draw moisture and odours out. If these seals have failed, then it would be harder to create this negative pressure in the tank, so it makes sense the desiccation would be negatively impacted.

Keep us posted on the outcome now that you’ve repaired the gasket and seals.

[alansmith]

Jim, in answer to your question about a pitching seaway ... I highly recommend super glue on the toilet seat 30 seconds before placing the back of your posterior on the seat. It is effective and I have seen zero failures with this operational situational decree.

[alansmith]

Okay... my bet. Since this situation seemed to go sour about the same time the hubby got a sour stomach.. I just think Montezuma’s revenge has upset the balance in the head. I think the gasket might be adding a small component to it. I don’t think the fan is the issue.

Hope hubby gets well. Sucks having the two steps till disaster syndrome. And yes... being a microbiologist by education and trade... I have seen the worst... u can imagine. And watery can mean opaque water with flecks of feces. I don’t thing any dedicating head could deal with that ratio of moisture to solid matter for very long.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Not a composter myself (as of yet) but this thread has raised a question in my mind: if the angle of the toilet is so critical that you might need to shim it for correctness, how can you use it at sea with the boat pitching and rolling ?

A potential user wants to know!

I can only speak from the Nature’s Head perspective (and from a male). This has not been an issue for us. Ours is aligned, bow-stern. In lumpy seas the greatest challenge is getting stripped down and sitting. Once on the seat it is easy to direct urine flow. The boat, or hence head angle, has never been a problem.

I suppose if we were pitching or rolling more than, say 50 degrees, it might. But then I suspect you’ve really got bigger issues going on.

[Seriously Slow]

I've sailed a few thousand miles with the traditional Jabsco style Marine head and read about how superior composting heads are. Many thanks for this discussion.
I know I am probably in the minority but I have never had a problem with any of my standard marine heads. On my current boat the PO allowed the hoses to build calcium to the extent he convinced his wife she had to throw her paper in a trash pail. Problem resolved since I bought the boat. A little routine maintenance and actually flushing through and I am only wishing for larger holding tanks.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Seriously Slow

I've sailed a few thousand miles with the traditional Jabsco style Marine head and read about how superior composting heads are. Many thanks for this discussion.
I know I am probably in the minority but I have never had a problem with any of my standard marine heads. On my current boat the PO allowed the hoses to build calcium to the extent he convinced his wife she had to throw her paper in a trash pail. Problem resolved since I bought the boat. A little routine maintenance and actually flushing through and I am only wishing for larger holding tanks.

Agreed. I used standard marine heads for a decade or more before making the switch. Never had any significant problems. My last standard head was Wilcox Crittenden Skipper II — awesome head. No issues with tank or pipes.

I switched for other reasons, which for our cruising just makes the composter a better choice. But not everyone will have the same calculus.

[Bloodhound]

The fan on our AirHead sucks air from the toilet and discharges through an existing through hull which is to close to the water line for my comfort. The fear is water backflowing through the air line into the toilet. So I built and installed a small knockout drum (4" diam x 16" high) with any back flow being separated and returned to the through hull. Same principle as a dorade box. N ever had a problem with wet coir as long as the boys squat to pee just like the girls -- even if the boys think they have superb aim, they don't even when stationary, and for sure not on a moving vessel.

[jimisbell]

OMG. after reading this entire thread, especially #14 thru #20 and all the posts about saving the paper, it reminds me of the trains in Mexico where they sweep the paper down the center isle and out the door.
I will NEVER have one of these and will avoid like the plague any boat that has one!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by jimisbell

OMG. after reading this entire thread, especially #14 thru #20 and all the posts about saving the paper, it reminds me of the trains in Mexico where they sweep the paper down the center isle and out the door.
I will NEVER have one of these and will avoid like the plague any boat that has one!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh poor delicate you. Guess you don't get out much. Most of the world doesn't even use toilet paper.

For the record, my paper goes into my head. My spouse diverts her urine paper.

Originally Posted by Bloodhound

The fan on our AirHead sucks air from the toilet and discharges through an existing through hull which is to close to the water line for my comfort. The fear is water backflowing through the air line into the toilet. So I built and installed a small knockout drum (4" diam x 16" high) with any back flow being separated and returned to the through hull. Same principle as a dorade box. N ever had a problem with wet coir as long as the boys squat to pee just like the girls -- even if the boys think they have superb aim, they don't even when stationary, and for sure not on a moving vessel.

Good idea. We have a mushroom vent mounted on the side deck. It is fairly well protected, but we've learned to close the vent when we get into big ugly seas. We had one incident where we took some green seas down the air vent. That was not fun.

[Bloodhound]

Originally Posted by jimisbell

OMG. after reading this entire thread, especially #14 thru #20 and all the posts about saving the paper, it reminds me of the trains in Mexico where they sweep the paper down the center isle and out the door.
I will NEVER have one of these and will avoid like the plague any boat that has one!!!!!!!!!!!!

IMO and for my money a composting head is far preferred to lying in a contorted position in a very confined space trying to unplug a line from the wet head to the holding tank, or worse, working on a pumpout pump so I can empty the tank. I hate wet sh#t more than dry or even semi-dry I'll take solids any day; even yours, and after a few days it's all coffee grounds anyway.

[jimisbell]

I am hardly delicate. I am 83 years old and have seen most of the world and some of its wildest places and under the most primitive of conditions. Just because the third world lives in squalor is not a reason for me to import it into my world, into my boat. I like what technology has provided me. Oh, remind me not to shake hands with you....ooooooh, slimy.

[Bloodhound]

As is usually the case, there are valid arguments on both sides of any issue so we mustn't confuse facts with personal preferences. I prefer not to deal with plugged sewage lines and broken sewage pumps. I find disposing of a bucket of granular, dry, odorless material preferable. That is my personal preference; evidently it's not yours, but it's mine. That does not make the approach primitive. What might be primitive would be taking a dump over the cap rail For some sailors the head also goes by the name "Storm Toilet". To each his (or her) own -- preferences are not right or wrong, primitive or modern -- they're just preferences. The question isn't about slime but it might be interesting to learn who would be the more slimy -- the bloke who just dumped his compost pail, or the bloke who just finished working on his holding tank pumpout. I know whose hand I'd shake first

[jimisbell]

Originally Posted by Bloodhound

As is usually the case, there are valid arguments on both sides of any issue so we mustn't confuse facts with personal preferences. I prefer not to deal with plugged sewage lines and broken sewage pumps. I find disposing of a bucket of granular, dry, odorless material preferable. That is my personal preference; evidently it's not yours, but it's mine. That does not make the approach primitive. What might be primitive would be taking a dump over the cap rail For some sailors the head also goes by the name "Storm Toilet". To each his (or her) own -- preferences are not right or wrong, primitive or modern -- they're just preferences. The question isn't about slime but it might be interesting to learn who would be the more slimy -- the bloke who just dumped his compost pail, or the bloke who just finished working on his holding tank pumpout. I know whose hand I'd shake first

Never had to work on my pumpout. But the slime I was referring to was the comment that in some places they dont use paper. I assumed that was some type of an approval for bare hands........

[Adventure35]

Try using worms. You can throw away the vent hose and fan.