Composting Toilet Liquids Diversion

[Marisita117]

Hello Cruisers,

Was wondering if anybody has successfully diverted the liquids compartment of the composting toilet overboard via through-hull when appropriate. Really love the idea of this head but with a portable bidet we are afraid the liquids container will fill rather quickly.

[SVTatia]

I'd be interested to see the replies. In my mind one could use a small holding tank gravity fed with a bilge pump atrached to discharge overboard. Pumps, hoses, syphon brake, etc. Kind of back to almost a regular head defeating the purpose I think.

[john61ct]

What is a "portable bidet" if not a bum gun?

Very interested, after living decades overseas I find the TP concept positively neanderthal.

Not meant to disparage neanderthals of course 8-)

[Marisita117]

I love that name! It is a bum gun essentially. Nice not to have to store so much toilet paper on board.

2PCS-Pack Portable Bidet for Toilet - 450ml Travel Bidet - 15oz Handheld Personal Bidet Empty Bottle - Childbirth Cleaner - For Outdoor,Camping,Travling,Driver,Personal Hygiene - with Storage Bag https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078TVK1G1..._UmT7DbS77M9H3

Originally Posted by john61ct

What is a "portable bidet" if not a bum gun?

Very interested, after living decades overseas I find the TP concept positively neanderthal.

Not meant to disparage neanderthals of course 8-)

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Very interested, after living decades overseas I find the TP concept positively neanderthal. Not meant to disparage neanderthals of course 8-)

Very interested, after living decades overseas I find the TP concept positively refreshing. Not meant to disparage those who prefer other options like their left hand.

So, you have washed you bum, then what? how do you dry it on a small boat? oh and you are either single handed or the off watch crew are asleep with the auto pilot is steering and no one on watch. So you need to be quick about it. What's next? accept a wet bum or switch on the LFP mega bank and fire up the wifes hair dryer or if you are single the paint stripper heat gun? But be quick because the situation up topsides is changes fast when coastal sailing

Pete

[Wood]

It's still human waste and could not be discharged in a no discharge zone.

[KimSails]

Originally Posted by Wood

It's still human waste and could not be discharged in a no discharge zone.

That's what I keep telling the guys that pee off of the back of the boat I race on. They don't seem to care.

[Muaddib1116]

Actually I read somewhere that it is totally legal to go directly into the water, but if you go in any sort of container first, then it's illegal discharge.

[sailortype]

"That's what I keep telling the guys that pee off of the back of the boat I race on"
human urine is an extremely pure substance

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Wood

It's still human waste and could not be discharged in a no discharge zone.

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

Actually I read somewhere that it is totally legal to go directly into the water, but if you go in any sort of container first, then it's illegal discharge.

Not speaking on behalf of the PO, but the solution being sought is not to break the law, but rather to find an alternative to always emptying a small pee bottle when it can be done.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Marisita117

Was wondering if anybody has successfully diverted the liquids compartment of the composting toilet overboard via through-hull when appropriate.

A couple months ago, I posted a "how's it working for you?" thread for owners of compost heads. Upshot of it was the pee-bucket was more of a hassle than the poo-bucket. I have thought about the same thing and have no good solutions, but some spit-ball ideas (to avoid thread-hijack/diversion into legalities, let's assume all are for offshore).

1. Best would be if my head were above waterline so I could simply run a thru-hull for the pee or use the sink drain. The rim of my head is above waterline, but just barely. That's out.

2. Small wall mounted urinal that drains out sink drain - fine for men, not so much my other half. But solves half the problem.

3. Empty the pee-bucket down the sink and rinse. Sort of gross, but hey, urine is reasonably sanitary and its more convenient than sloshing it through the cabin and over the side.

4. Some sort of sump. Maybe a shower drain sump. Not sure it wouldn't smell pretty quickly, and would suck when pump or switch breaks. Probably want to rinse pretty well after each use.

Can't help on the bidet thing. I never really understood them in the first place let alone the portable link. Seems pretty unlikely everything ends up where it needs to go.

[alansmith]

I have a trimaran with a small standup bathroom in the bow. I am seriously thinking about pulling the lavac out with all of it's through hulls and assorted plumbing. The OP is correct in wanting a way to deal with the urine bottle.

What do you think of one of these cheap hand held manual pumps? Can see them at Harbor Freight and Amazon all day long for under 10 bucks. Just take a drill and punch a hole in the top the diameter of the tubing. My boat has only 18 inch draft. So, easy for me to exit the cabin/bow and pump it overboard when necessary. Heh, insaneness here, the mammals have been peeing in the oceans for …...I'm pretty sure that is why salt water is salty. Something has got to be done about the whales, dolphins, seals, and etc. Has anyone informed our gov't of this gross inequity being done to our oceans by these mammals? Smile

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by alansmith

What do you think of one of these cheap hand held manual pumps? My boat has only 18 inch draft. So, easy for me to exit the cabin/bow and pump it overboard when necessary.

Given your shallow draft, any chance you can replace the pee-bottle with a hose direct to a valve/thru-hull? Would certainly be my preference if my head weren't so low compared to waterline. Might depend on which head you're considering - I'm thinking Nature's Head.

[john61ct]

Seen custom/DIY setups that just use a standard 1-gallon milk jug.

For many people OK with "primitive living" conditions, seems pretty easy to deal with wherever you want to go empty it..

Otherwise I guess complicated infrastructure is "required".

[fxykty]

We empty the pee tank into our head’s sink. It needs a rinse after, but does a great job clearing the soap and hair scum in the drain. Certainly more convenient than carrying it all the way through the boat.

We have a NH and it would be relatively simple to plumb a drain line to the outlet to the pee bottle. Unfortunately our waterline is just at the top of the pee bottle, so we would have to drain into the shower sump (nope, would need rinsing each time) or into a holding tank. Hang on, we celebrated removing the holding tank and all the associated stuff, so that’s a no go also.

Legally, your composting head would no longer be NDZ compliant if you plumb the pee hole drain directly to a through hull.

And yes, it is weird that even in NDZs it’s legal to pee directly over the side. But handy.