Composting Toilet Question

[Dulcesuenos]

Valhalla, joker valves are easy and only needed 2 or 3 times a year. And no I'm not kidding, outside the US pumpouts are rare if not impossible to find in many plalces. You should check it out sometime. You say you are dumping 4 to 6 weeks? Is that as a weekend warrior or a full time away from a dock liveaboard?

We are offshore or away from shore enough it's not a problem, but outside the US many just simply macerate/flush overboard.
The solution to pollution is dilution!

[smj]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Valhalla, joker valves are easy and only needed 2 or 3 times a year. And no I'm not kidding, outside the US pumpouts are rare if not impossible to find in many plalces. You should check it out sometime. You say you are dumping 4 to 6 weeks? Is that as a weekend warrior or a full time away from a dock liveaboard?

We are offshore or away from shore enough it's not a problem, but outside the US many just simply macerate/flush overboard.
The solution to pollution is dilution!

I know you use to praise the benefits of the composting heads. Just wondering what changed your mind, and also if you owned an actual C-Head or was it the one you built which was designed like the C-Head.
Hope y'all are having a blast on your cruise!

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by smj

I know you use to praise the benefits of the composting heads. Just wondering what changed your mind, and also if you owned an actual C-Head or was it the one you built which was designed like the C-Head.
Hope y'all are having a blast on your cruise!

We had a true c head on one side of the leopard every female who sat on it had a hard time with not peeing in the compost bucket due to a poorly designed urine diverter . We had home built c head on our FP which the urine diverted was much better.
Near a dumpster or land where we had toilets available and did coastal trips etc they work good. Carrying a bucket or compost bin to the side or stern offshore especially if it's rough is a pain in the ,,, and not always safe.
Compared to throwing a lever when offshore from inside the boat The compost can be messy and you have to store it. We have enough compressed bricks of coir to last over a year. They take up alot of space and weight.
Imhop I have a hard time believing anyone who says they can go 6 weeks with 2 people going #2 daily between dumping. That's fitting nearly 90 dooties (lol) into a bucket, unless your a fillipino, I doubt you can do it and still turn a handle.
Cruising outside the US, everyone is dumping overboard anyways. Your not carrying it to a landfill/dumpster etc in most places so into the water it goes.
I find myself emptying our composter every 2 to 3 weeks more frequently with guests, For the time and mess involved and carrying the compost onboard I am over it and added all up is worse then painting the bottom every 2 years.
Amd yes the trip is going awesome, thanks!!! Coming back in August to Install folding props and an arch and walkway!!!

[steveth3b]

For just two, it would be manageable. We have a Nature's Head for our family of four. One is still in diapers. We empty the pee receptical every other day for now, and it's usually fuller than I'd like. Luckily we both go to work/school while the kids go to daycare, so our use at home is significantly reduced. The composting action works pretty well, smells are mostly gone, unless the three year old sits too far back and pees in the poop side. Cleaning has never been a clean process, but it is surprisingly odor free.

[ShaktisBoy]

Imhop I have a hard time believing anyone who says they can go 6 weeks with 2 people going #2 daily between dumping. That's fitting nearly 90 dooties (lol) into a bucket.

If your composting correctly the solids tank will be very warm usually more than 90 degrees F 24/7 with a constant low pressure in the solids tank which causes significant drying of the solids which by the way are mostly water. As the solids dry and are agitated by the mixer and additional small amounts of additional coir is added they lose most of their volume. Easily 4 to 6 weeks on Mulligan with just my wife and I aboard. Admittedly the one thing this system is not good at dealing with is vomit or diarrhea. If that happens you will need to add additional coir to absorb the moisture and reduce the emptying schedule as needed.

[Matt Johnson]

Does anyone put toilet paper into the solids pile, or are you all using bags/trash cans for that?

Matt

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

Does anyone put toilet paper into the solids pile, or are you all using bags/trash cans for that?

Matt

We're still weekenders (plus vacations) but we put the toilet paper into the solids pile. We just make sure to separate the squares. It fills up a bit faster with the paper in it, but it's a trade off I'm willing to make.

I use a plastic bin for the urine toilet paper.

[nautical62]

I've owned a composting head and gravity fed traditional marine head. I know some people really enjoy hauling a bin of half composted human waste topside, emptying it overboard by hand and watching the crap and peat moss float around. Personally I prefer to just open a seacock and let it drain out underway, but maybe that's just me.

[Mike OReilly]

As most other users of Nature’s and Air Heads report, getting four to six weeks between dumps is quite normal. A couple routinely getting less than this is either doing something wrong with their mix, or has special health issues.

We toss feces paper into the bin — no bagging required on our boat. My spouse bags her urine wipes.

We use coir. I can store six months of material under the head sink. Takes up less than the volume of normal bucket. Seems like a small space to me. Preparing the coir is easy. Just put a brick in a plastic bag with a bit of water, and put it in the sun. In a few hours it is soft, and can easily be torn apart. On the scale of boat tasks, this ranks as one of the easiest.

I tend to keep my coir quite dry; I wet it just enough to tear it apart. Moisture is added through usage, which expands the material. My practice has been to start each cycle with about 1/2 to 2/3rd of a brick in the bin. Then about 2-3 weeks into the normal cycle I start tossing in a handful of coir every few usages. When it gets hard to churn, usually around five weeks, we dump.

Dumping is not a fun task, but compared to many boats tasks, it’s pretty easy. And unlike a holding tank, you have a large range of time in which to do the deed. A pile can be dumped early if you’re planning a passage, or it can be pushed for a week or more if need be. It might get harder to churn, but it will keep working.

Sending your poop directly overboard is, without a doubt, the easiest thing to do. And as long as you’re off shore, in anchorages with good water flow, and/or in anchorages with few boats, it’s a fine solution. In small or busy anchorages, and/or ones with little flow, I do wonder how the dump overboard folks cope.

[wsmac]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

...Two adults, full time. We typically get around five weeks between dumps. Have gone as long as seven and as few as three, but five is about our average. ...

OMG!
I... really really REALLY feel sorry for you all!
I usually go 8-24 hours between... well... you know

[Meanderthal]

I grew up with land-based outhouses dt homesteading in AK :-). Personally, I like flexibility in my toilet options--we've kept the head and the septic tank, but use it pretty much exclusively for pee unless well away from land. A very small DIY dessicating box serves as a pooper box. It is lined with a compostable trash bag. Doesn't need to be fancy, but does need to have a lid for rough seas!

We put away the box if guests come, bc I guess that is the price you pay. Unless the guests are coming into a place with no acceptable alternative accomodations, I recommend hotels anyways. (I've lived aboard less than 2 years, but have spent 3-5 years, depending how you count, car camping or traveling via a poptop microrv. Mostly, our folks or guests want to go fishing (or camping equivalent), then drink beer at a fun colorful restaurant.

As to the poop in bag in dumpster thing...I like that a hell of a lot better than people who eject their poop overboard in harbor (yeah, sure, you live on that boat all winter and never get pumped out....), or create 100+ the waste by diluting it with salt water and then get pumped out by a facility that frequently mishandles subsequent waste. Contrast this with poop ending up in a landfill that in the future has a methan recovery system installed. Energy gold!

Not to mention, that guy that said changing a joker valve 2-3 times a year is no big deal. Um. That is still a disgusting big deal. Which is why lots of people don't--then their head explodes😉.

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by Meanderthal

I grew up with land-based outhouses dt homesteading in AK :-). Personally, I like flexibility in my toilet options--we've kept the head and the septic tank, but use it pretty much exclusively for pee unless well away from land. A very small DIY dessicating box serves as a pooper box. It is lined with a compostable trash bag. Doesn't need to be fancy, but does need to have a lid for rough seas!

We put away the box if guests come, bc I guess that is the price you pay. Unless the guests are coming into a place with no acceptable alternative accomodations, I recommend hotels anyways. (I've lived aboard less than 2 years, but have spent 3-5 years, depending how you count, car camping or traveling via a poptop microrv. Mostly, our folks or guests want to go fishing (or camping equivalent), then drink beer at a fun colorful restaurant.

As to the poop in bag in dumpster thing...I like that a hell of a lot better than people who eject their poop overboard in harbor (yeah, sure, you live on that boat all winter and never get pumped out....), or create 100+ the waste by diluting it with salt water and then get pumped out by a facility that frequently mishandles subsequent waste. Contrast this with poop ending up in a landfill that in the future has a methan recovery system installed. Energy gold!

Not to mention, that guy that said changing a joker valve 2-3 times a year is no big deal. Um. That is still a disgusting big deal. Which is why lots of people don't--then their head explodes😉.

So you poop in a box unless guests are there and use biodegradable bags to haul your crap to a landfill fill? Maybe you should read this article about the reality of composting bags.
http://www.plasticplace.com/blog/5-s...e-plastic-bags
you think joker valves are messy etc , have you ever done one? I can flush enough water and some cleaner through to ensure no waste comes back through and replace the average valve in 10 minutes. Less time and mess than it takes for you to bag your crap, mix up or pour in new compost, and return your poop box to its place.
Never ever seen a head explode from a faulty joker valves, or are you just making stuff up now?

[Kenomac]

So, first we learn that the poop doesn't actually compost in the composter toilet because there's not enough time for the last poopie in to decompose (it takes months). Now we learn that the bag to haul one's poopies to the dumpster causes more harm to the environment than simply pooping into the ocean (where the poopies get eaten up by fishes and plankton).

Here's my question for the eco-minded composter: Who's dumpster are you using, and does the owner of said dumpster know you're dumping mostly fresh poopies into it? If this behavior was taking place in our town of Whoville, I know for a fact that the Health department would have an absolute fit if they found out the dumping of human poopies into dumpsters was taking place. You know... human waste carrying pathogens, disease and all that.... Rats and flies in the dumpster eating the poopies etc., then spreading the germs all over town.

[smj]

So Kenomac, how do they dispose of diapers in your town ?


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[smj]

Always wonder how someone who dumps raw sewage in crowded anchorages where people are swimming thinks it's bad to dump partially composted waste in a dumpster where it will finish the composting process in the local dump.


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