"Composting" toilet questions

[NRbar]

Mike

Where do you get the coir? I have only used peat because it is in every hardware store. We keep the peat in a couple of 5 gallon sealable buckets stored in the bilge. We always give away half the peat bale.

Thanks
Rob

PS: We have Diatomaceous earth, but have never noticed the flies so never used it.

[Mike OReilly]

I’ve bought it at a few gardening stores, but mostly I order it online via Amazon. The last order was big, so I haven’t bought any in three years now. If you have trouble finding a seller I can dig into my records.

… Actually, I probably should order some before the season begins. Thanks for the reminder .

[snort]

Based on the responses on this thread and the other one, is there absolutely no type of TP that can be used without needing to toss it into a separate bag? It would be nice if all things could just go in the toilet.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by snort

Based on the responses on this thread and the other one, is there absolutely no type of TP that can be used without needing to toss it into a separate bag? It would be nice if all things could just go in the toilet.

Like I said, most of our TP goes in the toilet. My wife diverts her urine wipes. We use standard 2-ply stuff. We have used the special marine stuff as well. Seems to make no difference to me.

It’s a simple equation with composters; the more material you put in, the shorter the cycle time between dumps. You can use all the TP you want, you just dump more often.

When we have guests I tell them to use as much as they want, and to dump it all into the bin. No worries.

[snort]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Like I said, most of our TP goes in the toilet. My wife diverts her urine wipes. We use standard 2-ply stuff. We have used the special marine stuff as well. Seems to make no difference to me.

It’s a simple equation with composters; the more material you put in, the shorter the cycle time between dumps. You can use all the TP you want, you just dump more often.

When we have guests I tell them to use as much as they want, and to dump it all into the bin. No worries.

Missed that! Thanks for pointing it out.

[Davidhoy]

I'm in the midst of upgrading my aft head from electric with a holding tank to a Nature's Head unit. This weekend my wife and I pulled out, must have been, about 40ft of hose, and "permanently" shut off two below-the-waterline through-hull fittings. Besides the various hoses, we also removed the holding tank, sea strainer, water pump">raw water pump, two siphon breaks, and what the original installer considered to be a "Y-valve" - it consisted of a tee in the line with a gate valve on the holding tank side, and the tee going to the through hull shutoff. I somehow doubt it would pass muster if we were ever inspected by the Coast Guard.

That said, the composting head is an experiment. If it works well we will keep it, if not we can always go back. We have an Electroscan system in the forward head, which we are keeping, at least for now. I really like the simplicity of the composting unit - only a vent hose and a single low-current 12 VDC connection for the fan. I hope the experiment will be a success...

On the subject of through hulls, besides shutting off the sea cock and removing the hose, do people typically cap the fitting with something? I have wooden plugs in them right now. I still have to decide whether I will remove the through hulls entirely when I next haul the boat.

-David

[SVRocinante]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

...That said, the composting head is an experiment. If it works well we will keep it, if not we can always go back. We have an Electroscan system in the forward head, which we are keeping, at least for now. I really like the simplicity of the composting unit - only a vent hose and a single low-current 12 VDC connection for the fan. I hope the experiment will be a success...

Awesome! Please keep us posted!

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

On the subject of through hulls, besides shutting off the sea cock and removing the hose, do people typically cap the fitting with something? I have wooden plugs in them right now. I still have to decide whether I will remove the through hulls entirely when I next haul the boat.

-David

No personal experience here, but is the fitting threaded or barbed?
If threaded, you might be able to find some sort of "cap" if barbed, then chances are a section of hose with a plug clamped in place would be best.

Good luck!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

… That said, the composting head is an experiment. If it works well we will keep it, if not we can always go back. We have an Electroscan system in the forward head, which we are keeping, at least for now. I really like the simplicity of the composting unit - only a vent hose and a single low-current 12 VDC connection for the fan. I hope the experiment will be a success...

On the subject of through hulls, besides shutting off the sea cock and removing the hose, do people typically cap the fitting with something? I have wooden plugs in them right now. I still have to decide whether I will remove the through hulls entirely when I next haul the boat.

That exactly what we did when we switched over. We tested the head (Nature’s Head) for a full, extensive season, before finally committing to it. So I pulled the holding tank and toilet, but let most everything else in place. It would have been easy to switch back if the composter didn’t work — needless to say, we’ve never gone back.

In my case I have not glassed in the existing thruhulls. One is being repurposed for our deck wash system, and I’ve just capped off the main one with plug and clamps. I would like to glass it in, and may do so some day, but it’s in such an awkward location that it’s a major task to do a proper job (and I wouldn’t want to do a 1/2-@ssed job with this sort of thing). The cap has been in place for going on seven years now. I check it regularly. Zero problems so far.

[smj]

Just as a heads up, on the last couple of loads in the composter we used a mixture of coir and aspen bedding. Seems to do really well!

[Davidhoy]

One thing I found with the Nature's Head unit is that it is quite wide, and then the vent fittings extend outwards, requiring even more side room. This is a problem on my boat, so, necessity being the mother of invention, I used a CAD program to create a right-angle vent adapter, and then printed 2 of them on my 3D printer. Now the vents point toward the back of the toilet where I have lots of room to connect the hose.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by smj

Just as a heads up, on the last couple of loads in the composter we used a mixture of coir and aspen bedding. Seems to do really well!

What’s the reason or benefit of the aspen SMJ? And is it just the wood shavings as are used in rodent pet cages?

Originally Posted by Davidhoy

One thing I found with the Nature's Head unit is that it is quite wide, and then the vent fittings extend outwards, requiring even more side room. This is a problem on my boat, so, necessity being the mother of invention, I used a CAD program to create a right-angle vent adapter, and then printed 2 of them on my 3D printer. Now the vents point toward the back of the toilet where I have lots of room to connect the host.

Nice job. I was able to use the existing fittings, but it would be easier with your setup.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

What’s the reason or benefit of the aspen SMJ? And is it just the wood shavings as are used in rodent pet cages?

Yes it’s the wood shavings. Less expensive than going straight coir, and does a good job of absorbing the moisture. Was recommended by the owner of C-Head. We were using cedar shavings which was nice as it smelled like your were taking care of business in a forest, but not as absorbent as the aspen.

[smj]

[Simply Sailing]

Originally Posted by SVRocinante

Thank you Mike... I'm really going to dig into the details; hope you don't mind.

OK, so if I'm understanding the process correctly, the idea behind the paper liners is that they act as a barrier between the fecal matter and the hatch leading to the lower holding compartment. Once you "go", you open the hatch with the little lever & bombs away! Spritz the bowl with a bit of water & vinegar solution & Bob's your uncle! Not quite buying it, but heck, I'll take it on faith for now and accept that it works must of the time.

If you're not using anything, then it seems that fecal matter is getting onto the bowl... even if you "go" with the hatch in the open position... no?

It also means that (assuming the bomb bay door is open at all times) when ladies go, a substantial amount of urine is probably going in as well... no?

Again, thank you for the candid answers. This is not a trivial change & I would hate to go through the whole process only to find that it freaks my wife out & I have to revert back to a "standard" head... thus my rather specific questions!

regards,

With the Air Head you have the option of door open or closed. As a woman, I RARELY have the patience or skill to go with the door open. My husband almost always makes "direct deposits" without the filter with the door open. With the filter there is no aiming. Go, the liquids filter out into the correct liquids container, pull the lever, the filter and solids go into the solids container. No aiming. It's preferable offshore or anytime the boat is moving, even if you can normally aim.

[Simply Sailing]

Originally Posted by smj

Yes it’s the wood shavings. Less expensive than going straight coir, and does a good job of absorbing the moisture. Was recommended by the owner of C-Head. We were using cedar shavings which was nice as it smelled like your were taking care of business in a forest, but not as absorbent as the aspen.

I'm speaking totally without experience here, but I've been told that cedar has some anti-bacterial properties (which is why it's so great for some pet bedding). The problem with using them in a composter is that it may hamper the growth of the "good" bacteria. Have you had any issues with this? We've never tried cedar because of having heard this, so I'm curious to hear from someone who has. I DO love how it smells in the kitty box, I just worry about it in the Air Head.