Looking into composting toilet

[SuW]

Originally Posted by piranha

Using C-Head, no vent installed as suggested by manufacturer. Using cedar bedding for medium. Will never go back. Added baby carriage mosquito netting to avoid flies leaving eggs which happened a couple of times (gross). Been great ever since.

Yeah, good idea on the netting. I took the head apart this winter and found that the mesh foam that had been originally installed 11 years ago as vent "air filter" had degraded to dust! So it's worth checking plastic mesh once in a while.

I replaced it with some fine bronze mesh, fwiw.

[thinwater]

I think most people have found peat to work poorly. I did. I didn't try semi-composted leaves. You probably need more.



Another any-bug trick is to hang a small pouch of pool chlorine (or similar--I've been using dichloroisocyanurate) just inside the lid but out of the line of fire. The humidity causes it to release the tiniest trickle of chlorine, which kills any odor and of course, bugs. You cannot smell it in the cabin, even after the boat has been closed up for weeks. It is a tiny amount. [Like the C-Head, there is a separate lid under the seat that is removed during use and replaced when finished. No vent, no need.]


BTW, I use the desicating head on my F-24, not the PDQ in my avitar--that has a conventional holding tanks system.

---

What do people do with the TP? If you add it to the bin, it works fine, but you use more absorbant and it fills more quickly. Bagging it is a separate thing to fool with, but it works and I might if I was going to be away from the dock for long enough (weeks).

[kvstein]

Mike pretty well nailed it for the pros and cons. But one factor to consider is size. Composting heads are typically larger than flush potties. Measure carefully twice and cut once! Having said that we are never going back to conventional head.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Another any-bug trick is to hang a small pouch of pool chlorine (or similar--I've been using dichloroisocyanurate) just inside the lid but out of the line of fire. The humidity causes it to release the tiniest trickle of chlorine, which kills any odor and of course, bugs.

That's a neat trick. I might try it if/when we ever get back to our boat. I've only ever had serious flies twice (once when we weren't on board), but this sounds easy.

Originally Posted by thinwater

What do people do with the TP? If you add it to the bin, it works fine, but you use more absorbant and it fills more quickly. Bagging it is a separate thing to fool with, but it works and I might if I was going to be away from the dock for long enough (weeks).

We put our soiled TP into the head. My female partner diverts her urine wipes to a bag. My sense is the TP just ads to the absorption and doesn't really affect the function of the head, but being old wilderness campers we don't use a lot of paper to begin with.

[sailorxyz]

Originally Posted by jen1722terry

If you do as we do and add a bit (maybe 1/2 cup) of peat moss to the solids tank after each use, the waste will be dry and pretty much odor free when it's time to dump it all out.

We double-trash-bag the waste until we can get to a dumpster. It stows well in a cockpit locker. Not particularly heavy.

Good luck.

Please don't use peat moss. It is environmentally damaging and unsustainable. Use coconut coir or pine pellets.

[Kropdad]

We installed an Air Head about a year ago to replace our manual pump out head. We took this path due to lack of space to install a black water tank and lack of pump out facilities in QLD. The head comes with a fan and they recommend installing a solar deck mounted fan, which we did. Both fans died within a few months, Air Head sell them for 60 bucks but electronic stores sell them for about 10 though you need to wire in a potentiometer to slow it down a bit. Fitting the solar fan theough the deck was a bad idea but I couldn't see where else to vent out and in hindsight should have installed a better suited vent that does not allow water to enter, which is what was killing the fans.

At first we absolutely loved it. It sat nicely in place though it is a bit tall, a bit like a throne, but not too much of an issue. The XO placed a funnel in the number 1 opening to assist in accuracy which stopped urine flowing back into the number 2 tank, a problem that made the compost soupy and unable to stay dryish and was also smelly. We think a better design is required here to stop this happening but the funnel is a good work around.

Cleaning the urine tank often is a must or it stinks. We use Apple cider vinegar and salt to clean it which works well and keeps the build up on the interior down. Draining it is a bit stinky but not a big issue. The main drama we have is removing the solids, it's a horrible job visually and cleaning the tank is a horror story. It really is a crap job... then you have to find a place to dispose of the waste. This has been the biggest issue we have with it, disposal.

If I had my druthers I would have found a way to install a holding tank and would not have installed the compost system, but like most boats compromise is just part of the life.

[PaulBartomioli]

I have a question. what do you do with the used toilet paper or wet wipes?

[SuW]

Originally Posted by PaulBartomioli

I have a question. what do you do with the used toilet paper or wet wipes?

Hi Paul,
Wet wipes are synthetic, I think, so they should go in the garbage (unless they're the "biodegradable" kind).

We put used toilet paper into a plastic bag and take to the garbage on shore, although it can be composted as Mike mentioned above.

I'm not usually more than a week away from a dockside, though.

Sue W.

[mvweebles]

About 2-years ago, I posed the question to this forum "Compost Head Owners - would you go back?" There were about 40 unique CH owner responses who were 100% happy, 2 who were ambivalent, one who had problem with flies who would go back, and a couple dozen non-owners who chimed-in about the Ick Factor, illegal disposal of waste, and how it affected resale value.

My takeaway? Many are put-off by the idea of a compost head and were unabashed about coming up with all sorts of reasons why it was a bad/illegal idea. But for those who actually owned them, there was a >95% approval rating. Biggest hurdle is if you regularly have more 4 or more people aboard.

To the OP - if you're asking the question, means you're open to the open. My strong hunch is you will be happy with the outcome if you go compost/desiccating head.

Good luck

Peter

[mjscottinnc]

Originally Posted by Davy J

Oh boy, another one of these threads......



Just checking in to say Natures Head, would not go back.........

Ditto on both accounts

[Icarus]

Hard to get rid of the odour..
It permates everything.
No doubt some like it...

[chris mac]

Originally Posted by Icarus

Hard to get rid of the odour..
It permates everything.
No doubt some like it...

I assume you are talking about holding tank and hoses.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Kropdad

We installed an Air Head about a year ago to replace our manual pump out head. We took this path due to lack of space to install a black water tank and lack of pump out facilities in QLD. The head comes with a fan and they recommend installing a solar deck mounted fan, which we did. Both fans died within a few months,

I routed the venting through the already-existing pump out cap that was on my side deck, and fitted it with a mushroom vent. We simply close the vent when we get into big seas. Nature's Head uses a small computer fan fitted at the head and wired to the main batteries. You could certainly use a solar vent, but they seem problematic, so I didn't go that route.

Originally Posted by Kropdad

At first we absolutely loved it. It sat nicely in place though it is a bit tall, a bit like a throne, but not too much of an issue. The XO placed a funnel in the number 1 opening to assist in accuracy which stopped urine flowing back into the number 2 tank, a problem that made the compost soupy and unable to stay dryish and was also smelly. We think a better design is required here to stop this happening but the funnel is a good work around.

You definitely do not want urine flowing into the main compartment. With our Nature's Head the flows aren't a problem. I haven't heard of problems with Air Head's design before, but maybe other AH users could comment.

Originally Posted by Kropdad

Cleaning the urine tank often is a must or it stinks. We use Apple cider vinegar and salt to clean it which works well and keeps the build up on the interior down. Draining it is a bit stinky but not a big issue.

Yes, the urine tank is the stinkiest part, but it only smells (briefly) when being dumped. In use there is no odour -- at least with NH. We do a vinegar cleaning every once in a while. It doesn't seem to be a big deal for us.

Originally Posted by Kropdad

The main drama we have is removing the solids, it's a horrible job visually and cleaning the tank is a horror story. It really is a crap job... then you have to find a place to dispose of the waste. This has been the biggest issue we have with it, disposal.

Again, only speaking from the NH perspective, dumping is really not that big a deal. I remove the top (seat), fit a plastic bag around the bin, and then dump it over. As long as I don't lose the fitting around the bin it's no fuss, no muss, and only takes a few minutes. Again, maybe AH is different?

The majority of the time we dispose of our waste either out to sea, or well off the beaten trail in a remote anchorage. I've only had to use the marina dumpster a few times over the years of ownership. It's definitely my least favourite solution, but it's not a big deal. Municipal waste manages much worse (soiled diapers, used feminine hygiene products, dog poop, etc...). The end product of a compost head is far less offensive than this stuff.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Icarus

Hard to get rid of the odour..
It permates everything.
No doubt some like it...

Yes, those standard marine heads can really get stinky if they're not maintained properly, including changing out the plumbing as needed. No odour is definitely one of the big benefits of moving to a composter.

[Coyote24]

Greetings,

We have to find a solution for our head that is just a direct flush to the sea.
Composting is attractive, but reading this tread I see disposing of matters that is not actually composted, difficulties in emptying containers.
So I am a bit confused.
Composting: do our business, end-up with dirt, put in the garden, = better vegetable.
Is that not the case?
If that is the case than I may as well pee overboard and poo in a bucket lined with a plastic bag, no?
Also, a few post are for boat around 26ft, the smallest head I can find suggest 5ft headroom, 3.5ft before your knees hit the door and the width appears reasonable.
How do you fit this in a 26ft boat? Do you make some cuts to fit it in?