Ogo (composting) toilet - any users?

[dlj]

Originally Posted by Sea Glass

Hi all, I'm in "data-gathering" mode re: composting toilets, and Mike recently provided me with a list that included the OGO. For many reasons this seems it would be the best fit for me. The only yellow flag for me is the power-only agitator.

I'm particularly interested in hearing an early review from @dlj. How is it working out after your first few outings? I'd like to hear more about the carbon filter as well, and whether it provides the necessary odor control to keep the Admiral at bay. If I pursue a purchase, I'm going to ask to be a beta-tester for the non-venting option as well.

So far so good. As it is rather an invasive process to install the exterior vent, indeed I'm using the carbon filter. Spent two weeks on the boat with a friend using this head the whole time and honestly it had no odor that either of us could detect. I'll be back down on the boat soon and will let you know more after my next excursion. Right now I'm in the process of selling my house so I've been rather booked for time. I'm missing being on the boat. But I'll get there likely this week again.

The carbon filter is a bit primitive looking, but seems to work. The head in my forward cabin fits really nicely, it is easier to use that the previous head that came with the boat. I've been keeping a detailed log of usage, to date I've not needed to change the solids, only the liquids. I'll have to grab the log next time when on the boat to give more specific details of usage and dumping. I do like the "light" indicating when the liquids are full - it is a bit conservative, but I think that's good.

I'm currently using a 50/50 mix of coco coir (spelling?) and corn husk. I have to look up what it's called, but there is a cleaning product I was recommended to use on another forum that I picked up and am using. I really like how it cleans and the smell it leaves. Very pleasant - to my olfactory anyway....

dj

p.s. I guess time will tell about the power agitator...

[dlj]

Just a bit of an update. The OGO head has been running really well. I still get no smell at all. I actually left the boat forgetting to dump the urine container and was gone about 4 weeks before I could get back - there was still no smell at all! The urine container was really dark, but I dumped it and that was it. I'm really liking this head! (Power agitator still under study)

dj

[Sea Glass]

That's great news! Thanks for that update. I still haven't pulled the trigger on the purchase of any head yet, as I'm still working through the refit of other parts of the boat and she's likely not going in the water this year. But I can say that I emailed a few questions to OGO last month and received an answer in about an hour. It seems like their customer service is excellent, unlike C-Head who never got back to me at all.

If there was an option/override for a manual agitation vs. power-only, then the OGO would be a no-brainer. That's the only hesitation I feel about the design. It seems like the folks at OGO might have updates and new models in the product pipeline, so by the time I'm ready to install maybe there will be another option.

[dlj]

Originally Posted by Sea Glass

That's great news! Thanks for that update. I still haven't pulled the trigger on the purchase of any head yet, as I'm still working through the refit of other parts of the boat and she's likely not going in the water this year. But I can say that I emailed a few questions to OGO last month and received an answer in about an hour. It seems like their customer service is excellent, unlike C-Head who never got back to me at all.

If there was an option/override for a manual agitation vs. power-only, then the OGO would be a no-brainer. That's the only hesitation I feel about the design. It seems like the folks at OGO might have updates and new models in the product pipeline, so by the time I'm ready to install maybe there will be another option.

The customer service of OGO is the owner. Really nice guy, I've spoken with him several times. He's very open to making this head the best it can be. I'd given him the suggestion that it would be pretty cool to have a spot inside the head for the cap of the urine container to sit so you would have everything right there when taking it out. I bought an extra container and so I just have it right at hand and take the cover off it, put it on the one I'm taking out to dump, put the empty replacement in, and that seems to work very well.

It seems to me having a manual option could be doable, but would sure be a tough feat to achieve. It would be difficult to maintain the current installation flexibility adding in a mechanical option. I'm not disagreeing with you by any means, just thinking out loud perhaps of how one could do that...

dj

[MikeHoncho]

Originally Posted by dlj

The customer service of OGO is the owner. Really nice guy, I've spoken with him several times. He's very open to making this head the best it can be. I'd given him the suggestion that it would be pretty cool to have a spot inside the head for the cap of the urine container to sit so you would have everything right there when taking it out. I bought an extra container and so I just have it right at hand and take the cover off it, put it on the one I'm taking out to dump, put the empty replacement in, and that seems to work very well.

It seems to me having a manual option could be doable, but would sure be a tough feat to achieve. It would be difficult to maintain the current installation flexibility adding in a mechanical option. I'm not disagreeing with you by any means, just thinking out loud perhaps of how one could do that...

dj

How's it going now we are in the hotter months?

[dlj]

Originally Posted by MikeHoncho

How's it going now we are in the hotter months?

Haven't noticed any difference. Still no smell. I'd imagine the solids composting is improved if anything. Don't really know...

dj

[toolbar]

We had a c-head on our previous boat, and two nature's heads on our current (being sold, just under contract) boat. Will definitely go with another composting head for our next boat as well.

From my vague memory we had more problems with the c-head - too much moisture in the solid compartment. Actually we had none of these problems with the bigger head.

As the Ogo has a similar capacity as the c-head I wonder if this is generally the case with "small capacity" composting heads? Are they more prone to get too wet?

Paul

[Sea Glass]

Hi toolbar-

Was your CHead vented? Just curious whether it’s a size thing or an airflow thing.

[toolbar]

Originally Posted by Sea Glass

Hi toolbar-

Was your CHead vented? Just curious whether it’s a size thing or an airflow thing.

Yes it was vented. There might be other factors besides the size: our daughter was much smaller and I think the separation in the c-head is not as good as in the nature's head.

Paul

[dlj]

Seperation in the OGO is very good but I don't know how it compares to others as it's the only one I've owned. For small children there seemed no problem - was just sailing with an 8 year old boy and 6 year old girl although not for a long time.

dj

[Ratel]

We bought 2 OGO heads to install in our Catamaran. A little bit of scepticism is never a bad thing, so we decided on a trial run here in the house.

2 Adults
7 days
No venting outside, enclosed bathroom.

I can report that it was a resounding success. Venting straight from the OGO into the bathroom there were zero objectionable smells from the solids bin. Even emptying the solids bin into a plastic bag at the end of 7 days there were no problems and no smells to be concerned with. We could probably get 2-3 weeks between emptying. We used Coco coir.

As far as the liquid side goes we used vinegar and water initially in the little spray bottle, it just made the bathroom smell like vinegar. The only time the smell was objectionable was when emptying the urine container. Bear in mind this was done in an enclosed bathroom. When on the boat and emptying it outside it would be 100 times better. This process only takes a minute in any case.

The last couple of days we used a commercially available product called "simple solution pet urine destroyer" in the spray bottle. Worked much better and smells a lot better than vinegar. There are a lot of options available commercially.

On the boat I will connect an activated carbon filter to the vent, this will add an additional layer of smell prevention (although it is hardly necessary, as proven).There is no reason to vent outside.

Only a small amount of toilet paper went into the solids bin, the rest and a final wet wipe went into an auto open/close bin next to the OGO. zero smells from that bin also.

After this experiment we are convinced that it is the right choice for our boat.

[dlj]

Your experience mimics mine. So far the only outstanding question seems to be how long and reliable is the electric motor - that only time will tell.

As far as the vinegar - I'd found a product that works very well and I quite like its odor. As you say, there are many brands out there.

dj

[Mike OReilly]

Great to hear the OGO is proving to be another great addition to the growing list of composters out there.

With regard to urine odours, after trying a few options, including vinegar and baking soda and various chemicals, we've found that nothing does any better than a simple fresh water squirt. We just keep a small bottle beside the head, and after each use we just spray the area with a light mist. This keeps the urine path clean and odourless.

Bottle still smells when it's opened for dumping, but this lasts a few seconds. No big deal.

[Ratel]

Originally Posted by dlj

Your experience mimics mine. So far the only outstanding question seems to be how long and reliable is the electric motor - that only time will tell.

As far as the vinegar - I'd found a product that works very well and I quite like its odor. As you say, there are many brands out there.

dj

I've sent a message to OGO asking about the expected life and replacement of the timer as well as the electric motor. Will update this post when I get a reply.

A quick search on Amazon shows electric motors with the worm gear for 25-35 USD. Timer modules are available at around 10-15 USD

[Ratel]

We already know the OGO is a good product that works as advertised. We also now know that their customer service is excellent!

About 15 min after contacting them with my question, Kevin replied.

There has been no failures of any timers or electric motors in normal use for about a year now. Should one require spare parts they are available.

The only failure of timers have been people reversing the polarity (unknowingly/accidentally) upon installation. Even if the timer was to break, you could still use the agitator by just holding the button in.