Compost head use?

[Thomas1985]

When you poo in the composting head how does it flush? Is the ideas the door is open and the poo falls straight on to the pile?

If so, does that work, or does some reminents need cleaned from bowl after use?

Does the urine side flush, or does it need hit with a baby wipe after use?

[landsend]

The resident composting guru will be with you shortly.
Otherwise use google.

[Thomas1985]

Google is kinda vague on these questions…

The short question is… do you need to baby wipe the bowl after use?

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by Thomas1985

Google is kinda vague on these questions…

The short question is… do you need to baby wipe the bowl after use?

Depends on what happens...

We do a wipe down after use, but our OGO is relatively brand new so want to keep it that way.

A quick google will give you ideas on what people do for maintenance on their toilets.

Composters don't "flush" in the traditional sense. The waste drops into a container of "medium" whose purpose is to accelerate the "drying process". Most of these toilets "flush" by cranking a handle to mix the waste with the medium. The OGO is a bit more civilized. Press a button and a motor does the "churning" for you!

The urine side simply goes into a small tank. Pretty simple. You can spray down the Urine diverter with a bit of white vinegar after each use. We keep a spray bottle next to the head for this purpose

[landsend]

Have you looked up Natures Head and other makers of composting toilets?
I would think they would have specs and instructions.

[mvweebles]

Open trap door. Let it rip. Close trap door. Turn the crank a few times. Done.

If a compost head has one area where its ease of use lags behind a traditional head, it is episodes of diarrhea where there can be some splatter. We use a spray bottle of dilute vinegar to "flush" after each urine. This same spray bottle is used yo clean the bowl if needed. It is possible to soil the lip of the trap door which is a bit difficult to clean.

Sorry for the graphic nature of post. But there comes a point where metaphor is distracting. Compost head users are quite enthusiastic about their use. For some reason they are reluctant to go into details about their detractions. Episodes of diarrhea is definitely one.

[Thomas1985]

Thanks for the replies I think you answered my question.

The manufacturers instructions don't seem to want to say you may need to wipe a little poop out of the bowl. I kinda assumed that may be the case seeing as how there is no liquid flush occurring.

[BenBowSirocco]

We used a composter for about 4 to 5 years on our second boat and we ended up changing how we used it after we got tired of cleaning it/repacking it.



We removed the lower bucket handle completely and would line the bucket with a PAIR of "composting garbage bags" (if there is such a thing is another topic).



We would then put some DRY coconut coir or rodent bedding (shredded pine) down as well as a scoop of "liquid jelling powder" commonly used in wag bags.

Then after use, we cover the excrement with fresh coir or pine shred. Job done! We left the vent fan working as per normal.



Once the bucket was about half to 3/4 full (or it smelled: which was rare) we simply removed the top off the bucket, compressed and tied off the bags and then disposed of them in an appropriate garbage can or compost pile.



This eliminated the need to clean a soiled bucket completely and greatly increased our satisfaction with our toilet as we no longer had to come into contact with the excrement. It was a very convenient and clean system that we still utilize in our campers today.



Be aware, the most common complaint we heard about these types of systems was how often you need to empty the urine jug and this bore out for us as well, though it was nothing compared to the hours of vile disgust saved in dealing with a clogged or leaking traditional system.



Once we made this change in how we use the system: we really did like it.

[BenBowSirocco]

Originally Posted by Thomas1985

Thanks for the replies I think you answered my question.

The manufacturers instructions don't seem to want to say you may need to wipe a little poop out of the bowl. I kinda assumed that may be the case seeing as how there is no liquid flush occurring.

In our experience this was very rare.


Generally you dont have to wipe anything up- its a pretty generous opening.

[phorvati]

it does get stuck on rare occasions. Ive had 250lbs guy catch air while trying to go #2 on my Airhead 100+ miles offshore. It went well.

But cleaning the bowl is not like regular toilet. For instance you don't just pour bowl cleaner and use a brush to clean the bowl, then flush.
Really you never use water to clean it unless the entire thing is out on deck and you are replacing the solids.
So in that sense a lot of hair and small fragments of paper towels get collected and need to be cleaned from time to time.

I can see how this is not for everyone.

For me it beats dealing with holding tanks and smell.

[wrwakefield]

Rarely is any cleaning of solids necessary as the bomb-bay trap door is very adequate.

We do spritz [3 squirts from a misting spray bottle] the bowl with dilute [10%] bleach solution after every use to sanitize and rinse any remaining urine. A bleach spritz also works well for wetting, then wiping with TP any remaining solids.

FWIW

Cheers, Bill

[newboat]

The C head (unfortunately it appears that they are out of production and contact) that I have is a simple and elegant version as described above-a solids tank with a dessicating medium (we use hemp chicken coop bedding) and a hand crank-and a separate urine tank. It works extremely well and requires very little cleaning and maintenance during regular use-once in a while we remove and clean the whole thing ashore. The urine tank (about a gallon) does indeed fill quickly but it is pretty easy to simply dump it overboard and replace it.
I don't think a C head or any of the others would be sufficient for say or 4 or 5 person offshore crew, but for a couple cruising it is great. No odor, no leaks!

[Thomas1985]

I totally agree the traditional marine head is far from problem free. I’m actually pretty sold on composting.

It’s not like you can compare a compost to your toilet at home. There is no marine toilet where you don’t encounter a little poo

[Mike OReilly]

Looks like the question has been well answered. We have a spritz bottle beside the head which we use after each pee. After playing with various mixtures we’ve concluded simple fresh water does just as well as anything to keep things smelling like roses.

On the rare occasion that a little feces gets splattered on the side of the bowl, I just spritz the area and wipe with a little toilet paper. No biggie.

[kayakerChuck]

We've had our AirHead for a year.

We've "tested" it with everything that can come out of a human. Worst case- just wipe it down with TP, then a quick spritz with dilute vinegar & TP, and toss everything "down the hatch". Maybe add some coir if the event was particularly liquid. Churn & carry on. No big deal.

Most of the time, no cleaning is needed after use. We still give ours a quick spritz of dilute vinegar.