First year with a composting toilet

[TheBiscuits]

18 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I did try a real baby once, never again.

Did you forget the salt? 

 

 

 

 

 

[peterboat]

8 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

I'm going to resurrect this thread cause we've just seen the 'Silver foxes' clog on composting bogs, so I hope @frahkn is still looking.......and it's too boring with all these virus threads.

How do you get on keeping the toilet clean? With a pump out or cassette, you have a water supply to flush the bowl and so after flushing it is fit for the next person. Maybe a few times a week (or daily) if listening to Mrs Bob, the toilet gets a good clean down as not everybody 'sits down'! How do you find cleaning it? Is your liquids bottle getting full because you are flushing it down with water each time?

What is interesting from the vlog.....and what you are saying ..... is that the solids don't don't seem to be a problem. I'm more concerned about the increased contact with the liquid waste (daily)than our current pump out and the general cleaning, where contact with the waste is a couple of times a year when the vacuum pump needs attention. It certainly sounds better than a cassette when you see the state of some of the Elsan points.

 

 

 

 

 

Edit to ad......how the hell did Vlog end up as clog? I'd like to blame the speeel chucker!

 

The urinal part is cleaned by a lemon juice spray in my case Bob water it down a bit and quick spray after every use, no wee smell and minimal fluids. Nearly all the composting toilets I have seen are sit down for wees so no splash either

[Tracy D'arth]

Not everyone can urinate properly when sat down.  Pity the poor man with a prostate problem, very common.

[peterboat]

6 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Sounds like a load of faffing about rather than a comfy relaxing egestion. Bungs, levers, separators, flaps? No, not for me, a comfy seat on a porcelain bowl, easy to clean is my ideal.

The flap on proper composting toilets is auto you sit it opens you rise it closes, you get what you pay for, I think I have been using mine for 8 years now and it had two fans one was a cheap one from the tinternet and the other was given me, I would never go back to either pumpout or cassette

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, LadyG said:

I did try a real baby once, never again.

 

My dog loves babies, but couldnt manage a whole one. ?

 

 

I usually reserve this for concerned mum's, who on seeing my rescue GSD ask if he likes children. ?

Edited April 1, 2020 by cuthound
To remove a duplicate post

[peterboat]

4 hours ago, frahkn said:

We do bin the toilet paper, we use a small 'swing bin'. I was very concerned about this at first but, as you say, it's not a problem in reality.

 

We plan to try using "camping" loo rolls and putting the paper in with the solids on an experimental basis when we have an opportunity.

Mine has always gone into the solids it always composts down,  its the easiest way of doing it

34 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Not everyone can urinate properly when sat down.  Pity the poor man with a prostate problem, very common.

Luckily I can wee when I sit down 

[bramley]

you lost me at trowel..... 

[frahkn]

1 hour ago, bramley said:

you lost me at trowel..... 

Assuming this is addressed to my original post:-

 

1     The manufacturer does not suggest emptying the solids with a trowel, this is my own decision, made because the material is so inoffensive.

2     As I said, the whole thing may not suit the more 'sensitive' among us. Clearly, if you can't hack it, don't do it.

[Guest]

On 01/04/2020 at 12:12, Tracy D'arth said:

Sounds like a load of faffing about rather than a comfy relaxing egestion. Bungs, levers, separators, flaps? No, not for me, a comfy seat on a porcelain bowl, easy to clean is my ideal.

It's not.

[robtheplod]

Thanks for all the replies to my question.... I now have an idea and wonder if this makes any sense....?

 

Most compost toilets have an extraction fan to keep airflow to help the process. If I end up building in a compost toilet is there any merit in removing the floor where the 'bucket' sits so its lower and rests on the bottom hull (so could be higher capacity), but also would expose the cabin bilge, hence the airflow could serve two purposes? If the fan was beefed up to increase the airflow and the hole the bucket sits in made fairly large and loose fitting this would pull up air from below?  This air would be cooler so that might be an issue for the 'process' ?

 

Is this completely barking?

[peterboat]

4 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Thanks for all the replies to my question.... I now have an idea and wonder if this makes any sense....?

 

Most compost toilets have an extraction fan to keep airflow to help the process. If I end up building in a compost toilet is there any merit in removing the floor where the 'bucket' sits so its lower and rests on the bottom hull (so could be higher capacity), but also would expose the cabin bilge, hence the airflow could serve two purposes? If the fan was beefed up to increase the airflow and the hole the bucket sits in made fairly large and loose fitting this would pull up air from below?  This air would be cooler so that might be an issue for the 'process' ?

 

Is this completely barking?

I don't think its worth the effort,  a few holes in the floor would achieve the same result 

[Alan de Enfield]

2 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Is this completely barking?

For anyone with nowhere to store their 'output' for 6+ month I view the whole idea as 'barking'.

 

Our old house (built in the 1600's) had one, but it was a three-seater.

The 'staff' removed the contents every few days and no doubt it was spread on the fields.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

21 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Our old house (built in the 1600's) had one, but it was a three-seater.

A three seater. Well posh! ???

Edited June 3, 2020 by Jen-in-Wellies

[system 4-50]

5 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

A three seater. Well posh! ???

Must have been a right pain waiting for two other people wanting to go.

[tree monkey]

6 hours ago, robtheplod said:

Thanks for all the replies to my question.... I now have an idea and wonder if this makes any sense....?

 

Most compost toilets have an extraction fan to keep airflow to help the process. If I end up building in a compost toilet is there any merit in removing the floor where the 'bucket' sits so its lower and rests on the bottom hull (so could be higher capacity), but also would expose the cabin bilge, hence the airflow could serve two purposes? If the fan was beefed up to increase the airflow and the hole the bucket sits in made fairly large and loose fitting this would pull up air from below?  This air would be cooler so that might be an issue for the 'process' ?

 

Is this completely barking?

Just a thought, if the aim is to dessicate the waste wouldn't it be better to keep the air flow warm or at least if not warm not bilge cool

[robtheplod]

20 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Just a thought, if the aim is to dessicate the waste wouldn't it be better to keep the air flow warm or at least if not warm not bilge cool

I did wonder if this would be a problem... hence opening it up for discussion... thanks for your reply..

[tree monkey]

10 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

I did wonder if this would be a problem... hence opening it up for discussion... thanks for your reply..

No problem, I do find the concept interesting but I don't see it working on a boat unless land based composting facilities are available, I see dumping dry poo in the waste skips as unpleasant and unnecessary tbh

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

No problem, I do find the concept interesting but I don't see it working on a boat unless land based composting facilities are available, I see dumping dry poo in the waste skips as unpleasant and unnecessary tbh

Or even worse, give up storing it and put semi-liquid (or even still 'sloppy') stuff in the bin.

[system 4-50]

If they made doggy bins bigger?

[OldGoat]

7 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

For anyone with nowhere to store their 'output' for 6+ month I view the whole idea as 'barking'.

 

Our old house (built in the 1600's) had one, but it was a three-seater.

The 'staff' removed the contents every few days and no doubt it was spread on the fields.

Can't aspire to anything posher - a hut added on to an 1890's railway guards van which was added to a WW1 army hut 'next to my aunt's tudor cottage...

The grardener emptied the offerings on the vegetable patch  - lovely veggies.....

[Alan de Enfield]

10 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

The grardener emptied the offerings on the vegetable patch  - lovely veggies.....

I'm sure I've told the story before :

 

When I was doing my HNC electrical course at College we made a trip to the local sewage works - they were generating electricity and feeding it into the grid (remember this was the '70's and it was quite novel).

When we arrived I saw a notice on the gate "Melon and Tomatoes for Sale".

It turns out that the human body cannot break down either melon or Tomato seeds and they pass straight thru the human body. The sewage-cake was spread across the local fields and as a result they had a superb crop of both Melons and Tomatoes  which when sold off contributed to the 'coffee fund'.

 

On leaving, the Foreman said to the group "It may be Sh*t to you, but to me its bread & butter".

 

 

Just as an aside - it was Stoke Bardolph sewage works which is alongside the River Trent and still discharges into the River.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Alan de Enfield

[WotEver]

6 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Just as an aside - it was Stoke Bardolph sewage works which is alongside the River Trent and still discharges into the River.

After it's been initially sedimented, treated, cleaned, and then finally polished in reed beds, no doubt?

[tree monkey]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

I'm sure I've told the story before :

 

When I was doing my HNC electrical course at College we made a trip to the local sewage works - they were generating electricity and feeding it into the grid (remember this was the '70's and it was quite novel).

When we arrived I saw a notice on the gate "Melon and Tomatoes for Sale".

It turns out that the human body cannot break down either melon or Tomato seeds and they pass straight thru the human body. The sewage-cake was spread across the local fields and as a result they had a superb crop of both Melons and Tomatoes  which when sold off contributed to the 'coffee fund'.

 

On leaving, the Foreman said to the group "It may be Sh*t to you, but to me its bread & butter".

 

 

Just as an aside - it was Stoke Bardolph sewage works which is alongside the River Trent and still discharges into the River.

We had a trip to a sewage treatment plant, we were being shown the filter beds and the lecturer got all excited about the natural bacterial activity involved and shoved his hand into the gravel, the look on the tour guides face was wonderful, he strongly, very strongly, suggested the lecturer bugger off and wash his hands

[Quillan]

Do you mean there are no longer night soil collectors in the UK?

 

Seriously I asked about this type of toilet recently and having read this one I think I will go for a pump out primarily and a cassette if the boat was really super and that was the only thing not on my check list.

 

I used to empty my pump out into a sanitary point. I remember being a Braunston running the pipe out then starting to pump. Thing is they always seem to start with a slight kink in the pipe but once a bit of force is used it pushes past and your away. You always get a load of rubber neckers in Braunston on a sunny Sunday and a nice helpful fella saw the pipe swelling up so got hold of the end that was dangling into the emptying receptacle to give it a shake. I shouted NOOOOOOOOOO but it was to late. Nasty stuff the output from pump out tanks especially when your covered in the stuff. Lucky for him there where showers in the marina there.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, system 4-50 said:

If they made doggy bins bigger?

If you squeeze your bag of poo a bit, you can usually feed it into a doggy bin.