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Poo'tastic?

Dr Bob

By Dr Bob
in General Boating

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peterboat Veteran II

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Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

It's all a load of carp, apart from my new toilet.??

All looks like a red herring to me from the composter detractors

Back on subject though Bob I take it you arnt having any problems with the loo? and I take it the pee is just going down the sanitary station shute? or are you collecting it like me for the allotment?

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Dr Bob Veteran II

Dr Bob

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2 hours ago, peterboat said:

All looks like a red herring to me from the composter detractors

Back on subject though Bob I take it you arnt having any problems with the loo? and I take it the pee is just going down the sanitary station shute? or are you collecting it like me for the allotment?

First lot went on the nearby trees.

Very impressed after first 36 hours. No smell wotsoever. You know the sort of smell there is when you go in the bathroom after someone else has done number 2's....well none of that anymore.

10/10 so far.

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frahkn Experienced

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Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

First lot went on the nearby trees.

Very impressed after first 36 hours. No smell wotsoever. You know the sort of smell there is when you go in the bathroom after someone else has done number 2's....well none of that anymore.

10/10 so far.

I have to say that I was really surprised by the lack of smell. I knew that many of the reviews said there was "no smell" but I has assumed that this should be read as "very little smell". Given that the fan in mine didn't work for the first week or so (it was in February though) I was very surprised at the lack of any smell.

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Mike Todd Veteran

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Posted
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47 minutes ago, frahkn said:

I have to say that I was really surprised by the lack of smell. I knew that many of the reviews said there was "no smell" but I has assumed that this should be read as "very little smell". Given that the fan in mine didn't work for the first week or so (it was in February though) I was very surprised at the lack of any smell.

A I recall it, reports on here a while back from one or two members who had gone down this route was that the smell related to the experience of the steerer rather than those inside! That is, the fan effectively removed any smell from the cabin but it did whiff somewhat when cruising along! may be they can recall having said that, if they are still here, and can update us.

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peterboat Veteran II

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Posted
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12 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

A I recall it, reports on here a while back from one or two members who had gone down this route was that the smell related to the experience of the steerer rather than those inside! That is, the fan effectively removed any smell from the cabin but it did whiff somewhat when cruising along! may be they can recall having said that, if they are still here, and can update us.

Mine exits via the side, not that it matters as I have a wheelhouse, nobody has ever commented about a smell though when moored up

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Dr Bob Veteran II

Dr Bob

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Posted
1 hour ago, Mike Todd said:

A I recall it, reports on here a while back from one or two members who had gone down this route was that the smell related to the experience of the steerer rather than those inside! That is, the fan effectively removed any smell from the cabin but it did whiff somewhat when cruising along! may be they can recall having said that, if they are still here, and can update us.

This one pumps the air through a carbon filter..see the photo in a previous post, so the air is circulated in the bathroom. The filter tales out all smell ....and I mean all. The actual smell from the poo bucket is very low so there isn't that much to absorb. Dessicated poo covered in compost has a surprising low level of smell.?

No, I haven't got Covid.

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cuthound Veteran II

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Posted
Posted (edited)
On 13/01/2021 at 18:55, dor said:

You will see the same when a bitch (female dog, not that dodgy woman down the pub) pees on your lawn.  The patch where she has peed will burn the grass.

 Probably the same if you let that woman down the pub pee on your lawn.

 

Happens with neutered males as well. Or it has with the last 2 we have owned. 

 

Can't comment on women from down then pub. None have wee'd on my lawn! ?

Edited by cuthound
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Dr Bob Veteran II

Dr Bob

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1 hour ago, cuthound said:

 

Happens with neutered males as well. Or it has with the last 2 we have owned. 

 

Can't comment on women from down then pub. None have wee'd on my lawn! ?

I've never met any neutered males down the pub...or none that admitted to it anyway.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Dr Bob Veteran II

Dr Bob

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Ok, its been a month since we installed the Compoosting toilet so probably time to update those who are interested in how its going.

First up then are some comments on how it compares to what we had in place. Some of you may have noticed the comment from 'Foxes Afloat' on their opinion of the Compoosting toilet – ie 'best thing we have bought for the boat'. I think I agree! If you remember the main driver for replacing the 6 month old macerator/pump out system on our new boat (new – not 2nd hand) was that the tank size and the amount the toilet was flushing meant pump outs every 2 weeks.

This new toilet has been a revelation.

Gone are any worries about where or when to pump out. Is the pump out going to be frozen up? Will the ice be too thick to move? …..and in the summer, will the pump out in the boat yard ahead be working? This toilet is independent of 3rd parties or bad weather. It is so simple

There is no smell. None. We are using the carbon filter rather than an external vent and it works. We empty the liquid bottle every 2 days and the solids bucket every 5 days. It takes seconds to lift them out and dispose of the contents (solids in a compost bin – but also very easy to double bag it in degradable bags and put in the rubbish). There is no nasty poo smell at all. A bonus is that there is no smell in the bathroom when following someone in who has just done a number 2. None of this “leave it a few minutes before you use the bathroom”! There are no toilet smells around the boat. No smell of 'blue'. No smells when you empty it.

Another unexpected bonus is the cleaning of the toilet. First of all, no toilet brush needed. The macerator toilet we had often needed two flushes and a bit of brushing to clean the 'residue' after a dump. Poor design of the toilet? Not needed here. The surface of the loo is gel coat over GRP so it wipes down very easily. We use a spray bottle with citric acid in to spray the liquid 'area' to keep it fresh. Mrs Bob today commented on how easy it is to keep clean compared to normal toilets. Maybe this is because I am more careful about spraying urine around when I use it – but there are no difficult to clean bits like where the seat attaches to the unit as on normal toilets. There is no rim around the bowl where the flush water comes out and gets a build up of scale. Our 6 month old one was looking quite naff with the hard water we have locally. No opportunity for brown scale to form at the bottom of the bowl.

We are using around 100 litres of water less a week! A fill up lasts longer.

Power usage for the fan is not an issue. Not sure of the numbers but seem to remember the fan uses less than 1 Ahr per day which is likely a lot less than the electrickerty gubbins that is used to do the flush plus 2 circuits and meters to display how full the holding tank was.

Finally the boat is consistent in the way it heels over. With the holding tank situated to one side, when empty the boat would heel to the starboard side and when full to the port side. You could tell how full the tank was by the way the boat heeled. That was very annoying. Problem solved.

In reviewing how the unit is working, it is worth making some comments about how the Compoosting Toilet performs versus other composting toilets. We did quite a bit of research before buying and are very happy we went for this particular model. The Compoosting toilet is made in Warwickshire by a local guy (and his wife) to fill a hole in the market (he now has a manufacturing unit at Hillmorton locks). It is a very simple design made using a bespoke carcass with readily available stuff attached – motor, fan, pvc piping, toilet seat etc etc. It is very well made and it works. The nearest other model we looked at was the 'natures head' toilet but this one seems to have a number of advantages. The liquid bottle looks better designed and pours out 'evenly'. The liquid / solids separation works very well compared to some comments on the natures head in the reviews. The compoosting toilet needs the solids emptying every 5-6 days (for us) and this produces around 5 litres of waste. It doesnt smell. It can be composted or double bagged and binned. The natures head can be use for 30-40 days but then requires the whole toilet to be removed and tipped into a bag or compost bin. Every 5 days is just so simple. The Compoost toilet has a liquid warning light for the urine bottle. It works very well. Men can stand up to wee - rather than sit down.

The compoost toilet is made from GRP and is very solid. It looks like it should last for years. I think the Natures head is made from rotomoulded Polyethylene which is nowhere near as resilient as GRP and will not be a 'cleanable' as GRP gel coat. Trust me. I have worked with GRP and Polyethylene for the last 50 years. Overall then I am very happy with this purchase.

Whilst I am sure the nay-sayers will continue with their attack on the use of 'compost' or 'dry' toilets, it would be good if we could get some discussion going on comparison of some of these toilets so that any prospective buyers can get more information to make their decision. There is not really that much discussion out there on pros and cons of each model.

One final parting observation is that by keeping poo and wee separate, is that the two materials are not the offensive, smelly, orrible sewerage that offends everyone. It really was an eye opener for the two of us.

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