composting toilets

[brickie]

Hi,I'm thinking of chainging my porta potti and was informed that you can install a composting toilet that apparently has no odour and only needs emptying a couple of times a year. I know they can be expensive but sound worth every penny.Has anyone got one and what are the cost of installing etc.?

[Grace and Favour]

Hi,I'm thinking of chainging my porta potti and was informed that you can install a composting toilet that apparently has no odour and only needs emptying a couple of times a year. I know they can be expensive but sound worth every penny.Has anyone got one and what are the cost of installing etc.?

I understand these are good chaps to ask - - AirHead

[peterboat]

Hi Brickie I have a seperrate villa its been in use for well over 2 years it doesnt smell and works well. It wasnt difficult to install if you want any details pm me with your phone number and I will give you a call ok?

 

 

Peter

[Caprifool]

What he said. Had no troubles with ours yet. What most people seem to think about when they hear the words compost toilet, is the horrible older ones from the 70's and 80's. That mixed number ones and number two's, creating the mixed latrin/earthy stench, overflows when having guest etc. If leading the urine hose to a say 10 litre container like on ours, we do get a slight whiff of urine when taking it away and out in the garden. But nothing anywhere near what you get changing a cassette or porta potti base. And never when in use. The only thing i imagine would need a little ingenuity on a boat is the final storage stage of full solids containers. When that is done, it just looks like potting soil. They are available with 12 volt fan.

 

And yes, I will keep banging on about them. Cuz they are bloody brilliant!

[Eeyore]

I understand these are good chaps to ask - - AirHead

Picked up an AirHead toilet and a spare unrine tank from them last weekend; and yes they love to talk toilet!

They have an Airhead and a Separett instaled on their hire boats, so best to visit when the boats are available to see how they standup to everyday use.

Fits well in the space the PortaPotti 165 occupied.

Steve (Eeyore)

[mrsmelly]

Hi Brickie I have a seperrate villa its been in use for well over 2 years it doesnt smell and works well. It wasnt difficult to install if you want any details pm me with your phone number and I will give you a call ok?

 

 

Peter

Hi

 

They must be absolutely bloomin marvelous, after all they have been out many years and trolling through the boat ads for sale on apollo duck about fifty percent of boats are fitted with them...........must rush out and buy one..............

 

Tim

[luctor et emergo]

Hi

 

They must be absolutely bloomin marvelous, after all they have been out many years and trolling through the boat ads for sale on apollo duck about fifty percent of boats are fitted with them...........must rush out and buy one..............

 

Tim

I must say that on this occassion that I'm in full agreement with mrsmelly, pumpout toilets are the way to go.

[peterboat]

Hi a few years ago on my old boat pump out ex share so huge tank we were trapped by ice for months also where the cassete owner empty their toilets was frozen to what price composting toilets then? That was when I made the decision that I wasnt going down either of those ways again. Now I know that most of you that do the loudest shouting have never used a composting toilet so before you bump your gums try one because one day

suspect that one day even in houses we wont have no choice composting will be what they have

 

Peter

[brickie]

Thanks for reply peter, have you got an email address I can contact you on.

[peterboat]

Thanks for reply peter, have you got an email address I can contact you on.

Yes no probs peterszczesiak@gmail.com

[adam1uk]

I've spoken to quite a few boats who are very happy with their composting loos. These are the latest versions, which separate liquids and solids, and which look like a normal toilet -- not the huge thunderbox ones of a few years ago. However, there are a few things to think about, mostly concerning how you dispose of the compost. There's an article coming in Canal Boat mag -- probably the September issue.

Edited July 14, 2013 by adam1uk

[peterboat]

Hi my friend takes my compost away to add to his compost I have in the past thought about adding compost worms to the bin to see how long it would increase between empties. I read an article that was saying they will be the norm in houses of the future as their is not the water or infrastructure to support increased sewage so is composting the future?

 

Peter

[mrsmelly]

Hi my friend takes my compost away to add to his compost I have in the past thought about adding compost worms to the bin to see how long it would increase between empties. I read an article that was saying they will be the norm in houses of the future as their is not the water or infrastructure to support increased sewage so is composting the future?

 

Peter

No.

 

If you still have to seperate the urine from the solids and decant it and dispose of it then what advantages over say a cassette bog has it got?

 

Tim

[valrene9600]

We are pleased with our Airhead.

 

Our web article. http://boatlife.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/what-every-woman-wants-for-her-birthday_20.html

[Delta9]

We are pleased with our Airhead.

 

Our web article. http://boatlife.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/what-every-woman-wants-for-her-birthday_20.html

 

 

Coco Coir can be bought in the UK quite cheaply from hydroponic grow shops. People use it to grow plants in

[Chris Pink]

I've spoken to quite a few boats who are very happy with their composting loos. These are the latest versions, which separate liquids and solids, and which look like a normal toilet -- not the huge thunderbox ones of a few years ago. However, there are a few things to think about, mostly concerning how you dispose of the compost. There's an article coming in Canal Boat mag -- probably the September issue.

 

So what's the standard thing to do with the solid waste. Is is toxic? can you use it as compost? or does it need further rotting?

[valrene9600]

Coco Coir can be bought in the UK quite cheaply from hydroponic grow shops. People use it to grow plants in

Trouble with coir it comes in compressed block and has to be re-hydrated with water. The Airhead keeps wet from solids and the idea is to keep the solids dept dry as poss to aid composting. The fan helps this so no point giving it more work.

[bizzard]

I should imagine that instead of wasting it for compost, when dried a nice tasty gravy browning powder could be brewed from it to pour over your Sunday roast. Stews and soups and the like could also be flavoured by molding stock cubes like OxO's with it. You could even perhaps market them as the latest flavourant for the above and call em Pongo's or Pissto cubes for example.

[valrene9600]

So what's the standard thing to do with the solid waste. Is is toxic? can you use it as compost? or does it need further rotting?

It can be used as compost on the garden after a bit more de-composing. It can also be flushed down the elsan. Not for us as we want to keep away from elsans. Our preference is to dig a hole out in the wilds and bury it. It just returns to where it originated.

[peterboat]

No.

 

If you still have to seperate the urine from the solids and decant it and dispose of it then what advantages over say a cassette bog has it got?

 

Tim

You dont have to seperate the urine it does it automatically and as I only have to empty the solids every couple of months its no hassle. John my friend takes it for compost so no probs there its not toxic at all which is not the case if blue is added to cassets or pumpouts

 

Peter

[mrsmelly]

You dont have to seperate the urine it does it automatically and as I only have to empty the solids every couple of months its no hassle. John my friend takes it for compost so no probs there its not toxic at all which is not the case if blue is added to cassets or pumpouts

 

Peter

Hi Peter

 

I am not trying to be arguementative I am just wondering what you do with the urine then? do you still have to take it away and dispose of it as with a cassette or porta potti? If so what advantage does the toilet have over the more conventional as they are certainly no cheaper to buy?

 

Tim

[Hawkmoth]

Some years ago now I was speaking to someone who had an early composting toilet and they said that you shouldn't use them if you're on antibiotics.

Is this true?

[luctor et emergo]

How diet sensitive are these composting toilets?

[blackrose]

 

So what's the standard thing to do with the solid waste. Is is toxic? can you use it as compost? or does it need further rotting?

 

I'm pretty sure that any products resulting from a composting process shouldn't be used as compost on any plants intended for human consumption unless the composting process has been shown to raise the temperature of the compost to around 60C in order to kill pathogens - which in the case of a composting toilet seems quite unlikely. Other than that you can probably use it as compost.

Some years ago now I was speaking to someone who had an early composting toilet and they said that you shouldn't use them if you're on antibiotics.

Is this true?

 

I expect the potential problem is that the antibiotic residues in the waste would kill the inoculum.

Edited July 15, 2013 by blackrose

[Hawkmoth]

 

 

 

I expect the potential problem is that the antibiotic residues in the waste would kill the inoculum.

That's my point.

I think that the demographic of boaters would lead me to think that there would be a good portion of them may regularly need them. I do!

Bob