Thanks Josh for reposting the article! We are still using out Compost toilet and I've made a couple more! One for the shop and a smaller version for the new build! Thanks again! AllthebestRoy
I use a similar system, but we separate the liquids from the solids. I usually sail alone, and use a pee bottle like those used in hospitals for the liquid. I noticed recently that my local Chandler sells these now, so they are available and a better and safer option than standing up and peeing over the side of the boat. A friend who works with the coast guard told me that a high percentage of bodies recovered after drowning have their fly undone and presumably died after falling overboard while taking a leak. Anyway, in my system we pee into a bottle and deposit the solids into a similar home-made composting toilet using sawdust and shavings from my shop at home. After the trip or sometimes several days afterwards I remove the bucket and take it home to dispose of it with my composting toilet system there.
OK Peter and Jonathon, I'm confused. Peter, are you saying that the author's approach (not separating the urine) is better because, in Jonathon's Air Head, with a separate urine collection container requiring more frequent emptying, this allows the fesces to dry out, thus "outgassing" odor? Jonathon, any comments re: pro's and con's of separating urine? "Enquiring minds want to know!" Thanks for sharing, guys, planning a home-made job myself with a new opening hatch above for ventilation (and my noggin in nice weather) on my Mac 22.
My wife and I use an AirHead composting toilet and we’re both total fans. (BTW, it comes with a low amperage exhaust fan and there is zero odor in the cabin) After decades of marine toilets and holding tanks, the pluses of a proper composting toilet are numerous. The low tech one described in the article requires more TLC. We’ve used ours exclusively for over two months at a time and all it has required was a short twist of the handle and emptying the urine container every few days. We carry an additional container just in case there isn’t an appropriate place to dump it. No smelly hoses or additives, no clogs and no pump outs. A bit of coconut coir to start things off and that’s it. Really.
By not separating urine, you have eliminated one of the greatest advantages of the composting head--the fact that they don't stink. Without liquid urine the shit dries out quickly in whatever medium your using for compost. With urine, not so much.
Thanks Josh for reposting the article! We are still using out Compost toilet and I've made a couple more! One for the shop and a smaller version for the new build! Thanks again! AllthebestRoy
I use a similar system, but we separate the liquids from the solids. I usually sail alone, and use a pee bottle like those used in hospitals for the liquid. I noticed recently that my local Chandler sells these now, so they are available and a better and safer option than standing up and peeing over the side of the boat. A friend who works with the coast guard told me that a high percentage of bodies recovered after drowning have their fly undone and presumably died after falling overboard while taking a leak. Anyway, in my system we pee into a bottle and deposit the solids into a similar home-made composting toilet using sawdust and shavings from my shop at home. After the trip or sometimes several days afterwards I remove the bucket and take it home to dispose of it with my composting toilet system there.
OK Peter and Jonathon, I'm confused. Peter, are you saying that the author's approach (not separating the urine) is better because, in Jonathon's Air Head, with a separate urine collection container requiring more frequent emptying, this allows the fesces to dry out, thus "outgassing" odor? Jonathon, any comments re: pro's and con's of separating urine? "Enquiring minds want to know!" Thanks for sharing, guys, planning a home-made job myself with a new opening hatch above for ventilation (and my noggin in nice weather) on my Mac 22.
My wife and I use an AirHead composting toilet and we’re both total fans. (BTW, it comes with a low amperage exhaust fan and there is zero odor in the cabin) After decades of marine toilets and holding tanks, the pluses of a proper composting toilet are numerous. The low tech one described in the article requires more TLC. We’ve used ours exclusively for over two months at a time and all it has required was a short twist of the handle and emptying the urine container every few days. We carry an additional container just in case there isn’t an appropriate place to dump it. No smelly hoses or additives, no clogs and no pump outs. A bit of coconut coir to start things off and that’s it. Really.
By not separating urine, you have eliminated one of the greatest advantages of the composting head--the fact that they don't stink. Without liquid urine the shit dries out quickly in whatever medium your using for compost. With urine, not so much.