The $10-20 (or even free) composting toilet

[CapnK]

Just curious, what if the worms get sea sick and start upchucking? ??? ;) :)

As long as they do it quietly, I won't mind... ;D

[maxiSwede]

Saw this a little while back and thought it might be an interesting "add" to this subject:

Poop-Eating Worms Power the Eco-Toilets of the Future

Now, if that's not an attention-getting headline, I just don't know what is...  ??? 8)

WRT the worms, I think it will take some experimentation - with just the 'output' ::) of 1 or 2 people, might this become something of a "closed system" if you had enough worms?

Yes, I will be trying it... :D (Apologies in advance to PETA sympathizers, on behalf of the worms soon to live (hopefully) in my forepeak... hehe)

If I can find a way so that it works at the dock, perhaps then it will work at sea as well, and we can rid ourselves of carrying eatra peat/coir, and the need for regular emptying of our quiet, smell-free "terlits"...   ;D

This was new to me, though I have heard of composting worms fr horsedung and such....

Keep'em working guys!  :o 8)

[tomwatt]

This will cause me to rethink use of the phrase "I'll just go off and eat worms..."

great info though.
Worth considering if you can get a stable system going... plus you'd not lack for readily on-hand fish-bait.

[Tim]

This will cause me to rethink use of the phrase "I'll just go off and eat worms..."

great info though.
Worth considering if you can get a stable system going... plus you'd not lack for readily on-hand fish-bait.

Double duty for everything on the boat is a SailFar mantra  ;)

[Steve Bean]

How about some updates from liveaboards who are using the $10/20 toilets?  I'm experimenting with it on my boat but not living aboard.  No odor problem.
Steve

[LooseMoose]

We've been running with our home built composting toilet for several years now of full time use and all I can really say is that it still works just fine and does not smell...

Wish more things on the boat would work as well!

Bob

[CapnK]

After a year or so of hiatus from actually doing any work of note on the boat (been trying out/living with my final draft "ultimate cabin layout"), the past month or so I've been starting back up with little projects to get the ol' inertia ball rolling again...

Since I first posted on this topic, the head has moved from under the companionway to the ex-vberth area. There, 'til now, it has resided in a narrow slot amidships, between two outer areas roughed in as stowage and formerly a high v-berth. While it provided for a ton of stowage, it wasn't very "user friendly" when on the throne, due to the tight quarters. As the stowage is really more than I think I'll need, I've decided to open things up a bit, and looking today at the CD25D layout, decided realized that once again old Carl was right on in his design thinking. So I am going to configure the area much like that. Where that has relevance to *this* thread, is in 2 somethings that came to me today as I stared at spaces and places and envisioned...

1 - I can/will be custom building the entire head (with the exception of the actual seat ;D), including the composting compartment. So instead of trying to come up with a 'stir system' that works in a certain space, I have the flexibility to design the space *around the stirring action*, the most complex part of the whole system. Eureka. Paradigm shift. ...And Back to the drawing board, BUT I already have some ideas about what might work...

2 - Dealing with the pee has always seemed to me to be the drawback to these types of heads. The pee bucket is either so small that it has to be emptied very frequently, or it is large enogh to go a few days between dumps, and thus begins to develop a rather distinctive smell...
     Suggestions I have seen to combat this include things like adding some brown sugar to the bucket (??? I have no idea why that would work, but it must, to some degree...) - which means other and more stuff to carry aboard and deal with and which adds to complexity. Wouldn't it be great if the pee could just go overboard by itself... And it hit me - Why not?
      It would be easy enough to have a small thru-hull right there, and when in areas allowed, simply connect the pee tube to the thru-hull for ultimate convenience. It would be as simple as attaching a small hose to the funnel and opening the seacock, with no more toting a liquid you REALLY don't want to smell  :-[, much less spill :o, out through and then up and then off of the boat.
      It is a hole in the boat, something I really would like to avoid when possible, but all things considered, I think it would be worth it in the long run.

[ralay]

We have an Airhead and I second the pee problem.  I have tried the sugar thing, but didn't notice any difference.  Still stinks.  I keep a spray bottle of cleaning strength vinegar with a few drops of lavender oil and spray the toilet and the pee jug after emptying.  That helps keep the head from smelling like a cat box (assuming you prefer the smell of vinegar to the smell of ammonia).  Nothing will make the experience of emptying the pee jug pleasant, though. 

[AtEase]

We have an Airhead, came with the boat, that we love.  We keep a bottle of Tea Tree Oil by the head.  A couple of drops after peeing helps.

[Kettlewell]

I have been using an AirHead since 2005, and I will say that one of its best features is the constantly running computer fan that sucks air through the head and vents it up on deck. Not only keeps the composting process working well, but makes a huge improvement in the quality of the air in the boat. I just leave it running 24/7 since it burns so little juice and the solar panels keep up. The current fan has been on since late 2006.

[magentawave]

If you were going to build a "compost" toilet for a small Toyota motorhome instead of a sailboat, would you still make one that separates the pee from the poop? I'm asking because many people, including the Humanure guy Jim Jenkins, says its totally unnecessary to separate the stuff.

Thanks

Steve

[ralay]

I think most people separate it because pee tends to accumulate quickly and stink to high heck.  It's also pretty easy to find an innocuous spot to dump a pee jug.  Poop on the other hand doesn't smell much as long as it's dessicated in some peat moss/saw dust/coco coir and accumulates slowly.  It's a lot easier to find an appropriate way to dispose of a bucket of poop if you only have to do so once every couple months.  I would separate the pee so I wouldn't have to smell the horrible smell of pee and well-hydrated poop.  The pee diverter on our Airhead got clogged with a piece of coco coir once and the resulting slurry was much worse than the two separate materials.

I would ask yourself how long it would take to fill your container with pee, poop, and organic material and if you have a good place to dispose of that slurry later.  A little motorhome or sailboat composting head is not going to have the mass/conditions to heat up and kill pathogens.   Unless you have land with space to actually compost it away from insect/animal vectors or bury it, it's pretty hard to come up with what to do with it, especially midway through a road trip.  The problem will come up more often if you decide not to separate the pee. 

[s/v Faith]

If you were going to build a "compost" toilet for a small Toyota motorhome instead of a sailboat, would you still make one that separates the pee from the poop? I'm asking because many people, including the Humanure guy Jim Jenkins, says its totally unnecessary to separate the stuff.

Thanks

Steve

Steve,

  Yes, I would. The primary concern aboard a boat (or an RV) is minimizing odor.  I know from using porti potties, that urine and fecal matter combined stink.  The separaton really really helps minimize odors.  I have installed a natures heAd on my boat, And just finished cruising for 6 months aboard a boat with an Airhead.  I really like the natures head, but believe making one yourself is a great idea.  The only time I had any odor was when I accidentally added too much water to the compost.

[marujo_sortudo]

I actually use the Joe Jenkins system on land.  Pee + poop + lots of cover material (peat moss, leaf mold, etc.) in a 5 gallon bucket that gets emptied into a large compost heap and covered with mulch straw.  This works great and doesn't have any odor, but does need lots of cover material and a large compost heap to be successful.  Not practical on a boat at all due to the large amounts of cover material needed, i.e., stowage, nor the likely lack of a suitable compost pile to transfer to.  Might be more liable to work with a motor home, but only if you had access to friendly compost piles nearby...

YMMV, but I can "fill" a 5 gallon bucket in about a week almost by myself this way.

[magentawave]

CapnK and JWalker - Are you guys still using your self-built compost toilets? Have you made any modifications since then?

[CapnK]

No major modifications to functionality; I did find a better bucket, a large aluminum bakers mixing bucket from a used restaurant supply house. It tapers at the bottom, but is otherwise about the same dimensions. The taper makes for more efficient "blending". :D

I also have gone to using coir, just because it stores better on the boat. I buy a large brick of it from Amazon, not being able to find it locally.

[skylark]

Did you cut into the bucket to fit the funnel?

I am wondering if there is another way to collect urine, without cutting into the pail.  It would probably mean the seat is a bit higher up.  Maybe a flattish funnel with a side drain.

[Vita_Vera]

I am building a composting toilet on my 28 ft sailing boat. Urine will be saved in 10 litres plastic containers to be emptied in harbour toilets. The sea is big, but I don't want to pollute it. I will use worms in my two compost containers and let one rest while using the other. The toilet will be in the front part of the boat, separated by a water tight wall. Has anyone tried worms to take care of the solid waste?

[Jim_ME]

Welcome Vita_Vera.  :)

I have not heard of anyone using worms in their on-board composting head, but am not that knowledgeable about it? I have heard of municipal waste-treatment plants using bacteria in digester tanks as part of the process.
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/wwvisit.html
I don't know whether any similar method has been tried in composting heads.

Am just beginning to learn about composting heads, but am encouraged by some of the reports, especially as it relates to self-sufficiency/independence for those anchoring out.

Please keep us postED on your progress and experiences. 

[Godot]

What kinds of worms would you use? Regular earth worms that hang out in the back yard?

For what it is worth, I don't add anything except peat moss (I'll probably try that coconut fiber stuff next time as I believe it stores more compactly). Not counting paper, most deposits become unrecognizable within a day or two. While it isn't exactly decomposed in that time, it is inoffensive. Paper takes quite a while, and if we are spending more than a couple days at a time aboard, we typically dispose of it separately. Adding lots of paper products tends to fill the head much more quickly, and it takes much longer to break down. Perhaps worms would speed this process?