composting toilets anyone?

[shad]

anyone had any experience with a composting toilet? I'm exploring all my options before I have to spring for one of those expensive treatment systems.
Thanks

[StorminN]

I've got a handful of friends that live off-grid and have commercial-made composting toilets, most of them are Sunmar brand. All of them mention the maintenance of the toilets (emptying them) when you ask them if they work well. To me, they seem like an awfully expensive fiberglass tank. A couple of people I know used Sunmars for a number of years, until they could save up enough $$$ for a "conventional" septic system.

Another friend of mine has four home-made composting toilets spread throughout a couple of different properties. He just uses 55 gallon drums, and builds a big plywood box that sits around the drum. He puts them against the outside wall of the building, and makes a door to the outside, so he can open the door and hand-truck the drum away when it's time. The toilet seat goes on top of the plywood box, and a vent pipe (3"-4") comes out of the top of the plywood box. The toilet seats are gasketed, so they seal when they are closed. He says this setup works really well, unless there is high traffic, or many women peeing in the toilet... too much liquid. He keeps a bucket of sawdust or duff nearby the toilet, every time you use it, you throw a cup full in on top. He says when the drums get about half full, he swaps them out with an empty one. He takes the half-full ones and caps them with a lid with a few small holes in it, then puts the drum on its side and rolls it every few days for a month or two. He says the compost that comes out afterwards doesn't stink. I've seen the toilets, but haven't been there for the drum changing.

Another friend recently told me that he's been researching the Clivus Moltrum composting toilets, I guess they are a DIY style with plans on the internet, but I haven't had time to read up on them yet.

-Norm.

[Tom]

I don't think they compost very good, even if you were to break them up real tiny.  I see them on the side of the road all of the time where people have given up on them.  The closest I've seen to composting a toilet was when someone planted a bunch of flowers in one. 

[StorminN]

I don't think they compost very good, even if you were to break them up real tiny.  I see them on the side of the road all of the time where people have given up on them.  The closest I've seen to composting a toilet was when someone planted a bunch of flowers in one. 

 

[shad]

I've talked to a couple of composting toilet companies today and they don't offer any kind of satisfaction guarantee or return policy. I guess if you don't like it your just stuck with it.   

[Lorax]

I purchased an Envirolet waterless self-contained system for $1500 for my cabin about a year and a half ago.  It works great for weekend use and was a lot cheaper than having a septic system installed.  Our women visitors appreciate the "indoor plumbing" but we still kept our "out house" for the guys.  However, the guys use the composting toilet in the winter.

[Jeff]

Is a composting toilet the same as an incinerator type unit?   I know the guy the Tammy's mom married has a brand new one he is trying to sell. He said its electric and burns the waste to an ash. They live on the Muskegon river and the DEQ was giving them a hassle about repairing the old septic system so he bought this, and before he could install it, the original hassle was cleared up, so he was stuck with this toilet. Kinda like what Shad said, other then in this case, it never even got tried out.

[WH_Conley]

No, that is like goes on a boat, don't be sitting on it when ya light it. . Burns off all the liquids and whatever solids that will burn, very little ash left.

[beenthere]

Had one in our deer camp.
It would only light when the lid was put down.

Worked ok, but with our finicky generator, it wasn't dependable for getting everything to ash.

[Don_Papenburg]

Mine is built of brick. look left

[routestep]

I've seen and used many composting toilets on the Appalachian Trail. Pee in the woods and throw in a handfull of duff (leaves and small woody debris) after you do your business in the outhouse. Outhouse built on a platform and a big plastic sealibly container below, with a slide system to move out the container when full. Earthworms are used to complete the composting.

Type in the word "humanure" in the search engine and you will find a site that the USDA would cring at.

[WH_Conley]

I think I found that site when reading about trying to compost sawdust.

[sawdust]

We used to have a "little john" brand propane fired toilet. It worked. And you did not want to be down wind outside when you closed the lid and it fired up. Nor did you want to pee in it real soon after it had finished firing, the aromatic steam that rose from the flip over pan was somethin else.

dc

[Radar67]

The army uses composting toilets, you dig a hole in the ground, do your business, and cover it back up. They call it a cat hole. 

[twobears]

 SAWDUST:back in my younger days i had that smell in my nose.. one night a couple of us went fishing and built a rather large campfire... after a bunch of fishing,drinkin,ect one of the guys desided to pee in the fire.. that has to be the worst smell a person can ever smell..by far the worse smell!!!
 i,de hate to have a toilet that burned my pee/poop.. altho,i bet after a few firings i,de be the only guy around my area.. 

 delbert

[JimMartin9999]

Put some sawdust in a five gallon can, do your business, add some sawdust, bury contents when full.  No smell, no cost.

[Gary_C]

I am looking at one of those camping toilets for winter living in a camper. It's cold enough that for right now I have to live waterless except for jugs of water for hand washing and cooking. But going out in the deep snow for potty business is problematic and I am staying on private property. Don't wish to leave many surprises for spring time. And I have a place it can set inside.

So does anyone use those portable camping toilets that need to be emptied? Any good ones that work or don't?

[Reddog]

Gary the Therford's have worked well for me. I just use some RV antifreeze in them in the winter. I found I like the citrus treatment better than the blue chemical.
If you are the only one using it, they aren't bad to keep clean and dumped.

[Nantahala Forest Products]

Have any of you considered a tree bog? By necessity this is an outdoor toilet as it makes advantage of nutrient-hungry plants such as willow. Just Google "tree bog"

[Taylortractornut]

Back in 2001  I was working for a company running a hoe and my friend nearby needed a  field line put in the  clay.   
Its that  sollid  clay that willnot  perk.   I used a  2 foot bucket and  dug a 60 foot trench out then at the end I dug another perpendicular to that.    I dug these about  5 feet deep.  we filled the trenches within a foot from the to with 3 inch stone.  Then   back filled with 6 inches of sand and  then topped off  with clay.     On the trenches  we planted  canna lilies and  a few  willows and  ever greens.    Along the edges we plantes some oak trees and and  cedars.   I was by there the other day and  it was amazing what it looked like.  THe trees looked huge to be only 10 years old.   

[Holmes]

  I installed a gas fired toilet back in the 70's.  It was called a Destroylet, you did not want to be outside when it was destroying the waste. It stinks !!!