Does Anyone Use An Outhouse Full Time

[Helena]

Does anyone use an outhouse full time ?? Please tell me how and how deep you dug it..Granddaughter is building off grid cabin and we are thinking of an outhouse or perhaps a sawdust toilet. Any help would be appreciated..Thank You !!

[Forerunner]

Full time.....

Now, would that be 40 hours a week, barring overtime ?

I think the sawdust toilet, indoors, is far superior, especially if you intend to spend that much time using it.

[Ohio dreamer]

LOL!! Forerunner I'm so glad I don't have a cup of coffee...I would have covered my laptop.

[Forerunner]

Dang. Well...... I'll try again later when you're off guard.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Forerunner

Full time.....

Now, would that be 40 hours a week, barring overtime ?

I think the sawdust toilet, indoors, is far superior, especially if you intend to spend that much time using it.

When son Rick was in Iraq on a Marine tour, he spent 8 hours in a Nasty John. Down side was the last hour was "Duty" time no pun intended. Marine superiors don't give a fit what your excuse is, either.

Does anyone have a link to a video on a day in the life of a sawdust john?

Here is one from some guy named Joe Jenkins (author of HumanureHandbook) :

look on reason for edit to see how too maintain the humanure compost pile. Pooping in a bucket is easy as 1- (poop) 2- layer sawdust or other cover. Repeat as needed.

[Waiting Falcon]

I would go for a sawdust bucket . If maintained properly there is no smell to them at all. When I was so sick, I was vomiting into my bucket and there was no smell to bother me. Don't think I could do that in a toilet unless someone has come up with improvements I do not know about.

[Forerunner]

A video ?!!

Now that's just wrong.

[Forerunner]

A portable outhouse, on skids, that was treated like a large sawdust toilet would make for interesting composting. Deposit and cover until "full", then drag the thing over 6 feet and do again, until you have a nice windrow steaming.
If it was used full time, there'd be an appreciable compost pile in pretty short order.

Of course, one side or the back would have to be open, and the thing would need to be a little taller than the average outhouse.

[Cabin Fever]

Dig it no deeper than the height of the person using the shovel....don't want a cave in to bury the poor fellow.

It really doesn't make much difference how deep you dig it because once it gets full you can always move it.

We live in sand country....it is almost impossible to dig a vertical-walled pit without the sides caving in. Consequently, the pit walls have to be shored up with planks or cinder blocks.

What I did for our outhouse hole was dig a 5-foot pit and then quickly placed one of these lightweight, plastic 300-gallon septic tanks in the pit. Then filled the pit in around the tank. If and when the tank gets too full, I'll just have it pumped out.

[Randy Rooster]

Used an outhouse for 2 years until I got the house built. I dug the hole on mine 4 feet deep. Worked fine.

[FarmboyBill]

I have one and use it when im outside

When I was sick and trying to throw up in the bucket, I wanted the smell to help me get started.

Once when we were in grade school, Dad order us to make a new hole for the3 outhouse. We got to digging after he went to work. Around 3ft down, we found out there had been a hole there in the past by the petrified corn cobs. We told mom we wernt gonna dig there. When dad got home, she told him about it, and he went and looked. Keep digging he said, and we did. We could hear him laughing from inside the house. At least he waited until he thought we couldnt hear him

[Heritagefarm]

I wouldn't dream of it, even if I had to truck the water to the toilet my whole life. Ugh.

[JuliaAnn]

Quote "I wanted the smell to help me get started"

Oh my lord. That's horrible.

I just use my finger to gag myself. That usually gets things moving.

This thread has intrigued me and I have a question for the knowlegable. What do you do if you live on hard packed sand that goes about 2 ft. down, maybe a little deeper, and then you come to a layer of yellowish-tan, sandy hard clay that goes down an undetermined depth? Will that work for an outhouse? Will the clay absorb the moisture? Or is another option better?

[sisterpine]

Outhouses do not have to smell bad. The one my neighbors have is vented from the back of the building and the seat cover closed nice and snug. The air vents have good screens as well so there are no flies either. Not a problem to use at all not even for the sensitive folks! sisterpine

[Freya]

Originally Posted by Forerunner

Full time.....

Now, would that be 40 hours a week, barring overtime ?

I think the sawdust toilet, indoors, is far superior, especially if you intend to spend that much time using it.

[Freya]

I hate the bugs and odor in an outhouse. And I still remember that story on the news when I was a kid about the little girl that was kidnapped and was dumped into one and she was found alive later in it. YOu should see me at a public park peering into the "soup" to make sure there are no little kids in it still to this day!



I would take a bucket and sawdust over it ANYDAY!!!

[ErinP]

Originally Posted by Forerunner

I think the sawdust toilet, indoors, is far superior, especially if you intend to spend that much time using it.

Having used both, I would agree.

And forty hours a week will fill your hole in no time.

[4nTN]

I have a friend who uses an outhouse.He never dug a hole,the waste just sits on the ground and he drops mulch,sawdust,leaves in with it.It`s been there since the winter before last and does not smell.
He just bought 2,000 red wigglers to assist in the process.

[Pontifex]

Read the Humanure Handbook from Joseph Jenkins.

http://humanurehandbook.com/

I have been using it before and works fine. You get used to it, make great compost and conserve an incredible amount of water.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by JuliaAnn

Quote "I wanted the smell to help me get started"

Oh my lord. That's horrible.

I just use my finger to gag myself. That usually gets things moving.

This thread has intrigued me and I have a question for the knowlegable. What do you do if you live on hard packed sand that goes about 2 ft. down, maybe a little deeper, and then you come to a layer of yellowish-tan, sandy hard clay that goes down an undetermined depth? Will that work for an outhouse? Will the clay absorb the moisture? Or is another option better?

We rarely use our pit as we want our humanure. We put the outhouse at a low spot. We toss in barn lime after every use.The first year spring rains collected. But after that the lime seems to have softened the clay.