Does anyone have a composting toilet?
 

If so, can you tell me which model you have and if you like it/don't like it?

Thanks!
Ricki

We don't have a composting toilet, though on our acreage when we're there we use a bucket with mulch and then compost the product.

However, my hubby and I have seriously considered using composting systems in our under-construction home. Two words come to mind ...

SunMar and Envirolet (I think). Anyway. I would be for it. Hubby has reservations ... thinking about old age and all.

Anyway. If you do a search for either of these names, you should get some info.

Smiles (not smells) ...
doohap

We installed the Envirolet remote, low water, 12 volt (with PV panel) system with two ceramic (china) toilets. We are a family of 4. It was rated for continuous use with compost removal every 3 to 6 months. I took great care in the installation and care of the system, since it was the primary waste system for the house. It was a diaster. The customer service system (in Canada) is very responsive, but the system was a COMPLETE failure for us. I spent over $2000.00 on this system, and had to abandon it after 4 months. I have no experience with other systems. Some things to think about. The system requires a 4" vent that has a fan running 24 hours a day. I chose the 12 volt model with an 80 watt PV panel and a deep cell marine battery. The venting system worked well (mechanically), but could not evaporate the system sufficiently. The excess water drain system completely clogged after 2 weeks use. This is an unpleasant repair! Numerous attempts to keep the drain line clear were unsuccessful. The company sent a complete new drain system, at no cost, but it just wouldn't stay cleared. I could go on and on about the attempts I made to get this system workable, but just let it be said that it is NOT a workable system for continuous use, in my opinion. Since the plumbing for this system is unique, I tried everything to make it work so that I wouldn't have to completely redo all of that effort (think holes in metal roof, holes in floor etc.) The Sealand toilets that were part of the system are well made and work well. If you are familiar with boating, they are the toilets you would see on a large boat. I finally made a homemade incinerating system which uses the existing plumbing and vent and toilets. It works great. You also must remember that a composting system has a small temperature range in which the bacterial activity takes place...this is a bigger problem than you might think. Also, if you have to empty the supposed compost more frequently than advertised, you are not emptying compost! In the heat of the summer and fall, our system composted less the 25% of the waste (estimate). Also, you must stop use for about 48 hours (actually longer) before emptying the supposed compost. This is to allow the system to evaporate and drain to a level that allows removal. What do you do for the 2 or 3 days every 3 months that the system is shut down? And our system never approached a reasonable moisture level, even after several days to drain and vent. I can not recommend this system at all for continuous use. It may be more appropriate for a vacation cabin, that you use infrequently and that stays between 70 and 90 degrees at all times!

Wow, what a terrible experience! Thanks for sharing, very helpful to know!

Ricki

Amen, VonWolfen!

I used the Envirolet 12 volt waterless unit and it was a total disaster! The company stated that it would support 2 adults full time and I've had the same experiences with the moisture/liquid issue. Don't even go there!

IMO.. Build your own and save a whole lotta money and headaches! There's lots of information out there on the construction and maintenance of a self made unit. It can be made smaller in size and MUCH easier to take care of..

May I suggest a urine diverting system..

http://ecovita.net/products.html

The privy kit on that site can be made into a nice system. The seat is really cheap but can be modified during the build. A simple stack through the roof will give the base of the unit enough ventilation. By separating the liquids from the solids, The odor issue is much lower.. (They have urinals for the pointers, too..)

Don't rely on the thought of the product "Composting" inside of the unit before it's removed. That'll never happen.. Believe me. The Humanure Handbook has some great info in it on how to manage the waste..

http://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html

FWIW: I would avoid it if you have the option. While it sounds like a sound idea it does not consider the danger of disease or other health rises. Humanure is also probably not a good idea since it can transport human related diseases as well as human hormones into your food source. Even if the risk is low, its still not work taking it.

Great information. Surely never saw anything about problems like that in the literature! Appreciate it! :cowboy:

We have a Sun-mar. We've had it a couple of years. Before that we had a sawdust toilet. The sawdust toilet stank unless it was emptied every day. Otherwise, no complaints. The Sunmar, which we paid $1600 for (supposed to be large capacity) does not compost the waste and my husband has to empty it frequently, and it has a fan on it that runs around the clock adding to the electric bill. We should have saved our $ and kept the sawdust bucket system. We're saving our money to put in a water closet with a flush toilet.

I studied compost toilets thouroughly. and found that if composted properly , the heat begins destroying bacteria within a very short time, and the longer its there and continually composted properly it creates alot of heat that kills the bad stuff,. If you compost one bin for a year, and then let it sit for a year. Using a second one for the the year the first ione sits. the first years compost bin turns in to rich soil , and has been proven to contain nothing of any danger to humans, plants or animals, it was brought back to pure rich soil form. I use a compost toilet, we have not gotten sick, it is not as gross as you think, the pine shavings we use keep the unit form having any odor. I think its a very good thing to do for our ecological system. they dont use any water. its all natural. if you study a septic system in detail it makes ya sick. a septic system only "breaks down" waste so it can drain and go back into your soil and water system. HEAT kills the germs and bacteria and viruses etc, and theres NO heat in a septic system. A compost system cretes heat within hours , and continues to do so. In researching I found 20 state parks converting over to compost toilets, they use the compost for the landscaping, thats was twenty in just a few minutes of research the list went on. so the government is going to see how much better this is for the world, and soon will be offering tax breaks for it.
http://www.oasisdesign.net/compostin...book/index.htm
http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid287.php
http://www.compostingtoilet.org/
http://wholelifetimes.com/2007/01/ecotoilet0701.html

we used the sawdust bucket for 2 years and were then given a flush toilet for Christmas... we still have a sawdust toilet in our masterbedroom. In many ways it is better and we are always greatful for it when our pipes freeze in the winter.

we compost it in our flower garden/ornamental tree area. It does not come in contact with our food crops and is about 500 feet from our well head.

i have a sawdust toilet too and also compost it... no problems either ..

Seems this topic comes up every few months LOL. We have a biolet delux electric (since we now have solar power). We have had this unit for about 5 years now- what a pain in the everything! Supposed to be fit for 4 full time adults and it cannot even handle the liquid from two adults who work away from home daily!. I am the toilet person around here which means i watch the fluid and drain as necessary which I drain into a one gal zip lock bag (only thing that will work as the outlet is only 1.5 inches off the floor or less!). I empty the compost tray with its kind-of compost every month. It goes into a special hole out back. I would never never never buy another compost toilet- at least not a stand alone model. Ours has electric mixer which works great, 2 inch vent pipe with continous fan as well. I spent the first two years on the phone with nice folks at biolet and they kept insisting I must be doing something wrong LOL not true just not a good toilet! Sis

Thanks so much for the reply's. I'd never even looked into the sawdust method...more research, I guess!

Thanks again!
Ricki

One quick click....

http://ersson.sustainabilitylane.com/sawdust.htm

Sawdust toilet
 

We have used the sawdust toilet for years and have had no problems with it. I built what looks like a wooden version of a regular toilet. The bucket sits down under the seat. I built it out of nice wood, used a wooden seat and stained, and sealed it. In the back part that would be the water tank, I hinged the top and that is where we store the sawdust and a big scoop. We dump the bucket almost every day, and add a scoop of sawdust at the bottom of the bucket and between each use.

Every now and then you must change the bucket, because no matter how much you wash it, you can't get the smell out. Other than that, we haven't had a problem with odor. I think the key is judicious use of the sawdust (or wood shavings).

We do as suggested above. We have 2 compost bins. We use the oldest one that is a good 2-3 years old. Ours gets so hot, it "ate" a full sized goat kid in a matter of days. Unbelievable!

We used a composting toilet, homebuilt outhouse style with 2 composting compartments, for 12 years with no problems. Everyone that I know with commercial small composting toilets has had some kind of problems. Our only regret with ours was that, being uncertain of smell or pest problems, we built it 100 feet or so from the house, and we wished we had attached it to the house.

gets a little nippy at zero degrees w 30 mph winds but works great

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...Picture040.jpg

We use a sawdust toilet here at the cabin and used one at our house. I don't use sawdust however, I use peat moss. There is something about the smell of the rotting sawdust that just turns my stomach. And the sawdust is heavy when wet. The peatmoss is not too heavy for me to lift and the organic smell of it is pleasant to my "delicate sensibilities" LOL.

Thanks Sancraft. I've often wondered if peat moss wouldn't work just as well and be lighter to carry!

Excellent thread. Thank you to all who have shared their wisdom and experience.
BW

The Clivus Multrum has been around forever, I have never used one or heard any reviews but you might check it out at:

http://www.clivus.com/

I don't think they would still be around after 40 years if their product didn't work.

Here is a 2002 summary review of technologies for onsite treatment, particularly chapter 3 about containment type systems. They even get into site built composting systems. remove the "chapter3.pdf" from the link to browse the directory and get to the other chapters of the study for other types of systems.
http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/ab885/docs/t...e/chapter3.pdf

Report Sources
 

When reading a report like this, check the sources. For basically all of the composting toilets they reference the exact same book, whose authors happen to sell compost systems themselves. So what kind of real research was done?

Dig deeper

Hi,

"The Clivus Multrum has been around forever, I have never used one or heard any reviews but you might check it out at:
http://www.clivus.com/
I don't think they would still be around after 40 years if their product didn't work."

I ran across this make it yourself Clivus Multrum yesterday.
http://www.dykema.net/Heidisloo.htm

$250 instead of $5000.
Instead of the aluminum flashing liner, I think I might have gone with an EPDM liner like the one I use on my heat storage tank:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects.../Tank/Tank.htm
Seems like it might be both easier and better?
And, one could use MDO (Medium Density Overlay) plywood, which is made for tank applications -- about twice as expensive as regular plywood, but very water resistant.

Any thoughts on how well this design would work?


Gary

Some more links on composting toilets:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects...er.htm#toilets

I have two. The one the sell at Home Depot, and one from Jack N Jills Donuts. The former was $3, the latter free. :p

They were being sold as buckets though.

We have a sawdust toilet and have been using it for over a year. I currently use shavings, but I think i will start wiht the peat moss...goood idea. I really like ours and would like to keep it even when the plumbing is finished in the upstairs bath...but of course you know they all think me nuts :rolleyes: so it will be relegated to the barn for when there is a need. We made it from oak and it had the oak seat and all..very nice.

I guess I didn't spend the money for the fancy store bought composting toilets, have never heard much good said about them, and they seem to require a lot of attention.

Did the "sawdust" toilet instead, but I use a mix of saw dust and peat moss, works well (6 years), still in operation (as the upstairs pot) even after the "regular plumbing" has taken over as the primary pooper.

Little bleach once in a while takes most of the smell out.
The Humanure Handbook is pretty good reading and is downloadable for free.

http://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html