COMPOSTING TOILET

Converting Cargo Trailers into TTTs

Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby RJ Howell » Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:05 am

OP827 wrote:
RJ Howell wrote:I'm making one as well yet it is a wag-bag (with the same media) and a pee separator (funnel)...


RJ, why do you need to separate pee and poo if you are disposing the wag-bag immediately anyways?


The basis of separation (liquid & solid) is 'not to have toxic material that you then need to have treated to dispose of. Separating is important on this stand point. If you're going to make a toilet, make it proper. Well, at least how I look at it. Even in my commercial campers, I separated (by way of wag-bag).
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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby RJ Howell » Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:17 am

aggie79 wrote:No moisture = no composting. To actually "compost" organic matter, there needs to be some moisture present.

Too much moisture = no composting. This is why there are separators in composting toilets.

Also, to compost air needs to be present. If the organic solids are too condensed or compacted, then there needs to be agitation to "fluff" up the organic solids. This is why there are agitators in composting toilets.

If you aren't going to compost, then there is no need to spend the $$$ on a composting toilet. Wagbags, garbage sacks with peat moss or sawdust, etc., are temporary waste storage containers, and these are a heck of a lot cheaper than a composting toilet.


Hey guys... I'm now assuming you have a CT. How long do you actually have poo in your CT. You do know it takes about a year to fully compost, right?
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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby aggie79 » Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:42 am

RJ Howell wrote:
aggie79 wrote:No moisture = no composting. To actually "compost" organic matter, there needs to be some moisture present.

Too much moisture = no composting. This is why there are separators in composting toilets.

Also, to compost air needs to be present. If the organic solids are too condensed or compacted, then there needs to be agitation to "fluff" up the organic solids. This is why there are agitators in composting toilets.

If you aren't going to compost, then there is no need to spend the $$$ on a composting toilet. Wagbags, garbage sacks with peat moss or sawdust, etc., are temporary waste storage containers, and these are a heck of a lot cheaper than a composting toilet.


Hey guys... I'm now assuming you have a CT. How long do you actually have poo in your CT. You do know it takes about a year to fully compost, right?


I don't have a CT. I built a teardrop trailer and we used it for several years. (You can see the link to my build thread in the signature below.) With the teardrop trailer, we had a side tent with a porta-potty. We are getting a little too old for the teardrop trailer and wanted something with internal "amenities" (e.g., toilet.) I wanted to build a CT conversion, but didn't have the time.
So, for the interim, we now have a travel trailer. The travel has separate gray and black water tanks.

We use enzymes in the tanks of the travel trailer and in the porta-potty. No smell, no mess, environmentally friendly. We don't use chemicals. The enzymes rapidly breakdown the waste, including toilet paper, and are environmentally friendly as opposed to chemical treatments.

In the way too much information category, BTW, I work for a city that has a wastewater treatment plant. The plant has a treatment capacity of 750,000 gallons per day of sewer effluent. The primary treatment methods at the plant are enzymes and aeration. Effluent is first mechanically screened to remove larger, non-organic matter - you can only imagine what is caught in the screens - then it flows to a series of basins with aeration and enzymes to "digest" organic matter, then into settling basins to remove any remaining non-organic solids, and then passes through ultraviolet light to kill any remaining viruses and bacteria. From there the clean effluent - at this point essentially clean water - is discharged into a creek.

I follow the CT conversion threads because I plan to build a CT conversion when I retire and sell the travel trailer.
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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby OP827 » Fri Jun 12, 2020 2:40 pm

Tom, can you advise where to buy enzymes you mentioned for Porta potty to not have that chemical smell?
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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby aggie79 » Fri Jun 12, 2020 4:21 pm

OP827 wrote:Tom, can you advise where to buy enzymes you mentioned for Porta potty to not have that chemical smell?


Several manufacturers make enzyme RV treatment. The specific brand I use is Rid-X RV Toilet Treatment.
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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby OP827 » Fri Jun 12, 2020 4:22 pm

Thanks for useful information!

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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby flboy » Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:54 pm

Thanks Tom..I'd like to use the enzymes as well in my CTC.

I really enjoy having a flushing toilet like at home. Getting older now and those things have become a bigger deal for me. Comfort has moved up the hierarchy of needs. In my tent days I'd just dig a hole somewhere. That works too.

In any case, if done right, dumping tanks is no big deal with no mess or smell. For me, certainly worth the perk of having a real flushing toilet out in the sticks.

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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby jwhite » Sat Jun 13, 2020 9:24 am

Something I realized right off was that dumping the portable toilet was unpleasant so I cut a hole in the bottom and put a 3inch pvc pipe and cap for a drain and it works great, when I get home I just take a water hose and flush it out by removing the cap.863448634186342
I also built a wooden box over the toilet and installed a regular toilet seat works great.
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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby Karebru » Wed Jun 17, 2020 8:47 pm

aggie79 wrote:
RJ Howell wrote:We've had a Thetford porta potty for years. Easy to use; easy to dispose; no stink; not much hassle. In my opinion the use of a (make believe) composting toilet is not worth trouble or environmentally friendly.

A Porta-Potty would by my suggestion too. We had one on a boat that we would overnight on, and it was great for two people. Over the course of a weekend it needed no attention. When it did, it was as simple as removing the top half (Flush water tank) from the bottom half, (Holding tank) carrying that to a toilet by it's handle, uncapping the spout, and pouring out the contents.
Add a small amount of environmentally safe chemicals to the holding tank, and it's ready to "go" again.
A completely self contained, FLUSHING toilet, with no outside plumbing.
You can find several models for under $100.
It was a no-brainer for our CTC.

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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby dhbret » Wed Jul 15, 2020 7:15 am

https://www.separett.com/en-gb/our-prod ... /privy-501

This actually works well! We have an off grid cabin and have used this for at least five years. I built a throne around the plastic separator.
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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby RJ Howell » Wed Jul 15, 2020 1:58 pm

dhbret wrote:https://www.separett.com/en-gb/our-products/toilets/urine-diverting-composting-toilets/privy-501

This actually works well! We have an off grid cabin and have used this for at least five years. I built a throne around the plastic separator.


To me that's the basic's to any composting toilet. Separate. There are very inexpensive urine separators you can buy that fit in any toilet and kinda do the same thing. I had my wife try one and it just does have the coverage for her.

I will also say, especially after what I said about a Portable-Potty earlier, I have decided to try one again. My Cousin gave me his and I brought it along for our 5 day run. Still doing a Wag-Bag for poo and the unit for just pee. It actually worked pretty well. I take back what I said about these canister toilets. If used in conjunction of a Wag-Bag system, it's pretty convent. Pee in the container and poo in the wag-bag. I do like it can be moved out of the way of my shower area!
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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby OP827 » Tue Sep 29, 2020 9:13 pm

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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby OP827 » Tue Sep 29, 2020 10:01 pm

I found this quote below from famous Humanure book. User-built systems chapter starts on Page 107. Then it talks about urine separation and, in short, it says it is actually OK to mix with proper management:

Some composting toilets involve the separation of urine from feces. This is done by urinating into a separate container or into a diversion device which causes the urine to collect separately from the feces. The reason for separating urine from feces is that the urine/feces blend contains too much nitrogen to allow for effective composting and the collected material can get too wet and odorous.
Therefore, the urine is collected separately, reducing the nitrogen, the liquid content and the odor of the collected material. An alternative method of achieving the same result which does not require the separation of urine from feces does exist.
Organic material with too much nitrogen for effective composting (such as a urine/feces mixture) can be balanced by adding more carbon material such as sawdust, rather than by removing the urine. The added carbon material absorbs the excess liquid and will cover the refuse sufficiently to eliminate odor completely. This also sets the stage for thermophilic composting because of the carbon/nitrogen balancing. One should first prime a composting toilet chamber before use by creating a "biological sponge," a thick layer of absorbent organic material in the bottom of the compost chamber to a depth of up to 50% of its capacity. Some suggest that the toilet can be filled to 100% of its capacity before beginning to be used, because if the material is loose (such as loose hay), it will compress under the weight of the added humanure. A bottom sponge may even consist of bales of hay or straw buried in sawdust. These materials absorb the excess urine as it is added to the toilet. Fecal material is covered after each use with materials such as sawdust, peat, leaf mould or rice hulls. A drain into a five gallon bucket (perhaps pre-filled with sawdust) will collect any leachate, which can simply be deposited back on the compost pile. Extra bulking materials such as straw, weeds, hay and food scraps are regularly added to the compost chamber to help oxygenate and feed the growing organic mass in order to promote thermophilic decomposition. Ventilation can be enhanced by utilizing a vertical pipe installed like a chimney, which will allow air to passively circulate into and out of the compost chamber. Such systems will need to be custom-managed according to the circumstances of the individuals using them. Someone needs to keep an eye on the toilet chambers to make sure they're receiving enough bulking material. The deposits need to be flattened regularly so that they remain covered and odorless. Chutes that channel humanure from the toilet seat to the compost chamber must be cleaned regularly in order to prevent odors. When one compost chamber is filled, it must be rested while the other is filled. A close eye on the toilet contents will prevent waterlogging. Any leachate system must be monitored.
In short, any composting toilet will require some management. Remember that you are actively recycling organic material and that means you are doing something constructive. When you consider the value of the finished compost, you can also realize that every time you deposit into a composting toilet, it's as if you're putting money in the bank.
Homemade low-temperature composting toilets offer a method of composting humanure that is attractive to persons wanting a low-maintenance, low-cost, fairly passive approach to excrement recycling. Any effort which constructively returns organic refuse to the soil without polluting water or the environment certainly demands a high level of commendation.
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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby flboy » Wed Sep 30, 2020 11:53 am

Way too much to worry about for me. Emptying a blackwater tank is easy enough and honestly, when done right, I do not even get a slight smell of the payload.

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Re: COMPOSTING TOILET

Postby clearwaterzx » Wed Oct 12, 2022 11:42 am

Can you make such a toilet so that it does not fall apart on the road? I would worry about its durability
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