Compost Head Owners: Would you do it again?

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by lordgeoff

....would you put a composting toilet inside your apartment?
Why would you do it on a boat?

You really need to get out more. You are comparing apples to petrified armadillos.

Plenty of folks who live on dirt use composting heads. Not just in third world countries but almost every off grid house has a composting head. As far back as the 1970s when Earthship off grid living began composting heads on dirt were mainstream. There are way too many DIY plans for composting heads for off grid stuff to list; but a quick google search will bring them up.

As others have posted if I was given the choice of a composting head in my condo or a holding tank for a wet toilet it would be a no brainer for me.

[bluesphere]

Absolutely, I'll never have a wet head aboard again.

[Craig_B]

Love our Air Head composting toilet. We have used it most of this season and have not had to empty it once. I think it may even be able to go another full one. Just looks like soil at this point in time.
Would I remove the old tank, toilet and hoses myself again?


Not if you put a gun to my head!!!

Talk about the ultimate "ICK" factor.


I will repeat what many have said. No smell. No maintenance. More storage room.
Dumping a bag of dirt into the trash whenever its full should really not be an issue.
If I sell the boat I will make it known that a standard head can be reinstalled if a composting toilet is a deal breaker.

[rlh1246]

I have used a Natures Head on my Hans Christian 34 for 8 or 9 years and have had zero problems with it. I have only used it in the Pacific northwest so I can't speak to the tropics.


From reading most of the nay sayer comments it appears that many have never used one and are expressing fears not reality. Using a composting toilet is not any different than using a standard wet toilet except, like mentioned before by others, you get a lot more storage by getting rid of the holding tank, no smell, leaky hoses, finding a place to pump out or pumping out in a river or marina. As sad is it is to say there are a lot of dumb shits out there that are either too lazy or too self important to be bothered with finding a safe place to pump out and do so were ever and when ever. Composting toilets require dumping once every several weeks (5-6) and the refuse is for all practical purposes just organic-rich soil and a pee pot.



I wouldn't ever go back to a wet toilet. Like anything, they have to be maintained, but that is simple and quick. I did install the small vent fan and never notice it or the minimal voltage draw.

[synchronicity98]

It was lightly mentioned in one comment, but speaking from personal experience (4 years as full-time liveaboards with an AirHead, cruising between Maine in the winter and S.C. in the summer) I think the factor that gets conveniently glossed over the most is the pee jug.

The solids bin is no big deal — you can go weeks between changes, it doesn’t smell, etc — but we are very lucky to make it 2 days between pee jug dumps. Sounds okay in theory, but the reality of carrying a VERY stinky jug of urine back and forth to wherever you’re dumping it (not always popular in marinas, for example) is really gross. Or even worse, when you don’t realize it’s full and get the fine experience of the jug overflowing onto your ankles. Maybe this is just an issue for women? But I find it frustrating that composting head owners seem to mostly dance around the pee part.

So in short, while we’ve found ways to make it work (and have 100% appreciated the space we gained by ditching the holding tank on our 33’ boat), we won’t be buying a composting head for our next boat.

[Knapweed]

Originally Posted by toolbar

We are satisfied with the CHEAD we installed in our trimaran three years ago.

The only time when a conventional head seemed better to me was when the kids were ill and had diarrhea for a week. Spraying poo just cleans up more easily in a round bowl with a flushing system. :-(

Any good workarounds for that ugly scenario? In the end we used the head just as a seat with a single-use plastic bag filled with coconut fiber underneath.

Paul

Insert child in a bin liner up to their neck, two if you think the child will struggle, and seal with duct tape. This has the extra benefit of preventing their grubby little hands from spreading the plague all over the boat.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by synchronicity98

but we are very lucky to make it 2 days between pee jug dumps. Sounds okay in theory, but the reality of carrying a VERY stinky jug of urine back and forth to wherever you’re dumping it (not always popular in marinas, for example) is really gross..

there is an easy cure for the "stink" actually . A teaspoon or two of sugar in the jug will stop the stink . As far as the dumping when in a Marina either do it at night or the preceded method ( in the marinas in my area at least ) dumping in the porta pot dump of the pump out stations.
Having a second jug does help with deciding when to dump .

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by synchronicity98

It was lightly mentioned in one comment, but speaking from personal experience (4 years as full-time liveaboards with an AirHead, cruising between Maine in the winter and S.C. in the summer) I think the factor that gets conveniently glossed over the most is the pee jug.

The solids bin is no big deal — you can go weeks between changes, it doesn’t smell, etc — but we are very lucky to make it 2 days between pee jug dumps. Sounds okay in theory, but the reality of carrying a VERY stinky jug of urine back and forth to wherever you’re dumping it (not always popular in marinas, for example) is really gross. Or even worse, when you don’t realize it’s full and get the fine experience of the jug overflowing onto your ankles. Maybe this is just an issue for women? But I find it frustrating that composting head owners seem to mostly dance around the pee part.

So in short, while we’ve found ways to make it work (and have 100% appreciated the space we gained by ditching the holding tank on our 33’ boat), we won’t be buying a composting head for our next boat.

I just dump mine overboard every night before bed. There is a cap for the liquids jug, so you shouldn't be spilling it. I don't find my pee jug smells, but I always give the bowl a spray with diluted vinegar and water after every use. I also rinse the jug every week or so with a bleach solution (and shake it well) to get rid of any scaling or bacteria. It can start to smell if you let it go a few days though, but only when you actually dump it. Nothing is perfect, but I really appreciate the lack of head odor when I get to my boat. With my previous marine head, there was always an unpleasant smell when I opened the boat- no matter how vigilant I was with maintaining the system.

[Elzaar]

I switched to an Airhead composting toilet almost three years ago. I do use the marina toilet about half the time, so the composting only gets changed about every three months in the PNW. The pee bucket gets dumped every couple days. I dont know why a marina would object to dumping it in the toilet, mine never has. I do pour it over the side underway and in anchorages.

The only downside I have experienced is failure to dump the pee bucket. After two overflows, I check it every day. Not as gross as I've experienced with holding tank systems.

I keep a spray bottle of septic system fluid to spray bowl with. I figure it adds enzymes and worry bleach or vinegar might kill things I want to work in the composter. I add some bleach water to urine tank and let it sit a few hours once a month or so. It can smell during removal, but at least for me holding my breath for 10 seconds until I cap it is much better than the constant smell of a holding tank.

There is no water, so you can find some wiping of the bowl itself necessary sometimes.

Those are the only negatives I've experienced. I like that it is essentially a "clean" system. It takes a little daily effort, but can go months or years without requiring any involved support - no pump outs, no leaks, no smell build up.

It is more desicator than true composter. I am mildly surprised every time I dump the "solids" section that I need to be aware of what I'm working with. I expect it to be like a cat box, but it really is more like potting soil with the odd super dried clump or strip of toilet paper remnant. If you've never dealt with diapers, cat boxes, or dogs or otherwise experienced reality I guess it might have an ick factor, but I think I would say the same to someone asking about holding tanks.

I would never switch back.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by lordgeoff

....would you put a composting toilet inside your apartment?
Why would you do it on a boat?

We did this in a manner of speaking.
When we were renovating our small house we removed everything, including the toilet, pipes and all.
A friend lent us his Nature's Head for a month (it was winter and he had taken it off his boat) and we used it for that time in a room in the house, no fan. We had a modesty curtain around it for visitors. It worked really well and gave us the confidence to install one for ourselves in our boat.
Obviously we now use a conventional WC in the house, because we don't have to be carrying compost and compost medium around.
When we winterize the boat, we take the whole compost bin (bottom half) of the Nature's Head to our compost heap in the garden to empty it, then use a hose to wash it out.
If we lived off the grid, we'd use a composting toilet without question. Many cottages in the 1000 Islands use them (no need for a septic system) including the public park islands (not just pit latrines, they are composting toilets).

[Adventure35]

I use manure worms in my Airhead. No smell, no fan, and the time between emptying seems to be quite long. We are not cruisers, but we have not emptied the holding container all summer. The worms are thriving.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Adventure35

I use manure worms in my Airhead. No smell, no fan, and the time between emptying seems to be quite long. We are not cruisers, but we have not emptied the holding container all summer. The worms are thriving.

Cool. I’ve never heard of anyone trying this with a compost head. I wonder how it would work as a full timers.

[Captain Doug]

While gutting and refitting our Westsail 42 Ketch, we removed two marine heads and two 35 gallon holding tanks. We replaced them with two Natures' Head composting heads.

After 5 years, would we do it again? In a heart beat! OK, why.

1. We eliminated 4 through hulls
2. We gained the volume taken up by two 35 gallon holding tanks
3. We eliminate the potential for odor from permeable hoses
4. We made our usage and maintenance of our head simple, clean, and inexpensive

While we are not liveaboards, we do live on the boat when we use her. We will be taking an extensive trip, and installed these considering that voyage. There are some things to consider when going compost.

> it is important to keep the liquids separate from the solids. On our Nature's Head we align it in fore-aft set-up to keep the impact from healing minimized
> the composting head is taller than a normal marine head and this will need to be kept in mind during installation
> yes, some people may be hesitant and buyers may wonder, but our guests have loved using the composting head.

All in all, we love the composting head and would do it again. We have lessened our environmental impact and don't have to rely on problematic municipal sewers and pump outs. We feel very flush with our system! wink wink

[Adventure35]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Cool. I’ve never heard of anyone trying this with a compost head. I wonder how it would work as a full timers.

I believe it would work well for full time live-aboards. You would empty less often and not need the fan. When you do empty you will need to set a bunch of worms free and thank them for a job well done. Save some for the next job.
I painted my solids container black to keep any extra light out of their habitat.
This head gets used quite often. We have a 7 yo granddaughter who loves to "feed the worms".

[OkiMike]

Originally Posted by Lowcountry

I work as a broker, and composting toilets are a big turn off for most buyers. It's tough to reinvent the wheel. I'll personally stick with my Raritan marine head.

I’m always amused at the brokers who say that prospective buyers are turned off by composting heads. They’re buying a boat that’s tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars and likely going to need to replace many of the systems over whatever time period they own it, but they’re worried about a $1000 toilet AND you're not taking the opportunity to remind them of this?! LOL

Your job as a broker is to be able to discuss the pros and cons of whatever boat you’ve agreed to sell, and composting heads should be the easiest sales pitch of them all. Use your authority to educate buyers.

If all else fails, you can at least remind them that it’ll be one of the cheapest systems on their boat to swap out should they desire to go down that path.