Composting toilet choice

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by jimjimmyjimjim

It's the GTG, selling now-a-days for about $700. Unless they made substancial changes to it, it's not worth a fraction of that price. I think it's so bad I won't buy any of their products.

Sorry it took so long to answer this.

Thanks Jim, it's good info to share. Before I opted for a Nature's Head I knew a fellow boater who had installed Sun-Mar. I forget the name, but it was sold as a marine version, with no power needs, and an angled side to shape a hull. All I know is he used it for a season or two, then scrapped it in favour of a Nature's Head.

I know Sun-mar makes some excellent composting heads for land homes. I've used them and would not hesitate to install one on land, but they can't seem to get the marine/RV versions working right.

[maryc]

I had an Airhead for a few years. It worked well until I sailed to the tropics. Then I was plagued with gnats. Tried every remedy suggested. No stone unturned. Battled it weekly for 6 months. Ended up throwing it in a dumpster in Grenada. A design issue was too many nooks and crannies. I literally spent many hours with tiny bottle brushes cleaning out bugs....

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by maryc

I had an Airhead for a few years. It worked well until I sailed to the tropics. Then I was plagued with gnats. Tried every remedy suggested. No stone unturned. Battled it weekly for 6 months. Ended up throwing it in a dumpster in Grenada. A design issue was too many nooks and crannies. I literally spent many hours with tiny bottle brushes cleaning out bugs....

Just curious, which medium did you use and was it ventilated?

[maryc]

Coconut coir bricks and yes it was ventilated.

[longjonsilver]

i just don't get it. Why not a 5 gallon bucket, line it with a plastic bag, slap on a toilet seat and throw in some medium after each poop and tie the bag. What is so hard? Stir it? Give me a break.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by maryc

I had an Airhead for a few years. It worked well until I sailed to the tropics. Then I was plagued with gnats. Tried every remedy suggested. No stone unturned. Battled it weekly for 6 months. Ended up throwing it in a dumpster in Grenada. A design issue was too many nooks and crannies. I literally spent many hours with tiny bottle brushes cleaning out bugs....

The only time I’ve had a fly problem with our Nature’s Head was when I let it get too moist on one cycle (I should have emptied it sooner), and when our little venting fan died, again resulting in too much moisture.

I can see how a moist climate might make this even more likely, although on the positive side, the warmth would promote desiccation and composting.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

The only time I’ve had a fly problem with our Nature’s Head was when I let it get too moist on one cycle (I should have emptied it sooner), and when our little venting fan died, again resulting in too much moisture.

I can see how a moist climate might make this even more likely, although on the positive side, the warmth would promote desiccation and composting.

What I noticed is when its very warm and humid I get mold, which I have not found a way to deal with yet, other than empty the container.
As far as I know, usually bugs comes from somewhere in the boat, fruits, etc or from outside. I have heard that moth balls and diatomaceous earth would kill the bugs and eggs, but not sure how effective this would be if the bug source is not eliminated.

[smj]

When we owned both the Airhead and the Natureshead we found we would have to monitor the medium. If it started getting moist we would ad some coir to help dry it out.
We had flies a couple of times and yes, you have to do a thorough job of cleaning all nooks and crannies to remove the eggs.

[N Coast Murray]

No complaints with our Airhead using coconut coir on the relatively moist/cool/temperate north coast of BC, Canada.

[Mike OReilly]

Yup. One of the skills of using these heads is to get a sense of moisture levels, and to keep the balance right. I’m sure it is more challenging in warm, moist areas. vs where I tend to cruise.

The other thing I think is useful is more frequent churning. I give the handle a few cranks every time I’m in the head. I find this more frequent churning helps keep things mixed and desiccating more evenly.

[mvweebles]

A lot of thumbs-up from folks well north of warm climates. Wonder how these do in Florida and southward? Maybe folks could provide their location along with their opinion? Possible compost heads work better in Toronto than Tampa?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

A lot of thumbs-up from folks well north of warm climates. Wonder how these do in Florida and southward? Maybe folks could provide their location along with their opinion? Possible compost heads work better in Toronto than Tampa?

I think humidity might be a factor, but one that should be easy to manage. Maybe need more coir, and more ventilation perhaps. Heat should make it easier.

Definitely good to include your location, and usage style. I currently cruise Newfoundland, seasonally (because winter is not possible). I’ve cruised in far warmer, and humid, areas like Lake Ontario. Still never had much of a problem.

[dougtheslug]

Scratch C-Head off the list. They no longer have a website and it sounds like they were taking people's money and running with it instead of delivering a product. Emails to them bounce back as well.

[5BTM]

My OGO got delivered today.

At first glance, I am not impressed by the quality. The plastic feels cheap, lot of flash left on the parts. For the price I would like a better quality of finish.

IMO, that clip should be stainless

The pull handle to open the trap door does not feel like it will survive long term, given the force required.

NB.
I gave it a dry sit-down and if you are a guy you will have to some adjusting below the belt to make sure that the precious fluid that my dog rations every morning on his walk goes in the right hole.
For sure work out any shrinkage before.

[Jdege]

I bought a CompoCloset Cuddy, a couple of months ago. Plan is to mount it in my boat come spring. In the meantime I've been experimenting with it at home.

The Cuddy has an internal fan that cycles the air through an activated charcoal filter. This keeps odors essentially to zero. I can't smell anything at all.

But it does nothing to control the humidity.

Because of the filter, the Cuddy works as a portable, needing nothing other than a 12V power source. But because of the lack of venting, you'll need to empty it every two weeks.

Fortunately, it's easy to switch the Cuddy to external vent instead of using the filter. I'll be doing that, once I get it on the boat.