Does anyone dig in their compost?

[Capt Rottnest]

Plutonium is toxic waste. Human excrement is not.

[Sailor_Hutch]

Originally Posted by cheoah

The chinese think otherwise - but I have to agree with you. Even with animal manures, people rarely do an effective job composting and the end result is loaded with coliform. We compost several hundred tons of it a year but for grain crops.

MAybe your flower beds or lawn would appreciate if more or less properly composted.

I agree with DenverDon on this issue. An acquaintance of mine died in Nam, but not from a bullet. He ate the local vegetables. The doctors said that a certain type of bacteria in the veggies was fostered by the use of human excrement as fertilizer. The chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, and others in that region have always used human fertilizer and have developed a sort of immunity. People from the U.S.A don't have the immunity, so would not be well advised to ingest recycled human food.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

What, pumping your crap out into the same patch of water you or somebody else is going to swim in. What part of that is clean and nice? At least with a chemical toilet (which I never used any chemical in) I could take it ashore or row it out of the bay or empty it late at night on an outgoing tide. But the composting toilet seems like such a big improvement on the chemical toilet, with longer emptying periods, separating urine from solids and mostly odourless, spill proof, natural long term storage that only improves the longer you leave it. The ecoli load is much much less than a mix of urine and feces left to simmer and fester in a warm dank holding tank for days. Whats not to like?

so you swim in 5000 ft water? you anchor in 5000+ ft of water?? i would love to see your bow with it holding that much chain .... i suppose you do not use the ENZYMATIC poop reducers in your stinky pot?????
you should try odorlos--is awesome good product.

btw--urine i s sterile.
poop has e choli and is spillable even with peat moss doesnt kill e choli..lol...i dont have a problem should i suffer knock down--no poop in my living quarters.....

composting toilets stink . peat does not remove odors from feces.

i dont hve to worry about bags of poop sitting in my home until i can manage to find a nice friendly appropriate place to dump my crap.talk about festering echoli...rodlmao...

i know from composting poop holders--friend had one many years ago--before snotties decided it was THE new wheel....rodlmao.
as for chemical toilets--as you have never used one--why dont you try it in your bano at home. see what the wifee says about stinky toxic stuff contained in a 5 gallon bucket---if you are not married--see how long it will take you to find a female who WANTS to crap in a bucket..lol....spill this.....

re-invention of wheel is spozed to be PROGRESS, not backsliding, btw....

only folks who should be using composting heads are farmers.
chemial toilets are called jonny on the spot. have one delivered to your home for regular use. you will LOVE it.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Wand

Thanks to those who've responded; there are some useful thoughts there but it was the last question that really interested me: viz, why choose a composting head over a chemical one if the compost is not being used as a fertiliser but, instead, being disposed of as sewage.

It seems to me at the moment that a chemical head has all the benefits of a composting head (no plumbing for starters) but none of the complication (urine separation, turning in the organic material etc) - not to mention the much higher initial cost of the composting unit.

If the compost product was being used to grow bigger spuds, I'd understand. But if it's just being disposed of in the usual manner, at sea or ashore, then I struggle to see the benefit of going compost over chemical.

I want to go plumbing free with the head but, because I can't imagine using my compost in my garden, am leaning to chemical.

My choice to go composter (Nature's Head) is driven by simplicity and efficacy, not on any desire to grow vegies or save the world. I also look forward to recovering some important storage space on our 37-footer.

I currently sail the Great Lakes, so no option to poop over the side. On Lake Superior, pump-out stations are few and far between (at least here on the Canadian side), so our 30 gallon standard holding tank becomes a serious limiting factor for extended trips. When we head off next year down the St. Lawrence I look forward to the independence a composter will give us.

Our current head works OK (most of the time), but the idea of not carrying around 30 gallons of toxic slurry appeals to me. Like everyone, I've had my share of problems with our standard head. It's never fun... I look forward to getting rid of all those hoses, clamps, joker valves, two thru-hulls, and the holding tank.

I suppose a porta-potti, or similar chemical toilet, would achieve some of these goals, but I've never been around one of these things that doesn't stink. They need constant dumping, and you've still got the problem of dealing with a liquid toxic slurry. The composter just seems to be a better solution.

I'm just installing the NH, so can't say if it's going to meet my usage expectations. I'll give a full report in the fall. From the research I've done, and from talking to people who actually use it, I have great expectations. But we'll see...

[Wand]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

At least with a chemical toilet (which I never used any chemical in) I could take it ashore or row it out of the bay or empty it late at night on an outgoing tide...

Hi Snowpetrel, in an earlier post you mentioned that the chemical toilet you've used for the past seven years becomes smelly within a few days. I was a bit surprised by this because I've used them occasionally and had never noticed that; the chemical seemed to effectively neutralise odours as well as break down the content into a slurry.

But in the post quoted above you say that you didn't use chemicals in the chemical toilet. If this is the case, then you've just had raw sewage in the chemical toilet - or 'chemical-free toilet'. In which case I'm not surprised it stank.

Unless I'm missing something?

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by zeehag

composting toilets stink . peat does not remove odors from feces.

Zee, it can't smell, based on all the posters who use them. These folks can't all be making it up.

[Sailor_Hutch]

This thought provoking thread makes interesting comparisons between real and/or perceived motivations (or lack of same) to prefer composting rather than chemical heads. I wonder how many sailors mostly use neither. Regardless of what sailors say (for CYA purposes) - how many of them use the over-the-side technique more than anything else? And, in the middle of the ocean, does it matter? How big is the shark's poop (even when it's well digested and pureed) - relative to a couple yotties?

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Wand

Hi Snowpetrel, in an earlier post you mentioned that the chemical toilet you've used for the past seven years becomes smelly within a few days. I was a bit surprised by this because I've used them occasionally and had never noticed that; the chemical seemed to effectively neutralise odours as well as break down the content into a slurry.

But in the post quoted above you say that you didn't use chemicals in the chemical toilet. If this is the case, then you've just had raw sewage in the chemical toilet - or 'chemical-free toilet'. In which case I'm not surprised it stank.

Unless I'm missing something?

No, you are quite right, the idea of adding toxic chemicals (which smell pretty bad anyway) to something that is in my living space doesn't appeal. I found it easier and more hygienic to empty it once a day, either ashore, from a dinghy or over the side if off shore.

I must admit that in the tropics I occasionally used the chemical, if I had to store it for more than a day. And sometimes I used those enzyme things if I had to leave the boat without being able to empty the loo, but mostly it was fine. Though I expect the composting toilet to be much better all round.

The ladies preferred being able to use the toilet onboard at night or early morning rather than having to go ashore if I was in a marina or on my mooring as they would have had to with a conventional toilet, to aviod filling the holding tank that them could not be emptied without going to sea (given the fact that their is not one pump out station anywhere nearby that I know of). It was always possible to dispose of the chemical toilet holding tanks contents properly given some fore thought. But I am looking forward to only having to del with it once every couple of weeks when I fit the C-head.

I must say it concerns me that so many yachts down here still have pump out toilets with no holding tanks. During summer I would not swim in any of the popular bays with yachts in them for this reason.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Sailor_Hutch

I wonder how many sailors mostly use neither. Regardless of what sailors say (for CYA purposes) - how many of them use the over-the-side technique more than anything else? And, in the middle of the ocean, does it matter? How big is the shark's poop relative to that which belongs to a couple yotties? Just wondering ...

I have no qualms about dumping feces when you're far enough out to sea (3 mile for most countries). The solution to pollution is dilution -- it really is. Dumping in enclosed areas should never be acceptable. Urine is sterile, so sending it over the side is rarely a problem, except in the most enclosed areas.

[ShaktiGurl]

Originally Posted by zeehag

why bother with COMPOSTING when ye dont bother to use it as fertilizer....so now there is another huge bag of toxic waste to be dumped somewhere--how do you folks with desires to CLEAN the world deal with this big bag of e choli that must be dealt with--is toxic waste....
seems to me the original toilet on a boat is a cleaner and better idea ...

Um, I am not sure why a chemically treated holding tank is more or less toxic than composting. We tend to dump the compost (which smells like moist dirt) off-shore just like your holding tank but we could also bring it to our farm and compost it along with the horse manure in the grass. We just have to do it far less frequently than if we had a holding tank. I don't think human composted waste is high on the list of toxic environmental dangers.

Oh, and like I said, this is our second composting head in 5 years and they do not stink. Within minutes of a 'deposit' and a stir of the container it again smells like moist dirt or peat. It dries out quickly and reduces to a fraction of its original size because poop is mostly water. They work well! I have tried both kinds of toilets, have you?

[Sailor_Hutch]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I have no qualms about dumping feces when you're far enough out to sea (3 mile for most countries). The solution to pollution is dilution -- it really is. Dumping in enclosed areas should never be acceptable. Urine is sterile, so sending it over the side is rarely a problem, except in the most enclosed areas.

I suppose there could be some issue with the paper products, but that's why they make the cruiser's bidet!

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by zeehag

so you swim in 5000 ft water? you anchor in 5000+ ft of water??
No... Not if my boat is still floating Offshore it isn't a problem, dumping it is fine and legal

btw--urine i s sterile.
poop has e choli and is spillable even with peat moss doesnt kill e choli..lol...i dont have a problem should i suffer knock down--no poop in my living quarters.....

The last two knockdowns I have had my chemical toilet survived fine being lashed in place. No leakage. One knockdown was when I sailed my 26 footer across the tasman to australia singlehanded in winter, the other was sailing from Hobart to Commonweath Bay in Antarctica.

Do you have a holding tank? if you do you have a much higher load of extremely toxic stuff sloshing around inside it. The mix of once serile urine and now very moist crap is a BAD combination..

composting toilets stink . peat does not remove odors from feces.

In my experiance wet toilets also stink, hoses get musty and smell, holding tank breathers can be foul smelling. Seawater stagnates when it is left sitting in pipes. There are ways around these issues but you still have to put up with a complex and fidly bit of gear. I have had to repair a few blocked or broken standard marine toilets, I would far rather empty a portapotti once a day for a year than pull a part a blocked marine toilet once. The composting toilet sounds even better

i dont hve to worry about bags of poop sitting in my home until i can manage to find a nice friendly appropriate place to dump my crap.talk about festering echoli...rodlmao...

5000 ft water should do it nicely! as long as I sail the boat outside the channel once every so often I should be fine.

i know from composting poop holders--friend had one many years ago--before snotties decided it was THE new wheel....rodlmao.
as for chemical toilets--as you have never used one--why dont you try it in your bano at home. see what the wifee says about stinky toxic stuff contained in a 5 gallon bucket---if you are not married--see how long it will take you to find a female who WANTS to crap in a bucket..lol....spill this.....

I have lived aboard for over 7 years with only a chemical toilet. Many of those years with my girlfreind also onboard. All things are a compromise. You can keep your holding tanks and your pumpout stations. I am looking for a different approach.

...............

[Sailor_Hutch]

Originally Posted by Sailor_Hutch

I suppose there could be some issue with the paper products, but that's why they make the cruiser's bidet!

Of course, in a big swell one might end up washing his face too!

[bobconnie]

I still love my bucket ! with the Oak seat!! Never smells when ya empty it and wash it out !! And it always works! never backs up or runs over, and don't have a damn joker valve !! If Connie did not sail with me ! I would have nothing else !!

[ElGatoGordo]

I love my composter. I despise emptying a portapottie splashes and spills, carrying the heavy thing down the pier, no thanks. These things are mostly opinion, what do you like?

I built my own system for a crew of 5, lasts 2 Weeks full time use, 2 months or more day sailing. I also have a y-valve for the urine to go overboard as appropriate.

Beyond opinion, facts need correcting. Yes, peat moss (or pine shavings like I use) DOES remove odor of feces. Drying action is why compost does not smell. If a compost smells it has gotten wet, probably poorly aimed urine ;-)