Composting head vs classic head

[carlosproa]

Simple cure for diarrhea is champagne

The cork

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Islander30Jo

To comment on diarrhea, don't worry about it. As long as you do not have it several days in a row to add a lot of liquid into the container, it will just mix into the dry peat moss/ coconut choir which will be able to still compost this. I sometimes even add a few cups of water into mine to keep the microbes going if im away from the boat for too long.

To comment on what you do when the pee container is full - it depends on what composting toilet brand you use but for the nature's head version, it is its own container that is removable (Google natures head and youll quickly find the container is easily sealed and removed). You simply unlock the container when its getting close to the top, pop the cap on top to seal the container and either walk the container to a bathroom at your dock and pour into the toilet, you might be able to pour it into a garden if you own one and want the extra nutrients, or dump it overboard if you are outside of the 3NM coastal zone. To be specific, dumping the urine into a marine wont actually do much harm but this is strictly illegal in most marinas. I believe it to be a blanket rule which would be more important for the solids as that is where all the bad bacteria would be as urine is fully sterile (to you) and fairly sterile in the environment. Not recommending you dump the urine in the marina or would encourage it, just giving my extra 2 cents that the nasty part of waste is the solids and not really the urine for the most part.

So basically you feel it ok to pour into the water.

[Singularity]

We don't shower with a dry towel, why clean the backside with one. Global toilet paper production consumes 27,000 trees per day (carbon footprint not inclusive of harvesting, manufacturing, advertising, distribution, etc).

Traditional marine heads allow for bidet usage, potentially eliminating the need for toilet paper, at minimum drastically reducing use of the same. If regularly in open water, or with onboard treatment...difference between compost vs classic marine head is a wash.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by carlosproa

I have a delicate question: how do you deal for those times when there is diarrhea or for some people with very runny stool? I understand the urine goes one way an the bowl movement another way so to minimize liquid.
Is a serious question - thanks

As was already said, it won't be an issue for a short time. If diarrhea persists such that it is a problem for the head, then you my friend have bigger health problems to deal with -- immediately. It's easy to add a bit more material (I use coir) if things get moist, but the worst case scenario for these heads is that you might have to dump the main contents a bit early, and start a new cycle. No biggy.

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

What do you do with that on day 4? Pour it in some other container? Or do you pour it overboard and do the rules game?

Mine mostly goes over the side. Occasionally, when tied to a dock, I've dumped it into the land head. I have two bottles, so can double the time between emptying if need be.

Originally Posted by Montanan

Going three to six weeks between taking a dump, now that is being constipated to the extreme.

[smj]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

What do you do with that on day 4? Pour it in some other container? Or do you pour it overboard and do the rules game?

Here in Marathon we pour it into the Porta potty dump site and it ends up in the same place as your urine, the city sewer.

[mvweebles]

As someone who is head-less but will be installing something at the end of my refit in a couple months (and leaning towards composting), let me summarize the points against composting.

1. "Ick Factor". General aversion to being in close contact with discharge after its left your body. Will therefore effect resale value.

2. Pee, which is generally considered inert, is illegal to discharge overboard unless direct from the source.

3. Garbage collectors might come in contact with a bag when dumping a dumpster

4. Harder to use a composted as a bidet and therefore uses too much paper and is not environmentally friendly.

5. Not really "compost" but rather semi-dried dung.

6. Not recommended for gardens where humans will consume the flora/fauna.

7. A single head is probably only suitable for two people full time, maybe more on a part time basis.

8. Land lubbers will think it strange (companion to Ick Factor) .

9. Men have to sit when peeing.

Anything else?

Worst in my mind is "Ick Factor. " As someone who has spent way too much time hanging upside down with my head in a bilge clearing a clog or banging hoses on a dock or replacing a macerator pump or searching for a pump out or rebuilding a head, the predictable Ick Factor of a compost head seems like a decent tradeoff, especially since the traditional head has surprises about when it decides to go south (which mine did 24-hours before I departed on a 3-day passage last year).

[smj]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

As someone who is head-less but will be installing something at the end of my refit in a couple months (and leaning towards composting), let me summarize the points against composting.

1. "Ick Factor". General aversion to being in close contact with discharge after its left your body. Will therefore effect resale value.

2. Pee, which is generally considered inert, is illegal to discharge overboard unless direct from the source.

3. Garbage collectors might come in contact with a bag when dumping a dumpster

4. Harder to use a composted as a bidet and therefore uses too much paper and is not environmentally friendly.

5. Not really "compost" but rather semi-dried dung.

6. Not recommended for gardens where humans will consume the flora/fauna.

7. A single head is probably only suitable for two people full time, maybe more on a part time basis.

8. Land lubbers will think it strange (companion to Ick Factor) .

9. Men have to sit when peeing.

Anything else?

Worst in my mind is "Ick Factor. " As someone who has spent way too much time hanging upside down with my head in a bilge clearing a clog or banging hoses on a dock or replacing a macerator pump or searching for a pump out or rebuilding a head, the predictable Ick Factor of a compost head seems like a decent tradeoff, especially since the traditional head has surprises about when it decides to go south (which mine did 24-hours before I departed on a 3-day passage last year).

Men can also pee in a cup and then pour into the composter.

[Mike OReilly]

Weebles, as far as the "Ick Factor" goes, there's really nothing offensive or "icky" about the end product. It looks, smells and even feels like potting soil. That's it.

Your list of negatives seems pretty good. I've listed the positive reasons I made the switch on other threads. I can do so again if anyone asks...

I actually think these heads are easier to use than standard marine heads for the uninitiated landlubber. I've never had anyone confused about how to use them because there's really nothing to it. Sit, open the trap door (if pooping), do your thing. Close trap door when done. Rotate handle. Not much to get confused about.

Toilet paper is an interesting question. Mine goes in the bin. I think it helps by adding material to the bin. Others divert theirs. This seems to be about the same as standard marine head users; some dump it in, some divert it.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by smj

Men can also pee in a cup and then pour into the composter.

There is a reason for keeping them separate. Highly recommend not doing that. People comment that their composters don't smell. That would change very fast if you defeat the separator.

As far as adding water to help the composting process goes... I suppose you could. But the very name we have given these toilets is very misleading.

They are better at desiccating than they are at composting. It's much easier than actually trying generate compost.

To the naysayer regarding urine handling. A wet sewage system is in my past. Nothing about it is attractive to me. No need to belittle the "composting" option.



" 9. Men have to sit when peeing."


Wow!!


I remember reading on this forum that men must always sit when peeing on boat, regardless of toilet choice.


I will agree that if you haven't figured out an option, that the composting toilet target is... not workable for standing. But even when I had a wet sewage system, I went another route.


Every male crew that comes aboard Minggat gets his own empty liquid laundry detergent bottle. The spout has already been removed. These bottles are wide mouth, with a positive seal. They also have a handle, which helps with stability.


As a plus, the detergent was usually perfumed.


Since female crew are the ones who deposit into the urine catcher, none so far as every objected to being responsible for emptying that. But one... did as was suggested above. She dumped it in the solids bin. She was pretty, but not so clever.


We changed that batch of media and moved on.

[skydiver]

I recommend to anyone who is considering an AirHead or similar composting head on a cruising boat that they first read Breaking Seas by Glenn Damato.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I'll summarize that those (of us) who own and use composters generally like them a lot. The vast majority of negative comments come from people who have never owned one. It's one of the topics that seems to generate a lot of uniformed, but strongly held, opinion.

.

Well put.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by skydiver

I recommend to anyone who is considering an AirHead or similar composting head on a cruising boat that they first read Breaking Seas by Glenn Damato.

Yes. The difference between the different manufactures can be significant.

Some spend a lot of energy trying to minimize what is perceived as the ick factor to potential buyers.

IMO, this is where the KISS approach is very appropriate. That is why I decided on the C-Head.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by Singularity

We don't shower with a dry towel, why clean the backside with one. Global toilet paper production consumes 27,000 trees per day (carbon footprint not inclusive of harvesting, manufacturing, advertising, distribution, etc).

Traditional marine heads allow for bidet usage, potentially eliminating the need for toilet paper, at minimum drastically reducing use of the same. If regularly in open water, or with onboard treatment...difference between compost vs classic marine head is a wash.

This is one tradeoff that I agree with. I had a bidet when I had a wet sewage system aboard.

But not dealing with the negatives of wet sewage is better in my book.

As for TP consumption...
A roll of TP last one week. A box of Kleenex tissues last 3-4 MONTHS, regardless of what type of toilet you deal with.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Montanan

You do realize that a port-a-potty is actually functionally pretty much the same as a holding tank system...hence why standard heads smell nasty.

[Davy J]

As I said in the other thread, I hesitate to participate in these threads because of all the poo flinging..............

I would never as a cruiser switch to a composter and deal with a bucket of pee all the time. But to lots its like a cult.

However, I know Don, Sailorboy1, likes to be the contrarian. But this is easy to say when the city pump-out boat picks up your sh!++ once a week.

Maybe you do, our maybe you don't...., know, but that big blue container by the north east end of the showers/laundry building is the urine dump. No buckets involved, just bottles, that have lids. Easy as dumping a bottle of bad milk.....

The city marina office even gives you a receipt for depositing your liquid waste there.