Composting head vs classic head

[Phantom Jim]

I have reviewed the Sum-Mar product line and have determined that they have a developed a good line of products that will/may have use in boats. The non-separating toilets all use electricity to dehydrate the waste for removal and disposal.

The smaller units, the Space Saver, Compact and Mobile, are designed for a single adult full time or 3-4 people in "seasonal use". The size is 19.5"w by 23" d by 30" h. Weight is 44 pounds.They have a step to accommodate the high seat. The electrical draw seems to be 80 -200 amps per day.

The larger Units, the Excel and Excel NE, are designed for 3 adults or family of 3 full time or 5 adults or family of 7 in seasonal use. The size is 22.5"w by 33."d by 33.25"h. Weight is 60 pounds. The electrical draw is reported as 150 amps per day.

Another line of the Sun-Mar toilets is the GTG urine diverting toilet. This is listed as an unlimited usage toilet. The size is 15.75"w by 24"d by 19.8"h. Weight is 25 pounds. The electrical draw is reported to be 12 amps per day. The GTG uses a proprietary compost/mulch in the solid tank. The solid tank has a capacity of about 6 gallons and the liquid tank about 1.75 gallons.

For our purposes, as a sailing/cruising adult couple of two, my first consideration is will the unit fit in my head space. Second is will it function for two full time adults. Third is whether we have sufficient electricity to run the unit.

I hope this helps.

[Mike OReilly]

Thanks for this Jim. This sounds about right for what I recall from my research on the mobile version some years ago.

The GTG line is newer. I'm surprised the amp draw is so high, I assume for the vent. My vent fan runs all the time on my Nature's Head, but I can't even tell you how many amp-hrs it draws. It doesn't even registered on my amp meter, so it's smaller than 0.1 amp. And it's disappointing to hear they use a proprietary bedding material.

I can't see how this would compete with Air or Nature's Head, which have larger capacities, negligible electrical demands, and use standard bedding material (heck, any bedding material).

[Phantom Jim]

The wattage for the GTG toilet is a reported 0.6 watt so my calculations may have been off since they list the watts in 110v and 12v which caused me some confusion.

Their proprietary bedding material, in my opinion, is probably not necessary. It is not necessary for the C-Head. The GTG is very akin to the C-Head but there is no stirring mechanism.

I cannot see the bigger units going into any but the largest boats because of their size and energy consumption. Even the more compact smaller units are big.

Just different toilet choices that are available.

[AA3JY]

Would be an interesting debate...live virus (?living?) in holding tanks vs. live virus (?surviving?) in composters...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/poop-offe...160000703.html

[Singularity]

Originally Posted by AA3JY

Would be an interesting debate...live virus (?living?) in holding tanks vs. live virus (?surviving?) in composters...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/poop-offe...160000703.html

Versus an MSD such as the Electroscan unit:
"In 1997, a series of studies were undertaken by the Department of Veterinary and Pathology, University of Sydney, Australia. The test determined the effectiveness of the LST/MC’s (formerly EC) ability to destroy the hepatitis A virus (HAV). The lab test resulted in the following comments by the Virologist: this system is effective and will remove 78 – 98% of viruses from fecal material, as HAV is one of the most difficult viruses to destroy by chemical sterilization, a higher rate of removal for other enteric viruses can be expected when using this device."

[Phantom Jim]

This article does emphasize that we must be cautious and sanitary while handling our human waste. The presumption of the article is that the Covid-19 may be transmitted through exposure to infected human fecal material. The article does not speculate how long the virus may remain infectious in the fecal material.

The University of Minnesota study (SARS virus can last 2 days on surfaces and in feces | CIDRAP) indicated the Sars virus can last at least two days in normal feces and possibly longer than 4 days in diarrhea stools.

The current WHO report: file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/WHO-2019-NcOV-IPC_WASH-2020.1-eng%20(1).pdf

With the composting toilet treatment of raw fecal material with dehydration with cellulose, the fecal material will certainly be contained in a secure manner.

There is additional information on the internet, but I was unable to verify the provenance of their material.

Again, caution and proper handling should be observed.

[BlueH2Obound]

Originally Posted by newhaul

This is your troll warning . Trolls are abundant these days .

Newhaul, instead of announcing that you are a troll, wouldn't it be better to just not post?

[smbdyiam2]

Yesterday I heard a lot of noise coming from a neighbors place. I went over to see what it was and geee'se it was the septic guy doing a pump out.
Now this neighbor is a 70 year old single man living by himself in a small house built in 1967 on 3 acres. he has a smaller cabin built behind his house that is one room with bath. His 45 year old son lives in it by himself. The two building share the same septic.
I asked him why they were pumping out. he said they have to pump out about once a year because the septic is too small or something. I said with a composting / dissecting toilet he would never have to do that again. I told them both that i could build one in minutes as I had all parts needed in shop. i said dig hole and bury about once every 4-5 months. each has seperate toilets.
Nope they have been doing this since 1990's and don't want to mess with emptying buckets. dad was in Navy for 8 years and son was in USCG for 8 years.
I guess they like paying septic man.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by smbdyiam2

Yesterday I heard a lot of noise coming from a neighbors place. I went over to see what it was and geee'se it was the septic guy doing a pump out.
Now this neighbor is a 70 year old single man living by himself in a small house built in 1967 on 3 acres. he has a smaller cabin built behind his house that is one room with bath. His 45 year old son lives in it by himself. The two building share the same septic.
I asked him why they were pumping out. he said they have to pump out about once a year because the septic is too small or something. I said with a composting / dissecting toilet he would never have to do that again. I told them both that i could build one in minutes as I had all parts needed in shop. i said dig hole and bury about once every 4-5 months. each has seperate toilets.
Nope they have been doing this since 1990's and don't want to mess with emptying buckets. dad was in Navy for 8 years and son was in USCG for 8 years.
I guess they like paying septic man.

a properly designed septic system with 2 users would actually need pumping about once every 15 to 20 years . Sounds to me either their leech field was not adequately sized or it has failed and they refuse to fix to .

Tell them to add a box of rid ex every 6 months . Half down each toilet they will see a significant improvement . Sewage treatment was part of my job in the navy .

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by newhaul

a properly designed septic system with 2 users would actually need pumping about once every 15 to 20 years . Sounds to me either their leech field was not adequately sized or it has failed and they refuse to fix to .

Tell them to add a box of rid ex every 6 months . Half down each toilet they will see a significant improvement . Sewage treatment was part of my job in the navy .

Properly designed the son's grand kids will be dead and gone before it needs to be pumped out.

Mystery powders are totally unnecessary for a septic system. All the necessary microbes are present in each deposit.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by AA3JY

Would be an interesting debate...live virus (?living?) in holding tanks vs. live virus (?surviving?) in composters...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/poop-offe...160000703.html

If you are running a day charter boat, this is very relevant.

A typical cruising couple who are the only regular users...it's at best an interesting technical discussion. Basically if there are two of you on a small boat and one gets the corona, the other will be exposed to it by at least half a dozen vectors with head contents being one of the least common.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Properly designed the son's grand kids will be dead and gone before it needs to be pumped out.

Mystery powders are totally unnecessary for a septic system. All the necessary microbes are present in each deposit.

actually in a residential system you do need to add microbes due to all of the stupid Crap that is used in a house that kills them .

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by newhaul

actually in a residential system you do need to add microbes due to all of the stupid Crap that is used in a house that kills them .

Nope, every time you flush, you add a fresh batch of microbes.

If you start dumping large amounts of bleach into the system, the magic dust isn't going to survive any better than the naturally deposited microbes.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Nope, every time you flush, you add a fresh batch of microbes.

If you start dumping large amounts of bleach into the system, the magic dust isn't going to survive any better than the naturally deposited microbes.

True, my system is 30 years old and I have never added anything to help the digesting process. I was advise to never use an additive.