Composting Toilet

[Jim S]

theboatgalley.com is having a lively dialogue about composting toilets.  Overall almost all love their composting toilets.  A Pearson 424 owner created his own composting toilet from off the shelf items.  The links to theboatgalley.com and the 424 installation are attached.  Is (has) anyone considering (considered) a conversion to a composting toilet?

http://pagetwo88.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-new-year.html
http://www.ecovita.net/privy.html
http://theboatgalley.com/composting-heads/

[KIDTLTACK]

Hi All,  In August ,2014, I was planning a trip from northern Lake Michigan to Mobile Al.  the toilet was a difficult choice for me,  I finally chose the Natures Head Composting toilet. The toilet is a little high on the riser but I thought I would complete a trial run before I cut away the riser to lower the seat by four inches. The toilet sits a little high for now and actually isn't bad at this height (a little more like a bar stool,Ha). I ran the vent hose through the clothes hamper and up through the storage cabinet adjacent to the bulkhead and then out through the hull as high as possible while still having room to tighten a thru-hull fitting nut. I did this because I didn't want to cut a hole in the cabin roof and didn't want the hose to show in the head. I also removed the hinge hardware at the back of the toilet.  This hinge is used to tilt the top of the toilet back and then remove it from the base.  the problem with this is that it requires the toilet to be mounted a few inches from the bulkhead to provide clearance for the tilting of the top.  this, in my opinion, causes the toilet to protrude too far into the foot space in front of the head sink basin. I checked with the factory and they said this was a viable alternative.  with the hinge detached the toilet may be lifted straight up after the latches are opened. In this arrangement the toilet sits against the bulkhead and works out nicely.  There is an installation video by Sailrite on a 37 footer with a head a lot smaller than the 365.  In this video they take you through the step by step process.  After watching this video, one can feel fortunate to have a Pearson 365 Head.  As for the toilet it does just what is promised.  I have zero Oder and I mean ZERO.  Even when emptying the toilet there isn't anything unpleasant. The fan runs continuously but only draws milliamps. The fresh air kills the bacteria.  I used peat moss from Home Depot $7.00 for a years worth. the natures head is an easy install for the Pearson 365. If you would like photos of my installation, my email is: bebafs@yahoo.com. I'm now in Alabama. A singled handed trip I won't soon forget.  The toilet is working great.
Brian

[Skookster]

In case anyone picks up this thread again, I yanked the Raritan and holding tank system and put a C-Head in Skookum this spring. Works as advertised, simple, easy to clean. No odor so far, so I may never need to install a ventilation fan. Very happy with it.

[RockysMate]

What do you with the contents of the composting toilet that have not had time to decompose when you get to the end of a cruise?

[Skookster]

Compost pile, big garden. No odor or mess when tipping bucket into garbage bag for trip home. C- Head is crude but effective. If you cannot compost, you can treat bag with bleach and legally dispose in municipal solid waste. Three people for four days didn't amount to much solids last week. I can wait another couple weekends.

[RockysMate]

Skookster do you have any new thoughts on the c head?

[Skookster]

Still a good solution for me. Had an odor problem the weekend after one trip when a guest did #1 in the #2 hole. But it is really easy to empty that bucket, rinse out and reset to fresh coir. You do have to keep an eye on the urine jug to avoid overflow, 2 well hydrated crew can fill in 1.5 days. Still, no odor and the mate is happy. Haven't bothered venting it with solar fan, busy redoing all AC wiring. Think that Sandy ought to market his unit to poor areas of rural India, would be an improvement over using the fields, and not one requiring WWTPs and infrastructure...

BTW, Sea Dog makes a perfect hold down latch for mounting.