Composting Toilet

[JohnEd]

Paul,

Thank you.  Nothing like an eye witness testomonial.  Nothing.

Thank you,

John

[Ed Brenner]

My mom has a log house in the mountains, that has a composting toilet. The main unit sits in the basement directly below the toilet. Straight shot down has to be. The unit below is not small probably 4 feet tall. It has a vent stack that goes up to the peak of the roof . It has a motor that turns a set of arms that keep stuff stirred(on a timer). It also has a heater. It requires you add some kind of mixture (peatmoss) occasionally through the toilet depending on the load(big dump add peatmoss).It does work doesn't need to be cleaned to often. But it does not like paper(need extra trash container in bathroom and mess to deal with.) From what I have seen I don't think solar would work, and the size is probably too large.They do work mom and dad used it full time in that house for several years.(Dad always let mom do the service work!!) Still have the house and system,just dont live there full time.
That in itself is another problem for a bus, they like to run on a full time basis not on and off.Them composting bugs plus heat and rotating parts like to keep going.
Not in my bus(my input and opinion)
Thanks ED

[luvrbus]

I have a friend in Pahrump that has one in 102C3 and he loves it and I have never been in his bus when there was a ordor.
He told me it did take a lot power but he stays on a power pole make no difference to him

[Lonnie time to go]

WOW  come on guys I think its way to fast to jump on the newbee
Some may not get our sense of humor

I know i will get slapped for this but its my opinion.
power for the unit would have come out soon enough.


I had a thought on this myself poor man way
Kitchen electric burner very large.
thin metal box type thing on top of burner to transfer heat to waste
small computer fan to remove smell.
when bus is running cooks waste

This is my quick idea with no real details

Lonnie

[usbusin]

OldScoolBus, here is a discussion on an installation of a composting toilet.  http://truckhome.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/794600927/m/300105712/p/11

It is from an individual on the truck conversion bulletin board, "Ran D. St.Clair" who has quite a flair for writing!

Hope it helps.

[bevans6]

I was curious, so I did a little google.  There is a unit on the market, quite small (supports two people indefinitely, up to "family" of four for shorter periods like a couple of weeks), never needs to be pumped out but I imagine the cooked waste needs to be emptied periodically.  Powered by 12v or 120 volt, less than an amp continuous at 120 volt when "cooking", rest of the time a small fan in the stack only.  so maximum power requirement is 120 to 150 watts, average power consumption is 80 watts, dual power, sized and engineered specifically for RV or Marine installation (so the guts are designed for transportation related movement and jostling, bumps, etc).  Now, I'm not a solar engineer but I think 150 watts it achievable, as is 80 watts average and the ability to control the higher power usage to times and days when you have higher power sunlight available.  Doesn't seem outlandish  to me at all.

Now, to truly evaluate the green-ness of this, you'd have to take transportation and manufacturing costs of the unit, the solar, the wire to hook it up, the carry away and dig a hole to bury the composted residue, but you have to do that for anything.

Brian

[thejumpsuitman]

I'm sorry, but I could not even remotely imagine someone going through all this "crap" to create a composting system unless that's the only option available.  Is it just me?  I am just shaking my head over all this.

Marc

[4905 doc]

Jumpsuit, you are not the only one.

Alex

[Dreamscape]

I found a link to the one I spoke of. For less than 2K, not bad if you need to conserve space and want to go green.

http://www.incinolet.com/

He really swears by it.

Paul

[bevans6]

it seems to me that if you don't have a black tank, don't want to install or can't install  a black tank, need to be able to support time periods longer than a black tank would allow, don't have access to dumping facilities, or need to conserve water to a greater extent than using a black tank would require - a composting toilet is the best solution bar a  shovel and a handy tree to lean against.  Just because most of us use black tanks doesn't make them the best, or even a good solution.  Just an easy (to us) solution.

Brian

[Bob & Tracey]

Check out;

http://www.airheadtoilet.com/

[BG6]

Sounds like a solution in desperate need of a problem, as far as coach conversion is concerned.

For a lot less money, there are solutions which work as well or even better, while this one provides no advantage over any of the others -- while adding complexity, failure points and a need to change the way you live your life (IIRC, you need a separate collection and disposal system for urine).

The mission profile for the composting toilet is A), a remote location with no option for sewage removal, B), where there IS a place for the compost to be used (or at least disposed of) with somewhere else to send the urine, and C), where dropping several thousand bucks on a toilet is doable.

Anywhere other than dry camping without moving the coach for a while, you have the exact opposite conditions. 

[Old Scool Bus]

I'm sorry, but I could not even remotely imagine someone going through all this "crap" to create a composting system unless that's the only option available.  Is it just me?  I am just shaking my head over all this.

Marc

Well let's take your stance on this a little farther.

Why would anybody take an old beat up worn out bus that has outlived it's usefullness to it original purpose and throw thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of human labor not to mention the stress and ridicule from others to do what we do when prevost are readily available turnkey?

It's not about cost, readily availableness, or time spent it's about accomplishing something that creates a satisfaction within us.

Calling someone Else's ideas, dreams or projects stupid or even insinuating such us rude and very short sighted or for a lack of a better term "Stupid"

[Lonnie time to go]

I'm sorry, but I could not even remotely imagine someone going through all this "crap" to create a composting system unless that's the only option available.  Is it just me?  I am just shaking my head over all this.

Marc

Well let's take your stance on this a little farther.

Why would anybody take an old beat up worn out bus that has outlived it's usefullness to it original purpose and throw thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of human labor not to mention the stress and ridicule from others to do what we do when prevost are readily available turnkey?

It's not about cost, readily availableness, or time spent it's about accomplishing something that creates a satisfaction within us.

Calling someone Else's ideas, dreams or projects stupid or even insinuating such us rude and very short sighted or for a lack of a better term "Stupid"

I Agree

[JohnEd]

I understood "composting toilets" as having some relationship to my composting pile in my back yard.  Not true for most of this.  What is being discussed is "incinerators" plain and simple.  I must have looked the absolute jerk suggesting using engine heat for the "composting/incinerator" and openly pondering "fuel" consumption.  My feeling is that while I don't heat my compost pile it still works pretty well but I am sure it would work faster, not better, if it were kept warm.  An incinerator?  And it runs through a "burn cycle" EVERY time you use it?  Unless you are using solar, just how can that possible be considered GREEN?  I am lost.

The toilet, an Airhead brand, seems to be a composter, at least of sorts.  It lacks the digester stage of a true compost system but at least there is no incinerating combustion phase.  

WOW!  What can I say?  I agree with Marc, although he could have been more delicate/political/sensitive, so could I and most of us have abbreviated our response/comment and come across as possibly rude.  I am absolutely I resemble that remark, myself.  I agree with you Marc.....the mind boggles.

BG, you nailed it also.
Sounds like a solution in desperate need of a problem, as far as coach conversion is concerned Not applicable.  Not from a practical or common design.

OLD,  I appreciate your concern for the feelings of most of us.  I am squarely in your corner as far as that goes.  Like everything else on the planet, compromise is involved for it to work.  Not all of us can express ourselves in the gracious subtleties most often appropriate.  My real heat burn is that someone would let a valid and, perhaps critically important, comment/caution go unsaid out of political concern.  I associated with some avid bench rest shooter and re-loaders for years and I found their penchant for understatement down right frightening.  A newbee was told that using "less powder" than the min listed in the manual for that cartridge would "complicate your day".  I saw wheels turning in the guys head and added "for clarification, what he means is doing that will cause the rifle to EXPLODE and take part of your head off and possibly KILL the guy shooting on the bench next to you".  I really want to avoid that situation....really.  Now you did hear me say that I agree with your intension, right?

John