Beyond the Black Tank - Composting Toilet

Darkspeed · June 26, 2015, 08:11:25 AM

I have been living with the black tank for a number of years full time in the Airstream and im now thinking of toilets in the 4106 build.

I am thinking of ditching the need for the black tank, toxic hose , mess of dumping tanks, and that accidental holding the lever down too long and gassing out everyone in the bus.

Im thinking the weight of the black tank , the space it takes up, the fuel of hauling it and its contents.

Anyone using a composting toilet? I know the Schoolie guys do..

Any thoughts?

The built in fan draws 2.5 watts @ 12vdc

http://www.separett-usa.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duoT34h5dzI

LuckyChow · June 26, 2015, 09:30:25 AM

It's not in yet, but it's going in soon. I ran the 24V electrical for the fan a few weeks ago. The one I believe best fits RV usage is Nature's Head. I'm not sure which topic stirs up more comments, composting toilets or tire age.

eagle19952 · June 26, 2015, 10:18:45 AM

Quote from: LuckyChow on June 26, 2015, 09:30:25 AM
I'm not sure which topic stirs up more comments, composting toilets or tire age.

oil...

Darkspeed · June 26, 2015, 10:36:48 AM

Quote from: LuckyChow on June 26, 2015, 09:30:25 AM
It's not in yet, but it's going in soon. I ran the 24V electrical for the fan a few weeks ago. The one I believe best fits RV usage is Nature's Head. I'm not sure which topic stirs up more comments, composting toilets or tire age.

Why Natures Head?

HB of CJ · June 26, 2015, 03:29:44 PM

Have you ever smelled a composting toilet? How does it handle very loose bowel movements? We had enough problems with a supposed state of the art composting toilet in our cabin. I for one do not see how it would work driving down the road. Talk about smog. Just me. HB

bigred · June 26, 2015, 06:32:33 PM

Am i dreaming or did Holiday Rambler not have some type of self composting toilet years ago???

LuckyChow · June 26, 2015, 07:43:37 PM

Quote from: Darkspeed on June 26, 2015, 10:36:48 AM
Why Natures Head?

From the many, many reviews I've read, it works very well, but so do others. The one thing it has going for it over a couple of the others is size. It's about the smallest foot print, but there are plently that are bigger. There have been a good number of sail boat folks change over to it. Their space constraints are generally tougher than ours in a bus.

Here's a popular Youtube video on the Nature's Head posted by a couple of RV'ers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E2xOoNov9s

luvrbus · June 27, 2015, 05:13:02 AM

One RV did have the electric incinerator type composting toilet BigRed forgot which those did stink and were power hogs.From all I read the newer type are easy to work and clean without the smell

Lin · June 27, 2015, 10:10:05 AM

Looking at the Nature's Head, I don't like the fact that you will have to carry the urine container through your kitchen and living room almost daily in order to find a toilet to dump it. I suppose that boats just dump it overboard.

Does it compost feces so quickly that you will not have to dump it at all?

Dave5Cs · June 27, 2015, 11:29:24 AM

Lin just plumb the wet hose to the passenger side with a solenoid release and then make sure URINE the right lane before you push the button!.... Just watering the trees eh!....

Darkspeed · June 27, 2015, 11:41:09 AM

Quote from: Dave5Cs on June 27, 2015, 11:29:24 AM
Lin just plumb the wet hose to the passenger side with a solenoid release and then make sure URINE the right lane before you push the button!.... Just watering the trees eh!....

Marking ones territory... I claim this half of the highway..

bigred · June 27, 2015, 12:00:29 PM

You mentioning schoolies using these toilets reminded me of one who came through our home town a few years back.He had an old IH fe gas burner.Evidently ,he would go to a location ,get a job at a fast food joint for a few months then move on.For a black tank,he was using an opaque white 55 gallon plastic drum.On those old IH conventionals .they sat real high in the back .He had strapped the tank up behind the rear wheel running front to rear.Now the bad part was ,you could see half of the tank below the side of the bus and you could see through it like a screen door.He drove this contraption to work every day and parked in in the lot behind the restaurant.If you went there during their busy time and had to park next to that thing ,you could have lunch and watch the submarine maneuvers at the same time !!

TomC · June 27, 2015, 09:55:02 PM

Composting toilet-another appliance to go wrong. Most are not allowed in California. There is nothing more simple than a gravity flush toilet to a tank, then emptying it every 2 weeks. Good Luck, TomC

RJ · June 28, 2015, 08:41:19 AM

Todd -

My MC-5C has a 100 gallon fresh water and a 100 gallon grey/black tank in the rear baggage bin. Straight shot from toilet into g/b, tank is vented into the RR wheel well.

Since the tanks are relatively big, after dumping, I put about 5 gallons of water in the G/B tank, then add a septic tank pill I get from Home Depot/Lowe's. Wait until tank is over 1/2 full before dumping again. So far, no weird smells, septic pill seems to keep the odors at bay. Uses no power other than a tiny bit from the water pump when you flush, either the toilet, or the spray rinse nozzle built into the G/B tank. Location of the dump valve/drain is convenient, there's a fresh water spigot to rinse the hose if dump station doesn't have one, and there's a nice PVC pipe capped on both ends that's mounted on the bay wall to hold the hose when not in use.

Simple system that works w/o complications - KISS principle, if you will.

If you intelligently layout the fresh/holding tanks in the rear bin, you should still have plenty of space for other uses. Weight is not an issue, a full 100-gallon freshwater tank weighs less than six paying passengers in revenue service.

Is the interior gutted right now? Is the coach driveable? If the interior's gutted, and you can drive the coach, empty the bays of "stuff", fill the fuel tank and run it across a set of scales. Should be somewhere around 20K or slightly less, empty. Coach can handle up to 32K, so you've got plenty of capacity to work with. Most '06 conversions come in at around 24-26K.

One other thought - For the difference in cost between a composting and regular SeaLand, for example, you could use that extra $$ for something else that Mama wants.

FWIW & HTH. . .

Lostranger · June 28, 2015, 09:11:01 AM

I have nothing against composting toilets, but I don't want one in my bus. Several of our friends have had trouble in off-grid situations, but those issues may have been resolved.

My flush toilet with 105 gallon combined waste tank makes up one of my favorite systems on the bus. We also carry 100 gallons of fresh water. My only regret is buying a plastic toilet. We will remedy that with a Dometic porcelain toilet before long.

Our system is simple and inexpensive. It's well vented and produces no odor. It's easy to dump. Almost nothing to malfunction. Suits us in every way, but by all means go with what suits you.

Jim H.