Composting Toilet Tips and Tricks

[The Artisan]

That looks like a decent system. Basic, but well thought out and constructed.
The following items come standard with the C-Head.

1. Stock or Custom portable toilet housing (primary container)
2. Five gallon solid waste collection container with a built in churn
3. Churn handle
4. Gallon jug with EUD or P-tank option
5. Ventilation hose and attachments
6. Sealing lid - covers and seals the urine diverter (not shown)

I liked this part, simple and effective:
http://c-head.com/Man_Stand.html

I did my own using the same principal but mine will have a drill angle drive and a reconstructed cordless drill. Think blender with a paddle. You could also do 2 gears attached on the outside with a crank but power button is so much easier.
Kevin

 

[RJ Howell]

I did my own using the same principal but mine will have a drill angle drive and a reconstructed cordless drill. Think blender with a paddle. You could also do 2 gears attached on the outside with a crank but power button is so much easier.
KevinView attachment 489615

Just heading (pun intended) into this.. I have the C-head on the top of the list right now. What I don't see with yours is seals.. Basic UDDT which looks good, yet what stops any smell from coming back into the cabin? Curious if you sealed the seat and created a passive vent outside?

 

[The Artisan]

Just heading (pun intended) into this.. I have the C-head on the top of the list right now. What I don't see with yours is seals.. Basic UDDT which looks good, yet what stops any smell from coming back into the cabin? Curious if you sealed the seat and created a passive vent outside?

My plan is a 2" frp composite box and the 5 gallon is inside. All sealed from the top by toilet seat and lid. I am going to use a 12v shopvac modified to vent to the outside from the box. Plus my countertop is 2" frp and the front face is ad well. Above it will be a fantastic fan
Kevin

 

[RJ Howell]

My plan is a 2" frp composite box and the 5 gallon is inside. All sealed from the top by toilet seat and lid. I am going to use a 12v shopvac modified to vent to the outside from the box. Plus my countertop is 2" frp and the front face is ad well. Above it will be a fantastic fan
Kevin

Sealing the seat to me is important. Passively venting (maybe CPU fan) would be really nice. I think of how good vault toilets work. Passively vented. I also think that a CPU fan, switched to run once you open the lid, should take any smells (that would drift upward) outward. This does mean venting through the roof (proper draft). The over-head fan is going to reverse the draft in my mind and bring the smell inward. I say all this because I'm working through this now and trying to figure out a good way. We don't typically poo in our toilet. Yet still need it right for peein'! If I get it right, I may change our system/habits. We Wag-Bag, do your deed and get rid of it. Yes, media to allow composting. Nothing stays, except pee, currently in the tank or now (as hoped) separate container. Keep talking to me as to how you continue. Always interested in how others work through this.

 

[The Artisan]

Sealing the seat to me is important. Passively venting (maybe CPU fan) would be really nice. I think of how good vault toilets work. Passively vented. I also think that a CPU fan, switched to run once you open the lid, should take any smells (that would drift upward) outward. This does mean venting through the roof (proper draft). The over-head fan is going to reverse the draft in my mind and bring the smell inward. I say all this because I'm working through this now and trying to figure out a good way. We don't typically poo in our toilet. Yet still need it right for peein'! If I get it right, I may change our system/habits. We Wag-Bag, do your deed and get rid of it. Yes, media to allow composting. Nothing stays, except pee, currently in the tank or now (as hoped) separate container. Keep talking to me as to how you continue. Always interested in how others work through this.

Will do, it is all in design phase as nothing is set in stone. I did find a funnel that will act as a nice urinal that fits down the drain and can easily store in the toilet box. How will the overhead fan reverse as it would vent like a regular house bathroom vent fan?
Kevin

 

[RJ Howell]

Will do, it is all in design phase as nothing is set in stone. I did find a funnel that will act as a nice urinal that fits down the drain and can easily store in the toilet box. How will the overhead fan reverse as it would vent like a regular house bathroom vent fan?
Kevin

Two major differences in my mind. You house commode is water based and has no other venting. All that smell from your house commode is draw upward. The composter should have some sort of venting, being air is being (actively or passively) drawn down away and from you. You should feel a small breeze sitting there (proof the venting is working). You now place an over-head fan in the mix.. you will be drawing air out of the composter (being the fan is stronger). That's my thoughts..

 

[The Artisan]

Two major differences in my mind. You house commode is water based and has no other venting. All that smell from your house commode is draw upward. The composter should have some sort of venting, being air is being (actively or passively) drawn down away and from you. You should feel a small breeze sitting there (proof the venting is working). You now place an over-head fan in the mix.. you will be drawing air out of the composter (being the fan is stronger). That's my thoughts..

Ok my plan was to vent while using. Once buried to the bottom of the bucket the lid gets closed. After you are finished you use the overhead fan
Kevin

 

[DiploStrat]

Some background and some comments. Had a Nature's Head in our Tiger. Our XPCamper came with a cassette and, after one season, we ripped that out and installed a C-Head. Why the change of brands? The C-Head is shorter front to back and the shower space in our XP is very small.

Now the comments:

-- As long as urine is kept out of the feces, there is no real odor and what there is is not objectionable. This is NOT the case with outhouses and long drop toilets at campgrounds as they mix the two and thus they depend on doors and chimneys to limit odor.

-- The greatest danger to a composting toilet in a vehicle is the entry of shower water. (And, of course, drunk Uncle Louie taking a whiz in the wrong place.) Sadly, neither of the two toilets that I am familiar with does a great job of keeping out the water. But both work as long as the seals are in reasonable shape and you recognize the things that will cause water to enter. In the case of the C-Head, this is water on the deck that flows in when you open the toilet to remove the urine bucket.

-- While C-Head maintains that venting is not required, I believe that it is almost essential to control moisture, whether from condensation or shower leakage. Venting is not really a requirement to control odor because there simply isn't much. Not even when in use if your fan is strong enough to actually create negative air flow.

-- We have solar powered vent in our bath and it was set on exhaust to dry the shower, etc. It was not strong enough to pull odor out of the toilet. A larger vent might be able to do that. I haven't tried reversing it to pull air in as it just died on this trip! ;-(

Conclusion: I believe that you should vent your composting toilet with an active or passive vent. You don't want to seal the toilet as you want it to be able to pull air from inside the vehicle and exhaust it.

As always, YMMV.

P.S. Cassette toilet available for free, pick up in Nevada!

 

[Neil]

With all this venting and fans running 24/7

Do they smell all the time

Neil

 

[DiploStrat]

With all this venting and fans running 24/7

Do they smell all the time

Neil

No, unlike a cassette, they never smell, not even in use. We have more problems with odor from our grey water tank in hot weather.

 

[RJ Howell]

Some background and some comments. Had a Nature's Head in our Tiger. Our XPCamper came with a cassette and, after one season, we ripped that out and installed a C-Head. Why the change of brands? The C-Head is shorter front to back and the shower space in our XP is very small.

Now the comments:

-- As long as urine is kept out of the feces, there is no real odor and what there is is not objectionable. This is NOT the case with outhouses and long drop toilets at campgrounds as they mix the two and thus they depend on doors and chimneys to limit odor.

-- The greatest danger to a composting toilet in a vehicle is the entry of shower water. (And, of course, drunk Uncle Louie taking a whiz in the wrong place.) Sadly, neither of the two toilets that I am familiar with does a great job of keeping out the water. But both work as long as the seals are in reasonable shape and you recognize the things that will cause water to enter. In the case of the C-Head, this is water on the deck that flows in when you open the toilet to remove the urine bucket.

-- While C-Head maintains that venting is not required, I believe that it is almost essential to control moisture, whether from condensation or shower leakage. Venting is not really a requirement to control odor because there simply isn't much. Not even when in use if your fan is strong enough to actually create negative air flow.

-- We have solar powered vent in our bath and it was set on exhaust to dry the shower, etc. It was not strong enough to pull odor out of the toilet. A larger vent might be able to do that. I haven't tried reversing it to pull air in as it just died on this trip! ;-(

Conclusion: I believe that you should vent your composting toilet with an active or passive vent. You don't want to seal the toilet as you want it to be able to pull air from inside the vehicle and exhaust it.

As always, YMMV.

P.S. Cassette toilet available for free, pick up in Nevada!

Very nice input on this! Thank you.

When I say 'sealed', I'm thinking more of foam tape then hermetically sealing. I'm working through a wet-bath design and really don't 'wish' to remove the head each time we shower. I see some sort of sealing or maybe just a cover to ensure to added (unwanted) moisture in there.

I really like the idea of a solar panel to run the fan, since I don't 'think' it needs to be run 24/7. I have a couple little 15w panels are a few DC CPU fans around here. I'd like to down-vent, my screen room and entry door are on the same side as the wet-bath. Trying to not 'go-long' yet hope to get it out the opposite side. Design-in-progress..

We rarely poo indoors, most places we go has some sort of commode to use (love National Forests). When we do, we Wag-Bag so I can get it right out of there. A cover is probably the solution as we shower. I know my wife will smell the pee (very sensitive nose) and the fan would help this.

Again, great input from someone that has and uses!

 

[RJ Howell]

Ok my plan was to vent while using. Once buried to the bottom of the bucket the lid gets closed. After you are finished you use the overhead fan
Kevin

Got it! I will have an overhead fan, mainly to exhaust moisture while showering. The big thing I find is our current doesn't have an exhaust fan near the cooktop and that is an issue (also off-topic, sorry).

 

[DiploStrat]

Since we love to talk dirty ....

-- Our C-Head is bolted in place; it ain't going nowhere. We use it over public facilities as it is so much more pleasant. The long drops do make a nice place to to dump, however.

-- The C-Head sells a shower seal kit. It is OK, but expensive. They simply add rubber seals to the underside of the seat and lid. And those seals are small and easily damages. I will probably replace all with heavier, multi-ridged seals. Not rocket science - look at the beast and note where water will flow. Don't use foam as that will hold water - exactly what you don't want to happen. The C-Head has the advantage that the feces bucket is, in fact, a removable bucket. That means that some leakage is simply kept outside. We added a weep hole to the outer shell as the the whole thing is inside a wet bath. The biggest leak comes when we raise the lid to remove the urine bucket, so we are now careful to dry things off first. You could make a shower cap.

-- We run the fan 24/7; our electrical system can't even see it. We have the most expensive fan in the world as we used the fan/vent from a SOG that would not fit our cassette. (Do you get the idea that we spent a lot of money to get past the pain and odor of a cassette?)

-- The C-Head has no urine odor. Neither did the Nature's Head.

Most of the "problems" of composting toilets simply aren't. One reason we are all such fanatics.

 

[RJ Howell]

The C-Head is shorter front to back and the shower space in our XP is very small.

My downside (con) to the C Head is the handle to stir. Yet once getting used to using, I may find we will use it more often. That could turn into a positive..

Which model did you get? I'm looking at this without the bucket or handle assembly.
Housing Lid Assembly ........................ $359.00
The "Toilet Seat and Urine Diverter Assembly" is designed for the DIY composting toilet builder for homesteads, tiny houses, cabins and other appropriate applications.
Includes:

• Shower seal gaskets on lid and seat
• 15" wide and 20" front to back
• Starboard brand HDPE lid and sealing lid
• Urine diverting funnel
• 316 stainless steel, heavy duty hinges

With collection bucket and churn handle added - $499

Having a hard time paying another $150 for a bucket and handle..
Have you ever seen a discount coupon or sale on these?

 

[The Artisan]

Got it! I will have an overhead fan, mainly to exhaust moisture while showering. The big thing I find is our current doesn't have an exhaust fan near the cooktop and that is an issue (also off-topic, sorry).

That area doubles as a cooking area when not raining. My kitchen layout has changed but the bathroom area is the same. Area on the right side in elevation