School me on the topic of toilets ;)

The Artisan

Adventurer
Yeah I don't want to cook waste in my camper, to me it looks like he is using an induction plate to cook it and using a dehydrator type system..
Kevin
 
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Iain_U1250

Explorer
WE have been using our Nature's head now for a year. It does the job with no hassles or smell. We emptied out Natures Head twice when we were far away from civilization and just dug a hole, and buried the waste. The pee pot gets emptied every second day, into a roadside dump point or public toilet where possible or otherwise out in the bush. We use a water spray bottle on to wash down after a pee, helps keep things clean. We only empty the solids pot when it get really difficult to turn the handle. We use baby wipes instead of toilet paper, and put them into a bag along with all the paper rubbish. We burn that in the campfire at night, or it goes in a roadside rubbish bin.

Finding a place to empty the solids would if we were driving around cities and towns would be quite a bit different than driving in remote areas, but there will always be an RV dump point somewhere in a town.

The toilet fits inside a cabinet, on a slide out. It is a very tight fit vertically, so no need to bolt it down. We have heavy duty velcro like patches on the bottom, and the base holds it in tight as well. We have had no problems with spillage or movement , despite driving on some very rough roads.

DSC05492.jpg


DSC05450.JPG
 

Darwin

Explorer
Ian, how long can you go before you have to empty your natures head composting toilet? I was all set to go with a composting toilet on my next build until I read this review of the Airhead, they state that the max they can go before emptying it is 5 days! And they make it sound like a real pain in the ***. I was hoping a composting toilet could go longer than 5 days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM71d8wMuUU
 

DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
Great Advert for Nature's Head

... I was hoping a composting toilet could go longer than 5 days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM71d8wMuUU

Iain will answer when the time zones roll around, but, in the meantime, you will find a parallel discussion here: http://tigerowners.freeforums.org/viewtopic.php?f=175&t=2145

Basically, the FitRV video goes a long way to explain why Natures Head broke away from AirHead. ;-)

I will buy into the idea that these folks eat and drink more than most, but if it is this hard, they are doing something wrong. We have never gotten less than ten days, even when we had a leak. Now we go for weeks, months if we are only traveling on weekends and short trips. The acid test is two adults using the toilet every day. The expectation is 60-80 uses.

Dueling videos, and they have a lot of 'em: http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/all-composting-toilet

Parthian shot - you don't find many/any threads to the effect of "I put in a composting toilet and then I ripped it out because ..."
 
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Darwin

Explorer
Thanks Diplo, I will look into the tigerforum you posted.


Basically, the FitRV video goes a long way to explain why Natures Head broke away from AirHead. ;-)
I guess I can't tell what's different about the Natures Head, It seems with the fit rv the problem is with capacity. I didn't think the Natures Head had anymore capacity?

Nice to know you can get over a few weeks use of the NaturesHead with full time use. That's about what I get with the cassette toilet. Do you have a video or write up about your use anywhere? I have seen the Wynns video, and that is what initially got my hooked on going with a composting toilet until I saw the review from the FitRv.
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
We used ours every day for 6 months, and would empty the solids part every four weeks or so. The liquid part we empty every second day or so. I suppose if you eat a lot, you might need to empty it a bit more often :)
 
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DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
...
I guess I can't tell what's different about the Natures Head, It seems with the fit rv the problem is with capacity. I didn't think the Natures Head had anymore capacity?

Nice to know you can get over a few weeks use of the NaturesHead with full time use. That's about what I get with the cassette toilet. Do you have a video or write up about your use anywhere? I have seen the Wynns video, and that is what initially got my hooked on going with a composting toilet until I saw the review from the FitRv.

As far as I can tell, the big difference is that the Natures Head is better sealed (as long as the seal is intact) for use in a wet bath. In a dry bath, who cares?

You get a few weeks with a cassette? Amazing!

Urine bottle is going to last two to three days, depending on there amount of beer (or coffee) you drink and how much you use trees or rest stops. :)

Volume of feces will depend on the fiber in your diet and how well your vent system works. The dirty secret is that feces are largely water and the water evaporates. Thus the "magic" - the toilet is bigger on the inside than the outside. :Wow1:

We avoid campground and other toilets and use the Natures Head almost exclusively.

I don't have other write ups - never worth the effort; it just works. You may enjoy this presentation that I have done at Overland EXPO covering toilet options: https://cookfb.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/goongo.pdf

For us the advantages are that the Natures Head smells better than a black tank or a cassette and is much easier and cleaner to dump.

G'day Iain!
 

Iain_U1250

Explorer
G'day Fred :)

We were at a Unimog gathering, and I think we converted everyone there to the Nature's Head toilet, especially those with black water systems, they just could not believe there was no smell and how compact the system is. A couple pf people wanted to know if there was a carry bag for it so they could take it when camping in their tents. I had to explain the need for the little vent fan but they were keen on figuring out how to make it work.


PS - love your articles on your website. Very useful :)
 
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bajajoaquin

Adventurer
Can I ask a bit about the mechanics of usage? You urinate and defecate into different tanks. Is there a trucker's-buddy like port for peeing in and then you defecate into the "bowl?" How easy is it for women to use, and more to the point, how easy is it for a 4 or 5 year old girl to use? One of the reasons I went with a big camper was that I have two small daughters and being out-numbered 3-1 by girls, digging a hole was no longer a winning strategy.

My wife can figure it out and manage, but could a small child be disciplined enough to keep the feces dry, or am I looking at having to wait until both girls are in the 6+ range to change over to one of these?
 

The Artisan

Adventurer
I have not used mine yet as I am still designing. I got my diverter from the UK, Pic for reference how it works. The urine container sits in front under the funnel. I believe natures and C work the same way. Leaning towards the C-head design
Kevin
 

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DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
Easy!

Can I ask a bit about the mechanics of usage? You urinate and defecate into different tanks. Is there a trucker's-buddy like port for peeing in and then you defecate into the "bowl?" How easy is it for women to use, and more to the point, how easy is it for a 4 or 5 year old girl to use? One of the reasons I went with a big camper was that I have two small daughters and being out-numbered 3-1 by girls, digging a hole was no longer a winning strategy.

My wife can figure it out and manage, but could a small child be disciplined enough to keep the feces dry, or am I looking at having to wait until both girls are in the 6+ range to change over to one of these?

People make way too much of an issue about the separate paths. Human anatomy, male and female, is such that there really isn't any aiming necessary - you just use the toilet as you would any other. About the only way you can get it wrong would be to urinate directly into the feces chamber and that is really only a danger with an adult male who wants to stand up with the flap open. In normal use, any amount of urine that misses is too small to be an issue. (The issue of shower water has been discussed into the ground.)

Our grand kidders, male and female, use the toilet with no difficulty at all. They think it is fun. Neither bondage nor discipline required.
:Wow1:
 

Coachgeo

Explorer
Yeah I don't want to cook waste in my camper, to me it looks like he is using an induction plate to cook it and using a dehydrator type system..
Kevin

yeah that is how it appears to me too. Could see a pull out bucket no different than a compost set like others have used. Then you then slip it (if its metal bucket).. or its contents (if plastic) into a box mounted on outside of camper that is heated by exhaust or coolant. Same dehydration effect... but not indoor. Plumb the evaporated mist out the exhaust.. heck might even reduce NOX lol.
 

The Artisan

Adventurer
yeah that is how it appears to me too. Could see a pull out bucket no different than a compost set like others have used. Then you then slip it (if its metal bucket).. or its contents (if plastic) into a box mounted on outside of camper that is heated by exhaust or coolant. Same dehydration effect... but not indoor. Plumb the evaporated mist out the exhaust.. heck might even reduce NOX lol.
I looked into that idea. In my design the shower pan is located in the corner and the composting toilet slides out into the entry space. If I were doing this toilet idea I could do the opposite and the induction cooker would be under the pod in a separate container with a trapdoor to close it off. The induction and dehydrator could do its process, it could be vented using a vent stack out and up.
Kevin
 

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