Composting Toilets???

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DH and I just inherited a small rustic camp on ten acres in Vermont. This place is definitely not intended for year round living (not yet anyway). There is electricity but water is gotten from a spring down the hill. We're interested in replacing the existing chemical toilet with a composting toilet. My question is this: Does anyone out there have a composting toilet or have any recommendations for us; good or bad? There are only the two of us and (for now) we would only be using the camp on an occasional weekend. Perhaps a week or two during the summer, so we don't need a huge system. The camp in built on a wooded knoll on ledge so a septic system isn't possible (or wanted). Thank you in advance.

Wishing you enough.

-- Trevilians (aka Dianne in Mass) (Trevilians@mediaone.net), August 21, 2001

Answers

simple (and cheap) composting toilet system. A 5 gal buckets,, a lid for the buckets,, a pile of sawdust,, when full,, empty it in a compost bin, and cover with leaves, hay or straw, ect. Let set a full year (after the last bucket),, then use

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), August 21, 2001.

Check some of the national park's toilets - they've come up with a great design that doesn't smell because they have a "chimney" that allows gas to escape from the pit into the air. This creates a constant flow of clean air through the door and windows of the outhouse and out the chimney. Nice. I know the Long Trail in Vt has similar systems set up in some spots. Check the more well-used spots like the trail up Mt. Mansfield for better-established ones. (I hope you like great hikes!)

-- karen (klr1@cec.wustl.edu), August 21, 2001.

Go to the archives-waste disposal for a bunch of info on composting toilets.

-- Katherine (KyKatherine@Yahoo.com), August 21, 2001.

Why do you want to replace the existing chemical toilet? For only a week or two in the summer, it should work fine for two people. As one poster mentioned, a sawdust toilet is a great system. I've no faith in composting toilets, especially considering their price, size, installation, poor reviews etc.

-- Yup (Yup@nospam.com), August 21, 2001.

I have seen and used a GREAT composting toilet a coupla years back. After "going" you poured in a scoop of leaves and a scoop of dirt - or some such ingredients. No smell and a joy to use. I would like to have the plans and exact ingredients myself. I have been after my DH to build us an outie for a long time. It's so much trouble to un- shoe yourself, and semi wash up just to use the pot. Being a man he just doesn't understand. Did you do a search on the internet? I keep saying I'm gonna do it but haven't made the time. Let us know if you find out anything. Good luck !

-- cindy palmer (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), August 22, 2001.


I don't know; the idea of a chemical toilet just doesn't sound good to me. What are these chemicals? Somehow, dumping chemicals in the ground just sounds wrong. I was looking for another solution. Maybe we will try the sawdust toilet.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

Wishing you enough.

-- Trevilians (aka Dianne in Mass) (Trevilians@mediaone.net), August 22, 2001.


Where in Vermont are you located? We're in Southern Vermont.

For seven years we used an outhouse which works beautifully; the key for us seems to be adding sawdust after each use.

When building our new house, we installed a 3rd-hand Clivus Multrum which works fairly well, but also smells best when sawdust is regularly added.

We have also built in (but haven't yet started using) a mouldering toilet system that was designed by Gap Mountain Permaculture. We visited a working one and were impressed by the lack of smell.

(All composting toilets seem to work best when you use them mainly for solids...:))

In your situation I would scrap the composting toilet and put in a good, solid outhouse. Good luck!

-- (steph@windhamhill.com), August 22, 2001.


Hi Steph,

We're in eastern-central Vermont outside a small village called Ryegate. We don't live there yet; it's a camp primarily used for a get-a-way weekend. We recently inheritated it from my FIL and have never actually spent the night there. We're planning on going up there this coming weekend and start putting things in order.

I'm not sure an outhouse would work because the cabin in built on a knoll of ledge. The only way to put in an outhouse would be to locate it at the bottom of the hill which would make a long trip during the middle of the night.

There is a chemical toilet in the cabin but I'm not really keen on using chemicals.

Thanks for responding.

-- Trevilians (aka Dianne in Mass) (Trevilians@mediaone.net), August 22, 2001.


Trevilian, We put yeast in our outhouse instead of sawdust. Just add one or two packets about once a month. The yeast eats of the other bacteria and leaves in smelling clean. Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), August 22, 2001.

Dianne, do you have The Humanure Handbook? That might give you your answers. Hopefully, you could get it through the library.

Here's a link I found by using Google and putting in sawdust toilet:

http://www.rdrop.com/users/krishna/sawdust.htm

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), August 22, 2001.



Cindy, one way I have found that helps hubby do something that I have been nagging him to do for me, is to sweetly and silently start doing it myself. How would your hubby react if you would quietly start researching plans for outhouses, and start diggin a hole? After laughing at you, he just might step in and show you how you are doing it wrong. Now it is very important that you play along with his male ego here, to get him to do it. As long as he laughs at you, be quietly and sweetly stubborn about your project. As soon as he shows any interest in what you are doing, play helpless female, and ask his advice on how to do it. (But dont overdo it, or he may get suspicious.) Men have an inborn instinct that urges them to rescue fair maidens in distress. You need to rig it so that is what he feels he is doing for you. Once he actually begins to do work on it, honestly ADMIRE HIM! God gave us these feminine wiles for a reason, and good wives learn how to flirt with their own hubbies to get what they need. It's not manipulative, it's nature's own design. Men love it. But dont use this strategy for every little thing you get a hankering for. It can easily be overused and thus lose its power. Save it for important stuff. And make sure you make it worthwhile to him psychologically to rescue you, fair maiden.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), August 23, 2001.

Dianne,

We use a Sun-Mar brand composting toilet full time in our home. We bought it from Lehmanns catalog (also available online). We bought the compact unit (1-2 full time users) and we wish we had bought something a little larger. Our unit uses electricity for the fan (It has a vent), and it works good, just a little small. It may be the right size for you, though. No smell. No leaks if you empty the drawer everyweek. Our needs peatmoss added after every use, and a handle cranked every other day for happy service. We have to empty ours weekly (from an easily removed drawer on the bottom) and that's about it. We let the compost sit for several monthes before using to be safe.

-- Marty (Mrs.Puck@Excite.com), August 24, 2001.


Dianne, you don't need a hole for an outhouse, especially if you aren't planning year round use. I was potty trained in an outhouse that just had a drawer under the holes that Dad took out and buried every week or so - lot less smell!! Later on, he "modernized" it with a couple of galvanized buckets; nowadays, I think I'd use plastic 5 gallon buckets with maybe some kind of PVC pipe to chute the waste into the buckets neatly; or set them up so they slide in a couple of grooved boards right under the seat to keep the creepy- crawlies out. Use sawdust or wood ashes after each use to help soak up the liquid and odors; also a tight fitting lid is a must - knock the "bumps" off the bottom of a commercial soft seat and velcro it to the bench (soft seats warm up faster in the winter!). Humanure is safe for fruit trees (as long as it is buried underground and you scrub any drops before you eat them) and ornamentals; you could dig a bush sized hole and dump your wastes in it for 6 months or so, covering the waste with dirt, then covering with a wooden cover between times; and then plant a nice Rose of Sharon or something in the hole. Of course, you know to keep it way away from your spring!

I'm so jealous, your camp sounds great!

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), August 24, 2001.


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