Composting toilet - pros and cons
Considering changing to a composting toilet (we boondock about 70% of the time). I would like to hear the pros and cons from those that either have one or have done some research.
Forum Discussion
I've used a cassette a couple times on a rental...worst possible option:
- You either have to cut a hole in the side to slide it out or you have to carry it thru the RV.
- No need for a new hole with a composter anyway as you can repurpose the old holding tank vent.
But no, smell is a non-issue having lived with one for several years. Had he solar fan fail once and never noticed it.
Only emptied the urine every 2-3 days (less if using shore side facilities or trees). And just like a cassette which needs to be dumped every couple days, any shoreside toilet is a legitimate place to dump.
We don't put toilet paper down a traditional RV toilet either (we use real toilet paper that actually works not the RV specific stuff that your fingers go right thru). If you use the lousy RV TP, you can put it in a composting toilet without problem.
I still don't think it makes sense in an RV. With just a modest amount of effort, we can get a week out of the black tank. If really needed, we could probably double that.
I had one 30 years ago I used in my tent trailer, but ya you need to get a good quality one so it doesn't leak
you can only reuse the holding tank vent if it is in the right spot.
as for the toilet paper that's just gross. sorry I can't get behind that one
ya doesn't make sense in an rv to me either, and even in a cabin I would get a incinerating toilet over a composting any day. the black tank is the best setup, but if people are worried about paying for dumping stations or waiting in line, buy a macerating pump and then you can pump it in to outhouses or such
Any toilet that leaks is bad news...no reason to expect a composting toilet to leak. In fact, something has to be horribly wrong, there really isn't a way for it to leak. While we only used them a few times, draining the cassette toilet was the most objectionable of the 3 options.
The holding tank is usually under the toilet, so the vent is typically close by. You are going to have to do some plumbing anyway to remove/seal off the black tank, so finding and connecting to it shouldn't be a big problem. Worst case, just put a computer fan that draws next to nothing and pump it under the rig (there is negligible odor coming out...the whole point is to provide oxygen so the odiferous anerobic bacteria can't survive).
I guess we've spent enough time in 3rd world countries where it's normal to put TP in a can by the toilet. But regardless, you can put TP in any of the 3 options...it's just that it may eventually clog or mess up the valves on a traditional system. So long as it's not excessive, it won't harm a composting toilet, just you may see some remnants if you don't give it a few weeks to compost. Excessive isn't going to be good with a cassette toilet of course either.
In a cabin, it's a world of difference as space/weight is generally not an issue. You can put in a large bin that can hold months of solids and let if fully break down during periods , you aren't using the cabin. Also depending on where you are and how much you are sticking to the letter of the law, there are simple options to deal with the liquids that won't cause any harm. Or just put in a large tank with a transfer pump and a second tank in your pickup to take it to a dump station every couple months. Compared to the cost/complication of putting in a proper septic system, it could be a very nice, much simpler and cheaper option.
Who do you think is going to let you dump 40 or 50 gallons of sewage into their outhouse “or such”?
All the Forest Service campgrounds I've been to lately have the concrete pre-cast vault toilets installed. Most of these structures are a concrete precast "hut" located over a very large concrete tank. The Forest Service contracts with a septic tank pumping company to come into the campgrounds and pump out the holding tanks. I've been camping in these campgrounds when the pumper trucks have come through to clean out the tanks. When the pumper truck is a rocking, don't come a knocking.
These are not leaching systems, like a full septic system where the solids are allowed to go to the bottom of a tank and the liquids drain out into a drainfield. Everything in the tank remains there until the pumper truck comes and pumps out the tank.
That said, it would be very easy to use a maceration pump attached to a black tank to offload the black tank into one of these pit-toilets. It will not be a particularly pleasant job, but it is possible. The pit-toilets have a very large tank, hundreds of gallons, if not bordering on close to 1000 gallons, of potential capacity, if not more. And the pumper truck needs a fair amount of liquid to break up the solids to make them pump-able. So, the pumper trucks are putting water into the tank while they are sucking up the contents to be able to effectively empty the pit tank. I don't think that a pit toilet that is being serviced frequently enough would be negatively impacted by having a large volume of liquid added to it in one fail swoop.
In one campground I was at, the camp host site is located very near the pit toilet and their sewer hose ran from their rig to the pump-out port on the back side of the pit toilet hut. I guarantee they were sending into the pit toilet all their gray and black water every few days. If a camp host can use the pit for their gray and black water, I believe that you could macerate into a pit toilet, that is being regularly maintained, with no negative impact to anyone.
I'm not saying that I would do any of this, but I'm just imagining possibilities.
where are you getting a 40 or 50 gal black tank to start with, I would like to know that's over a month of camping for me ha-ha.
you don't have to dump it all, most black tanks are in that 25 gal range so if you are getting full a macerator will let you take say 5 or 10 gal out of it to let you go longer till you leave. maybe not as clear as it should be with my choice of words, but there would be no difference in that or dumping a cassette over week, or even dumping your liquids from a composting. also composting doesn't really fully compost so what are you doing with your bio solids when you empty that? the only real waist free way is a incinerating toilet but they are in that 5K range.
Agreed. These "composting" toilets, that just kind of sit on the floor in a van-build and hold their contents, there is not sufficient holding time or volume of bio material in the toilet for there to be any composting or neutralization of the bacteria and bad stuff contained in feces. It takes quite a bit of time for natural processes to neutralize feces into "safe" compost that can be reintegrated into soil.
The dumping of the solids tank in a typical composting toilet is a process where the user has to open the device, pull out the solids bin and then figure out how to get it into a plastic bag that is then, usually, put in regular trash. And we've had comments here about how terrible it would be to pump black tank contents into a vault toilet or other outhouse, all the while it is perfectly acceptable to place a trash bag of poo covered peat moss or coconut shell husk into a hefty bag and dropped in your nearest park trash can or dumpster.
Yes, these composting toilets eliminate the individual camper's need to find a dump station or pay to dump, but at the same time, I'm not convinced they are any better at controlling how human waste is disposed of responsibly or in a manner that will not spread disease.
The discussion was about dumping a cassette toilet or the urine tank from a composting toilet...figure around 3 gallons every 2-3 days for either. Neither should cause any harm.
That said, if you have a macerating pump and a long enough hose, you could do it with a traditional holding tank system...if one person does it no real harm but you wouldn't want a stream of people doing it or it could overload the system.
This is the comment I was responding to:
“the black tank is the best setup, but if people are worried about paying for dumping stations or waiting in line, buy a macerating pump and then you can pump it in to outhouses or such”
”The black tank” is certainly not 2 or 3 gallons. And yes there certainly is harm in pumping 40 or 50 gallons of sewage into someone else’s facilities. Dump into your own “outhouse or such”.
