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Bigred292
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 2017 17:51 - Edited by: Bigred292
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Ok, here's the dilemma.
First year of owning the cabin- all in all great first year.
Made upgrades to elec system by adding solar panel, charge controller , fixed roof leaks to name a few.
I have a bathroom with stand up shower, sink and composting toilet. The previous owner really couldn't tell me much about toilet but I did find paperwork in cabin. It is a "Humus" brand toilet- can't find anything online as far as info.
I'm married with a 16 y/o boy and a 14 and 12 y/o girls. Needless to say my wife and daughters are creeped out by the toilet. Admittedly I'm not an expert with it. One visit the toilet gave off the most pungent ammonia smell.
I need to change the setup. Options
Outhouse
Incinerating toilet
Flush toilet.
Leaning towards flush toilet.I've searched but can't find any info as far as setup. My thinking is bury 2 tanks underground. 1 for potable water and 1 for septic holding
Can someone help me understand how to do it.? I figured running my 12v pump to fill toilet tank, then that would go into holding tank. Cabin is for weekend use mostly, maybe twice a month with 2 people and maybe 4 visits with the whole family over the summer
I don't think I'd need it pumped that often- it would just be toilet waste going into tank
Any ideas, pics, advice, diagrams,websites ?
Any help would be appreciated
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 10 Feb 2017 19:04
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Contact your county health dept. to find out what your options are.
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rockies
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 2017 19:41
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What a tremendous amount of waste (no pun intended) is created from a flush toilet. All that water contaminated and then dumped into the ground. Not to mention all the systems you have to put into place to get the water in and then get the black water out and dispose of it.
The main problem with composting toilets is the addition of urine to solid waste. The chemicals in the urine stops the process of bacteria breaking down the solids for a while. This chemical imbalance can lead to odors.
Rather than investing in all the tanks, pumps, and septic system needed to properly utilize a flush toilet, I would suggest you get a "marine" composting toilet. This has a special "catchment" area in the front of the bowl that diverts urine into a secondary container thus allowing the solids to continue breaking down at a much faster rate.
Nature's Head makes a good marine style composting toilet.
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Bigred292
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 2017 20:49
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Rockies- thanks for the reply
Just read up on them quickly- do you have one?
I have to read more but could be an option.
Main problems I have with my current one are ammonia smell and lots of knats.
I'm sure if I can fix this situation my wife and kids would enjoy the cabin more
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 2017 22:27
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I have a conventional flush toilet. It's just my wife and I. It's piped to a 50 gallon plastic barrel 100 ft. down a steep hill. She pees in it all day and in the morning we both do our business, then flush. With the steep drop I have been able to stick a couple bricks in the tank so it only uses about a half gallon per flush. When it fills up I change over to another barrel. When I get a couple barrels full I put them in my truck with a loader, bring them home and dump them down my sewer pipe, about twice a year. I have a 500 gallon tank I'm debating on hooking up and just having it suctioned when it fills up. I should probably change to a composting toilet but this is working out pretty well so far.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 11 Feb 2017 00:25
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If you have odor you may have one of two problems.
When was the toilet cleaned out last? And did you check the vent is clear.
Female urea can be, um, odorous. You might try bokashi. Which is a lactobacteria you make from milk and rinse water from rice. Look it up online. I posted a recipe here somewhere. Gets rid of the smell. I really like it. Makes my composting toilet much easier to deal with.
The commercial products for reducing odor work too. Find them in the camping section.
Either will also reduce the mass.
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Bigred292
Member
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# Posted: 11 Feb 2017 07:14
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Creeky
The toilet has been cleaned thoroughly twice since I bought cabin in May.
I'm a fireman who does EMS and I've changed hundreds of diapera but this smell knocked me over. The ammonia smell was intense. The smell was outside as well in the area near the vent.
The toilet has 2 fans. 1 plugs into outlet which requires the genny to be started. Second fan seems to be a small computer fan that is connected by wires that go to a 12v receptacle in wall, just like speaker hookup where you push tab in and insert wire, then release tab.
There's also a dial thermostat which controls the humidity I guess? I adjusted that according to manual
The smell didn't go away. Neither me or my son pee in it.
It did come with sun mar products - both granular and spray ,
It seems as though every time I go to the cabin I deal with sh@$
Needless to say it's a turnoff to the ladies.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 11 Feb 2017 11:24
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Try the bokashi thing then. Lactobacillus to the rescue.
Here's the link to the recipe on my blog.
But. ya. Lady urea is tough. Your dehydrator is probably making the smell problem worse. Concentrating the, er, solution.
I would try adding more carbon material. Wood chips. Straw. Grass clippings.
Also: There may be an "excess moisture" vent at the bottom of the unit. Check and see. I use about a 1/2 litre of water per flush. And when the girlfriend is out, the system gets a little soggy. My Envirolet has a liquids drain that occasionally needs clearing. (the bokashi makes things easier here. no pathogens.)
Finally, you could try a diversion scheme. Either a separate device (like a bed pan) or ...
Good luck.
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SE Ohio
Member
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# Posted: 11 Feb 2017 11:45
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If you do go with a conventional flush toilet, consider that you'll have to take steps to keep it from freezing. Winterizing with each off-season trip is no fun, and freeze damage repair less fun.
SE Ohio
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rockies
Member
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# Posted: 11 Feb 2017 19:01
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http://makezine.com/2015/08/28/5-things-you-didnt-know-about-composting-toilets/
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