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Post by Jim on May 22, 2020 12:30:22 GMT
I'm absolutely determined to get a dry toilet installed as the first thing I do when I get my boat- which I'm hoping will happen in August. I've found cassettes really unpleasant to deal with in the past- and it might be that the proper chemicals could resolve that. But ultimately, anything that can free me from having to visit an elsan point or public toilet every 4-7 days, let me stay in a quiet rural mooring for a week or two at a time, and costs about £300 is a must-have. Its odd though, how people can look at the pros and cons, and make exactly the opposite decision. Jt's the off-grid capability that also impressed me about the idea of filtering canal water. All I have to do is not look at the canal, ever ;-) Dry toilets are the way to go. If your handy I’d suggest buying the bits and building one yourself. It’s the separator that’s exspensive for what they are. What ever size your “bucket” is if you can arrange storage for four then the time between emptying is huge. It can be an issue to remember to empty the pee container so I just set one day a week to do that. Rinsing this with vinegar keeps the smell down. The seat and lid want to be close fitting, with no air gaps. This keeps the smell down and also stops fly infestations. You need a storage space near the toilet for you coverage medium. I just use the small pet bedding from somewhere like home bargains. One pack lasts about 6-8weeks. It seems extravagant to import coco coir just to throw on my shit. Anyway good luck with it, if you put the effort in and make a system that suits you. Your never going to regret it. Somewhere along the way over the past days I saw that a bit of sugar stops the wee stinking as much.
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 12:32:29 GMT
Dry toilets are the way to go. If your handy I’d suggest buying the bits and building one yourself. It’s the separator that’s exspensive for what they are. What ever size your “bucket” is if you can arrange storage for four then the time between emptying is huge. It can be an issue to remember to empty the pee container so I just set one day a week to do that. Rinsing this with vinegar keeps the smell down. The seat and lid want to be close fitting, with no air gaps. This keeps the smell down and also stops fly infestations. You need a storage space near the toilet for you coverage medium. I just use the small pet bedding from somewhere like home bargains. One pack lasts about 6-8weeks. It seems extravagant to import coco coir just to throw on my shit. Anyway good luck with it, if you put the effort in and make a system that suits you. Your never going to regret it. Somewhere along the way over the past days I saw that a bit of sugar stops the wee stinking as much. That’s from practical experience is it? Or is it something you read on the internet? White vinegar is the best thing to neutralise the smell from your pee bottle, believe me I’ve tried alsorts.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 12:47:14 GMT
Somewhere along the way over the past days I saw that a bit of sugar stops the wee stinking as much. That’s from practical experience is it? Or is it something you read on the internet? White vinegar is the best thing to neutralise the smell from your pee bottle, believe me I’ve tried alsorts. I am the guilty party in propagating this information, I'm afraid. In my defence, it did come from these two lovely ladies, who are long term users of the nature's head- they explain the nature of their challenge in more gory detail that you might possibly want, at about 3 mins into this illuminating video: For me, the price of those top-end loos is just ridiculous, and out of the question. I'm happy to pay around £300 for what is after all a wooden box and some moulded plastic.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 12:48:50 GMT
believe me I’ve tried alsorts. Liquorice? That's an interesting approach.
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 12:54:34 GMT
I suspect if everyone on boats started using dry toilets and bagged the waste and placed it in the CRT provided rubbish disposal bins problems would occur quite quickly. You might find the contractor who takes away the waste would become involved in a discussion about bins full of partly decomposed shit. I have no doubt whatsoever that compost toilets are a Good Thing in some situations like if you have a bit of land but given the restraints of living on boats on inland waterways and relying on the provided disposal facilities the practicality is diminished somewhat. Here are the common reasons presented by proponents of the compost loo: 1. The system, managed by adding compostible materials to one's faeces, results in less smell. 2. The need to visit the elsan point is reduced or eliminated. 3. Its ecological, somehow. It's the last one that's the problem. Ok, visiting the elsan point is often an unpleasant activity. If I had to do it I'd wear my drysuit so I could be hosed off afterwards. I suppose that if your poo was in a paper bag and no disinfectant had been used then a possibility would be to dig a hole and bury it (supposing you were somewhere rural). Incidentally what's un-eco about adding your poo to a sewage treatment system? But face it - its not about being eco, its about convenience and getting rid of it. Once it's gone it's S.E.P. So socially responsible... It seems the elsan points in London are continually blocked by the contents of a compost loo. Everybody moans but the poopertrators are actually doing what they are told to by CRT... You could triple-bag it to ensure the waste disposal people don't get a nasty shock after you left it in a bin somewhere but the bags you used are plastic...oh yes they were...be honest, the carrier bag ban presented an issue, didn't it? In the DPRK there was once a very serious famine which was a direct result of the collapse of the USSR. During this time, human faeces was sold at market as fertiliser because there was nothing else available (and even that was in short supply because there was not much to eat). So given the impending economic meltdown, if you have a compost toilet you could be sitting on a fortune... Far to many words. But yes human waste is a valuable commodity in lots of places around the world. China grows most of its food on human manure. As for elsan points getting blocked by compost loos I’d suggest they get blocked just as often by the contents of porta potis if the owners insist in pissing in the hedge and just putting solids and paper in the poti. Which is a very common practice among boaters. I’d suggest the elsans blocking is lots to do with crts maintenance or rather lack of. But it’s convenient to deflect the blame onto “compost loos.” The un eco bit about the sewage treatment plants we use, is the huge volume of clean water it takes to transport the materials around. They extract a lot of value from the waste and clean the water again but you couldn’t really say it’s sustainable. There are lots better ways to deal with our “waste”
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 13:00:47 GMT
That’s from practical experience is it? Or is it something you read on the internet? White vinegar is the best thing to neutralise the smell from your pee bottle, believe me I’ve tried alsorts. I am the guilty party in propagating this information, I'm afraid. In my defence, it did come from these two lovely ladies, who are long term users of the nature's head- they explain the nature of their challenge in more gory detail that you might possibly want, at about 3 mins into this illuminating video: For me, the price of those top-end loos is just ridiculous, and out of the question. I'm happy to pay around £300 for what is after all a wooden box and some moulded plastic. Its good that your posting these videos, but I must admit I haven’t watched any. As I’m happy with my toilet choice and won’t be changing it anytime soon. If you can make space for 3-4 spare buckets, it makes all the difference.
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 13:03:12 GMT
believe me I’ve tried alsorts. Liquorice? That's an interesting approach. Yes eat lots of it and see what happens.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 13:14:48 GMT
I am the guilty party in propagating this information, I'm afraid. In my defence, it did come from these two lovely ladies, who are long term users of the nature's head- they explain the nature of their challenge in more gory detail that you might possibly want, at about 3 mins into this illuminating video: For me, the price of those top-end loos is just ridiculous, and out of the question. I'm happy to pay around £300 for what is after all a wooden box and some moulded plastic. Its good that your posting these videos, but I must admit I haven’t watched any. As I’m happy with my toilet choice and won’t be changing it anytime soon. If you can make space for 3-4 spare buckets, it makes all the difference. I think with these toilets its good to ave as much info as you can scrape up- so vinegar is top of my urine-odour prevention list. It may be that sugar works better with lady water, so to speak, than gentleman water. But I have had some exposure to the smell of stored urine (don't ask), and it is not an experience I will willingly repeat. I think if you're going to use hedges and canals as emptying locations, some effort to reduce the odour would be a good idea. If you were moored for two weeks in a nice quiet spot, it could be that the nearest 100 yards of hedge might start smelling like a public urinal that is overdue a good cleaning at 5am on a Sunday morning. Location, location, location, as the saying goes...
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 13:25:11 GMT
I fitted a pumpout system using a Lavac sea toilet on my barge about 7 years ago. Only because we have a residents pumpout on the mooring.
Only cleansing product that has ever been in it is white vinegar.
Works a treat for descaling and general cleaning of the ceramic bowl.
No chemicals ever added as they are counterproductive.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 13:25:33 GMT
Here are the common reasons presented by proponents of the compost loo: 1. The system, managed by adding compostible materials to one's faeces, results in less smell. 2. The need to visit the elsan point is reduced or eliminated. 3. Its ecological, somehow. It's the last one that's the problem. Ok, visiting the elsan point is often an unpleasant activity. If I had to do it I'd wear my drysuit so I could be hosed off afterwards. I suppose that if your poo was in a paper bag and no disinfectant had been used then a possibility would be to dig a hole and bury it (supposing you were somewhere rural). Incidentally what's un-eco about adding your poo to a sewage treatment system? But face it - its not about being eco, its about convenience and getting rid of it. Once it's gone it's S.E.P. So socially responsible... It seems the elsan points in London are continually blocked by the contents of a compost loo. Everybody moans but the poopertrators are actually doing what they are told to by CRT... You could triple-bag it to ensure the waste disposal people don't get a nasty shock after you left it in a bin somewhere but the bags you used are plastic...oh yes they were...be honest, the carrier bag ban presented an issue, didn't it? In the DPRK there was once a very serious famine which was a direct result of the collapse of the USSR. During this time, human faeces was sold at market as fertiliser because there was nothing else available (and even that was in short supply because there was not much to eat). So given the impending economic meltdown, if you have a compost toilet you could be sitting on a fortune... Far to many words. But yes human waste is a valuable commodity in lots of places around the world. China grows most of its food on human manure. As for elsan points getting blocked by compost loos I’d suggest they get blocked just as often by the contents of porta potis if the owners insist in pissing in the hedge and just putting solids and paper in the poti. Which is a very common practice among boaters. I’d suggest the elsans blocking is lots to do with crts maintenance or rather lack of. But it’s convenient to deflect the blame onto “compost loos.” The un eco bit about the sewage treatment plants we use, is the huge volume of clean water it takes to transport the materials around. They extract a lot of value from the waste and clean the water again but you couldn’t really say it’s sustainable. There are lots better ways to deal with our “waste” Sorry try use less word next time write. Think you find it be boaters who complain compost in elsan. Think you making shit up about just shit blocking elsan. But whatever. Think you find sewage treatment process sustained since the mid-1800s. More sustainable than leaving your shit in plastic bags.
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 13:30:58 GMT
Its good that your posting these videos, but I must admit I haven’t watched any. As I’m happy with my toilet choice and won’t be changing it anytime soon. If you can make space for 3-4 spare buckets, it makes all the difference. I think with these toilets its good to ave as much info as you can scrape up- so vinegar is top of my urine-odour prevention list. It may be that sugar works better with lady water, so to speak, than gentleman water. But I have had some exposure to the smell of stored urine (don't ask), and it is not an experience I will willingly repeat. I think if you're going to use hedges and canals as emptying locations, some effort to reduce the odour would be a good idea. If you were moored for two weeks in a nice quiet spot, it could be that the nearest 100 yards of hedge might start smelling like a public urinal that is overdue a good cleaning at 5am on a Sunday morning. Location, location, location, as the saying goes... I definately never tip urine outside of my door. The secret to keeping your toilet smelling okay is cleaning the pee bottle and a close fitting lid. A vent pipe to the outside is good but not essential and a fan is definately not needed.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2020 13:31:40 GMT
@nemesis
Argue no working.
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Post by kris on May 22, 2020 13:38:47 GMT
Far to many words. But yes human waste is a valuable commodity in lots of places around the world. China grows most of its food on human manure. As for elsan points getting blocked by compost loos I’d suggest they get blocked just as often by the contents of porta potis if the owners insist in pissing in the hedge and just putting solids and paper in the poti. Which is a very common practice among boaters. I’d suggest the elsans blocking is lots to do with crts maintenance or rather lack of. But it’s convenient to deflect the blame onto “compost loos.” The un eco bit about the sewage treatment plants we use, is the huge volume of clean water it takes to transport the materials around. They extract a lot of value from the waste and clean the water again but you couldn’t really say it’s sustainable. There are lots better ways to deal with our “waste” Sorry try use less word next time write. Think you find it be boaters who complain compost in elsan. Think you making shit up about just shit blocking elsan. But whatever. Think you find sewage treatment process sustained since the mid-1800s. More sustainable than leaving your shit in plastic bags. just because something was okay in the 1800’s doesn’t mean it’s good now or going forward. I think you will find the biggest issue with elsans in London is that despite the increase in boaters living aboard in London cart haven’t increased the amount of facilities but decreased the number of available elsans for boaters to use in the capital. This will lead to an increasing number of blockages and breakages when combined with a reduction of maintenance as well. What’s difficult to understand about that? The clever or devious bit depending on your view. Is cart deflecting the blame away from the real issue onto the compost toilet users. But they are very good and have lots of experience at deflecting the blame. It’s a pity they are not so good at maintaining the waterways.
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Post by naughtyfox on May 22, 2020 13:55:05 GMT
I suspect if everyone on boats started using dry toilets and bagged the waste and placed it in the CRT provided rubbish disposal bins problems would occur quite quickly. You might find the contractor who takes away the waste would become involved in a discussion about bins full of partly decomposed shit. I have no doubt whatsoever that compost toilets are a Good Thing in some situations like if you have a bit of land but given the restraints of living on boats on inland waterways and relying on the provided disposal facilities the practicality is diminished somewhat. This is deduced from practical experience is it? I mean you have used a dry toilet for a number of years haven’t you? No so it’s just your opinion that you have gained from reading the internet. It's based on what you said about double-bagging your dry toilet waste and chucking it in CRT bins. Do you use plastic bags? Because using plastic bags isn't going to help the environment.
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Post by peterboat on May 22, 2020 13:57:10 GMT
Dry toilets are the way to go. If your handy I’d suggest buying the bits and building one yourself. It’s the separator that’s exspensive for what they are. What ever size your “bucket” is if you can arrange storage for four then the time between emptying is huge. It can be an issue to remember to empty the pee container so I just set one day a week to do that. Rinsing this with vinegar keeps the smell down. The seat and lid want to be close fitting, with no air gaps. This keeps the smell down and also stops fly infestations. You need a storage space near the toilet for you coverage medium. I just use the small pet bedding from somewhere like home bargains. One pack lasts about 6-8weeks. It seems extravagant to import coco coir just to throw on my shit. Anyway good luck with it, if you put the effort in and make a system that suits you. Your never going to regret it. Somewhere along the way over the past days I saw that a bit of sugar stops the wee stinking as much. Lemon juice for me works best, the longer the pee is in the bottle the worse it smells! at point of exit its neutral allegedly
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