Composting toilet

[Juana]

Greetings all!
I have a 2006 16' Scamp and would like to avoid the whole blackwater thing by installing a composting toilet.
Can this be done?
Please advise. Thanks!

[Thomcat316]

Take a look at https://airheadtoilet.com for all the requirements.

We are building a fiver, and this is the unit suggested by one of the best marine sanitation suppliers I know of. He recommended this over a product he is a dealer for.

[Bruce Olive]

Having met three "composters" on a recent trip, I sensed (scents?) not all were totally happy with their decision. The "whole black tank thing" is really no more than "the whole gray tank thing" with the exception of connecting a cleanout hose if so equipped. Connect to drain, open black valve, close black valve, open gray valve, close gray valve, pack up and go. Composters need to waddle through the campground to empty their pee tank every other day or so, as well as emptying their "compost" every month or so (which can vary from carrying out a drawer to hauling out pretty much the entire toilet). In addition, much of the coir used in the compost bin travels from the South Pacific to a Nordic country, then to the US. Perhaps not as green as it first seems. While investigating composting toilets as an option while we had our Oliver, I was disturbed to find a "you gotta do what you gotta do" attitude among some (not all) of the folks with these toilets. As in emptying gray water and pee bottles in the woods by the campsite. May be ok in some BLM and NF lands, but not OK in state and national parks. Could be a great solution for your needs, but I recommend that you investigate all aspects of use and ownership beforehand.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Juana

Greetings all!
I have a 2006 16' Scamp and would like to avoid the whole blackwater thing by installing a composting toilet.
Can this be done?
Please advise. Thanks!

I recall a few conversations here about that.. but I did not bookmark them.

Perhaps this will help:

https://www.google.com/search?q=comp...berglassrv.com

[LyleB]

I had a C-Head composting toilet in my 13 foot Scamp. Loved it. Ordered my new 16 ft without a toilet, will install another C-Head, or make my own.. can go much longer between emptying and no odor, as long as you empty the urine regularly.

I only use mine for "emergencies or inclement weather. Have gone two plus months before emptying. Easy as emptying a garbage can, but without the odor. If you get significant odor, you are doing something wrong.

[Donna D.]

Okay, maybe TMI for some folks, but here goes....


It's my understanding in order for composting toilets to work as they're supposed to... the urine must be separated from the solids. THAT sounds far easier for men than women... and then you have to dispose of the urine.


I find nothing disgusting about dumping a black water tank. IF using good chemicals and wearing rubber gloves, it's not pleasant, but not gross either.


I'm a mother and a grandmother. Changing a babies blow out diaper is far more disgusting.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

....Okay, maybe TMI for some folks,
I'm a mother and a grandmother. Changing a babies blow out diaper is far more disgusting.

Speaking of TMI...when I was young I worked in the janitorial section of a nursing home.

Trust me on this, elderly blowout beats babies blowout any day of the week, and 3 times on fish Friday.

[Thomcat316]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

It's my understanding in order for composting toilets to work as they're supposed to... the urine must be separated from the solids. THAT sounds far easier for men than women... and then you have to dispose of the urine.

The designs we have seen do the separating using gravity, and the "black tank" compost pretty much resembles bagged compost at the garden center. We don't own one yet, but we are definitely going to be. We've talked with folks who have marine installations, and they actually have less of an odor issue than with their holding tank systems.

[Glenn Baglo]

I prefer letting the trailer haul the waste to the sanidump. And using Odorlos, I have no odor issues. Use it in the grey tank too.
I have four compost bins for garden waste at home. They are a lot of work.

[ShelbyM]

If I'm emptying a gray tank, emptying the black first is a non event. If I didn't have a gray tank I might investigate a composting toilet. In the middle of a cold rainy night, even a toilet you have to fiddle with later is better than no toilet.