Casita SD17 Nature's Head Composting Toilet

[Bob Penn]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Thank you very much for the CT connection. I went to their website. They say in the write up that a replacement 12v motor can be purchased but I do not see it in the list of products sold.

From the company website:
We can also supply a spares/service pack to include:-
Motor (plug and play)
Urine sensor (plug and play)
Fan

Henry, they have an email address under their contacts tab. I would write them an email and ask for details on replacement spares. I am sure they will be quick to respond.

I believe your concern about the flies is unnecessary. In the many hundreds of videos I have watched about people and their composting toilets, I would say that probably less than one percent ever mention them. In my opinion, the advantages of the CT far outweigh any concerns you may have. The privacy cover they offer also would help mitigate your worries.

After your comment, I went to their site. They seemed to have removed that comment, but I would still send them an email requesting information on spares.

[Rzrbrn]

Bob, early on you stated "A pattern of the new floor was made by cutting cardboard to fit the area." I missed this statement and is what I was trying to nail down. I used the cardboard pattern method when we made shelves for the front closet in our Casita Spirit Delux. But I could not get the shelves to fit as precisely as you did in this instance. Very nicely done indeed.

I am trying to identify and understand all the composting toilets on the Market. CT seems to stand out as being the best. I am stating the following only to document: The only other composting manufacturers I have identified are Airhead, Nature's Head, Sun-Mar and Separett. There seem to be a number of models that are nothing more than an enclosure for a bucket, which is then emptied: Not really a compost toilet.

Thank you very much for the detailed account of your install.

[Bob Penn]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Bob, early on you stated "A pattern of the new floor was made by cutting cardboard to fit the area." . . . .

I am trying to identify and understand all the composting toilets on the Market. CT seems to stand out as being the best. I am stating the following only to document: The only other composting manufacturers I have identified are Airhead, Nature's Head, Sun-Mar and Separett. There seem to be a number of models that are nothing more than an enclosure for a bucket, which is then emptied: Not really a compost toilet.

Henry, I failed to realize you were talking about the cardboard pattern I used until after my previous post.

I used a large piece of cardboard and then used a compass to draw along the wall on the cardboard. This gave me a starting point. I cut and taped pieces of cardboard to the pattern to get the final shape that I needed. Even my effort was not as accurate as I would have liked.

When deciding on the NH, I too looked at the various options. At the time, CT did not come to light. I suspect there are other European manufacturers of composting toilets of whom I am not aware. I agree that among all of the manufacturers that you mentioned, the the CT is the best choice if power is not a factor.

If I had the decision to make over, I would go with the CT. NH has several flaws in my opinion. Removing the urine collection bottle is not as easy and or as simple as the CT. To empty the compost material when the bin is full requires removal of the entire toilet system and dismantling it. In the CT, the urine bottle is hidden from view. The NH does not hide the bottle. I feel the CT has a much cleaner look. The NH is well constructed and is one of the reasons I went with it. At the time of my research, I noticed that a large majority of users went with the NH, which also factored heavily into my decision.

I have to admit, I am basically lazy. So simple and easy wins the game for me. Seems to me that the CT does a pretty good job all around.

[Rzrbrn]

Thank you Bob.

[Jeff in FL]

Great retro fit! I'm planning to install a composting toilet in my new Casita. Hope I can do as good a job as you did.

[Stephen_Albers]

You might also consider converting the black water tank to freshwater. It will give you an additional 17 gallons of fresh water and the ability to segregate two water supplies in case you are not sure of the quality of one source. Also, converting the hot water tank to a tankless hot water heater will eliminate carrying 9 gallons of unusable water and make cold weather operations much easier.

[Bob Penn]

Originally Posted by Jeff in FL

Great retro fit! I'm planning to install a composting toilet in my new Casita. Hope I can do as good a job as you did.

Jeff, as you go along, you learn more and as such your choices change. Everything I said previously about the NH and CT composting toilets is true. However, I discovered after the fact, what I believe has to be the best composting toilet available on the market.

Two downsides to my new choice. One, it is not readily available in the US. Two, the cost will be almost 50 percent more than the NH. The increased cost is attributed to the foreign exchange rate and shipping. You will not be required to pay the UK VAT (I think that is the correct term) tax. If cost is not an issue for you, then I strongly recommend the Compoosting Toilet made in the UK. It has one other disadvantage, it will require more power to operate than any of the US made composting toilets. Personally, I believe its advantages far out weigh the disadvantages.

Check out the following link and watch their video to the end.

The pluses for the Compoosting toilet is the ease of operation AND the ease of maintenance. It is sleek looking and has minimal curves and crevices on it to catch dirt, etc., making it easy to keep clean.

Here is the link (Foxes Afloat):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qgHnfB5cFw&t=669s

I wish you well with your new Casita and your composting toilet install.

[Bob Penn]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

Very interested din your install. Very professionally looking install. Would you please follow up after you have used it a bit. I am wondering about flys and other insects. Also smell, but this is not all that important.

Rzrbrn, you asked that I provide a follow-up of my install and use of the NH composting toilet. I am sold on the composting toilet! It works as advertised and I have developed a routine that works well for me.

One question that was raised was about the height of the toilet. Yes, it is taller and even with my height at 6'8", that is a stretch for the legs. To resolve this problem, I purchased a 9" tall folding step (Amazon - picture below) When not in use, it is folded and sits along side of the NH. When in use, it provides a foot rest that is the right height.

I do not have a problem with flies. There is no odor. The fan is extremely quiet and draws almost no power. The fan is very small. I was initially disgusted with NH as I did not find the fan when I received the NH. Then I looked closer and there is was this very tiny fan installed in the exhaust port of the NH. The fan can be moved to either side of the NH for exhaust. Remove four screws from each port and swap ports.
I love not wasting water to flush a toilet.

A composting toilet works by separating the solids from the liquids. The combination of the two is what causes the very unpleasant odors found in most toilets.

What works best for me, is that after I have completed communing with nature, I close the flap door going to the solids. Then I do the necessary with TP. The TP is dropped into the bowl area. I then get up. I have a plastic sealable container(Walmart - picture below - tall container). If necessary, I use fresh TP to pick up the less pleasant piece of TP. All of this goes into the container. Then I spray the entire bowl with a Clorox and water solution using the spray bottle provided with the NH. I use more TP to thoroughly wipe down the entire bowl and rim. All of this TP goes into the used TP container. The lid is placed on the container and locked down. The container is lined with a doggie poop bag (Walmart - picture below). The top of the bag is wrapped around the top of the container and held there with a strong rubber band.

Finally, several turns of the spider handle to churn up the composting material. The NH is now ready for the next use.

For me, I find that the TP container will last me easily an entire camping trip or at least a couple of weeks. When the container is full, I pull out the plastic bag, tie it off and it goes in the trash.

The dog poop bags are just the perfect size to fit the container. The bags come in rolls of 10 and are very inexpensive. The bags are deep enough so that about 3 to 4 inches can be pulled over the outside lip of the container and secured in place with a strong rubber band. The bag does not interfere with the lid of the container.

[Jeff in FL]

Originally Posted by Bob Penn

Jeff, as you go along, you learn more and as such your choices change. Everything I said previously about the NH and CT composting toilets is true. However, I discovered after the fact, what I believe has to be the best composting toilet available on the market.

Two downsides to my new choice. One, it is not readily available in the US. Two, the cost will be almost 50 percent more than the NH. The increased cost is attributed to the foreign exchange rate and shipping. You will not be required to pay the UK VAT (I think that is the correct term) tax. If cost is not an issue for you, then I strongly recommend the Compoosting Toilet made in the UK. It has one other disadvantage, it will require more power to operate than any of the US made composting toilets. Personally, I believe its advantages far out weigh the disadvantages.

Check out the following link and watch their video to the end.

The pluses for the Compoosting toilet is the ease of operation AND the ease of maintenance. It is sleek looking and has minimal curves and crevices on it to catch dirt, etc., making it easy to keep clean.

Here is the link (Foxes Afloat):

I wish you well with your new Casita and your composting toilet install.

Bob, Thanks for the info on the Compoosting toilet. This looks like a great design (likely better than NH, as you say) although I still have a couple of reservations as you described in your post.

I've been looking on their website and learned a few interesting things.

Firstly, the amp draw for the mixer looks to be about 2.5a. As I won't pick up my Casita until late October, I'm not yet sure what the line to the bathroom light is rated for. Of course, anything else on the circuit would need to be considered as well. If the amp draw is not an issue, I would not be worried about the neglectable draw on the battery.

Another concern is whether new filters would remain available and be easy to get. However, not having to cut into the existing vent line would be GREAT! Also, the guy in the video indicated that they didn't always run the fan and still had no issues with odor.

As you indicated, the unit is a bit pricey, At the current exchange rate, the toilet alone would run about $1,250 USD. Not sure what the shipping, etc. would be but I'll guess about another $250 or so. If my guess is close, this would put the total cost at around $1,500, but still may be worth it as the NH itself is around $1000, and the easy install, powered and timed mixing, lighted urine level indicator, and the elimination of not cutting a Casita vent pipe may justify the extra expense.

The CT website recommends customers contact them before ordering to determine lead time so it could take a couple of months before they could ship.

The website also recommends customers call if shipping cost is an issue. Maybe they would negotiate But What they really need is a US distributor.

I'm going to research this a little more next week. If I can get hold of a sales person I may order one depending on delivery time and total cost. Also if I do reach someone I'll repost with an update.

On an unrelated subject, do you know anyone who has replaced the standard Casita wet battery with a lithium iron phosphate battery, e.g. Battle Born LiFePO4? That's another upgrade I want to do but there seems to be some question about the different top off voltages between lead acid and lithium batteries and what the Casita onboard battery charger can do.

Thanks again for your info and time.

[parmm]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

The only other composting manufacturers I have identified are Airhead, Nature's Head, Sun-Mar and Separett. .

You did not mention the OGO Composting Toilet. I installed one in my Scamp 19 this past year and am very happy with it! No smell and the only problems I have encountered were those of my own. You do not want to travel without the cap on the pee tank!!! You end up making a mess. And remember to take that cap off the pee tank before using the toilet!! You can see the OGO at https://ogotoilet.com/ They are manufactured in Ohio. I have nothing to do with the company except for the fact I own one of their toilets. I can say that they customer service is tops!