Composting heads; Airhead, Nature's way.....

[oded kishony]

I don't know if this belongs in a seperate thread but.....about a year or so ago Good Old Boat had a short piece about using a composting head. There has never been a follow up on the story-does anyone have experience with this type of head?

Oded Kishony  ~~__/)~~

[Parrothead]

anyone try a composting head yet? Their getting very popular with the "off the grid" crowd beacuse their self contained and simple. Porta-potti's are ok but they get  unpleasant at the end and I the thought of someone bumping into me while carrying the tank gives me nightmares.

[Captain Smollett]

They've been brought up a few times:

http://sailfar.net/forum/index.php?topic=176.msg2991#msg2991

http://sailfar.net/forum/index.php?topic=752.msg2445#msg2445

[AdriftAtSea]

IIRC, the composting heads have a ventilation fan that needs to be running most of the time, so cause a drain on the batteries that a regular marine head does not.

[hearsejr]

 you can get solar powered with a battery built in now...last one I checked out was starting at around $1200 by time it got installed. that is a bit above my price limit.
 Bill

[Godot]

The fans are apparently very low draw, at least for the airhead.  Not sure of the others.  I know at least one or two models needs to have a heater running to evaporate the liquid matter; while the airhead is supposed to separate the liquid in another way.

I like the idea.  Just not sure if it would fit.  (fit, as in space on board and budget).  People seem to be of mixed opinion on how well they work on a boat.  Some love them.  Some hate them.  I haven't ssen many posts anywhere where someone had a middle of the road opinion; but I haven't look lately.

[Parrothead]

Well 1200 for a tiolet is a little much. I seen them mentioned as being using by various remote commercial sites so I assumed more data might be available somewhere. Standard tank setup will have to do. As long as i works its not a big priority with me.

[Godot]

$1200 is a bunch of cash.  But if you are just shopping price the total cost might not vary that much.  After all, you don't need holding tanks or plumbing.  If I remember correctly, it is a fairly tall object and you need to have enough room to swing a mixing handle to churn the waste for proper mulching.  If you sail in the very cold, it might not work so well either.

Still, I like the simplicity. 

[Mr. Fixit]

I ordered one several weeks ago, they moved production, right now there is a 80-90 day delivery (as of 2 weeks ago). I will keep every one informed as to my likes --dislikes once it gets here. I intend to use 3" solar vent for ventilation.

[AdriftAtSea]

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Parrothead]

Please do keep us informed. Carrying Port-o-potty tanks down a dock is not high on my "Life List".

[Amgine]

<grin> I just haveta say this thread put a great smile on my face... I've been grousing and grumbling for months about cleaning around the head, knowing the problems is a slight leak on a seal which will mean either a complete break down and rebuild of the pump, or selling the last born in exchange for enough money to buy the Lavac I've been dreaming of...

But then Parrothead reminded me that before buying this boat I used to lug the portapotty every time I headed out or came back in. It was a tiny step up, and we scrimped and saved a long time, but we finally got a boat with an installed head. I got my grin back.

Now to save for not-yet-completely-blown-out sails and a non-alcohol stove...

[Oldrig]

Do keep us posted. I've been intrigued by this idea for some time, although I have no plans to replace my current holding tank arrangement at present.

I met the inventor of the Air Head at the Newport Boat Show when he was first starting to sell his product. He explained that he started experimenting with a composting head because his older sailboat simply didn't have space for a holding tank, and he couldn't/wouldn't continue using an old-fashioned "marine toilet."

That said, the fan does draw off the battery (slightly), and the liquid waste is separated into a separate compartment. It has to be dumped, either into a shore-side toilet or . . . (use your imagination).

Another drawback, I've been told, is you really can't deal with more than two people onboard at a time. I don't know what you'd do if you had guests or, God forbid, children, aboard for more than a few hours.

--Joe

[CapnK]

It's been a while since I read up on the composting toilets, but IIRC didn't you have to have some type of enzymes that are added to the solid waste in order to get the decomposition going well?

I've always wondered: 1) how long the enzymes "keep" when not being used, and 2) how much space they would take up, say a sufficient supply for a year or so.

With the consideration of a long distance voyage to "3rd world" countries in mind, not having to/being able to get them shipped seems like a good thing. If the enzymes are like yeast (small and long-term store-able with the right conditions), they wouldn't be a concern.

It'll be interesting to hear from an actual owner soon.

[Mr. Fixit]

I finally recieved my airhead.(they recently moved their operation to Maine and this effected their delivery schedule, however it was delivered as promised.) Looks well made, Airhead did change the design of attachment(to sole). For ventilation I will use an existing Nicrovent not needed since I eliminated shower in the head.. The supplied fan ,I will install on a switch and use as needed. The elimination of the holding tank will allow me to use all chain rode. I will probably add an additional exhaust fan as the head is small (30' boat). The end is in sight, build and install  a swim platform, and some work on the mast, (not sure if I want to paint) i have some s.s machine screws that are frozen and need to be removed. I finally see the end in sight.

[s/v Faith]

Mr. Fixit, 

  Love to hear about your impressions of your "Air Head Environmental toilet".

 

[s/v Faith]

Faith as a broken handle on her diverter valve.   It also appears her Marlon discharge sea cock has developed a slight 'seep'.

  I HATE dealing with the head.  My original WC 'Shipmate' has served long and well, but the legal implications of my current arrangement require that I look at other options..... (I understand it is a $500 fine if I were boarded right now) 

  I have been looking at the Airhead, and the 'Nature's Head'.  The rumor is that the Natures head was built by a former employee of Airhead, but with better hardware and for a lower price.... good combo in my book.

  I really like the idea of no through-hulls. I am not particularly fond of the idea things sitting in a pot in the v-berth as they turn to dust... but I certainly do like the idea of that better then the 'poop & urine in a bag' idea or of carrying it in a vulnerable 'bladder' (some irony in that). 

  Gotta figure out if this thing will fit aboard Faith.... what say the peanut gallery?

 

[s/v Faith]

Another option is the SUN-MAR.

  Their SPACESAVER toilet is another to add to teh conversation, but frankly for the price it is not on my list... 

[Tim]

I have worked with Sun-Mar products on land and although well designed, they do require maintenance.

It would seem that any of these would require a greater commitment of space on our small boats. A typical v-berth installation would have access issues for emptying I would think.

[skylark]

I think you could make your own "composting" toilet out of a 5 gallon pail. 

Make a base that holds the pail in place, maybe use the bail to strap the pail down to the base so it does not move, but can be easily removed when needed.

Use a pee bottle, dumping it overboard to avoid adding moisture to the pail.

Food service pail tops have tabs that snap back on and the tops are very secure when snapped back on.  If you snap just a few of the sections, the top will be secure, it will be easy to get the top off when you need to use it, and there will likely be small openings for air to get in.  Or you can snap down all of the tabs and it will probably be water and air tight, but it will take a minute to unsnap all the tabs prior to use.  For extra security you could strap the top down (velcro?).

Use the original top of the pail and put a fitting on it to attach a tube leading outside.  Add a small electric fan inline with the tube to vent air out of boat, with make up air coming in from around the pail top.  Another way to promote air flow (important for composting) would be to use two tubes both of which lead outside the boat, one for exhaust, one for make up air.

After use, add a layer of peat moss, cedar shavings or sawdust if you want to compost.  If you just want to have a lot of time between dumpings, you could use kitty litter.  I'm not sure kitty litter will compost properly though.

When the pail is half full, remove it and dump it.

I think that this is pretty much the same way the expensive composting toilets work.