Composting head on B361?

[Ben4195]

hi all,

Have any B361 owners converted to a composting head, and if so, which one did you choose? It seems like the space for a toilet is so small on the 361, and I’m skeptical whether or not one would fit. I can’t measure the space for a few weeks, so thought I’d put the question out there in the meantime.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Ben4195]

Hello again all,

Since no one responded, I took that as a bad sign that any other B361 owners had put in a composting head. I thought, however, that it might be helpful to any other B361 owners who MIGHT be wondering about this to share what I learned after I measured the space this past weekend.

Sadly it appears a composting head will NOT fit in the existing head space. The depth (front of the toilet to the back of the unit) is at least 19 inches, and to accommodate that in the existing space, a person would have to do his or her business with the head door in the open position. not very conducive to privacy.

 

[arf145]

I measured our 331 with this idea in mind and came to the same conclusion. Now, if one is willing to remove the panel covering the holding tank and cut and altere the whole toilet area it might be possible.

 

[Ben4195]

I agree, Arf; I had considered that option, but also figured I'd totally bugger up the thing if I tried to do it myself. Incidentally, the composting heads I measured for were the Nature's Head and the C-Head.

 

[arf145]

Yeah, I was mostly thinking C-Head because, if I remember correctly, it can be smaller.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Consider this instead: An "MSD" portapotty. The "MSD" designation in the model name/number means it has fittings for a pumpout line and vent line, and is designed to be permanently installed (actually just sturdier brackets than portables, so you could still take it off the boat if you absolutely have to), which means that although it's still called a PORTApotty, you don't have to carry anything off the boat to empty it.
A 5-6 gallon model holds 50-60 flushes...you'd need at least a 30 gal tank to hold that many from a manual marine toilet. No plumbing needed except a vent line and pumpout hose--so no new holes in the boat...and -0- maintenance needed except for rinsing out the tank--which you can do with a bucket while it's being pumped out. Total cost including the pumpout hose and vent line is about $200--a fraction of what you'd spend for toilet, tank and all the related plumbing needed. And the best part is, you have all the advantages of a toilet and holding tank without giving up a single square foot of storage space.

Check out the Thetford 550P MSD and the Dometic/SeaLand 975MSD Sanipottie

 

[Ben4195]

Thanks for the suggestion, Peggy. I hadn't thought of a portapotty. I'll do a bit more research on it and give that a noodle.

 

[Syversens]

Hey Ben, I'm putting in a composting toilet on our 361 very soon, it'll be the Natures head one. I've measured and it's close but the existing toilet (Raritan Elegance) wasn't supposed to fit either but did.

I'll have to make it work as we've been using the awesome Raritan/Electroscan toilet and processing for 10 years now and haven't been to a pump out in said time and not about to start now. I'm sure taking the wee tank out will be a pita but I'm not putting in the hoses for the old tank again, I swore I'd either quit boating or go composting and my wife is holding me to it. I sincerely hope Puget Sound water quality improves as I feel I was quite responsible with my system, now illegal.

 

[Ben4195]

Syversens, I would be VERY interested in seeing how it turns out. Could you post pictures and give me evaluation after you've used the Nature's Head for a while? The Nature's Head is the model I was considering too.

 

[Syversens]

OK quick update, the toilet fits, I have not secured it, or the venting, completely but I'm moving ahead with drilling holes. It's pretty tight and the toilet has to be taken apart to even get it thru the door but the whole thing sits on the ledge and there is room for the vent on the side, spider turn and all that. See attached image.

Plan is to find a PVC angle and get the hose up to the side of the roof as close to the wall to aft cabin as possible (we have 2 cabin version). Then we'll have a clamshell on side to cover for rain. Roof vent is not option as it will vent into the cockpit enclosure which seems less than ideal.

Also it's unit is pretty tall, the Air head might be an option as it's smaller but I'll have to say that the angles sort of helps this fit as it gives the fan some open air on left and handle slides along wall, I'm not sure the handle on the Air Head will. Once installation is complete I'll make some more pictures but I'm quite relieved that it fits.

Mrs now has plans to convert the space behind it to storage for coir and composting accessories. Her idea is to either finish the interior or possibly mount a small built in "cabinet" in the fiberglass piece that covers it, my idea is to put the cover on and have a beer.

Edit: Read the comment about the door, I tried my best to simulate usage and was able to close door just fine, I'm 6.3.

Cheers!

 

[Ben4195]

Awesome news, Syversens! Thanks so much for the update! I look forward to seeing your finished pictures. Gonna share this news with my wife.

One question though, why don't you simply use the existing vent from the holding tank, or even the pump-out hole? I think I had seen on Youtube how other people have used the pump-out hole as their vent.

 

[Syversens]

I've permanently installed the head and working on venting. Original plan was to come out from right side and up but after getting the clamshell yesterday and actually dry fitting at the boat I think I'll take it to the pump out and move fan to left side. The clamshell fits over the pump fitting, so it doesn't have to be removed, and the vent hose can be clamped onto the fittings barbs from below so it's very simple, but for the fact my hose is a foot or two short... I'm looking at extending it.

Once I get all this installed I'll take some pictures, I think I'm close.

 

[Ben4195]

Excellent, syversens, and thank you so much for the update. I'm looking forward to seeing the final setup!

 

[Ben4195]

Syversens, I just sent you a PM.

 

[Syversens]

ok installation all completed. used pump out fitting instead of drilling new hole. air is flowing and we either need to close the vent cap or sail nice. have not tried both functions of the head but bottle works. for those interested I got this from nature's head:
spider handle head
extra tank
screw cap fitting
5 feet hose

I didn't get the 5 feet so had to extend it, easy enough but 5-6 feet total vent hose would be nice. we are doing a 3 week sail to San juan islands in July, I'll post how we're liking it.

cheers!

 

[Ben4195]

Awesome, thanks for the update Syversens. Have a great July trip! I look forward to hearing the report.

 

[sv_bisou]

Just converted my 331 to a Ogo composting head. Lost a bit of floor space and had to make a larger platform but was able to use the waste deck fitting as the vent and used the old macerator feed to power the toilet.

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3 likes, 4 comments - sv_bisou on March 31, 2024

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