LAVAC.......18 trouble free ..liveaboard years....mini pearl________________________________
From: cindy schult schult.cindy@...
To:
AlbinVega@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 6, 2011 2:11 AM
Subject: Re: [AlbinVega] Air Head
Here is another quote from Cruiser's Forum on the subject (link:
Very informative thread! My husband is building a boat from scratch, and I'm in charge of the interior . So, now that my legislators, in their infinite wisdom, have quietly made Type I and II
www.cruisersforum.com
Having shot my mouth off on this board quite a bit on the composting toilet
issue, I thought I'd add a kind of surprising recent experience I've had
with same. I'm away from home doing some
repairs
Repairson a
rental house I own, and, being in the process of replacing the entire
floor of the bathroom (thank you, former tenant, may you rot as the floor
has), I've had the
water
Wateroff in the
place for a bit. I can do with bottled
water
Water just fine, but
the toilet thing was an issue. I thought about using a 5 gallon bucket with
sawdust as a gonzo composter, but it seemed...um...uncomfortable. Then I
suddenly thought, hey, the toilet is here and dry, why not use it? So I
lined the john with a plastic contractor bag, threw in some sawdust
(actually dried pine sawdust kitty litter) and used that.
Despite the gonzo arrangement, despite the small capacity and lack of vents,
there has been ABSOLUTELY no odor of any kind. I mean, I can smell it when I
go, but that's it. I cover the paper and leavings with a handful of the
litter after use, use a bottle instead of the toilet for urine, and there
have been no problems. It's been just me, but even with the small capacity
of the lined toilet bowl, it lasts about a month before I have to dump the
bag (there's a compost pile in the back yard) and even then there's been no
smell.
My point is, we may be making this a LOT more complex than it is in our
search for sterilization. As long as there's an absorptive medium with which
to cover the fecres, and the urine is separated, it seems to work in an
odorless and entirely satisfactory fashion. I suspect a 5 gallon bucket with
an attendant toilet seat would last a couple at least a month aboard without
having to dump it, and if my experience is any guide, there would be nothing
objectionable about the setup.
In a related story, I was planning on using one of those "sun shower" setups
to bathe until I get the pumbing lines back where they should be. I've used
them before on boats and at festivals, and they do work, but they're
awkward, and 5 gallons of
water
Wateris a handful
to manhandle.
I hit on the simple expedient of using 2 litre soda bottles instead. I took
a bottle cap and drilled 6 holes in it as a spray nozzle. I fill the things
2/3rds full of cold water from my water bottles and in the morning when I
make tea I fill em up the rest of the way with boiling water (Use a funnel
though. Direct contact with boiling water makes the plastic deform). One
bottle, if you're frugal, gives an entirely satisfactory shower. Two are
positively luxurious. I've also started using the setup for dishes and the
like. Works well, costs nothing. My kinda thing.
