I am considering installing a composting toilet. Anyone done this on an Oday 35? Wondering about difficulty of running vent tube and where to do it. Also general editorial about this idea. Thanks!
Installing Composting Toilet in Oday 35
- Thread starter lord byron
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Have a NaturesHead in the ODay 322, never hooked up the vent, and have never had a smell. One of the best improvements made to the boat and I'd never go back to a wet head.
Me too! I just bought the Airhead. Have it pretty much installed. Here is what I can share:
1)Reviews on composting toilets on boats like ours seems to be universally positive.
2)Here is a video that I found helpful. Also an excellent channel.
3) I decided to vent mine in the anchor locker. Pulled out the old toilet. Shoved the old pipes down into the bilge (there is no way they could be removed) and used fiberglass bondo to fill holes. Bought 10 extra feet of hose for exhaust hose and ran along the port hull up through the Vbirth and up to the locker. It is a bear to get the fan mounted on the side of locker is you want it hidden in the side of the front compartment...but I was doing it singlehanded.
4)I'm running power back to the panel above companionway using wire for outside lighting from Lowes. (20$, much cheaper and the same thing that is on the electrical aisle.)
I'm excited about this option as I have lived with "that smell" for years on other boats. I just about this O'Day.
Good luck!
1)Reviews on composting toilets on boats like ours seems to be universally positive.
2)Here is a video that I found helpful. Also an excellent channel.
4)I'm running power back to the panel above companionway using wire for outside lighting from Lowes. (20$, much cheaper and the same thing that is on the electrical aisle.)
I'm excited about this option as I have lived with "that smell" for years on other boats. I just about this O'Day.
Good luck!
Carpe Diem is Marco's YT channel and he ought to show up here sooner or later. Below is what I wrote there:
Have been using a Nature Head and would NEVER go back to a pump toilet, plus I can move it between the boat and camper with ease. Never installed the fan and never had a smell or bugs to think it was needed. The area where the holding tank had been could hold a year's supply of peat moss. A three day weekend with two of us results in about 2/3-3/4 filling the urine tank, which is then dumped in a marina toilet and rinsed. I throw a splash of vinegar in before re-installing.
To not fill the solids tank with toilet paper and minimize the need to empty the tank we use disposable doggy bags. Before pooping we place a cheapo automatic coffee filter over the trap door and it works GREAT. Open the trap door when done, rotate the crank, and you only do a quick wipe of the bowl with vinegar on toilet paper, rather than needing to extensively clean a brown mess. The use of filters hasn't made a difference in how long we go between emptying the solids tank.
Have been using a Nature Head and would NEVER go back to a pump toilet, plus I can move it between the boat and camper with ease. Never installed the fan and never had a smell or bugs to think it was needed. The area where the holding tank had been could hold a year's supply of peat moss. A three day weekend with two of us results in about 2/3-3/4 filling the urine tank, which is then dumped in a marina toilet and rinsed. I throw a splash of vinegar in before re-installing.
To not fill the solids tank with toilet paper and minimize the need to empty the tank we use disposable doggy bags. Before pooping we place a cheapo automatic coffee filter over the trap door and it works GREAT. Open the trap door when done, rotate the crank, and you only do a quick wipe of the bowl with vinegar on toilet paper, rather than needing to extensively clean a brown mess. The use of filters hasn't made a difference in how long we go between emptying the solids tank.
We "inherited" an Airhead toilet on our new boat and have been using it on weekends for a month now. Both wife and I were really hesitant about pooping in a bucket and emptying various waste after decades of using of various models of marine heads. We are so happy that we are never going back.
Downsides - You need to carry a gallon of the crew's piss up to a toilet every other day or dump it over the side, if allowed. Monthly, you need to put about a gallon of sawdust & dried poop into a garbage bag and mix up a new batch of coconut coir - about 20 minutes. It does not smell going into or out of toilet, but it is a task. Actually, mixing the new compressed coir brick with a couple quarts of water and filling the bucket is the worst part.
Upsides -
Downsides - You need to carry a gallon of the crew's piss up to a toilet every other day or dump it over the side, if allowed. Monthly, you need to put about a gallon of sawdust & dried poop into a garbage bag and mix up a new batch of coconut coir - about 20 minutes. It does not smell going into or out of toilet, but it is a task. Actually, mixing the new compressed coir brick with a couple quarts of water and filling the bucket is the worst part.
Upsides -
- No smell, and we are comparing it to the absolutely best head (Marine Elegance), well maintained and treated, with new hoses.
- No through-hulls to open and close. We're thinking about glassing everything over at her next haulout.
- No pumpout with the little fittings, and gloves, and potential spills, and adding chemicals.
- No storage problems - it's amazing how much space is occupied by holding tanks and hoses. We carry a dozen little coir bricks (about 6 x 9 x 3 inches in a plastic bag) to give us over a year's pooping.
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I ran the vent for our dry toilet through the house roof and covered it with a small clamshell.
After one season, we're surprised at much of an improvement the composting toilet has been. Easy (I think), no head odors.
Thanks so much for the input. I'm new to this forum and how it works so I answered my own posting before I realized it was me (Me too!..hahaha). Toilet in and vented. Getting the fan in the anchor locker was a bit of a chore as I did it by myself. I used a PVC 4 inch elbow in the locker to cover the fan/hole just to make sure no water splashed in. So...now that is left is using it. Thanks for all the feedback!
TomY, I'm considering routes for an Airhead vent. Curious what's preventing water from your deck draining into that clamshell vent?
The 1 1/4" PVC pipe is set and clamped (below with a strap) 1/2" proud of the house top. There is a length of clear flexible hose that connects between the OGO and the PVC. I left a drop in that in case water entered. So far, not a drop.