OGO Desiccant Install and Experience

[MikeHoncho]

Yup, I titled is desiccant so please no off the rails soap boxes on what it is........I purchased the toilet straight from OGO as there is no sales tax charged compared to Amazon (same manufacture/seller). I did order two activated charcoal filter sets with it. I received the shipment very quickly and it appeared that processing and getting it to the shipper (UPS) took just a day. Very quick.
The package arrived well packaged, no issues with that. I did notice it was missing a spray bottle and one of the charcoal sets but it had a package of coconut material (which I didn't order and it wasn't listed in the "what's in the box"). I emailed customer service and they had another set of filters and a spray bottle in the mail that same day. Very quick.
It took me about 5 times longer to remove the old system that it did to install the new one. You have to get kind of inventive when you are trying to remove a used toilet system with material still in the lines. I installed my system about 2 years ago that included using rigid PVC (worked extreamly well), a larger tank and rebuilt the toilet pump. Installation of the OGO was 4 screws. The only issue I had was that my fiberglass platform was not completely flat and the bottom of the toilet is so I had to shim it up in a corner. I would recommend they add adjustable pads on the bottom like a washing machine to beable to level it so it doesn't rock back and forth. Ran the power to my panel with a 7.5 amp fuse and charged it with the furnished material. I have decided to see how the charcoal filters work before driliing a hole for the vent. I barely felt any air movement without the filters out and didn't feel anything with them in. I'm a little concerned on the ability of the fan but we will see.
Build quality appears to be very high. The mechanism for the auger, the auger itself and the hatch mechanism for access to the auger is very sturdy and appears to be well fabricated. I do have some concern with the pull handle for the hatch. Having it pull forward right at your leg doesn't seem to be the greatest location but to be fair, it doesn't come out far enough to touch.
A issue I do have with it is that the urine sensor stays on when the bottle is empty. I emailed them again and they sent me a adjustment manual for it. Again, very quick but I feel for the price of the product, it should be squared away and a manual should be furnished with the purchase. I want to be able to install it, adjust if needed and be done, not wait for a reply on a email. The toilet sits a lot higher than the original Raritan PhII which is actually a positive. I think little kids would have a issue getting up on it and shorter adults would have there feet dangling.
I'll report back on occasion with performance updates.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Yup, I titled is desiccant so please no off the rails soap boxes on what it is........

No soap boxes here, I'm just sitting, scratching my head, trying to figure out how this contraption works. I know a desiccant has an affinity for water but my mind just won't go any further. Do you mean to say that it processes into dry powder and then you just cast it to the wind. ? What if the wind turns and blows it right back at you ?

Be sure to post more on this miracle of plumbing. I haven't seen anything this exciting since ................... I don't know, when SBO was selling alligators maybe ?

 

[MikeHoncho]

search composting toilet and you will see what I'm referring too.

 

[MikeHoncho]

First Time Use Report........4 days, 3 guys sailing in the South Puget Sound. Heavy rain and high humidity. Didn't go as well as planned. I take full responsibility of the performance as "user error". Started out with charging the bucket with the coconut coir that came with the toilet and followed the directions regarding placing water in it. I actually used a lot less water than recommended. As we used it, it was obvious that the toilet paper was not going to mix in with the rest of it but "float" on top. This is were things started going in the wrong direction.......I got the idea of spraying the toilet paper with a squirt bottle to get it to mix in. Worked well for a day or so but then it was obvious too much water was being added. Day three it started smelling and the inside of the toilet was covered with condensation.
Lessons learned; place toilet paper in a separate bag. Prepare the coir before hand - I learned, after the fact, that it is impossible to break up the coir brinks when dry. I have prepared a second brick properly and will use it next time. Keep the material in the bucket as dry as possible, don't add any water.

 

[zinahewitt]

What didn't you like about the "Traditional" system ?

 

[MikeHoncho]

Mine had a hard tank and pvc plumbing I installed a couple years ago. It’s for sale, wanna buy it?

 

[zinahewitt]

Mine had a hard tank and pvc plumbing I installed a couple years ago. It’s for sale, wanna buy it?

I had a leaky smelly toilet when I got mine
I just went the traditional route and put a "new" toilet but same rest.
So far it is ok. I assume in 2-3 years I will either follow your steps or replace everything again.


Just was interested in knowing what is the logic/data you used to make that change.

 

[MikeHoncho]

I had a leaky smelly toilet when I got mine
I just went the traditional route and put a "new" toilet but same rest.
So far it is ok. I assume in 2-3 years I will either follow your steps or replace everything again.


Just was interested in knowing what is the logic/data you used to make that change.

Pumping out every other day and not wanting to go to a pump out location or one not available. Also the elimination of “slip smells” that smell you get when opening up your boat over it sits for a month or so. Once dialed in I should be able to do my 2-3 week trip with my wife with no need to pump out. Secondary

I had a leaky smelly toilet when I got mine
I just went the traditional route and put a "new" toilet but same rest.
So far it is ok. I assume in 2-3 years I will either follow your steps or replace everything again.


Just was interested in knowing what is the logic/data you used to make that change.

i did the same about two years into owning mine but replaced the hoses with cheap WM hose, two years later I went with PVC. Fixed most of the smell issues but not the pump out issues.

 

[Tally Ho]

My old Raritan toilet, and 30-year old plastic holding tank work great. I have rebuilt the pump 1 time on the 9 years I have owned the boat and I have replaced some of the sanitation hose, too.

But to each his own….

Greg

 

[sesmith]

My method for the coir. Yes, prepare it first. I break off chunks by splitting the brick with a screwdriver. Put the chunks into 1 gallon food storage bags. Add a 1/4 or 1/3 cup of water to each bag and leave them out in the sun a couple of days. Then break it up. If you end up with any dry hard to crumble chunks, then put them back into one of the bags and add another 1/4 cup water ...a little more if necessary, and repeat.

 

[TomY]

"4 days, 3 guys sailing in the South Puget Sound. Heavy rain and high humidity. Didn't go as well as planned." I get that.

My coir method at this point is to add a quart of water and one brick in a plastic bucket. After a few hours I'll break it up a little and add maybe another cup of water. Then it goes in the OGO for a cycle or two of the agitator. The coir is separated and pretty dry at that point.

I think the intention is to simply to remove 75% of the water in the waste, so dryer means more capacity.

Also, the OGO capacity is about 3/4 of some of the bigger heads like the Air Head. In fact I find one brick seems to be more than the OGO can utilize.

If over-full, some coir will spill out during agitation. So I keep it a little low of the tips of the agitator bars.

I only expect (from experience) to get 1 week full time for two before emptying. At that point it's easy to change so not worth trying to stretch it.

We're glad we made the switch.

 

[MikeHoncho]

Update……One week, single person. Weather is hot and lower humidity than before. Coir was very dry. Added about 1/3 brick amount. Four days in I noticed condensation building up on the inner walls and lid. I think I need more forced ventilation. I’m going to vent to the outside and look into installing a stronger fan. I lost my sense of smell a couple months ago from Covid so I can’t say if it smells or not. I left the lid up for the day to dry it out. The mixture is pretty damp, dare I say……..moist. Lol

 

[jssailem]

It did not smell foul when you showed me the system. I would keep doing what you are doing. It appears to be working as advertised.

 

[zinahewitt]

Any smelly updates ? or is it scentless sailing ?

Happy Holidays.

 

[MikeHoncho]

I left it and stored the boat for a could months and it molded over. it’s my fault , I should not left it in there for so long without mixing. I’m going to install a through-deck vent and a stronger fan. I was happy with the weeks worth of use and not putting TP in it.

 

[TomY]

After our second full season with the OGO, my mate still says it's the best thing we've put on board in a long time.

It is the first head that hasn't had a 'head' smell, and we've had a ton of them on different boats over the years.

I think the vent helps. I have it wired to run 24/7 (no switch) as it has so little draw. With 2 onboard for around 40 days a season, I find the process, easy.

 

[All U Get]

Cruising friends had installed two of them on their boat about four years ago and preferred them to the original system. I think they were using peat moss because it was readily available.

 

[MikeHoncho]

I am currently fabricating a external fan system to draw more air through the toilet. I'll post pictures when done but designing it on Autocad and printing on my 3d printer. The fan box will sit in a compartment behind the toilet and will exhaust through the existing toilet pump out hole through a Wallace closable exhaust port. It will have a digital controller that can be programmed to run for specific length of times and/or cycle on and off on a schedule. The box uses a high output computer fan. It should work well but takes days to print.

 

[MikeHoncho]

got it all done and installed today. I didn't take pictures of the inside but can attach CAD drawings if there is a huge need. Essentially it is a square box with 3d printed cones feeding into and out of a high output computer fan in the middle, nipples on both ends with the lid being held on with shock cord. The controller is off of Amazon that has 6 different program modes were you can program it to turn on for a given second, minute or hour and stay off for the same. It has a button to start the cycle at any time which will be nice when the augur is activated. I 3d printed a mount for it. I installed a power switch so I can turn it off while keeping power going to the toilet auger. It moves quit a bit of air and draws about .8 amps when running. I have it set to 30 minutes on 2 hours off for now. I think its going to work great.