Installation of compost toilet

[Lake Guy]

Hi everyone,
So sweet that ice-out is here!

I'd like to install a composting or incinerator toilet to my island property. Does anyone know if I need to get state approval for this to be done or can it be just installed?

Also, any input on folks' experiences with these and specific brands/models to look for (or stay away from) would be much appreciated!!!

Thanks and happy boating!

Lake Guy

[Formula260SS]

Some Towns on the Lake allow them others don't, you need to check with the building inspector. Sun Mar is the ONLY way to go, another good piece of advise is to go with the biggest "Central" unit possible. This is truly a case of go big or go home.

http://sun-mar.com/prod_flush.html

[P-3 Guy]

Three Mile Island Camp has used a six hole Clivus Multrum setup for about a decade now with great success.

http://www.clivusmultrum.com/

I think that their offerings run more to the commercial/institutional side of things as opposed to residential, but they might be worth checking out. At the very least, I can tell you that the Town of Meredith allows composting toilets on island property. I can't remember what kind of state approval, if any, was necessary before installation.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

If you are considering going with an incinerating toilet read this!!!:

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

Dan,

Note: this started as a PM but after reading it to my family, they encouraged me to post it here. I am still not sure... but if it saves a life...

I am just going to rattle off the issues. Celia is helping me with the list in no particular order.


The device requires a paper liner to be inserted into a stainless steel clam shell, sort of like putting a coffee filter in a coffee maker. Not a big deal for us regulars, but it freaked out our company a bit.


The liquid and solids go into that big paper cone. We had some guest with bladders that were capable of overflowing the cone. The result was urine running out of the unit while they were sitting there.


The concept of drying out the solids to ash actually works pretty well but the addition of all the liquid really slowed down the process. I was pretty impressed with how little ash remained from all the use.


The paper cone did not always go down into the heated pot correctly. Sometimes it would not go far enough down for the cover over the burn chamber would not close. This required you to interact with a combination of poop, liquid and paper in various forms of being on fire.


When the materials are dehydrating (boiling and burning), the vapor would pass through the unit and as it touched cooler surfaces of the unit, it would condense this brownish sticky buildup on the inside of the unit that would require periodic disassembly and cleaning. Truly disgusting. To add insult to injury, this sticky condensate was great at catching dust and ash that was also being pulled through the same air paths.


If you flush the unit while sitting, you would not have to worry about shaving anything for a long time.


One time we had a power failure while the unit was running. The coals were still burning but the fan was no longer running. It took about a month to get the smell out of the camp.


When we moved in, the exhaust stack was a straight shot out the back of the camp which hit the wall of rock behind us with the steep island. It became obvious with the 4 of us here in the summer, this was not going to work from an oder standpoint.


We raised the stack to a height of about 10 feet. It was not good enough to satisfy the smell factor of certain contributions.

We lengthened the burn time to insure that it was burning completely. Otherwise you end up with a build up each time. This helped the amount of clean outs we had to do.


Eventually, you have to take the burn pot out and scrape the ash and build up out of it. The constant heating of the stainless pot with liquids caused it to corrode. This made the ease of cleaning pretty tough.


The fan is pretty noisy and runs a long time for each cycle. I think we were doing a 2 hour cycle. Lots of rattling with the constant vibrating from the fan.


Raised the stack another 10 feet. This helped but it was sometimes bad enough we had to leave the deck on the other side of the house depending on the wind direction. Its a tough smell. And everyone knows what it is. I found myself trying to time my bathroom activities to when the family was leaving the house for a while.


The 20 foot stack was taken down and put up each season as I was not sure how it would survive the winter.

I think that's about it.

The smell. It is too easy a target. It's not good. And the little pellets they sell to mask the smell are useless.


We changed out to a plumbed in over sized composting unit and love it. Not perfect but compared to the incinolet, it is great.


Let me know if I missed anything.


Paul

I wish we videotaped our son while Paul read this post to him. So funny.

[ishoot308]

I'm the "Dan" that got that message and I never laughed so hard in my life when reading it. Needless to say, I changed my mind on the incinerator toilet!!

Dan

[Happy Gourmand]

I know it wasn't intended to be so, but that is one of the funniest posts I ever read here!
"If you flush the unit while sitting, you would not have to worry about shaving anything for a long time."
I laughed out loud at that one, and a few others too!

[Lake Guy]

The best feedback!! ...educational and funny!