Finally, a Compost Toilet in the Trailer...♻ Now we can talk Relycling for REAL!!!!
No More Stank in our Tiny House...!
We never used the toilets in our campers, growing up... well only to pee and that would either get dumped in proper places or on the road as we drove around! It is only urine and supposedly, it is sterile, so it really shouldn't hurt anything!
My grand parents made this toilet seat that fits over a 5 gallon bucket (you know, the European equivalent). They would drape it with a plastic shopping bag, the same way you would for a garbage can. That's where they'd poo!
That bag would get disposed of in the nearest trash... 💩!
The bag in the bucket thing, I had forgoten about until my mother reminded me told me. I personally find it a little disturbing...
Something about having your shit just sitting in a plastic bag for ever in some landfill to be found by a future society, I don't know, just doesn't seem right.
The circle of life stays broken? Nope, not anymore. Here we recycle even our Escrements!
There's a guy in Pennsylvania that's been growing his vegetable garden using what he calls Humanure.
Yes yes, you guessed it, it is exactly what it sounds like it is!
Joseph Jenkins of the Humanure Headquarters has written the Humanure Handbook, now in it's 3rd edition. His family has been using what he calls a Compost Toilet for over 30 years, growing vegetables with composted toilet waste. No one's been sick, no one's died and the compost (the humanure) has been tested for toxicity a multitude of times.
You know what? The results showed a very high quality compost, fit for any garden... there were zero trace of fecal matter in the beautiful dirt Joseph's family and friends created!!!
You'd have a hard time finding such high quality compost at the store.
Obviously, if you don't have fecal phobia as you're read this, you should still get your hands on a copy of the Humanure Handbook before you start creating your own Humanure! Read it through, as there is a good bit of history on the matter, plus the science behind how it works and why it is important to stop breaking the cycle of life. It is just filled with so much valuable information.
You will learn how harmfull to the environment sewage treaments plants really are, as well as the many different bacteria that transform it all into nutritious food for life.
The Chinese didn't call it Black Gold for nothing!
I followed the plans for the Loveable Loo on Joseph Jenkins' web site:
The Box is 18 inches wide by 21 inches long, the hight varies slightly according to you bucket hight and the toilet seat.
First I cut all the pieces out of an old 3/4 inch plywood bed frame I had made for our apartment in the city. I knew we were salvaging that wood for something!
Than I cut a hole just big enough so the rim of a 5 gallon bucket can fit pretty snug into it.
All thay scrap will be saved for sign making... we have a mini festival coming up for my wife's birthday and the signs will help people self-direct!
Putting it all together, screwing each piece in place as instructed.
This next step is important. The little stoppers under the toilet seat must be turned so to make room for the bucket. They will sit just on the edge of the hole cut for the bucket. I drilled new holes for the adjustment.
One of our reasons for wanting a compost toilet instead of the original toilet that came with our camper, is that it had a faint but constant lingering smell of urine... it almost reminded me of a public bathroom from a bus station in India (I am exaggerating but still, we don't need to live like that!).
That hole is what scared me the most. I imagined a horrible stench running through the whole camper as soon as the old toilet was removed. Thankfully it wasn't bad at all. I cleaned and sanitized the floor and all the little crevices around that dark hole.
Then I cut a small circle out of 1/2 inch plywood to fit inside the hole and I siliconed all around it to make a nice seal.
I'm so happy this old tube of tile adhesive caulk was still good, I freaked out a bit cause I couldn't fint my caulk gun... and I hate leaving in the middle of a project to pick up something I already have!!! Yes, even if we are only 10 minutes to the nearest hardware store).
This next bit is crucial.
I had to plug the water connection that is there for flushing the old toilet, otherwise everytime we turn on the water pump... it will pressurize ALL the water lines and this one would gush out onto the floor in the bathroom. A disaster waiting to happen!!!
Guess what... I had to go to the shop after all. The plug I had for this 1/2 PEX tubing didn't work whith such a big hose clamp (it's not the right type of clamp to use for PEX but I bet a smaller one would have worked).
I ended up with an end cap from Shark Bite, they make hardware for PEX so simple to use!!!
And for the last piece of the puzzle:
In order for the bucket to sit flat I had to costom fit a another piece of half inch plywood to go around the sewer pipe...
It didn't fit the first time because I didn't take into account the water line coming in!!! No big deal just another cut.
And voilà:
So far so good!!! We've filled up one bucket and it smells a hell of a lot better than when we used to create sewage! By the way, we've been using saw dust from the wood mill. Acording to the Loveable Loo people, it's been the best material to use!
Thanks again for reading all the way to the end!!!! See you next time...
In the End, it Always works out
Great post. Good step by step pictures. I always picture myself doing the project along with you even if I never do it for real lol We did the same thing when I was growing up camping. Just opened the drain on the waste water when we pulled out of a campground. How things have changed. Almost all for the better! btw I've used sharkbyte ends to cap off water lines before and had good luck with them.
Cool, thanks, it's good to hear the shark bite works! I'll be checkin up on it from time to time.
Times sure have changed. I think over all, they've changed for the better.
There's a project you might like to get into really doing. I'll post eventually about it, it's a powerless wood lathe that I'd like to build for Apocalypse Faire.
I plan on adding one of these myself, once we are moved. I am moving backwards...deliberately. We have flushing toilets now, but I will add one of these to be ready for SHTF preparation, as the primary toilet!
:DIt's a good plan and not only for SHTF situations, it's actually good for building a healthy compost fullnof nutrients for vegetation! Less sewage spiling out into our waters.
I'd love to show your battery idea to a prepper friend of mine. Do you have a post with your plan or explanation on the subject?
I have posted on the battery, would be happy to talk to your friend. I am stacking 18650 LiIon batteries in PVC pipe to get 24 Vdc battery sticks. I then combine multiple battery sticks to get the power I need.
:)Here is one of the first prototypes done in copper. Moved to pvc for isolation and reduced cost.
Silly question: Do you urinate in it as well or do that outside?
Great post. Thanks for sharing this project with us!
We go right in. I know there are two schools of thoughts on the matter.
We're going by what the Jenkins have been doing. The only downside is that the buckets get heavier than if we seperated yellow and brown!
Thanks for answering my question. I'm going to send a link to your post to my Dad. I really like the idea. Thanks again!
Of course you're welcome. Is your dad travelimg around in an RV? Just asking cause thay would make it hard to empty the bucket where ever... we have a compost pile for it.
There is another way of doing this we want to build for events and more people and thay's the wheely bin compost toilets
Seen them at festivals in england. There is a lot less handeling , you don't empty the bin, you simply put it aside for a couple years after it's full.
He's traveling in a homemade camper truck full time. He can't use it right now but he wants to settle down off grid one day. I know he will appreciate your post. :)
Very cool, thank you so much! I'd love to see his home made camper truck...! It's one of my dreams to build one.
Check out this little youtube playlist I put together one day: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN-vty6fGnEWsno-L4-6aawHSyrcMVfG8
Cool playlist. You can see Dad's camper truck on my Dtube channel:
Now all you need is a dumping roster!!
Sorry @livinguktaiwan... I'm sure it's funny but I didn't get it!
I meant who would take it in turns to dispose of the plastic bag contents, its not like it flushes anywhere 😉
Lol, I thought it was a joke I didn't get!
I'm not sure what my grand parents did, but we're not doing the plastic bag thing... ours goes straight into a compost pile when it's full!
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TrufflePigThis post made me smile so much!! I helped my brother build an earth-adobe house about 25 years ago and his composting toilet was the family joke. It stank endlessly! Nice memories and yay you for getting this sorted. Dealing with our own waste cleanly and mindfully is such a reflection of who we are inside. Great pics. :)
Thank you so much and sorry for the late response!!! Busy busy summer here between building a homestead, a big birthday party moving out to the woods and playing and negotiating with a threenager, I hardly have time for steemit.
Luckily for us so far no stench from the compost toilet. We just can't fill it up with too much pee!
I would love to see a photo of the adobe house hou helped build!