Composting Toilets

[steely]

Anyone using a composting toilet?   Are you satisfied?  Dissatisfied?  Is it a maintenance headache or not too bad to keep up.  I'm new to the forum, and maybe this has been discussed many times already, but I couldn't seem to come up with any user reviews.  Would be interested in any feedback.  

Thanks.

[Kodakjello]

My friend was telling me about her un-powered composting toilet from SunMar. I believe it was the Excel version. She has been using it for seven years without any problems whatsoever. I'm actually leaning towards the 5 gallon pail method but we'll have to see what the health inspector says about that  :-/

I hope this helps!

Shaun

[littlegirlgo]

I have also been researching composting toilets. Unfortunatley I found out that Kentucky says you have to have a septic tank even with a composting toilet. Kind of defeats the purpose - huh?  
Do you plan to buy one or build one. I found this neat site for building one http://www.longbrancheec.org/pubs/composting_toilet.html

In talking to people I have had mix reviews but have had mostly positive comments from Sun Mar and Biolet people. I think the ratings for # of people are usually below the number given which can cause overload.

[Amanda_931]

A septic tank may really have very little to do with a toilet.

There's been a fair amount of talk on this on some of the greywater system sites.  

(e.g. do you use bleach in your laundry--any kind of bleach?--they're all bad for plants.  Do you really want to water your plants when you take a shower the day after a five-inch rain?--greywater turns into blackwater fast when it's stored--it's really really stinky after a month--wonder how I know this   , presumably highly bacterial after only a day or two.)  

Glenn and Sassy get by with it because they live in southern California--think dry, don't at the moment live in their house full-time, etc.

But you could also see if there is more information on sand filters--or maybe slow sand filters now than there was a few years ago.  I've known someone who used to live in Kentucky who used one for his shower/kitchen waste water.  Hard to get in touch with him now, though.  I'm sure he was not living in permitted conditions.

I've used a sawdust toilet for years.  Not unhappily.

Joseph Jenkins is the high priest of that.  You can download the first edition of his book in .pdf form, the second you can read on-line, or you can buy the third.

All information here:

http://jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html

[glenn kangiser]

Our gray water is used by some trees about 5 feet from the drain line.  The Pine growing there is growing much faster than other pines nearby.  There is never any standing water or noticable smell.  It is about 1/4 mile to the end of out property so no possibility of it getting away to pollute anything.  There are no problems with anything growing near the gray water.

We are here full time when not working out of town, which sometimes gets to be too often.

[Billy Bob]

I am trying the Humanure composting sawdust system, and so far so good.  The trick seems to be sure and use enough sawdust, and enough coarse material in the compost bin.

I installed a 250 gallon holding tank and 20' of leach field, which seem to be doing the trick for the greywater.  Bear in mind, this is dry country, (although we've had more than a year's average rainfall just in the two months I've been here, I think!)

This is all non-permitted, BTB.  If they come around with a cease and desist, I will have to get a Sunmar or similar, which they do allow upon application.