Composting toilet in a cabin build

[waltsuz]

I hope this is the right place to post this. We have been using a composting toilet for 2 years now. It is set up in a outhouse that was at that time considered temporary until I got time to dig in a septic for a cabin I'm currently building. From the experience I have had from the first one I am going to buy another one and install it in the cabin, its been a great thing. Anybody here using one, are you mixing your own starter mulch or purchasing mulch designated for composting toilets? The owners manual has mix's for blending your own but some of the ingredients are very hard to find here where we live so we keep buying starter mulch. We are spending about 100.00 a year on starter mulch and I'm hoping to find a blend that we can mix to avoid buying this and or running out. Would like to here from others with at least the experience I have with this system as to what you are doing..Regards Walt

[Hunterscabin]

Have limited experiance with the composting toilets. The weather in the Colorado mountains just limited their effectiveness for me.
Have gone the Dry Flush Waterless toilet route. And really glad we did. Guess it depends on your location and useage. But not looking back here.

If my God is with me, then who shall I fear

[MountainDon]

Ditto. They don't work well in our NM mountains either. Composting reaction pretty much ceases at 50 F and below.

[OlJarhead]

I've used one now for 4 years (or is it 5 now?).  So far so good

The trick in winter is whether or not you plan to use it a lot (living at the cabin?) or a short amount.  If only a little use than it can be a holding tank until weather warms up (my first year or two was that way) but if you plan to use it full time then you have to provide some heat to keep it above 50F.  In my case I built a super insulated partially sub-grade room and stuck an 8000btu vented through the wall heater.  Works like a charm and can be turned up or down depending on how much you will use the place.  IN my case I just leave it keeping the place 50F + until the middle of winter when I'm not using the cabin that much and then I let it drop to 35F or so.  This saves fuel and though it halts the composting it makes it easier to get it going again vs having it completely frozen.

[waltsuz]

I have had 0 issue with the composting. We have 3 bins for the one were using and winter use has been fine. After 2 years I know when where and how to make it work.. Our cabin will be heated full time as is our outhouse so winter is not an issue nor our location. Anybody have a simple starter mulch recipe for the bin itself???  Thanks for the reply's, Walt

[OlJarhead]

I used Sunmar's microbes but my composter is a dry mix (no peat) so I just use hemp or pine chips (the pine I make when planing lumber)

[OlJarhead]

I also use Sunmar's compost quick.  You can search them both on the net to find decent prices...I think I got chips from sears once even;)