Anyone Have A Composting Toilet ?

[Nyboy]

I am thinking of adding a bathroom to my garage. I will have electric and water,problem is septic is on other side of property so a composting toilet seems the way to go. Knowing nothing about them a search pulls up all kinds in all prices. Does anyone have one and what is the maintenance on them

 

[flowerbug]

no, but the book _The Humanure Handbook_ is available for free online and well worth reading.

a dry composting setup can be as cheap as some buckets/piles of sawdust, dirt, leaves, etc.

the biggest issues are dealing with the buckets once they are full, you need a spot to pile and compost for a year or two before you can use the results. but actually i think you could get away with digging a hole and burying (a la outhouse). in places where you get heavy rainfalls you'll need to cover the pile somewhat to keep rains from washing things away.

that all said, when you have wetland conditions i don't think it makes sense to try composting or burying anywhere near that because you don't want to contaminate the area with poo...

for just a place to wizz, a bucket with some sawdust would do ok to start. poo in the house. keep it simple IMO.

 

[Nyboy]

LOL its the country you wizz behind a tree. Videos make it seem so simple here one for very cheap toilet

 

[flowerbug]

even with the dry composting method figure for one person a bucket or two a week, depending upon how often you use it. with a more complicated setup, how often you have to empty it depends upon how much it gets used.

why not keep it simple and just use the house for #2, especially if you can wizz where you want?

 

[Nyboy]

I often have workman I don't know and really don't want them in house. Also have large party weekend home in country can mean lots of guest, extra bathroom would be nice

 

[flowerbug]

oh, ok, that's a whole different thing then. smaller composting toilets are not often all that great for strangers or peak flow events like that.

better to add that 2nd toilet to the main house on the septic. everything i know about composting toilets is that once you get into larger you need a big enough holding space, plus somewhere to deal with the results and someone who has the strength and patience to deal with the moving of the wastes. i'm not convinced it makes any sense for you because of wetland and other issues. sounds like a mess really.

composting toilets are great, but not everyone knows how to use them and understands what they can and cannot do. are you going to teach every stranger and party guest how to do this and/or have them read (in my experience most people won't really do that anyways. if people are going to be drinking that could mean an almost certain amount of disregard for the "rules")...

i'd consider renting a portapotty for events/parties until you can get the 2nd toilet installed on the septic.

 

[Nyboy]

Might not be one of my better ideas. That why I like feed back before I jump into things

 

[flowerbug]

Might not be one of my better ideas. That why I like feed back before I jump into things

you also mentioned that you'd have water to the garage, but if you have a sink in there then you'd also have to have some kind of greywater system to deal with the outflow. if there really is a wetland near that garage you're not going to get a greywater system designed and installed easily. i'd hate to think what the permit process for that would be like.

 

[bobm]

oh, ok, that's a whole different thing then. smaller composting toilets are not often all that great for strangers or peak flow events like that.

better to add that 2nd toilet to the main house on the septic. everything i know about composting toilets is that once you get into larger you need a big enough holding space, plus somewhere to deal with the results and someone who has the strength and patience to deal with the moving of the wastes. i'm not convinced it makes any sense for you because of wetland and other issues. sounds like a mess really.

composting toilets are great, but not everyone knows how to use them and understands what they can and cannot do. are you going to teach every stranger and party guest how to do this and/or have them read (in my experience most people won't really do that anyways. if people are going to be drinking that could mean an almost certain amount of disregard for the "rules")...

i'd consider renting a portapotty for events/parties until you can get the 2nd toilet installed on the septic.

Building another toilet may not work if the sectic tank and leachfield is not to code and/ or in the wetland situation. You may have to increase their sizes or ?.

 

[Beekissed]

NY, can you have outhouses where your country house is located? That may be a good option for what you describe and a person can build a mighty quaint outhouse nowadays that even your guests wouldn't mind using.