composting toilet??

jfranch · 10-02-2007, 07:37 PM

Has anyone considered installing a composting toilet?

Sun-Mar makes a real cool one for RV's ... runs about $1500 which is less than installing black water tank and toilet, etc. plus you dont have to dump it (often).

Sounds like a good deal to me, just wondering what the thoughts are on that.

jage · 10-02-2007, 07:53 PM

Guess it would depend on where it fits. I'll give you that dumping the Porta Potti isn't on my top 10 list.

jfranch · 10-02-2007, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jage

Guess it would depend on where it fits. I'll give you that dumping the Porta Potti isn't on my top 10 list.

Well... it will easily fit any where the marine toilet would. I'm looking at a small dinette in the very back, so I think I would locate it just forward of the wheel well on the driver side....it would also work very well in the very back. (i think?)

Buji · 10-03-2007, 11:29 AM

Not to mention the space you would get back from not having the black water tank. When I looked at the sun mar products, even the smallest one without the step stool was still too tall to fit in the SMB in the orientation I needed. If it faced into the van then it's a different story...

Anthony · 02-06-2008, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jage

I'll give you that dumping the Porta Potti isn't on my top 10 list.

This is something I've been wondering about and have no clue how one would go about it:

Just how/where do you dump a porta potti? Is it simply a matter of pouring it into your toilet at home and flushing or is there much more to it?

Cheers,
Anthony

Ford_6L_E350 · 02-06-2008, 07:38 PM

I dump my Porta-Pottie in campground dumps, rest area toilets, in the toilet at home. I can't think of any other place I've ever dumped it.

Mike

Ed in Montana · 02-06-2008, 08:25 PM

This is an interesting question. I don't know anything about the Sun-Mar composting toilets, but I have a friend that works for a company producing composting toilets for national parks, wilderness areas and other remote locations throughout the planet.

The key to a good composter is maintaining a high heat to break down the waste, especially the bacteria and viruses. If the location is too high, cloudy or cold to do this, then the composter fails.

With our typical porta potties, chemicals are used to kill the bacteria (and hopefully some of the viruses) and the smell is neutralized until you can empty the potti.

I've had no problem emptying the potti in pit toilets or flush toliets so far. But I would be concerned that a composter wouldn't heat up enough naturally to kill off the bugs in an RV situation. Does the Sun-Mar use an electrical heater?