Natures head composting toilet

[Karin Connerton]

Hello! We recently picked up our Oliver elite 2!  Does anyone know if you have to dump the compost from the toilet before storing if the toilet has been used for a week. Wondering if it safe to leave until the next camping trip. We live in NY. Thanks! 

[FloraFauna]

Storing for how long?  Generally, we have no issues with leaving the compost as-is for a few weeks sometime even a month, between trips.  If there are only two of you, one week should not be end of life for your compost.  Depending on where you are and your climate, you may want to unplug your Natures Head exhaust fan so you do not over dry the compost between trips.  We have found keeping the compost at the right moisture content is the most critical factor in having an odor free composting toilet.

[Karin Connerton]

Thank you! This is very helpful! How do you determine if the compost is moist enough?

[FloraFauna]

Yeah, that's tough.  I think I read somewhere an actual preferred moisture content but who is going to actually measure and monitor it that way??  I know if it's crumbly bone dry, we have smelly problems.  That happened when I installed peat moss I had from a previous season and although it was sealed in a large bag it still was too dry.  Your waste is NOT the way to remoisten.  At the same time, it cannot be slurry wet.  It should be wet enough to be slightly cohesive yet break apart easily upon agitation.  When I install it, I place it in a 5-gallon bucket and thoroughly mix in water (like a cup or two at a time) until I get that "in-between" consistency where it is slightly sticky but not overtly wet.  If your bag is brand new, you may not need to add much. I am still learning but if you have smelly composting toilet, you are doing it wrong and should not be interpreted as composting toilets are smelly - they are not, if you do it right.  If smelly, easy enough to remove the compost between trips and start over. Quite honestly, we do not change our compost more than once or twice per season depending how much we camp.  We also have chosen to avoid placing toilet paper in the compost and handle that other ways.  When we started with the compost toilet we were very skeptical out of ignorance that we could live with it, but also adamantly wanted to avoid the limitations, water usage and other problems of a black tank.  After a couple of seasons we are very happy with our choice.   

[Corvus]

We've left ours for nearly a year after only a few uses. So long as it is not near capacity and the fan is running without extreme humidity conditions it will dry out to be more adsorbent material for later use. Since we are in Florida we run a large dehumidifier which helps a lot. Never noticed a foul odor having done this many times.  If near half capacity  or the crank is tough to turn,  then probably best to empty if not going to use it for a while.