Toilets/Time

[jo79RI]

How long does the 18 gallon black tank last two people when camping?

Is the extra cost and new technology of the compost toilet worth exploring?

[DavidS]

With two of us the black tank usually lasts four to five days. And that is with both of us getting up several times each night to use the toilet. One of the unfortunate pleasures of getting older... 

The people who have the composting toilet seem to really like them. If you use the search function on the forum, you will find a lot of threads. 

When I explained how they worked, my wife was definitely not interested in a composting toilet. When either of us sit down to poop, our bodies naturally want to pee at the same time, and you have to segregate those two bodily functions with a composting toilet. 

Edited December 13, 2019 by DavidS

[Mike and Carol]

1 hour ago, DavidS said:

With two of us the black tank usually lasts four to five days. And that is with both of us getting up several times each night to use the toilet. One of the unfortunate pleasures of getting older... 

Yep.  Same here. Especially the getting older part. 

[topgun2]

As with most things, the answer to your questions is.... It depends (no pun intended).

If you assume that the two of you are boondocking and only using the Oliver's indoor facilities then I would think that David's answer is correct for "most normal" people using the standard toilet .  However, there are products that can be used along with an "outdoor" setup to prolong this time frame when boondocking.  Or, if you are not boondocking then using "pit" toilets or a campground's facilities (assuming no sewer hookup) can dramatically prolong intervals before a tank dump.

For me (us) the cost of the composting toilet versus the standard one simply didn't make sense.  Also, my wife found the higher  "seated position" on the Nature's Head to be very uncomfortable.

Bill

[BackofBeyond]

I believe composting toilets are an "older" technology, in a somewhat modern package …. 

 

[John E Davies]

On 12/12/2019 at 4:52 PM, DavidS said:

When either of us sit down to poop, our bodies naturally want to pee at the same time, and you have to segregate those two bodily functions with a composting toilet. 

Well, this topic is drifting into dangerous waters. Rather than commenting directly, and risking offending anybody, I will offer this article.

https://motivatetherapy.com/is-it-normal-to-pee-and-poo-at-the-same-time/

That said, my wife had similar concerns about using the Natures Head toilet and those turned out to be completely groundless.

I love this forum!

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited December 17, 2019 by John E Davies

[SeaDawg]

That capacity depends on the availability of pit/ vault toilets, and possibly available "bush area," for the guys.

Black tank has never been our limiting factor. Maybe a gallon or two a day, input, max, sans other facilities?. Freshwater, grey water capacity is more critical,  for us. You don't have to hold the flush step forever with your foot, for just liquids. I'd say 9 or 10 days, conservatively,  on our black. Long enough that we've never worried.

I have no problem with maintained pits/ vaults. Our Alaska runs, with rental deliveries, have 24 or 32 gallon blacks, and rarely more than  half full after three weeks or so. 

We have looked at composting for the boat. Maybe the trailer, someday, if we have to replace the toilet. Or the plumbing fails.  More likely on the boat, where pumpout is much more of an issue,  and more logistics/ PITA.

Don't get me wrong.  We like the composting idea. We just rarely replace a working system for something else, just because.. 

When systems work, we keep them. When they don't,  we replace them.

Sherry 

 

 

 

[jo79RI]

On 12/12/2019 at 7:52 PM, DavidS said:

With two of us the black tank usually lasts four to five days. And that is with both of us getting up several times each night to use the toilet. One of the unfortunate pleasures of getting older... 

The people who have the composting toilet seem to really like them. If you use the search function on the forum, you will find a lot of threads. 

When I explained how they worked, my wife was definitely not interested in a composting toilet. When either of us sit down to poop, our bodies naturally want to pee at the same time, and you have to segregate those two bodily functions with a composting toilet. 

I am leaning towards the regular tank also.

[SeaDawg]

I'm actually surprised at the number if people in rvs who have chaged out to nature's head and other composting toilets. 

They make so much sense on boats, where pumpout can be difficult to find, and awkward.

Jo, you can change out later, if you find the rv dump system isn't to your liking , or doesn't meet your needs. It's not that hard, as I've read. We still have the standard toilet and dump system, 12 years in. I'm totally onboard with the nature's head, but til something breaks, we'll stay with what we already own and have. I've seen the nature's head, at shows, love the simplicity, and ine day, I'm sure one of the heads on the boat, at least,  will be converted. 

Dumping isn't rocket science,  nor is it as bad as Robin Williams made it look.

If this is your first rv, take a bit of time to discover your camping style, and what works for you.  Ditto on the portable rhino/ blue boy. We've never felt the need for one, in 12 years of camping without hookups. 

 

 

[Patriot]

We did not choose the composting toilet as an option for our current option/build sheet for a lot of reasons and some of which were mentioned above. For our needs using a black tank far out weighs the work and effort of all that is required in using, cleaning and maintaining a compost toilet.
There are a few very interesting YouTube University videos on the composting toilets you may want to watch before deciding on one. I usually use the term “do a deep dive” when suggesting due diligence or research on a topic. In this case I won’t. 

Edited February 12, 2020 by Patriot

[Overland]

3 hours ago, Patriot said:

...the work and effort of all that is required in using, cleaning and maintaining a compost toilet.

There are good reasons for picking a flush toilet over a composting one, but ease of use is definitely not one of them.  It may seem that way, since it's a foreign routine to learn, but in practice, it's nothing.

There's real work involved with a flush toilet.  I've counted my blessings many times while watching people at the dump station dealing with sewage.  In fact, the most annoying thing about composting toilets is having to wait at the dump station behind someone who doesn't have one, just to fill up with water. 🤢 🤬 😛

Edited February 12, 2020 by Overland

[Patriot]

6 hours ago, Overland said:

There are good reasons for picking a flush toilet over a composting one, but ease of use is definitely not one of them.  It may seem that way, since it's a foreign routine to learn, but in practice, it's nothing.

There's real work involved with a flush toilet.  I've counted my blessings many times while watching people at the dump station dealing with sewage.  In fact, the most annoying thing about composting toilets is having to wait at the dump station behind someone who doesn't have one, just to fill up with water. 🤢 🤬 😛

Camping certainly does not come without its challenges. 👍🏻😊