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| The Composting Toilet |
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The Nature's Head Eco-Friendly Waterless Composting Toilet
At first, we were a little intimidated by the thought of a composting toilet. How does it work, will it be odor free, how often do we need to empty it, where do we empty it, etc? We also needed to find a toilet that met the requirements for the Airstream. Compact, lightweight, and low energy consumption was essential. Most of the units we had seen required 110V power for the heating elements needed to remove the liquid waste. Our research brought us to Nature's Head, a composting toilet originally designed with the marine market in mind. Because of its ability so separate liquid and solid waste, it is able to run on our 12V system that is charged by our solar array. It was also compact and lightweight and met all of our primary requirements. After speaking with Larry at Nature's Head and getting the answers to the rest of our questions, we decided that this toilet was ideal for our needs.
Installation was quite simple. Two small brackets held the toilet to the new cork flooring we had installed in the bathroom. The vent hose, and 12V power supply were hooked into the existing vent and power systems. The exhaust fan was the type you find in a desktop computer and only draws around 1 amp.
You then place a few gallons of peat moss or coir in the solid waste composting tank to begin the composting process. A few quick turns of the agitator handle after each use serves to facilitate the process. So far we have not had to dispose of our first batch of composted waste. The frequency of this is determined by your usage, and may vary dramatically. Liquid waste must be disposed of more frequently, and can be emptied into rest area or campground toilets along the way.
So far the toilet has operated flawlessly, and people are surprised to find out that it is a composting toilet as it is very similar in appearance to a standard RV toilet. So far, so good, and we will keep you up to date with the straight poop on this system!
For more information visit their website at: www.natureshead.net
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