The 6 Finest Composting Bathroom for RVs

Earlier than we even purchased our first RV, we knew we wished a composting rest room for the RV. Conventional RV bogs sounded scary – particularly the half about dumping sewage from the black tank out via a hose. (As we later came upon, dumping the black tank actually isn’t so unhealthy!)

We learn numerous articles about totally different sorts of RV bogs, and composting bogs jumped out at us (nicely, at me) as the plain selection.

Ultimately, our journey with a composting rest room lasted solely two weeks. On reflection, we shouldn’t have gone from a residential rest room straight to a bucket rest room, however …. stay and be taught. We use a moveable tenting rest room now, if you happen to’re keen on checking that out.

However we have used fairly a couple of sorts of RV bogs and we wish to assist you be taught from our successes and our errors. A composting rest room for the RV might have gone nice for us, if we’d identified a bit extra on the time.

That will help you resolve if it’s best for you, right here’s every part we find out about composting rest room for RVs – together with the 6 finest composting bogs accessible to RVers.

What’s a Composting Bathroom?

A composting rest room is a kind of bathroom that doesn’t use any water for flushing. As an alternative, it normally separates the liquids (#1) from the solids (#2) to forestall your waste from turning into sewage. (That’s the place the scent comes from.)

The liquids go right into a container, which will be emptied by itself into a rest room, or diluted and sprinkled onto the bottom.

The solids get combined in with peat moss, coconut coir, or another natural medium. This dries them out, retains odor down, and begins the decomposition course of on your waste, which ultimately turns it into compost. You realize – the stuff you need to use as fertilizer.

When the compost bin fills up (usually this takes a couple of weeks), you may empty it right into a compostable bag and simply toss the entire thing into the trash.

Why use a Composting Bathroom in your RV?

There are a number of advantages to utilizing a composting rest room in an RV. That’s why we have been so satisfied at first that we would have liked one! Listed below are the primary the reason why we wished a composting rest room.

Eradicate the Black Tank

Our Class A RV got here with a Dometic® 310 China Bowl Stool linked to a 40 gallon black tank. We figured we’d must dump the tank each 7-10 days or so with the 2 of us residing in it full time. That’s numerous journeys to the dump station to empty sewage from the black tank. (Granted, we’d nonetheless must go to the dump station to empty the grey tank, however this could allow us to go longer between journeys.)

Additionally, keep in mind that scene in RV with the sewer line explosion? We’d heard so many horror tales about dumping the black tank that we have been cautious about attempting it at first. Utilizing a composting rest room in your RV lets you skip that entire course of, since your waste isn’t coming into your RV’s holding tanks in any respect. There’s no must cope with sewage within the “pungent slinky.”

Save Recent Water

Composting bogs don’t require water. They’re dry bogs that use natural supplies to deal with human waste. For us, that meant the 75 gallon contemporary water tank would last more for showers, dish-washing and naturally for consuming (which we run via a water purification system – learn our Berkey Evaluation).

When you’re boondocking or dry tenting out within the wild, you understand that water is a valuable useful resource. We thought that if we might save the water we would in any other case use to flush our rest room, we might keep out longer particularly if it’s an epic spot.

Enhance Grey Tank Capability

Not utilizing the black tank for a standard RV rest room would give us the choice to mix it with the grey tank and use it as an overflow. This may permit us to extend our grey tank capability. Once more, the less journeys to the dump station, the higher.

For these taking over a DIY van construct, you could be set up an even bigger grey tank or use that helpful area for different parts.

Different Advantages

• Decreased Odor: This wasn’t our expertise, however we’ve learn lots from individuals who have discovered that their composting rest room smells much less than their conventional water-flush RV rest room. It’s because you’re separating liquids from solids, and it’s the mix of each that create that sewage scent.
• Eco-friendly: Since you aren’t utilizing contemporary water to flush, you’re not solely preserving water to help you camp longer – you’re utilizing much less water generally.

The 6 Finest Composting Bathroom for RVs

1. Nature’s Head Composting Bathroom

Value: $1,030 (examine present value)
Stable Capability: Full time for 2 is roughly 3 to 4 weeks
Liquid Capability: 2.2 gallons
Options: 12 volt fan
Guarantee: 5 years
Made in USA

The Nature’s Head is the preferred composting rest room in the marketplace. It’s comparatively straightforward to put in (so long as you may vent to the surface in your RV), because it has a 12-volt fan to maintain odors down.

It’s not the costliest (nor the least costly) composting rest room in the marketplace, and it’s light-weight and has a smaller footprint than different manufacturers.

The customer support is reported to be glorious which is all the time vital when spending this sort of cash on a product that you simply’ll be utilizing each day.

Nature’s Head was the model we have been severely contemplating earlier than we tried the composting bucket rest room.

2. Air Head Dry Composting Bathroom

Value: $1,095 (examine present value)
Stable Capability: Full time for 2 adults is roughly 60 makes use of for 1 month
Liquid Capability: 2 gallons
Options: 12 volt fan
Guarantee: 5 years
Made in USA

The Air Head markets itself as probably the most compact composting rest room accessible. The price and capability are much like the Nature’s Head, however the footprint of this rest room would possibly work higher in a smaller RV.

3. Separett Composting Bathroom

Value: $989 (examine present value)
Stable Capability: Full time use for a household is roughly 3 weeks
Liquid Capability: 50L ejector tank
Guarantee: 5 years

Separett is a producer in Sweden that makes a number of urine diverting composting bogs to be used in RVs. The mannequin that’s generally offered within the U.S. is the Separett Villa 9215.

4. Cuddy Composting Bathroom

Value: $780 (examine present value)
Stable Capability: 3.9 gallons
Liquid Capability: 1.7 gallons
Guarantee: 2 years

CompoCloset is the producer of the Cuddy composting rest room. This compact composting rest room is commonly utilized in smaller RVs that don’t have as a lot area. This small composting rest room is 16.3 inches tall, 15.1 inches large and 16.8 inches deep. The corporate additionally makes a conveyable model of this composting rest room.

5. Solar-Mar Urine Diverting Bathroom

Value: $699 (examine present value)
Stable Capability: n/a
Liquid Capability: n/a
Options: 12 volt fan
Guarantee: 5 years for the tank, 3 years for all different parts

Solar-Mar has a number of sorts of composting bogs. The Solar-Mar GTG is their urine diverting rest room and the least costly mannequin. This design is much like most composting bogs: a bottle for liquids, a holding container for solids and no matter natural matter you select so as to add, and a small fan to divert odors outdoors.

Different composting bogs by Solar-Mar takes issues a step additional and focuses on optimizing the composting course of. They’ve patented a particular Bio-Drum with an evaporation chamber that helps velocity the breakdown of solids into compost. There’s no must empty the liquids, since the bathroom evaporates them for you!

6. Bucket Composting Bathroom

Value: $10+
Stable and Liquid Capability: 5 gallons

This was the primary (and solely) composting rest room we tried, as a result of we couldn’t discover a good place to vent a extra elaborate setup in our first RV.

It’s by far probably the most inexpensive choice, particularly if you happen to don’t care a lot about the way it appears in your rest room. We dressed ours up with a field to cover the bucket and put a rest room seat on prime, however you may go fairly easy with this one if you happen to’re feeling adventurous.

Whereas you need to use a bucket composting rest room with out diverting the urine, it requires determining the the suitable materials similar to sawdust to dry every part out and forestall bacterial progress. When the bucket is full, simply empty right into a trash bag and begin over once more!

To divert the urine in a bucket composting rest room, you will have to purchase an aftermarket urine diverter. At $65, it’s nonetheless extra inexpensive than the urine diverting bogs listed above.

The bucket rest room wasn’t for us in the long term (we like our moveable RV rest room), however if you happen to’re keen on utilizing one as a composting rest room on your RV, take a look at The Humanure Handbook.

Issues to Think about Earlier than Getting a Composting Bathroom for Your RV

1. Area

The very first thing we did was measure the accessible area to put in a composting rest room within the RV. These bogs can get fairly costly, so it’s essential to measure twice (or extra) to verify the bathroom will match before you purchase.

2. Set up

Many composting bogs require air flow and energy for the fan. You’ll need a approach to wire the fan into your onboard electrical system, and in addition place to route the vent hose out of your rest room to the surface. Bear in mind that this typically means slicing a gap within the wall of your RV.

3. Natural Materials

To place it merely, natural materials is what helps dry your poop and switch it into compost. It’s an important a part of the method! Be sure to have a spot to retailer supplies similar to sawdust or coco fiber, which may take up numerous area. One other factor to contemplate is sourcing. Will you be camped in locations the place you should purchase these supplies as you run out?

4. Value

There’s a vital distinction between the $10 DIY bucket rest room and the $1,000+ composting rest room. After taxes, transport and set up, an RV composting rest room might find yourself costing much more than anticipated. Be certain it’s price it to you earlier than you make investments.

5. Dumping

Irrespective of which rest room you select on your RV, you’re going to should empty it someplace. (When you discover a manner round this, tell us.)

Dumping a composting rest room is totally different than dumping a standard rest room.

Whilst you don’t have a black tank of sewage to handle, you continue to have to seek out an applicable place to dump the liquids. This would possibly imply carrying a bottle of your pee via a parking zone to a public rest room or pit rest room to dump it. There may be additionally the choice to attach the liquid diverter to the gray tank system within the RV.

For the solids, you’ll must empty the bin right into a bag for disposal in a trash can. Be certain to examine with the waste administration firm in your space for correct humane waste disposal. When you’re trying so as to add the strong waste to a compost pile, make sure that to do your analysis. Correctly composting human waste has totally different temperature necessities amongst different issues. Once more, it would be best to examine the native ordinance on composting human waste.

6. Capability

As with every RV rest room, a solo traveler or a pair will take extra time to replenish a composting rest room than an enormous household. When you’ve got a lot of folks making “deposits,” it’s very doable that you could possibly replenish the solids bin earlier than the waste has had time to show into compost. One thing to bear in mind when serious about the emptying course of.

Composting Bathroom FAQs

When you’re simply in search of some fast solutions to your most burning questions on composting bogs, you’ve come to the suitable place. Listed below are some brief and candy solutions to the entire most typical questions on composting bogs that we are able to consider.

How does a composting rest room work in an RV?

Mainly, a composting rest room separates liquids from solids, which implies that you don’t find yourself with any sewage.

You’ll have a separate liquid tank, which will be dumped in any public rest room or sewer drain, and a strong compost bin, the place your strong deposits get combined with composting materials to type humus. (NOT to be confused with hummus—that is simply the natural materials you discover in fertilizer that helps crops develop.)

How do you employ a composting rest room?

In a lot the identical manner that you simply use an everyday rest room, besides that you simply do should watch out to not combine any liquids and solids collectively if you “go.” This may be harder for girls than for males.

Once you’re completed, the flushing course of is comparable, besides that you simply’ll use little to no water. You’ll even have a hand crank or one thing much like combine your latest strong waste in along with your composting materials.

How a lot does a composting rest room price?

$10 – $1,000+. As with absolutely anything on the planet of RVers, you may spend as a lot or as little as you need. We’ve seen bogs so simple as a 5-gallon bucket stuffed with sawdust, with a makeshift seat on prime, all the way in which to an elaborate rest room that runs on electrical energy and prices 1000’s of {dollars}.

The composting bogs listed above are literally illustration of what’s on the market when it comes to value for urine diverting composting bogs.

What’s a composting rest room system?

It’s a system for utilizing your rest room to compost your waste! All joking apart, a composting rest room is a method of turning your waste into usable materials, conserving consuming water, and avoiding the necessity to dump any sewage out of your RV’s black tank.

Do you need to empty a composting rest room?

Sure. With a composting rest room, liquids and solids go to totally different locations. You’ll must empty the liquid bottle extra usually, because it’s bought a smaller capability and isn’t breaking down the way in which your solids are. However you will have to empty your solids, too.

And right here’s how …

How do you empty a composting rest room?

Liquids will be dumped right into a public rest room or sewer, or diluted and scattered on the bottom (relying on the place you’re).

Solids will slowly decompose in your tank till they’re nicely on their approach to turning into fertilizer. At that time, simply put the entire bin’s price of “stuff” right into a compostable bag and toss it in a dumpster.

What do you do with composting rest room waste?

There’s not a lot you are able to do with the liquids (aside from dumping them), however you are able to do some cool stuff with the compost that comes out of your strong waste. As a result of it steadily breaks down into fertilizer, you could possibly apply it to any crops you journey with, or on a house backyard if you happen to nonetheless have a sticks and bricks house.

In fact, you may also simply toss it. The selection is yours.

How usually do you need to empty a composting rest room?

This is determined by how many individuals you’ve got, and the way a lot all of these folks eat and drink. On common, we’ve seen that liquid bottles are likely to replenish in 2 days or so with 2 adults utilizing the bathroom full time. Solids take longer—possibly 2-3 weeks for two adults.

Abstract

General, composting bogs is usually a nice choice for RVers. They aren’t as moveable as a porta-potty or a cassette rest room, however they’re a extra moveable choice than the standard porcelain (or plastic) bowl. They’re huge water-savers, and will be extra nice to dump than different RV bogs (although you’ll doubtless be dumping liquids extra usually).

When you’re attempting to resolve what sort of rest room to make use of in your individual RV, take a look at our articles on different conventional RV rest room alternate options: cassette bogs and moveable bogs.