Airhead toilets - Questions

[mpkoontz48]

Hello -

Thinking about Airhead (type) toilets, but have a couple of questions:

1) Will they work OK in a wet (shower) head?

2) To empty the "solids" do you have to lift up (and turn over & shake) the whole toilet? Is there an option to just life a bag out???

3) What happens if inspected by the coast guard if you DON'T have a black tank aboard? Will they understand?

4) Do you still have a grey tank aboard? If so, does that need to be pumped out?

Thank you,
Mark

 

[SeaBreeze]

We had an airhead (best of the composting toilets in my opinion) in our last boat. When we bought our current boat I took the electric flush system out and put in an airhead. Best decision we made on the boat. They absolutely will work fine in a wet bath.

To empty the solid tank you lift the upper half of the toilet off and then put the provided lid on the bottom half if you are going to take it and dump it. Otherwise you can just empty the contents into a plastic bag. A bag inside would not work. If you aren't a fulltimer then you may be able to go years without emptying the solid tank. It just depends on how much you use it. We went two years on our last boat with regular weekend use and a couple longer 8-10 day trips.

Coast Guard has never been a problem for us. They like them. There is no overboard discharge.

We pumped our black tank out then added a gallon of chemicals and filled it with water. After a few weeks we had it pumped completely. We still have the tank but have considered removing it.

I have many helpful tips if you want to know. They aren't for everyone but we would'nt have it any other way.

 

[rsn48]

This video has been around a while. The Wynn's purchase a Nature's Head which is pretty much like an Air Head (I bought an Air Head as the lid doesn't tilt back as a NH does so requires less room). The first video is showing the prep for the toilet, but you can just put your coconut coir into a plastic bag and let is soak overnight and you don't have to do all the work she does.

Second tip: you can use diatomaceous earth with the coconut coir and flies don't develop. I bought a bag for just a little over $20 and I'm guessing it will last two to three years at least.

I do believe some use a composting bag inside but I wonder how well that works as I can see it getting caught up in the cranking.

Second video, all your questions answered.

Video comparing Air Head and Nature's Head:

Note: The Wynn's moved from a full time RV lifestyle to a catamaran sailboat lifestyle. And yes, they installed the composting toilets on the Cat.

Here is the Wynn's on their boat, just picked one of their video's so you can see they have adapted to the marine lifestyle.

 

[HeadMistress]

You can read all about how it works on the AirHead site Airhead Toilet

Meanwhile, I can answer two of your questions:
What happens if inspected by the coast guard if you DON'T have a black tank aboard? Will they understand?

Yes. Any "installed device that is designed to prevent the overboard discharge of treated or untreated sewage or any waste derived from sewage" (33 CFR 159.3) is considered a legal Type III MSD, same as a holding tank.

4) Do you still have a grey tank aboard? If so, does that need to be pumped out?
Gray water is "galley bath or shower water," none of which has anything to do with toilet waste, which means that replacing your toilet and holding tank with the AirHead would have nothing to do with any gray water tank. So if you have one, yes you'd still have to continue having it pumped out. However, gray water can be legally discharged directly overboard in all US waters except for fewer than half a dozen small inland lakes and the waters of the FL Keys Marine Sanctuary. So there'd be no need to install a gray water tank if you don't already have one...and--IMO anyway--a good time to get rid of it if you do.

--Peggie