Urine separating/desiccating toilets

[MurrayM]

You know, it just occurred to me how just how crazy this whole thread is. Wanna see?

How many of those who think it's bad that I pee into the ocean here on BC's north coast are also upset that I (and many others) spent over 5 years fighting and defeating Enbridge's Northern Gateway diluted bitumen dual pipeline, tank farm, and supertanker port proposal that was to terminate here in Kitimat?

Go ahead. Let's see you defend supertankers zig-zagging their way through two Z shaped turns in narrow waterways just to enter Douglas Channel, and pipelines going through the geologically young and active Coast Mountains...and then tell me peeing in the ocean is indefensible.

This ought to be good...

 

[Giggitoni]

You're right, Murray! There is no comparison. I'm with ya', too ��!

 

[psneeld]

While I conform to the laws...

Talking about bacteria from MSDs but ignoring what some wash off their bodies and have pumped overboard though the shower sump is hilarious.

Laws are laws, but the logic used by some here is just flatline.

 

[MurrayM]

While I conform to the laws...

Talking about bacteria from MSDs but ignoring what some wash off their bodies and have pumped overboard though the shower sump is hilarious.

Laws are laws, but the logic used by some here is just flatline.

Yah, and the kicker is that it wasn't my idea to send pee straight overboard

 

[BandB]

While I conform to the laws...

Talking about bacteria from MSDs but ignoring what some wash off their bodies and have pumped overboard though the shower sump is hilarious.

Laws are laws, but the logic used by some here is just flatline.

Well, Murray was initially arguing the law and he was incorrect on that. I don't think anyone here is saying that him peeing overboard or into a receptacle that goes overboard is destroying the environment. You are also correct that our skin is covered with bacteria. There is no pee police going to come chase Murray down.

To my knowledge there's no one holding a tape measure out either to make sure we're really 3 miles and not 2.98 miles.

 

[MurrayM]

Peggie was arguing the law. I was pointing out differences between US and Canadian laws with a smattering of geographic relevance + logic.

 

[FF]

"...so it's sometimes justified to pee in the pristine water?"

When I unzip at the side of the boat , I am just taking the water temperature!

 

[catalinajack]

While I conform to the laws...

Talking about bacteria from MSDs but ignoring what some wash off their bodies and have pumped overboard though the shower sump is hilarious.

Laws are laws, but the logic used by some here is just flatline.

Yup!!!! What is lacking in many discussions of this sort is perspective. Peggy often talks about the "primordial soup" that is a shower sump. While urine is now known to not be sterile, I am guessing that shower sump water is far more "offensive" than urine but, yet, some are wholly repulsed by sending urine overboard. I wonder how much pee and poop a heard of 150 manatees deposits in the the pristine springs of the headwaters of the St. John's river every day?

 

[psneeld]

Look up the recent study of urine percentages in private and public pools....pretty eye opening...well better not.

Camping as a kid, we always used latrines or just buried it.

Next thing I know, backpacker magazine is writing that one should smear it on rock faces so the elements can sanitize it and break it down faster. Now that is a yuck factor for me, thinking of finding a nice rock to sit on. Where is legislation regulating that?

While I don't condone dumping raw sewage, as a boater who travels both crowded waterways and near empty ones, and knowing what and where real pollution and bacteria come from.... I can't tell whether to laugh or cry at how it affects real cruisers.

 

[Peter B]

Greetings,
Mr. MM. Your webmd report must be fake news regarding the sterility of pee. I refer you to post #76. Urine big trouble now...

Actually, no, RTF, in this instance Murray is right, and Peggie is in this fairly rare case, incorrect. Unless there is an infection, urine is sterile. Sure, it might pick up some normal skin bacteria as it leaves the body, but no different than from bathing, many less in fact, so effectively, urine is sterile. And remember, the pee can be silent, as is psea bathing...

 

[Peter B]

However, every person has bacteria in their urine. You test negative for bacteria when your count is less than 100,000 colony forming units per milliliter of urine.

While the above is technically correct in a lab reporting sense, back in my lab days, and before I did medicine, I plated many a urine that grew absolutely zip on the agar plate. In terms of putting bacterial in the water from urine it is not an issue. Urinating on a wound is not a comparable situation. Just sayin'...

 

[O C Diver]

"...so it's sometimes justified to pee in the pristine water?"

When I unzip at the side of the boat , I am just taking the water temperature!

I do it to check depth.

Ted

 

[slowandsteady]

I do it to check wind direction.
After over 100 replies, everyone knows it had to degenerate to this.....

 

[aenlic]

My boat has one AirHead composting toilet and one serviced by the LectraScan (nope, not a typo) system. I've had no odor issues with the AirHead, and whatever the benefits offered by the LectraScan system are for some, to me it's unnecessary and so NOISY that I never wanted to flush it again after the first time.

If someone in the Alameda, California wants the LectraScan, come help me deinstall it and it's yours. Another AirHead is in my near future.

aenlic

 

[MindiAndPete]

We just ordered c-heads. Wife is so excited about them. Husband is on the fence about them. The more I (wife) have read about them for the last year, the easier I think it will be with practice. Practice makes perfect. Or perfect-ish. I also never mind talking a out poop and he does, lol.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

Peeps that buy C_heads usually like and endorse the product. I agree.

 

[FF]

We chose the Natures Head and were well satisfied for 1/2 a decade.

Nature's Head Composting Toilets -- The Official Site

natureshead.net/


Nature's Head Self-Contained Waterless Composting Toilet for cottage, yurt, tiny house, rv, camper, sailboat, basement or garage. Ships directly from our factory.‎Installation & Use · ‎Natures Head · ‎Solutions · ‎User Guide

 

[MurrayM]

Well, after two years 'proof of concept' testing a urine diverting, poop desiccating toilet in the form of a Separett Privy 500 (fancy name for a spartan product) we have purchased an Air Head Toilet.

The deciding factors over getting a Nature's Head were that the Air Head's urine tank can be removed without opening/lifting the lid on the poop container, and its space saving round form.

Let's hope this thread doesn't ramble on for another 100+ posts

https://airheadtoilet.com/advantages/vs-conventional-mobile-systems/

 

[cardude01]

Yeah I have the NH toilet and have to unlatch and lift up the poop container lid a few inches to remove the urine tank. However, as you know, the poop container just doesn’t smell even when lifted. I know most here will not believe that since they have only been around stinky marine toilet systems, but it’s true! It smells like dirt/earth. That’s it.

The urine tank has some smell if it sits in there too long however.

 

[MurrayM]

Yeah I have the NH toilet and have to unlatch and lift up the poop container lid a few inches to remove the urine tank. However, as you know, the poop container just doesn’t smell even when lifted. I know most here will not believe that since they have only been around stinky marine toilet systems, but it’s true! It smells like dirt/earth. That’s it.

The urine tank has some smell if it sits in there too long however.

Yup, both work equally well I imagine.

What did you do with the old waste thru hull/holding tank, etc?

 

[cardude01]

Thru hulls (water intake, waste exit) still there and capped off. Old tank still there just cleaned it out really well then capped it off. All hoses hoses and leaky Y valves removed.

The tank is under the master berth and kind of built in so would be hard to remove.

How did you deal with the old stuff?

 

[MurrayM]

We hadn't gone "all in" till the Air Head was installed this week so everything is still there, but capped off.

The waste thru hull and holding tank take up pretty much all the space on the engine rooms starboard side. The house bank is squirrelled away in an awkward corner, so may put it where the holding tank is.

As it stands now, if/when we sell Badger the next owner can easily plunk in a flush toilet if they want. May keep it that way. Will ponder that one for a while before ripping things out...

 

[cardude01]

As it stands now, if/when we sell Badger the next owner can easily plunk in a flush toilet if they want. May keep it that way. Will ponder that one for a while before ripping things out...

That was also my thinking. Optionality for those who don’t get it.