Installing the Nature's Head dry composting toilet

It has been a nice summer of traveling and living in the TM. We have covered over 6000 miles and have been traveling for several months. Here are our observations regarding the Nature's Head Composting toilet that we installed before our trip.

1) This system is easily overloaded by two people using the device exclusively for over a week at a time. There is just too much volume and too little time for aerobic bacteria to process everything. This leaves you having to empty the tank before things have broken down completely in order to get the toilet back in service. If you have used enough Coir or peat moss to keep it aerobic the smell is still ok but when you dump it in a garbage bag it`s still fairly raw. Off it goes to the landfill or long term composting container and your done. Given the amount of children's and adult diapers entering the landfill this seems ok to us.

2) By using other toilets as often as possible while traveling or at a park the toilet has time to keep up with the volume and will process the 60 to 80 solid deposits advertised.

3) The pee bottle needs to be emptied each day of continuous use by two people.

4) It is important to put a fine enough filter on the exhaust vent (no-see-um mesh works ok) so fruit flies don't move in.

5) This system if used properly has NO SMELL. There are no chemicals used so no smells of perfumes or dis-disinfectants or carcinogens like formaldehyde.

6) We found that removing the Thetford from the trailer immediately improved the interior air quality even though we had a powered vent exhausting the inside of it and it had been cleaned. We think that after 5 or 6 years of use the plastics in the Thetford must have absorbed a lot of the odor from the chemicals used.

7) Absolutely no maintenance issues. Very simple design and made with very rugged, marine grade materials. When I read the horror stories on this forum re the Thetford this is a real plus.

To sum up... If you are traveling a lot without access to black water dump facilities then this is a reasonable solution. If you are using the trailer infrequently then it will last the season without emptying solids and is a great solution. If you are mainly staying in parks with full sewer and lots of water then a Dometic Sealand is probably the easiest solution.

Both of us prefer the Nature's Head Composting toilet to the Thetford after two months use in multiple campgrounds and relative's driveways. Now if we can just figure out a way to process grey water........

We had a lot to do this summer so we put the TM in a semi-serviced area in a local park. We have water and electric and the shared toilets are 200 yards away. Over the summer we have been there about half the time.

We both use the toilet for urine all the time and for feces about 2 or 3 times a week. There is no smell at all and the only maintenance has been to empty the pee bottle daily. The interval on deposits of feces is long enough that decomposition is easily keeping up with supply. Aerobic bacteria are our friends.

It looks like we can get through the whole season without emptying the composting bin of the toilet. We just let it sit over the winter and empty it in the spring. By that time its mostly broken down. We dump it in the flower garden, reload with coir (coconut fibre) and we are ready for the new season.

There has been absolutely no smell from this device. Maintenance cost is 0. No chemicals needed or used. The toilet itself, because of the design and materials, has no wear or damage and will outlive the TM by a wide margin.

We are very satisfied but if we were in a full service park for extended periods of exclusive, heavy use the Sealand 711 would be better. It all depends on the composting rate keeping up with supply. If your camping style is like ours the composter is a better buy.

Regards, Peter and Martha

[TrailManorMan]

Glad it works for you, I'll keep my factory installed and the blue stuff!

[Craigrrr]

After reading these post of a composting toilet and seeing the real video, there is not a chance in "He double hockey sticks" I would put one in anyplace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ih17XFOkSc

[[email protected]]

if there is no coconut fiber or peat-moss? Then what? Well if you like it, more power to you...me? I'll stick with my very simple, $300 cheaper, and easier to use real flush Sealand 711M28C toilet that is no hassle what so ever! At least with that we don't have to use public toilets. ....well I am sure it is better than the e-yeck-tro stink-o-tragic Fretford ...can you see the lengths that folks go to ,to get rid of TM's abomination? It seems to be the most widely discussed subject on the forum...and rightly so!
Tom

[Craigrrr]

I was looking into the sealand found it for 516 at a boaters supply.
I think next year will do the sealand . Say Tom, is that a regular size toilet bowl and use regular seat etc.. elongated ?

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by Craigrrr

I was looking into the sealand found it for 516 at a boaters supply.
I think next year will do the sealand . Say Tom, is that a regular size toilet bowl and use regular seat etc.. elongated ?

It's a 3/4 size like the smellford but it is more than adequate for the job (pun intended but I think it is a little bigger). And If you do buy one, get it from Scamp because they have the right one for sure. The Boaters Supply one might be a bit cheaper but it is probably a side discharge or pump out model made for boats. The Scamp one is a bottom center discharge (which is what I think the "C" designation stands for) and is the one you need. So just nut up the extra bucks and save yourself some hassle by getting the correct item the first time.....you can thank me later
compost schmompost
Tompost

[eddugo]

I just wanted to respond to the you tube video mentioned in this string. I have the same toilet in my TM for 2 years now and have had zero problems. The only reason that unit is gross in the young lady's bathroom is "operator error", plain and simple. She admits that she knows nothing on how it works and why there is a hose connected and looking at the mess, shows me that there is a major problem with house keeping. There would be no stains anywhere if she could only follow directions and keep a spray bottle of water handy and give it a couple sprays after use. Also the smell from the liquid is completely avoidable is she had followed directions and added a few sugar cubes or raw sugar to the tank before use. i talked several times to the person that developed the unit before i bought one. He developed it for use on sailboats. the best part of this toilet is that it can go about 2 weeks (2 people) before the solids bin needs to be emptied. it is made out of high quality, thick plastic material and all metal parts are marine grade stainless. It can simply be removed from the TM for cleaning. Since i did not fasten mine to the floor, I can also use a Thetford Curve - I have one and have never used it. I find some of the dump stations a lot more gross then the composting toilet. It is not for everyone, but if you do not want to deal with black water for extended stays, with no sewer hook up, it's great.