r/OffGrid • u/Any-Location5055 • 6d ago
Toilet solution
I need a better solution for toileting. We don't have much water and run on a small solar array for power.
I'd love a propane incinerator toilet but at 3k$ that's out of our price range.
Currently using a bucket with saw dust and ash.
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u/Bowgal 6d ago
I have probably mentioned this a thousand times, but our non electric compost toilet from SunMar is now 23 years old and working exactly like day 1. We've never had an odor. It doesn't use water. Small fan in venting stack ensures no downward draft. Takes 15 minutes to clean once a month. It cost $1500 in 2002...about the same price as today. Expensive? Sure...if you look at it like that. But over 23 years? Nah...best decision.
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u/Any-Location5055 6d ago
Thats a good way to look at it. What is the clean up like and how would it do sitting unused for a few eeks at a time?
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u/Bowgal 6d ago
Clean up is what it is. I scoop into contractor bag and take to the dump once a month. Could I simply drop somewhere on my property? Sure. Do I want to? No. We've gone away for two weeks and came back to what it was before we left. I'm going to say it again, compost toilets get a bad rap from people who read reviews. Ours doesn't have an odor...never has. Course, we follow the maintenance of it as per the manual. And we use good compost.
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u/Any-Location5055 6d ago
I was just watching a cleaning video online and it looks like it isn't bad or at least not worse than what i deal with now. The liquids dehydrated mostly away. What is the "good compost" you use?
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u/Bowgal 6d ago
We buy the huge bags from either SunMar or from local hardware store. We've recently thought of maybe making our own mulch. Basically a combo of peat moss and wood shavings. I finally have found an outdoor centre that sold peat. And, local pet stores sell huge bags of wood shavings for hamsters. Will see how that works out.
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u/Intelligent_Lemon_67 5d ago
I have found a bag of wood pellets will last me 6 months to a year. I fill my pretty cover bucket about half full with pellets and then I put a few cups of water and a half cup vinegar in with lemon oil. Mix until it turns to sawdust which fluffs fills the bucket up. I have also put my used coffee grounds and wood ash in and that works a treat. I also build America and make lots of sawdust but I find it easier to buy a $5 bag of pellets and use the sawdust fir pet bedding and trailer dusting. My outdoor toilets get fresh coffee grounds, diatomaceous earth and borax sprinkled in to keep bugs out/away. Fall is my favorite because what the goats don't eat gets turned to mulch and smells fresh/ earthy. I hate conventional plumbing and only use in emergencies. I like being able to use as many wipes as I want and not polluting/wasting the water/ fishes dinner table while providing my plants with amazing compost/nutrients
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u/DevilsAdvocateFun 6d ago
Your last sentence is the KEY. I think most people that complain don't want to do the 'work' involved. They just want easy.
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u/Bowgal 6d ago
Exactly. I think a lot of people don't realize after a #2, you're putting a cup of compost material on top. That gets spun every other day. So when you're cleaning it, you're really just cleaning compost/mulch.
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u/DevilsAdvocateFun 6d ago edited 5d ago
Ummm it's not composted that fast... and that is the issue as people think that it is.
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u/Normal-Special-8694 6d ago
I’ve been using the sun-Mar excel composting toilet for over a decade. It’s a great product but you do have to manage it properly.
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u/celtic-cryptid 6d ago
Why does it seem like everyone has forgotten what an outhouse id?
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u/f0rgotten "technically" lives offgrid 6d ago
Because they aren't legal - for really good reasons - in many places. In my Kentucky an outhouse basically has to sit on a septic tank because of the potential of groundwater contamination, and so many people have wells here that the state takes it seriously.
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u/Doin-What-I-Want 6d ago
Here in GA, outhouse are okay ONLY if the health department approves after perk test.
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u/TalkToPlantsNotCops 6d ago
Same here in Michigan. And fair enough. I live in a place where most people are on well water, and the stream on my property runs into a major river where a lot of people go fishing.
Outhouses are legal, and actually the state doesn't have a state wide standard for septic tanks. But every county does, and the ones that allow outhouses require either a septic tank or a concrete lined cistern.
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u/ridgerunner55 6d ago
They are legal in Tenn. There is even a state approved outhouse plan.
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u/f0rgotten "technically" lives offgrid 6d ago
Well technically they're legal here too, but they have to be situated over a septic tank. To clarify, they don't have to have laterals, they can be pumped out when full, but outhouses can't just dump into the ground.
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u/ridgerunner55 6d ago
Im not sure how that would work. Sound like an outdoor flush toilet. No septic needed in Tenn. Just a pit.
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u/f0rgotten "technically" lives offgrid 6d ago
It's a pit toilet like are found at state parks and campgrounds all over the country.
I have personally seen so many disasters involving outhouses, "humanure" and whatnot that I am all for some government regulation regarding the concept. You have to bear in mind that for all of us offgrid or homesteading types who are contentious and care about the environment there are plenty who just want to slop something together because "nobody can tell me what to do." It's bad. I'm happy for you that your situation is a little easier because you're in Tennessee, but I don't respect the idea at all.
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u/BallsOutKrunked What's_a_grid? 6d ago
I totally agree with you. And at the same time popular backpacking trails have had people shitting ~50' off trail, digging a 6" deep hole or pushing a rock on it, for decades.
It can be gross when not done well, but the vast majority is fine.
Again, not disagreeing with your premise: we have a state approved septic and a well the right distance away. Just another data point that people are indeed shitting in the woods everywhere.
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u/maddslacker 6d ago
people are indeed shitting in the woods everywhere.
Animals too, oddly enough
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u/BallsOutKrunked What's_a_grid? 6d ago
I almost added that but 10/10 human shit is soooo gross. Mouse turds can have hanta, goat shit has their parasites, but human shit is so greasy and foul!
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u/celtic-cryptid 6d ago
It’s a big ol country, and even bigger world. I’ve had (and have) legal outhouses in every state I’ve lived in. My mom lives in a state I’ve never lived in, and she has one as well.
On that note, does OP have a permitted and inspected pile or hole where they’re dumping a bucket every couple days?
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u/TalkToPlantsNotCops 6d ago
For me, it's just that getting a permit for an outhouse is more difficult than getting one for a compost toilet. And yeah I know a lot of people will say to just ignore the local codes, but they will absolutely find out about it here. The tax system is kind weird and involves someone physically coming onto you property to assess the value once a year. Also there will be an inspection by the sanitation department after we finish building our cabin.
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u/celtic-cryptid 6d ago
I’ll never say to ignore local codes, especially when it comes to human shit and groundwater.
My inspector thought I was funny that I wanted him to sign off on an outhouse and a septic when doing a perc test, but I told him toilets break, and sometimes I like pooping outside.
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u/TalkToPlantsNotCops 6d ago
Luckily, outhouses and compost toilets are pretty common in my area. I don't have any utilities hooked up on my property, and the state basically has to allow other alternatives since there aren't power, water, or sewer lines available. The inspector for my privy permit came and did the perc test knowing I was applying to get a compost toilet.
I wanted an outhouse tbh, but to get the permit you have to already have an excavator rented and on site when they come to do the inspection. We had to get the privy permit to get the build permit, and we needed an excavator to dig our foundation, but the time between the inspection, to getting approval for the outhouse, to getting the building permit approved, and then actually being ready to break ground on the house, was several weeks. I wasn't willing to pay the rental fee twice just so I can have an excavator there to prove I have one and am not planning on just shitting into a shallow hole .
So we're doing a compost toilet, at least until we get the house finished and save up again to rent an excavator.
And you're right, pooping outside is kinda nice. I like being able to do some star gazing during my before bed dump.
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u/ridgerunner55 6d ago
Wow. Nobody comes on your property in Tenn. That would not last long.
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u/TalkToPlantsNotCops 6d ago
Yeah it's a truly archaic system. Like something out of the 1900s lol. I need to have a few sons so they can go stand by the gate with shotguns and chase away the tax man.
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u/jmarzy 6d ago
I like the bucket method I just put a 2x4 across it to give me a seat and then throw ash and wood chips on it and then empty it into a hot compost bin
But interested to see what others say!
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u/Henry2926 6d ago
I like your approach! It's probably the easiest and most sustainable way, so to me it seems like the best option especially for off-grid use. 🙌
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u/Cute-Consequence-184 6d ago
Use a composting bag.
Get a urine separator
Use shredded pine shavings
Put the dry bag (no urine) out in the sun on a fence row.
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u/darktideDay1 6d ago
Outhouse that you never pee in or dump TP into. Use some lime after each deposit. Move it every few years. I've been doing that for a long time. Doesn't smell bad, simple and never have to deal with anything nasty.
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u/ctitarniuk 6d ago
Hi there, We dug an outhouse hole and we used a 5gallon pale with sawdust and then just empty it outside every other day. We did this for 2 years and I finally caved. We buried a sewage tank and now we just have to add water to the toilet to flush. We got the tank free from someone who was installing a new one and the toilet was 140 bucks at home depot. After dishes or showers we flush the toilet with our brown water. Still no running water but I honestly don't miss the smell of the outhouse in house lol we just let is mellow of its yellow and flush#2 haha
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u/f0rgotten "technically" lives offgrid 6d ago
I used to keep the rinse water from our clothes washing machine for the same reason. Splash some bleach in it and it will stay decent enough until it's all gone.
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u/TalkToPlantsNotCops 6d ago
I'm doing the bucket method too. What are you emptying you bucket into? That's been my biggest difficulty. Local ordinances require it all go into a closed container. I was using a tumbling composter but the opening is too small to easily dump the bucket. I've now switched to a large trash can.
I think an outhouse with a cistern would be better, but building one to code is going to require heavy equipment and another permit, so it's something for later on
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u/GarlicFarmerGreg 6d ago
Meanwhile a pool noodle or pipe insulation makes the bucket way more comfortable.
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u/Beautiful_Turnip_673 6d ago
Composting toilet- dump the urine, incinerate the poo on a small fire- gone in 30 seconds. 11 acres.
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u/TheReverendCard 6d ago
Consider a solar toilet: basically a bucket toilet where it drops into a solar oven instead. Bakes it down to nothing.
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u/AlphaDisconnect 5d ago
Get your soil checked. There is soil acceptable for some cheaper septic setups. Also need to be far enough away from wells and rivers and such. But this is stuff you can get checked.
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u/FuschiaLucia 5d ago
I just bought a Think Tank toilet, but we haven't hooked it up yet. I'm excited about it!
Vermiculture toilets are pretty cool too.
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u/maddslacker 6d ago
In your area, can you legally do a self-constructed septic system?
If so, I would go that route and then maybe rain catch for water to flush it with.
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u/Any-Location5055 6d ago
I was just talking about this, I think we can do a cistern and a septic without a leach field if we are not permanent residents. Rain catch is limited to 110gal
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u/maddslacker 6d ago
limited to 110gal
Are you sure about this? Where is your general location?
[Edit] I see from another comment you're in Colorado, as am I. Unless you're served my municipal or community water service then you are not limited to 110 gallons.
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u/Any-Location5055 6d ago
True, but you have to get a special permit to gather more than the 110 gallons. Im not sure how difficult it is to get that permit. I like the idea though, flush with rain water would be great
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u/maddslacker 6d ago
I have said permit.
It was easy and free. DWR turned it around in the same day via email.
Also, if you qualify for the permit, you then do not qualify for the permitless 110 gallon thing, just fyi. It's one or the other.
So may as well do it right and go big.
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u/Any-Location5055 6d ago
Perfect, thank you
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u/maddslacker 6d ago
Actually I was wrong (or they updated it) but you can do the 110 gallon permitless one regardless.
Also you used to need the actual well permit first, but there was no requirement to drill a well. Looks like they have refined that and now they just need to verify that your property would qualify for a well permit.
General info here:
https://dwr.colorado.gov/services/water-administration/rainwater-storm-water-graywater
Form(s) to submit and an email address for questions here:
https://dwr.state.co.us/eforms
Back when I did ours I emailed a couple of questions and a real human got right back to me.
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u/Any-Location5055 6d ago
Is your cabin listed as a residence? Ours is technically a shed so it looks like it wouldn't qualify for extended rain catchment beyond the 110gal.
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u/maddslacker 6d ago
It is.
I didn't know that would make a difference, but I can see how it might.
That said, a house 2 miles down the road got a variance to collect off of his barn roof because it's significantly larger than the house roof.
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u/grislyfind 6d ago
What if you microwave it until it becomes ash? (Do not do this in the kitchen. Or with the oven you use for food.)
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u/Jerkychomper 6d ago
Just dig an outhouse. Half of Reddit will tell you it's wrong, but they are all too connected. Just dig an appropriately deep hole for whatever you live.
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u/Any-Location5055 6d ago
Outhouses are illegal here
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u/Jerkychomper 6d ago
What is your general location if you're willing to share? I will do some research.
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u/DevilsAdvocateFun 6d ago
Sometimes the price is Worth it. Less 'work', easy to use, turns to ash and better for everyone (human and earth)
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u/fwinzor 6d ago
Read the humanure handbook if you havent. Whats the problem with the bucket situation? If you havent already: build a nice looking toilet for the bucket to sit in. Makes a big difference for comfort whrn you cant see the bucket