Toilet options for remote locations?

[jymbee]

We're considering building a small cabin in a wooded area of our property where a camping trailer used to be located. There is electricity & running water, but no waste facility. Septic is not viable given the terrain so I've started looking into alternate possibilities. Not too enthused about the composting systems I've seen but I've read a bit about systems that grind & pump waste. Someone also mentioned a unit that burned waste to an ash. (?)

Appreciate any info as to what kind of toilet systems suitable for remote locations are out there these days?

 

[TripleR]

It may help to know how much time you will be spending there and number of people.

 

[Soundguy]

i agree.

If this was remote property I visited on the weekend..( hypothetically speaking ) I think I'd get a cheap toilet and a 55g drum.. burry the drum on it's side.. plumb with pvc to top inlet on drum.. other side outlet, put in some bbq grill screen mesh to block solids.. go from there to a few feet of black perfed drain and gravel. drain field can be a 5' strip with gravel around it in one strip.. and just burry tank...

farmers septic tank. just a smaller version of what sets at many houses. fill tank with water.. dump in a box of that septic booster stuf.. and then. um.. 'use' the system to get the ball rolling..

temp too...


make sure it is 70' away from your well.

 

[/pine]

We're considering building a small cabin in a wooded area of our property where a camping trailer used to be located. There is electricity & running water, but no waste facility. Septic is not viable given the terrain so I've started looking into alternate possibilities. Not too enthused about the composting systems I've seen but I've read a bit about systems that grind & pump waste. Someone also mentioned a unit that burned waste to an ash. (?)

Appreciate any info as to what kind of toilet systems suitable for remote locations are out there these days?

I understand you are not too enthused with composting systems but FWIW...I am getting ready to sell one of these models...Envirolet Basic Plus Composting Toilet
scroll to the bottom of the linked page to see what they sell for new....

This unit has been thoroughly cleaned, it was previously used very little....it was in a small cabin that I am in the process of re-habbing and I installed a septic tank and drain-field...

I'm open to any offers

 

[Rock knocker]

Like was said, it all depends on load. A outhouse with a shower going to grey water leach, to more complicated sess pools and septic tanks

 

[mvwicker]

I've used a composting toilet and have nothing but good things to say about them. Instead of flushing, you toss in a scoop of sawdust and turn a crank. The one I used had an electric fan to draw air through the "mass" to dry and deodorize it. Every once in a while the drum needs to be emptied, but it's not even as bad as a cat's litter box because of the dehydration.

They sell well in Canada because there is no plumbing to freeze during the chilly part of the year.

 

[jymbee]

It may help to know how much time you will be spending there and number of people.

Probably be used quite a bit in the warmer months (upstate NY) by visiting family & friends.

 

[jymbee]

i agree.

If this was remote property I visited on the weekend..( hypothetically speaking ) I think I'd get a cheap toilet and a 55g drum.. burry the drum on it's side.. plumb with pvc to top inlet on drum.. other side outlet, put in some bbq grill screen mesh to block solids.. go from there to a few feet of black perfed drain and gravel. drain field can be a 5' strip with gravel around it in one strip.. and just burry tank...

We have one cabin on the property that does have a cesspool. Couldn't get a CO these days but we were grandfathered given it was installed many years ago. Still researching to find info on some of the more modern systems available these days...

 

[jymbee]

I've used a composting toilet and have nothing but good things to say about them. Instead of flushing, you toss in a scoop of sawdust and turn a crank. The one I used had an electric fan to draw air through the "mass" to dry and deodorize it.

For the one composting unit I saw, the fan was one of the biggest issues. It had to run too long and was just too loud. Perhaps others are quieter, but probably still more noise & fuss that I'd like.

 

[vtsnowedin]

It depends on how fussy the women of your family that will be visiting are. Many won't use a traditional out house so you could keep it rough so the ones you don't like will stay away. Unless your way -way out you could rent porta johns when you have lots of company. If you have fussy family that you want to have visit your going to have to spend some money for something that flushes to something out of sight and a shower that doesn't run out of hot water.

 

[ray66v]

A friend has a composting toilet, and he runs the fan for a few hours a day.

Mostly when he is sleeping.

It seems to work fine.

 

[pwright]

We've been thinking about putting a composting toilet in our pole barn and have been wondering what the downsides are as well.

 

[tcreeley]

If you are not using it heavily- install a septic tank- large one, and get it pumped out every so often. Then you can have regular plumbing. Camps on a lake will do this when there is not enough land far enough from the lake for a leach field.
If you literally cannot get a hole dug into the ground to install the tank- people often install holding tanks in the structure with a pump to pump it into the tank on a higher grade. \
Low cost way is an out house -state parks have the designs down well., or the composting toilet. Years ago I considered a composting toilet from Mother Earth News- build your own model. Never did, but the design is simple.

 

[Rock knocker]

What kind of diet is common amoung your friends and family? Cheese, beef jerky and power bars? Or roughage and whole grains?

 

[ccdck20hst]

If they are still made, an incinerating toilet, that burns the stuff, powered by electricity or using propane to burn the stuff, is another possible option. My family used a Destroilet in the early 1970s before we had water hooked up to a house in Vermont. It ran on propane (or natural gas can't recall now - we had two very large tanks) and we never had to worry about water freezing in pipes in the winter. It worked fine with a slight odor from the burn. Fortunately we did not live in this house year round - and after several years we had traditional flush toilets. Tractor on!

 

[Paddy]

jymbee,

Call your local health dept and see if a holding tank is legal. We had a camper hooked up to one and even ran the shower to it. But in your case, I'd run all gray water to another location. With just the toilet, 1.5 gal type, it would take a long time to fill

Depending on your budget, mound systems go in nearly any land type.

 

[Jstpssng]

If you are not using it heavily- install a septic tank- large one, and get it pumped out every so often. Then you can have regular plumbing. Camps on a lake will do this when there is not enough land far enough from the lake for a leach field.
If you literally cannot get a hole dug into the ground to install the tank- people often install holding tanks in the structure with a pump to pump it into the tank on a higher grade. \
Low cost way is an out house -state parks have the designs down well., or the composting toilet. Years ago I considered a composting toilet from Mother Earth News- build your own model. Never did, but the design is simple.

Can you still get a permit for a holding tank? The problem with them was that people woild get tired of paying to have them pumped, so just poked a hole in the side. Then were literally swimming in their own...
You know what I mean.

 

[Western]

i agree.

If this was remote property I visited on the weekend..( hypothetically speaking ) I think I'd get a cheap toilet and a 55g drum.. burry the drum on it's side.. plumb with pvc to top inlet on drum.. other side outlet, put in some bbq grill screen mesh to block solids.. go from there to a few feet of black perfed drain and gravel. drain field can be a 5' strip with gravel around it in one strip.. and just burry tank...

farmers septic tank. just a smaller version of what sets at many houses. fill tank with water.. dump in a box of that septic booster stuf.. and then. um.. 'use' the system to get the ball rolling..

temp too...


make sure it is 70' away from your well.

we did this on a deer lease and it worked for 3 people for over 4 years. Buried 2 55 gal drums after we cut hole all through the top halves. This worked for us , but we where only ther on weekends, o it may not work well for extended stays

 

[Soundguy]

we did this on a deer lease and it worked for 3 people for over 4 years. Buried 2 55 gal drums after we cut hole all through the top halves. This worked for us , but we where only ther on weekends, o it may not work well for extended stays

correct. it's a limited use system... a micro septic tank..

 

[grsthegreat]

Shovel and the New York Times (or other useless rag) :laughing: