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Old 07-24-2020, 08:10 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by Ronn View Post
I understand your frustration Daniel, BUT I have learned tons on this forum and hearing opinions for and against helps with my education (I believe that is one of the purposes of the forum). Not everyone experiences the world the same way and what is right for some doesn't necessarily translate to what is best for all.

I am unfamiliar with compost toilets and have learned things already due to your post.

You are not alone, one of my earliest post involved buying a 2 wheel drive pickup vs a 4 wheel drive. Either there were too few two wheel drive pickup owners or they didn't speak up. Many of the answers involved how the 4 wheel drive saved someone from getting stuck or from needing the tow (but how do they know that a 2 wheel with proper tires and locking rear end would have gotten stuck?). I bought a 2 wheel drive with the anti-lock differential, put Nokian All Weather Tires (All Weather, not All Season tires) have had it through 2 winters in Minnesota plus numerous campsites. Both of us drive it in the winter (we haven't added any weight into the box) and we haven't gotten even close to being stuck. Works well for us but I know the majority want 4 wheel drive for varying reasons.

Your topic is a good one for this forum, hopefully it doesn't get off track like some have recently. Oh no, did I just take this off track?
Thanks Ronn! Not frustrated. It’s educational on many levels to read people’s reactions. Old habits die hard!
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Old 07-24-2020, 08:12 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by PGDriver View Post
I’m sure you can order the trailer with no toilet or ask to have it not installed and save it in case you change your mind.
One thing there really isn’t any extra hassle in dealing with the black tank as you still have to dump your grey tank so it’s really just another handle to pull.
If you dump the black first then the grey your hose will also be fairly clean.

Just some food for thought.
Thanks Doug for sharing your experience.
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Old 07-24-2020, 08:16 PM   #23
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Hey! Thanks for your reply. There are lots of great videos on yu tube and other posts here. Just hit search at the top and put in COMPOSTING TOILET.
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Old 07-24-2020, 08:19 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by padlin View Post
Daniel, you can do a search of composting toilet using the google search tool at the top of the page, see attached.

Here's one thread from the search.https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...ion-12866.html
Thanks!
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Old 07-24-2020, 08:23 PM   #25
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Ideally, it would finish composting on-site. If that’s not an option, there are plenty of RV waste receptacles. Adding extra fluids complicates the process and diminishes the clean water remaining in the world. In a way similar to using Reverse Osmosis. Cleaning water by using up water. Fine for the rich, but what about the rest of the world? I am willing to shoulder some responsibility for my waste and the water I am trying to protect.
Waste water treatment is designed to deal with human waste. The water can and is used as it comes out of treatment plants as irrigation water. There is no water crisis in this country caused by flush toilets in houses or RVs.

What is a crisis in this country is solid waste disposal. We are building huge mountains of garbage. Adding composting material and fecal matter from your toilet to that is environmentally irresponsible. Don't fool yourself into believing your helping the environment one bit, by diverting your fecal matter from the system designed to process it, adding additional material to it, and putting it in a landfill.

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Old 07-24-2020, 08:24 PM   #26
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Sorry!! I’m actually interested in hearing from people who have done it. If this is a good system to consider, I think everyone would be interested in hearing about it. I’m pretty sure there are some folks on this forum who have done it. Maybe do a search to see if there are any past threads discussing this topic??
Thanks salmo7000. Good advice! Im searching the forum and connecting with others.
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Old 07-24-2020, 08:35 PM   #27
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You might also check the Oliver trailer forum to get some information. They offer the composting toilet as an option so there are bound to be more users with experience. They use the black tank for extra grey water capacity which is great for boondocking. I don't think Escape would do that for you and I don't know how easy it would be to do or have done on a 19.
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Old 07-24-2020, 09:13 PM   #28
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For those interested in learning more about how composting/urine diverting toilets work and how they help:

https://www.insidescience.org/news/i...osting-toilets
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Old 07-24-2020, 10:42 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by DanielK View Post
Thanks. I’ll figure it out. I’m not the first.

Sorry I wasn't clear, Daniel. Contact ETI directly to get the best, most accurate answer. Good luck in your endeavors.
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Old 07-25-2020, 07:17 AM   #30
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For those interested in learning more about how composting/urine diverting toilets work and how they help:

https://www.insidescience.org/news/i...osting-toilets
Nothing in that article says it is okay to throw your fecal matter with added composting bulk in the trash which adds it to a landfill. I said right up front they were good for cabins on a property where you can actually compost the waste.

The problem with installing them in a mobile environment like a van or an travel trailer is you don't compost the waste. You end up adding unnecessary bulk to the landfill.

According to your article 'cities rely on wastewater treatment plants to process sewage. Such plants are usually fairly good at removing parasites, said Rose. However, approximately 800 cities in the U.S. have combined sewer systems that are designed to overflow in heavy rains. When that happens, they spill at least some raw sewage into lakes and rivers.' The problem isn't too much sewage in these systems, the problem is they are combined with the storm sewers and try to process rain water with the sewage. Using a composting toilet isn't going to solve or even help the problem of a too much rain water.

Adding fecal matter and composting bulk to landfills is NOT environmentally friendly.
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Old 07-25-2020, 08:11 AM   #31
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Originally Posted by TTMartin View Post
Nothing in that article says it is okay to throw your fecal matter with added composting bulk in the trash which adds it to a landfill. I said right up front they were good for cabins on a property where you can actually compost the waste.

The problem with installing them in a mobile environment like a van or an travel trailer is you don't compost the waste. You end up adding unnecessary bulk to the landfill.

According to your article 'cities rely on wastewater treatment plants to process sewage. Such plants are usually fairly good at removing parasites, said Rose. However, approximately 800 cities in the U.S. have combined sewer systems that are designed to overflow in heavy rains. When that happens, they spill at least some raw sewage into lakes and rivers.' The problem isn't too much sewage in these systems, the problem is they are combined with the storm sewers and try to process rain water with the sewage. Using a composting toilet isn't going to solve or even help the problem of a too much rain water.

Adding fecal matter and composting bulk to landfills is NOT environmentally friendly.
We have a composting toilet at our cabin , it’s called “ THE OUTHOUSE “
Even though it works well , I have no intentions of hauling it along when we go camping
Crapping in a bag and throwing it in the closest dumpster does not make me an environmentalist !!
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Old 07-25-2020, 08:34 AM   #32
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Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
We have a composting toilet at our cabin , it’s called “ THE OUTHOUSE “
Hey, we too have one of these on our rec land. A great thing to have as we often have lots of folks out there, many younger who just tent camp. It gets moved to a new location every 5-8 years, something easy to do.

And yes, a good thing but not very portable.
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Old 07-25-2020, 09:24 AM   #33
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Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
Hey, we too have one of these on our rec land. A great thing to have as we often have lots of folks out there, many younger who just tent camp. It gets moved to a new location every 5-8 years, something easy to do.

And yes, a good thing but not very portable.
We cooked a Booya on the first Saturday in October for over 15 years
We served Booya and beer to a crowd of over 200 some years
The outhouse was a real asset and eliminated a lot of foot traffic through our cabin
I lined the 8 ft deep hole with plastic 55 gallon barrels with drain holes in the bottom so that instead of moving the outhouse every so often, we could have it pumped
Still working great after 30 years
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Old 07-25-2020, 09:50 AM   #34
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Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
We cooked a Booya on the first Saturday in October for over 15 years
We served Booya and beer to a crowd of over 200 some years
The outhouse was a real asset and eliminated a lot of foot traffic through our cabin
I lined the 8 ft deep hole with plastic 55 gallon barrels with drain holes in the bottom so that instead of moving the outhouse every so often, we could have it pumped
Still working great after 30 years
Had to look up Booya. Stew, I like that.

Yeah, we just go near 5' deep, and 3 1/2' square. It does get some firepit ashes dumped in once and a while too, though this adds very little volume.
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Old 07-25-2020, 10:44 AM   #35
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Originally Posted by TTMartin View Post
Nothing in that article says it is okay to throw your fecal matter with added composting bulk in the trash which adds it to a landfill. I said right up front they were good for cabins on a property where you can actually compost the waste.

The problem with installing them in a mobile environment like a van or an travel trailer is you don't compost the waste. You end up adding unnecessary bulk to the landfill.

According to your article 'cities rely on wastewater treatment plants to process sewage. Such plants are usually fairly good at removing parasites, said Rose. However, approximately 800 cities in the U.S. have combined sewer systems that are designed to overflow in heavy rains. When that happens, they spill at least some raw sewage into lakes and rivers.' The problem isn't too much sewage in these systems, the problem is they are combined with the storm sewers and try to process rain water with the sewage. Using a composting toilet isn't going to solve or even help the problem of a too much rain water.

Adding fecal matter and composting bulk to landfills is NOT environmentally friendly.
We have a city in California , Santa Monica ,that every time it rains a bit the sewage flows into the ocean and you are warned to stay out of the water because of high bacteria count . If it isn’t raining it is a great surfing spot . Little did I know and they didn’t tell you then ,I spent so much of my time there in that water as a teenager . The Santa Monica pier .
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Old 07-25-2020, 11:02 AM   #36
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Here is a good article about making drinking water from sewage.

https://www.choice.com.au/food-and-d...drinking-water
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Old 07-25-2020, 11:07 AM   #37
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Actually composting is good, putting compostable waste in a landfill is not.

This is addressing yard waste, which has the same problems as the typical bulk materials added to a composting toilet.

YARD WASTE: MORE OF AN IMPACT THAN YOU THINK

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF YARD WASTE IN LANDFILLS?
OUR LANDFILLS ARE RUNNING OUT OF SPACE.
Yard Waste is compostable and reusable. When you send it to a landfill, it takes up valuable space and is buried along with other trash. This increases the production of harmful chemicals and slows the natural decomposition process. These released chemicals negatively impact the environment. Here’s why.

HARMFUL EMISSIONS IN LANDFILLS
The breakdown of yard debris in landfill conditions creates methane emissions and leachate. Simply put, methane gas is one of the most potent greenhouse gasses. It is a strong greenhouse gas that is flammable, explosive, and nearly undetectable. Both nature and human activity create methane, but its “high global warming potential” is 21 times higher than carbon dioxide. This gives experts enough cause for concern.

Leachate occurs when water flows through harmful substances and becomes contaminated. As it spreads, leachate quickly increases ground and water pollution. As a result, the “footprint” of the landfill increases to epic proportions. Modern landfills are designed to combat leachate, but some pollution is unavoidable.
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Old 07-25-2020, 02:33 PM   #38
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Originally Posted by TTMartin View Post
Nothing in that article says it is okay to throw your fecal matter with added composting bulk in the trash which adds it to a landfill. I said right up front they were good for cabins on a property where you can actually compost the waste.

The problem with installing them in a mobile environment like a van or an travel trailer is you don't compost the waste. You end up adding unnecessary bulk to the landfill.

According to your article 'cities rely on wastewater treatment plants to process sewage. Such plants are usually fairly good at removing parasites, said Rose. However, approximately 800 cities in the U.S. have combined sewer systems that are designed to overflow in heavy rains. When that happens, they spill at least some raw sewage into lakes and rivers.' The problem isn't too much sewage in these systems, the problem is they are combined with the storm sewers and try to process rain water with the sewage. Using a composting toilet isn't going to solve or even help the problem of a too much rain water.

Adding fecal matter and composting bulk to landfills is NOT environmentally friendly.
Did I say it was ok to dump fecal matter in the trash? Did I encourage others to engage in this practice?
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Old 07-25-2020, 03:11 PM   #39
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If I am going to make a major change/ modification to my Escape and investing my time and hard earned money , I expect that the change will improve my camping experience and render some sort of tangible benefit . From what I can decipher this mod is more of a feel good project
I’ve seen the affects of people dumping their porta potty in campground toilets and showers stalls or throwing their uncomposted human waste in the closest dumpster .
Composting toilets have a bad reputation / track record and they’ve justifiably earned it .
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Old 07-25-2020, 04:13 PM   #40
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You might also check the Oliver trailer forum to get some information. They offer the composting toilet as an option so there are bound to be more users with experience. They use the black tank for extra grey water capacity which is great for boondocking. I don't think Escape would do that for you and I don't know how easy it would be to do or have done on a 19.

This is incorrect, the black tank is "uphill" from the gray tank. Without some serious plumbing work, there is no way to divert water into it since all the plumbing drain connections go into the gray tank. Although it has been discussed many times, I do not think any owner has actually taken the time to do this mod. One did go so far as to remove (demolish) the black tank to gain more storage space. Oliver will not leave the black tank out of the build even if you opt for the composting toilet. It would be (virtually) impossible to install after the fact if someone wanted to change to a regular toilet.
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