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Composting Toilet


Properly run these sanitation devices produce very little inappropriate smell. They do require lots of oxygen and composting temperatures of 90-140 degrees Fahrenheit. In colder climates the oxygen tends to reduce the temperature unless there is some way to use warm or hot air to aerate the fecal material. Additionally, there must be a way to keep the material mixed up. A leech field, or small septic tank or privy must be used in addition to handle gray water (bathtub, washer, sink) and even a certain amount of urine. There are many varieties of composting toilets. If you have some electricity they can be very useful. You'll need about 20-40 watts of steady power to run them.

Over a period of time a composting toilet takes human liquid and solid waste and transforms it into sterile usable humus for the garden. The most famous of these is a Clivis Mulstrum, which is made in Australia. This is a big fiberglass tank with different spots. They usually don't work exactly as planned - they need extra work in stirring the tank, and almost all need to keep the tank temperatures up in the very warm range or the bacteria will tend to die! Tank Temperatures are kept up with lots of polyurethane insulation and/or a small heater such as a light bulb. Many have a bypass fan that you turn on 20 seconds before you use it so the odors contained within don't blow into your room.

Dump a little bit of lime in after each use. Lime is very cheap, and easily stored. What's more it will be something that is easily procured in many localities. This is one of the many thing that you need to look for before choosing an Aftertime locality. One can even build a composting toilet out of reinforced concrete. However a poorly designed model will cause the compost not to slide properly and solidify in the tank and have to be chipped out with a chisel and hammer. Because of this possibility, hand-made models must have various doors to get into them.

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