C head Composting Toilet Review

[WanderLoveJosh]

So two weeks ago we got our c head composting toilet, which in my opinion has been a big improvement over the basic bucket system. Now it might not seem like much of a difference besides the separation of the solids and liquids, but it actually has a churning system, that will bury the solid waste after use and not have to add so much medium after every use causing it to fill up much faster. 

Now first I wanna talk about the design, it involves one thing I love.. Simplicity. There is a bunch of noooks and crannies so cleaning it is very simple. Removing the liquids and solids contains are really easy with a simple lift of the hatch and emptying is very quick and easy. The liquids container is nothing more than a gallon water jug, so you don't have to worry about your container getting caked up after a while, you can just recycle the jug and put in a new one for a very low cost. I'd say we fill ours up almost daily, probably would be more but I'm a neandrothol and I pee outside any chance I get. There's also a little slit to see the container level so you'll know when it's about time to empty it.

The solids container is just a 5 gallon bucket that has been modified, again very easy to remove and empty and the churning system actually buries the waste very well. Now we have just gone with the recommend amount of turns on the handle which is around 20, I know that seems like a lot but it really isn't and you can't see anything after.
When it comes to smell after pooping, it does linger for a bit, but we also do not have a vent hose connected to ours for numerous reasons. But it's not unbearable, and it doesn't last long. We have been ursing pine saw dust, we plan to try cocoir soon, and we have found that we don't like peatmoss, so the saw dust seems to be doing the trick for now.

Now if you're a guy with a alpha ego you won't like this toilet, because guess what, you do have to sit down to pee to use it, you may be able to figure out some way to use it standing, I don't see how tho. But if you can get past your ego and just realize that it's nothing  a big deal to sit to pee then you're good to go, which peeing when you poop is sitting down to pee so you've technically already done it before.

When asked why we chose this particular toilet over some of the other ones, there's a few factors, one we are simple people and this just seemed like such a simple system and it is, I'd say two would be the price, this particular model was around $560 I think, and compare that to other one that are in the $900 to $1100 range, we just couldn't justify spending much more for something, that we really just wanted a system that could separate the liquid and solid, as we found with the bucket system, it's not preferred to mix both in one, and we were having to empty it more often, and the smell, so yeah the c head seem to make more sense for us.

They were many people who said the reason they didn't get the c head was because you cannot throw toilet paper into the waste container the way you can some of the others, while this is true, with the c head toilet paper will not get buried by the churning system, so yes I will admit that is a downside, however our solution is simple and we have a separate little container that we found for $4 that we use for toilet paper, and then just put it in the trash when it's full, and we have had no issues with odors. So yeah the whole toilet paper thing isn't really that big of a deal at all.

All in all, I'd say we are satisfied, for the price and simplicity of the system I would definitely recommend it if you're planning on composting, or just
do not wanna deal with the black tank, I feel this is much quicker and less gross than the black tank. Hope this helped some of you and sorry for the lengthy post. lol
[size=x-large][size=xx-large][size=small][size=x-large][size=xx-large][video=youtube]

 

[BradKW]

Thanks for the review! I've been looking at both C-head and Nature's Head and wondered why the price difference...this is the first time I've seen that you can't put TP into a C-head. Not sure if that will be a deciding factor or not, but certainly good to know....

 

[TMG51]

I enjoyed your review and the attention you put into editing your video, but every time I see one of these things I appreciate my bag-and-chuck method that much more. I dunno... I don't want to churn my solids... nor empty... nor clean...

One time, I sold a toilet auger to a woman, and she asked me how it worked. I replied, "Just like a cake mixer, only you don't lick the paddle when you're finished." That about summarizes my feelings on anything that might 'churn' my poo. I'll stick with a bag or a cat hole.

But thanks for the review! I know there are people here that prefer a system like this.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

where do you dump this thing isn't it like gooey and thick with no liquid, how do you get it out of there and what do you do with it if you are on the road, I can see if you have a garden and a compost heap, I saw that Almost There has one of these and they look that they are good idea, and she says her;s doesn't smell. A chemical toilet you can just empty down a toilet do you have to scoop this one out with TMG51's ladle then wash it with a toilet brush ???? or am I missing something.

 

[Almost There]

where do you dump this thing isn't it like gooey and thick with no liquid, how do you get it out of there and what do you do with it if you are on the road, I can see if you have a garden and a compost heap, I saw that Almost There has one of these and they look that they are good idea, and she says her;s doesn't smell.  A chemical toilet you can just empty down a toilet do you have to scoop this one out with TMG51's ladle then wash it with a toilet brush ???? or am I missing something.

After more than 3 months of continuous use I can still say that I am impressed with the C-Head.

And yes, you're missing something.

No the solids aren't gooey and thick, not unless you've have a lot of diarrhea. Then it can get gooey... :dodgy:

The pine bedding that I use basically encapsulates the solid waste.

I use pine bedding rather than sawdust. I buy the cubes at W/M in the pet section. It's sold as hamster bedding. Pine is recommended over cedar because it absorbs better.

There is no residual smell. The only odor is immediately after depositing solid waste and then less smell than the bathroom at home.

Emptying the liquid container is as simple as pouring out the contents. I can put the gallon container in a shopping bag or any kind of pack and take it in to a toilet. Depending on where I am and what the rules are, urine can be disposed of in several ways.

Emptying the solids- the instruction book suggests having a second 5 gallon bucket and the C-Head comes with a gamma lid assembly to go on the second bucket. The initial solid container is emptied in to the secondary bucket and disposed of.

In the northern wilderness where I spend the summer I would have no hesitation about digging it in to a large cathole. In the desert, this is, of course, not possible. Obviously this would need to be done with consideration to proximity to watercourses, etc. but it would be no different than a thunderbox that  we find in the wilderness camping areas.

Aside from the ease of use and the lack of smell, the C-Head is low operating cost and environmentally friendly. I pay nothing for chemicals, never have to pay dump fees and my only cost is the occasional replacement gallong water jug and a package of pine bedding at less than $4.00 every 6 weeks or so.

 

[TMG51]

In the northern wilderness where I spend the summer I would have no hesitation about digging it in to a large cathole. In the desert, this is, of course, not possible.

I've been told that when in the desert, the place to dig for this is in the bottom of a wash (loose silt). I haven't done it, but that's what I've been told.

 

[Txjaybird]

The "Humanure Handbook"  is available on Amazon..  It's in it's  3rd edition.......also has a Ebook....If it's just googled it also shows the Loveable Loo which came about after the book was published due to requests and inquires by readers. 

 Basically its a wooden box with legs and a  standard toilet seat and a 5 gallon bucket using sawdust or straw or other organic matter as composting materials.  Full build details are in the book.  If you purchase at Amazon please use the CRVL link.

This is one thing I can afford to do now to prepare for off grid living........my lumber is free due to my "road side" shopping habits.

Various size "food grade' buckets and lids  are often given away or sold cheaply [$1.00 at my local wal mart ] at bakeries, donut shops,  cafes etc.  5 gallon pickle buckets are almost impossible to kill, I ran right over one with a pickup and just scratched it.  They come in all sizes and are very strong... I use them for dry food storage...dog food...and other things...wal mart here has rectangular  ones that don't waste floor space when stacking like round ones do.   

 Don't get'um mixed up!

                                                Happy Trails      TJB and Queenie The Wonder Dog  [ I wonder if all dogs snore?]

 

[Marie]

Ok. If you live in a house and just go on short trips, you can bring the contents of your sawdust toilet home and compost it. If you are in the northern forests you can dig a hole and bury it.

I might have missed it, but has anyone said what to actually do with "it" when you are In towns? Cities? Desert? Non-forest areas?

 

[WanderLoveJosh]

The waste container stays very dry, the waste just becomes like clumps, it becomes hidden such as cat poop in a litter box.

There are a few options on what to do with it, One could bury the compost, start a compost pile if they aren't mobile, tho there are many places during travel that may have a compost pile. Or if so wished you could just put it in a garbage bag and put it in the trash, its not different that people who dispose of diapers(adult and child), colostomy bags, and such.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

so it roles out of the bucket the mixture being mostly sawdust ish???, I had this image of oatmeal cookie mix that had to be ladled out then have to scrape the edges and corners with a big rinse needed.

 

[TMG51]

I had this image of oatmeal cookie mix that had to be ladled out then have to scrape the edges and corners with a big rinse needed.

Maybe just after enchilada night.

 

[WanderLoveJosh]

Nope its just pours right out, and is def nothing like oatmeal.. lol ewww. if that were the case it def wouldn't be worth it

 

[Canine]

I'm sorry to be so graphic but what about skid marks on the inside of the toilet if there is no water to wash it down?

 

[abnorm]

It's a "bucket"......not a bowl...................

 

[deadwood]

I did a lot of research before purchasing a composting toilet. I went the other route and spent more then I wanted to and bought the Separett Villa. So I would say this is the deluxe version toilet. I really liked the idea of a composting toilet but some of the more popular models had drawbacks that I couldn't get over.

What I really like about the Separett is that you don't add anything to it. No peat moss, no coco coir. It is basically a diverting toilet with a bucket for the solids part. It has a fan to exhaust out any smells and dry out the solids. But because there is no churning or adding anything to it the use of it is super simple. Anything can be thrown in the toilet because when it starts to get full I just lift the lid and pull the bag out and toss it in a dumpster somewhere. It can do it's composting thing in a landfill somewhere. So any type of TP. Feminine products. You name it you can just toss it in and not worry. Then I just put a new bag in and it's good to go.

For the liquids part it doesn't use a bottle. It has a hose that comes out the back and that goes into my gray water tank. I never have to worry about pulling a bottle of urine out and finding a place to dispose of it. It just get's emptied when the gray water tank is full and gets dumped.

As a side note. The composting toilet doesn't smell at all. It does have a fan running all the time to dry things out. But it's just a slight background noise at this point. Like the fridge cycling on and off. I don't notice it anymore.

So no reason to ever find a dump station to empty a black tank. No emptying the liquids bottle. No churning a handle. No setup of having to put some sort of material in the bucket to start. The ability to put anything in the toilet. These are the reasons that got me to shell out some serious cash for a toilet. I know this is the cheaper RV living forum but in this case I didn't go cheap.

In the end I think I paid about $1300 for the Separett toilet. But dang!!!! This thing exceeded my expectations. I don't have any regrets spending the money on this thing. I know a cheap bucket would do somewhat the same thing. For a lot cheaper... But I built a wetbath and in the for or against having a bathroom in a van (I have a high roof transit) I'm all for it. It takes up space but has been well worth it to me and that's what matters most. If it was only ever going to be me in the van I might have gone a simpler route. But my daughter goes on trips with me as well as a few female friends will go on some trips. So having something that resembled a normal rv bathroom was a priority.

 

[BradKW]

Sounds like a nice build Deadwood...you should start a thread and post some pics.

My bathroom build is coming up and I'm always interested to see DIY wet baths...not all that common.

 

[VanKitten]

I purchased the C-head after reading all the reviews.

But, because I have a 3 1/2 inch step up in that area..I had to get the "shorty". It does not use standard 1 gallon jugs. So, for me I will have to empty this more often. And figure a way to clean it out too. Otherwise, the operation will be the same

I also have a vent to the exterior. As luck would have it..the vent was already in the right place!

 

[deadwood]

Sounds like a nice build Deadwood...you should start a thread and post some pics.

My bathroom build is coming up and I'm always interested to see DIY wet baths...not all that common.

I keep thinking I'll get a thread of my build started. I definitely have good intentions too. Then I start working on the build and get distracted building the darn thing. I'll try and get some pictures together of what I've done so far.

 

[SoulRaven]

Youtube has several videos on home-built separating toilets, they look inexpensive and relatively easy to construct. Not the "fancy" housing of one of the "store-bought" but decent. (box, funnel, bottle and a bucket)

 

[jottoh12]

You have hit the nail on the head MarieI.
Many composting toilets today are not stirred enough, kept warm enough or given enough time to actually compost. Many many mobile dwellers are dumping there human waste at grocery store parking lots or dumpsters and give it little thought.  I do not thing the powers that be will put up with ti indefinitely. While my Biolet was designed to need little help to compost, I find I must manually stir the darn thing to get some sort of successful compost. My brothers natures head is too small and must be dumped far too soon to allow good composting.
This C-head may well be the best affordable mobile composting toilet I have ever seen yet I have only been on wheels for three decades. Sure its just a batch toilet with a urine diverter that looks good but it has enough volume AND a stirring mechanism that looks very effective and should make it all work well.
I am unsure how this toilet has been out for years and I am just now hearing about it. I need to visit cheaprvliving more often. My bad...