Cassette Toilets: Pros & Cons?

[VanForNow]

As often happens, efforts to research this subject result in disputes and contradictions. From those of you who have *personal experience,* what are the pros & cons of cassette toilets?

To get the ball rolling, here are some topics for possible discussion:

Do cassette toilets stink, especially when emptying them? The Fit RV vlog says yes, other users say no. Was the Fit RV comment due to bad technique caused by inexperience, for example?

The We're the Russos vlog likes cassettes, but only uses it for liquid waste. Why? I'm not clear on this.

Can a cassette toilet be used for sold waste exclusively, while segregating liquid waste, in the manner of a composting toilet? Or will using it only for solid waste result in a "poop pyramid" which is difficult or impossible to flush?

 

[QinReno]

Would you say exactly what you mean by "cassette" toilet? RVs usually have self-contained systems, don't they? Meaning flush toilets, holding tanks, etc. (as an aside I was playing with my poop system today, LOL, will start another thread on that).

So, this ...  https://www.amazon.com/Thetford-32811-Cassette-Toilet/dp/B009E2S7FU
or this ... https://www.amazon.com/Thetford-Porta-Portable-Toilet-92856/dp/B006WPQN2G

 

[VanForNow]

Would you say exactly what you mean by "cassette" toilet? 

A cassette toilet is a type of portable toilet, somewhat similar to Thetford-style portapottis. But cassettes are on wheels and can often be rolled away from an RV and dumped into a standard restroom flush toilet. In contrast, portapottis usually have to be dumped at an RV dump station.

 

[PattySprinter]

I think liquids only bc the video reviews I have seen the solids are unpleasant to dispose of - I recently watched a video where they switched to composting and were adamant about how much they preferred that method.

 

[abnorm]

A cassette toilet is a type of portable toilet, somewhat similar to Thetford-style portapottis. But cassettes are on wheels and can often be rolled away from an RV and dumped into a standard restroom flush toilet.

That's a new one for me...……….a Thetford IS a Cassette...…….A BRAND link ?

 

[QinReno]

It was a new one on me too. The best I can figure is the seat is basically built in, but the waste tank is detachable and portable. Why would an RV even have one of these, since all or most RVs already have self-contained black water tanks?

 

[Almost There]

Do cassette toilets stink, especially when emptying them? The Fit RV vlog says yes, other users say no. Was the Fit RV comment due to bad technique caused by inexperience, for example?

Can a cassette toilet be used for sold waste exclusively, while segregating liquid waste, in the manner of a composting toilet? Or will using it only for solid waste result in a "poop pyramid" which is difficult or impossible to flush?

I had to google 'cassette toilets' to see what was being talked about.

The only difference between a portapotti and cassette toilet is that the toilet is permanently mounted on a cassette toilet where a portapottie is not. They both come apart and both have tanks that you have to take to either a bathroom or a dump station. Thetford has also added wheels because a full 5 gallon holding tank will weigh well over 40 lbs which is more than most people like to carry, especially when it's full of human waste. The portapotti tanks I've used were smaller so they weren't that heavy.

I've used portapotties since the mid 70's, had a Class A with large holding tanks and now use a separating toilet (C-Head) in my van/RV.

Do the holding tanks smell, especially when you're dumping them...hell  yes they smell. They smell because you've mixed urine and feces along with chemicals. It doesn't matter whether you're using a portapottie, a cassette toilet or RV holding tanks.

'We're the Russos' are using the cassette for liquid only because then they're not mixing solid and liquid waste so there is a reduction in smell. However, it means that they are [probably staying somewhere where there are bathrooms that they can use for when they need to. I don't know about you but that's not the life I want to lead - always having to have a public toilet somewhere near so I don't do anything but pee in my own toilet. Either that or they're using a second toilet/bucket as well as the cassette toilet. The former is very restricting IMO and the latter still means that they have both solid and liquid waste to dispose of.

You could technically I suppose, only use the cassette for solid waste but you still have to add water and chemicals so that the solids become liquid for the purpose of dumping the tank. It would eliminate some of the smell but not all .

Disposing of our waste is a little messy and smelly no matter how we go about it. It's just the nature of the beast!!

 

[QinReno]

Disposing of our waste is a little messy and smelly no matter how we go about it. It's just the nature of the beast!!

And even more fun when you poop in a bucket the Bob way. The truth is, there is "no good way" to deal with a plastic bag full of poop, no matter what anybody says.

Other than that, AT, I think you kind of answered OP's question. The cassette is just as much PITA to deal with as any other method. If #1 and #2 are mixed, then it will always be exceedingly smelly, which is the major reason that bucket poopers are always told to use a separate pee bottle. Dealing with poop is the #1 bugaboo of vanlife.

 

[maki2]

The focus of this group being for persons who often can't afford to purchase expensive built out custom campers it is not surprising that many of the participants in the forum are not familiar with the cassette toilets. They are not the most affordable of toilet options available for persons on a tight budget.

Dometic is a company that has had a long history in the European camper equipment market as well as in other countries outside of the USA. While you might not be familiar with the cassette toilets they are not a new product in countries outside of the USA.

The cassette toilet system has been the standard in European RVs for quite some time. Their RVs are typically much smaller units, more along the lines of the smaller class Bs in this country. That has to do with fuel cost and also all those narrow old roads in the European countryside. Modern camper vans often do not have a lot of space underneath for large holding tanks hence the popularity of the cassette system.
They are essentially a hybrid, a fixed toilet seat and shroud but a removable waste container. There is venting for the toilet. The system might also have some extra options to enable convenient flushing such as electric controlled flushing. The water for the flushing is plumbed into the rest of the RVs water supply as is done in many Class A, B and C RVs. So other than having a removable waste tank they function much the same as other built in toilets in RVs. Those features plus limited competition in the market place is keeping the cost high.

Waste tank smell is a problem that can be addressed by additives to the tank. There are many new eco friendly products on the market that kill the odors but don't use the old types of toilet chemicals that never did work well for controlling odor or breaking down solid waste. I am somewhat familiar with them because I am in a marine based commnunity where there are many thousands of boats supported by very good marine supply stores that have large sections in the store devoted to waste and plumbing systems and even some stores that are completely devoted to waste disposal systems. When using the newer eco friendly waste digester products I have not experienced bad odors when emptying or using portable toilets. Unfortunately for many low income persons these newer treatments are much more expensive than they would hope for. If you want to find them go to a good marine supply store such as Fisheries Supply in Seattle. They have employees who hear the reports back on what works and what does not work as there are many persons who live full time on boats among their customers.

 

[RoamerRV428]

heck yea when dumping a cassette black tank it will smell
diff. is in an rv holding tank you keep the valve closed until you attach the hose and put in sewer, pull tank open and let'er rip and smell is contained in that hose....where as the cassette tank is portable, hand held and most people dump directly into the 'useable' disposable area, like into a vault toilet, a flush toilet or whatever and yes you will be smelling that big nasty smell directly in your face.

I think all in all we have to face how we want disposal to be for each of us, what we can handle, how we can face that dump that will have to happen. You are dealing with human waste and we all have our 'best option' that suits us better than another LOL come on here, best way to truly know what works best for you personally is to research like crazy from youtubers who have tried all diff. solutions. That is the best one can do when it comes down to how do you want to deal with this situation.


best of luck finding what suits you best!

 

[QinReno]

maki2, thanks for the good info.

 

[LoupGarou]

I’m going on two years using a cassette toilet. It has served me well in that time. You need to empty them out, you can’t let the contents stew for weeks. I prefer to dump it at vault toilets or at campground dumping stations, not in conventional toilets.

I’m good at water conservation, if I have some gray water left over after cleaning up, into the cassette toilet it goes. Water is key to keeping the smell down.

 

[lenny flank]

In general, it's not a good idea to mix pee and poop. Pee is full of nitrates, which are bacteria fertilizer. So when you mix them, the bacteria in the poop have a party, and voila--pewwwww.



Since I urban-camp and use the plastic-bucket method (though only for emergencies--I don't think I've used it more than 5-6 times in the past 4 years), I dispose of my poop immediately upon deposit.

 

[Rainier70]

I have a smaller Porta Potty toilet rather than a cassette, but some of the issues are the same.  Just as an explanation of how mine is used... I seldom mix urine in, but I do try to keep enough water in so that the residue a solution.

What I have found is the the chemicals you use are key to the smell issue.  I researched what treatment plants use and one of the chemicals I came up with is a solution of Calcium nitrate fertilizer...  Not ammonium nitrate.  The calcium nitrate encourages the bacteria use the nitrate rather than releasing hydrogen sulfide gas.  It along with an oxidizer worked really well.  But with more reading and experimenting I found that adding a small amount of "Happy Camper" treatment makes it as near odor free as you can get.  

I haven't tried the Happy Camper stuff by itself, but I think it will work great.  It lasts a long time as for my 2.5 gal I only use a half a teaspoon.

Here is some info that I wrote down on how these treatments work:

1.        Calcium nitate fertilizer    Add a nonionic surfactant (dawn or sprayer surfactant)    --- feeds the bacteria with nitrate so they produce odorless nitrogen gas instead of hydrogen sulfide. (Brands..Odorlos  and Eco Smart)  
2.       Sodium percarbonate – dry concentrated hydrogen peroxide  provides oxygen so that bacteria reaction isn’t anaerobic. (brand OxyBoost)
3.       Soluble iron and zinc salts --- These precipitate the sulfites out.  (Brand ..Happy Camper )  also contains a lot of baking soda   (one scoop/40gal  scoop =27g   2grams for 3 gal treatment ) Disolve 1/2t in 8oz water for portapotty.

 

[QinReno]

I have a smaller Porta Potty toilet 

Does bleach help, rather than those fancier chemicals?

 

[Rainier70]

Does bleach help, rather than those fancier chemicals?

No.  Plus bleach will degrade the plastics of my Porta Potti, as per the instructions from the company

 

[QinReno]

No.  Plus bleach will degrade the plastics of my Porta Potti, as per the instructions from the company

So, for a simple easy to find mixture, maybe a combination of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. ???

 

[highdesertranger]

most dump stations specifically say no bleach or formaldehyde. bleach and formaldehyde is about the worse thing to put into a septic system. highdesertranger

 

[AMGS3]

Rainier70

Can you please share how much of each additive you use. I, too, have a cassette toilet with a very tiny tank and have been trying to figure out what to add to it.

Also, thanks for sharing the reason behind each additive. Very helpful!

~angie

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

 

[Rainier70]

I have a 2.5 gallon tank for that I use 1/2 teaspoon of Happy Camper dissolved in a cup of water. https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Camper...8&qid=1541620822&sr=8-6&keywords=happy+camper The jar I listed is an example. I know that it says it is 18 treatments, but that is for a 40 gal RV tank. That is about 240 treatments for a 3 gal Porta Potti.

I also add 1T of calcium Nitrate dissolved in a cup or so of water.. This next year I will try some tanks with out it. With only the Happy Camper. I think that it maybe redundant if the Happy Camper stuff has already precipitated the Sulfur out. Anyway this is an example product. https://www.amazon.com/Solution-Fer...d=1541620685&sr=8-14&keywords=calcium+nitrate I almost forgot...I also add a few drops of dawn dish soap.

Only if I think my tank may get oxygen deprived do I add a teaspoon of OxyBoost or Oxyclean. That is if my tank is partway full, and it is going to sit for awhile.

I usually dump my tank when it is about 75% full. I think that too full promotes anaerobic bacteria which can stink.

All of these chemicals are septic tank friendly. They don't kill the bacteria they just prevent the bacteria from producing hydrogen sulfide.

In fact I sometimes throw a package of yeast in the tank at the start of the year to boost the bacteria. I don't know if it makes much of a difference or not