The Poop Bucket Experiment

[Headache]

I'm getting teased in the church parking lot because I always have some kind of experiment going on and this one was the best yet!

I decided to find out how well cedar shavings did on odor and set up the best test I could come up with; pee and poop in the bucket with cedar shavings and an interior temp of at least 80 degrees in the van.  Luckily I got that 2 days in a row.  The first day it got to almost 90 in the van and the 2nd day it was 80.

I used a Luggable Loo lid, tall kitchen garbage bag, 5 gallon bucket and cedar shavings sold in the pet supply section of Walmart, small brick. I decided to try this because not all of us are able to separate waste and I'm one of them. I wanted to see how far I could push it.

I made sure to use the bucket each night but since I usually pinch a loaf in the mornings I could only come up with one night time dump for the experiment.  I limited it to night time biologic activity because I usually have access to bathrooms during the day which of course I prefer.  There was also the brief appearance of a mini red flag week that added to the experiment, damn pre-menopause!

I'm happy to say that after 2 days with no emptying there was no odor at all.  I did notice that the smell of cedar was all but gone so that tells me that the cedars odor reducing properties were soon to be gone as well.

Maybe someone will find this helpful.  Of course now that I need more shavings there are none to be had in the small brick size at any of the stores.

 

[RVTravel]

Cedar shavings would seem hard to easily come by. I would cover with something else, close bag and set some cedar blocks on top for the same effect ; ).

 

[TMG51]

Cedar shavings would seem hard to easily come by. I would cover with something else, close bag and set some cedar blocks on top for the same effect ; ).

I don't use this shavings/litter/bucket method, but, cedar shavings are regularly available at any pet store. They're required for animals like Guinea pigs, which need non-aromatic bedding (so pine shavings are out). I used to sell cedar shavings compressed in 2 cu.ft. bundles for a reasonable price. Also, even more readily available is Cedarific brand kitty litter, which is just cedar shavings loose in a smaller bag.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'd be interested in a progress report after you have used it for a while.

I use sawdust in my poop bags because it absorbs the pee, eliminating a mess if the bag springs a leak.  So if you can get finer cedar 'dust' that is an added advantage.

 -- Spiff

 

[XFILE36]

I'm getting teased in the church parking lot because I always have some kind of experiment going on and this one was the best yet!

I decided to find out how well cedar shavings did on odor and set up the best test I could come up with; pee and poop in the bucket with cedar shavings and an interior temp of at least 80 degrees in the van.  Luckily I got that 2 days in a row.  The first day it got to almost 90 in the van and the 2nd day it was 80.

I used a Luggable Loo lid, tall kitchen garbage bag, 5 gallon bucket and cedar shavings sold in the pet supply section of Walmart, small brick.  I decided to try this because not all of us are able to separate waste and I'm one of them.  I wanted to see how far I could push it.

I made sure to use the bucket each night but since I usually pinch a loaf in the mornings I could only come up with one night time dump for the experiment.  I limited it to night time biologic activity because I usually have access to bathrooms during the day which of course I prefer.  There was also the brief appearance of a mini red flag week that added to the experiment, damn pre-menopause!

I'm happy to say that after 2 days with no emptying there was no odor at all.  I did notice that the smell of cedar was all but gone so that tells me that the cedars odor reducing properties were soon to be gone as well.

Maybe someone will find this helpful.  Of course now that I need more shavings there are none to be had in the small brick size at any of the stores.

Nice wording and info!  thanks, Sandi

 

[closeanuf]

I get the fine pine shavings at Tractor Supply about $5 for a bag that lasts me a couple months.  Been using it for year and a half; works good for me, and lots cheaper than cedar.

 

[Wabbit]

Any ideas on the practicality of burning the used cedar chips(just #2 use)? We urinate into bottles so the chips won't be soaked. Then after its burned down, bury any leftovers. Searched the net, but nothing about burning cedar chips\waste. Just bagging it and trashcan it.

EDIT: Do pine shaving also keep the odor contained? Thanks.

 

[lenny flank]

I've always used cat litter with a plastic bag liner in my poop bucket--that's something that can be found anywhere. A couple times I've used peat moss from the pet shop. I can't really say how well either of those absorbs odors since I always tie the plastic bag after use, and dump in the trash next morning.

As for peeing, I've always used a pee bottle.

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

A couple of thoughts ...

You are veering away from the pooping in ban in a bucket in to the composting toilet sphere here, which is cool IMHO. That said, you REALLY want to work on separating your waste. Either alone is pretty much OK but mixed they will smell exponentially worse. Limit, if you can't eliminate the mixing of urine and feces.

Based on lots of research most of the solutions mentioned so far, cedar shavings, kitty litter, seem to work OK but are not the go to materials. People also use peat moss which has a number of fans. What seems the best, if not sometimes the hardest to find is hardwood saw dust. It has little intrinsic smell, lots of surface area for obsorbing fluids and it has some antibacterial properties that help reduce odor.

If you go with the compost toilet (letting it sit and stew) you will also likely want to investigate venting the bucket. A small 12v biscuit fan and some flex tubing to somewhere outside is plenty. Some no-see-um screen will help keep bugs to a minimum.

Here's the one that people seem to get squeamish about and that is stirring. *IF* you intend to maintain a composting toilet you really need to stir it sometimes. A longish stick and rubber gloves seems to be the tool of choice. This will help spread the peat/cedar/sawdust/kitty litter around and will encourage even distribution of materials in the feces. This will help reduce the smell and will allow you to maintain the toilet for longer periods without emptying.

As far as burning toilet paper once it's been used, it's not a problem so long as you don't have a burn ban. In places with limited plumbing (lots of SE Asia for example) you don't put TP in the toilet it goes in a small metal lidded can and gets burned. The plumbing isn't built robustly enough to handle all that paper. As far as keeping cedar shaving in a pee bottle I'm not sure I would bother. Just poor it out once a day or so and be done with it. Why bother with cedar chips when you can just walk 50 feet and pour it under a bush ... a different bush every day but still, just pour it out on the ground.

If you take a look at how the expensive compost toilets available on the market you will find that they simply automate what I have described here. They stir, aerate, and vent the main chamber as well as help in separating the waste in to separate containers and you still must empty the pee bucket most every day.

Pine shaving seem to be a poor choice. Cedar is not a favorite either really.

 

[Wabbit]

I don't put anything into the #1 bottles. Sorry it read that way. As far as composting, people shouldn't use cedar for compost piles. It doesn't rot nice. I think most of us are just talking about covering odors and then tossing into garbage bin.

I have a lot of dried manure around the area we are staying at. That burns nice and long if you crumble it up abit. Anyways, I did a test run of sorts to see how feces(fresh) came out of a fire. Started a fire and added 2 VV nice big...yeah. After the fire burnt down to ashes, all evidence of the 2 VV nice ones were gone, just normal ashes left. However, the dried cow manure kinda burns like a charcoal in the sense that it smolders hot for quite sometime. Will try a test run with Cedar chips later this week on payday. Cedar burns hot, but also fast if memory serves me right. Hopefully this all makes sense.

 

[abnorm]

Wabbit.........................No Smores at your campfire !

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

Wabbit.........................No Smores at your campfire !

People have been cooking over dry manure forever.

 

[caretaker]

les the survivor man says,burning cow pipes keeps flys away,,,,,no really,,,,i saw it on the one he did in africa,,,,,at least i think it was africa,,,,,,coulda been the one in the amazon tho…..

 

[ArtW]

IIRC the Mongols used manure for fires, not much wood on the steppes

 

[RVTravel]

Nothin' like yak dung-smoked sausage.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Any ideas on the practicality of burning the used cedar chips(just #2 use)? 

Feces burns quite well.  It is made up of what you eat: protein, carbs, fat, plus bacteria and viruses.  Because it is ~75% water it needs to be dried first.  With enough cedar (or other fuel) it can dry in the fire and burn.

People have been cooking over dry manure forever.

I'm not aware of any cultures that burn human poop for fuel, it is mostly herd animal manure that they have in abundance and has been naturally dried. An individual doesn't poop enough to boil a a cup of water in a day.  My concern is that the fire won't get hot enough to kill all the possible human disease carrying bugs, a problem that is less in animal dung.  Plus there also probably is a taste imparted.

 -- Spiff

 

[lenny flank]

les the survivor man says,burning cow pipes keeps flys away

Well, burning anything keeps bugs away. They don't like the smoke--it signals "danger" to them.

 

[TrainChaser]

Try regular sawdust. It may not be the cedar oil eliminating odor as much as just the sawdust itself.

 

[Belinda2]

For smell, especially in a urinal, put in a little mouth wash after you empty it for the day. Let it sit and do it's "thing" cleaning the bottle or container.

 

[Headache]

Cedar shavings would seem hard to easily come by. I would cover with something else, close bag and set some cedar blocks on top for the same effect ; ).

It would not be the same effect because the cedar is not absorbing the liquid while dispersing it's odor neutralizing properties.  That odor is going to swirl right around that bag on it's way out to offend someone.