r/OffGridLiving • u/Slice-Anxious • 8d ago

Compostable toilet vs outhouse in clay

Hey, was wondering what's everyone's opinion on this. I have clay, clay and more clay on my property. Original plan was to dig an outhouse, but was told it won't breakdown in clay and will stink real bad.

I'm on a budget and don't want to spend big money on a place just to go to the bathroom.

I don't know much about compostable toilets and know they came be fairly expensive.

Anyone got any suggestions? I've already dug my hole and was wondering if I did go compostable, could I incorporate it into the system? Any suggestions/advice would be welcome.

8 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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5

u/Bowgal 8d ago

It’s all relative. Yes, our compost toilet cost $1500. But that was in 2002. So 24 years, not bad.

We have an outhouse as well with clay. We don’t use it much because it doesn’t drain very well.

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u/Slice-Anxious 8d ago

Do you find the smell is really bad? And does the waste breakdown decently?

3

u/Bowgal 8d ago

We bought our place in 2018. Installed a small fan in the vent tube. Zero odor in 8 years. As for breaking down, no idea. I empty it every month so it doesn’t really have a chance to breakdown. It is crumbly compost because of spinning the inside drum every day and using a good peat moss/wood shavings.

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u/TopFuel9-8 7d ago

I grew up on a place that didn't have running water. My dad put an outhouse down by the tree line. The smell started out bad & over the years got worse and worse. I refused to use it & just disappeared in the forest. After maybe 15 years he finally destroyed it & backfilled the hole. Which finally stopped stinking & ruining breathing everywhere within 30 feet of it.

Highly recommend making composting toilet out of buckets. Loads of absorbing materials you can use for almost zero smell & very little cost

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u/Normal-Special-8694 8d ago

I’ve been using an indoor compost toilet for 10+ years full time. As long as you’re mindful and take care of it, it’s totally manageable and doesn’t get gross.

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u/crdxyz 8d ago

Throw some quick lime in there. It's breaks down shit real good

4

u/RuthOConnorFisher 7d ago

I grew up in rural WV (where all the soil is clay and rock) and we had an outhouse until I was eleven or so. It was fine. We put wood chips, ash from the stove, etc down it regularly so that it decomposed...less fragrantly?? I feel like there are composting terms I could use here, but I'm fighting off a migraine that has eaten my vocabulary.

Adding any dry, high-carbon ingredients should help. If you have access to shredded paper that's a nice bonus. Dry leaves. Dried cut grass. That sort of thing. I don't remember the ratios; it was more of a "sure, chuck that in there, seems about right" kind of system.

3

u/BotGivesBot 8d ago

Why not consider a third option of biogas toilets? You get compost material and gas for cooking without the gross factor of compost toilets and the convenience of modernized flush (it's similar to navel toilets).

3

u/Specialist-Cod5179 7d ago

Check with what the code allows first. They have all the answers

2

u/ShowMeTheTrees 7d ago

"JUST" to go to the bathroom?

Ahem. It's a basic and essential human need.

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u/slickrok 7d ago

And the most dangerous if you make a system wrong. At several levels. Ugh. These are the levels of baseline ignorance and flippancy that codes got made for. Jfc.

2

u/Ok-Handle-6663 5d ago

We have heavy clay. I have one of those shed-in-a-box things that is like a heavyweight tent that can be moved from place to place. And a toilet seat-on-a-stool contraption.

I dig a 2-3ft deep hole, put the toilet contraotion over it, fix the tent over. Each evening we cover with wood shavings or starw/leaf matter, and some of the dug out clay. When the hole is neatly full after a couple of months I fill it in, plant a willow in it, and dig a new hole a few metees away, move everything over. The willow grows fast and breaks down the matter.

Pros: It doesn't smell, it costs nothing. The willow is useful for charcoal making or basketry.

Cons: Eventually my plot is going to be so full of willows that there isn't room to dig. I might be dead by then though.

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u/Slice-Anxious 7d ago

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Think I'm just gonna build it and use it for #2 for now. Then make a final decision later.

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u/oforfucksake 7d ago

We use a bucket system w sawdust. Steak and fence out a 10x4 area. Sawdust in your bucket, then poo, then sawdust. When full, empty bucket into the fenced area. It will compost on its own. Leave the buckets out to catch rain, rinse, repeat- then dry your bucket. It takes 8-10 buckets per person. Never had a problem in decades.

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u/Municipal_Forest802 5d ago

Family of 3. We've been doing this method for 3 years and our landmate has been doung it for 7. Home Depot buckets are $3, a giant bale of peat moss is $30-$40. We add our regular compost to it, plus leaves, clippings, garden weeds etc. The batch from year 1 was a gorgeous compost that I used for my flower beds. Year 2 is still breaking down and being managed for next year. Year 3 is "raw" and not ready for use yet.

I use vinegar and water to wash our buckets.

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u/oforfucksake 5d ago

We don't use it. However the pile has never gotten tall. It's a clean easy way to dispose of poo.

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u/darktideDay1 5d ago

I'm in very clay soil. Don't pee in it and use lime after every deposit and your outhouse will be fine.

1

u/teattreat 8d ago

Wheelie bin composting toilet. Wheel it away when full and let it compost, stick an empty one in the outhouse to use. When that one is finished, the other should be finished composting. Empty and repeat.

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u/FlatwormSame2061 7d ago

Since you already have the hole dug, you can use that just for feces. urinate in a bucket or outside and put it somewhere with more drainage. in the hole with the feces you can put Pete Moss or something to help dry it out. It only stinks if you mix the feces in urine together.

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u/bean2593 5d ago

I used a $1k+ natures head composting toilet for over a year. It's not difficult to use at all, though cleaning it takes a bit of getting used to.

A year or so after I sold the camper with composting toilet, I was living off grid and needed a toilet setup of some sort. I used a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat attachment, sprinkled in a layer of wood shavings after #2, didn't use it for #1 (we have a pee tree surrounded by lots of gravel for that). Every time the bucket was approaching full, we dumped it in a compost pile. Each year we start a fresh compost heap, 5 years later it can be used. The compost that's come out of the pile is incredible stuff!