The second and final video about our Air Head composting toilet. In this episode, we show how it is installed, how it works, and our thoughts about the unit.
We don't yet have a boat but there's always a need for alternative ways of dealing with POO! LOL! I thoroughly enjoyed your video. Ya'll did a great job of "handling" the subject with humor and good information. Thank you.❤🤗
LOL... nice work ! Having pulled to holding tank systems off my last boat, a Endeavour 40, I feel your pain. I didn't install a composting toilet that time, putting in another holding tank on one and a Electrosan on the other, it was still a pain in the arse! Yea its mostly the hoses, even good ones stink after a while, and they are EXPENSIVE!! The Airhead would be my choice vs the natures head, but the C head is good too! Saves a lot of room and no more joker valves to replace! Just the fun part of dumping the tank.. You guys made it look fun !
Thank you for showing how it works, I had seen other videos but the only thing they said its quality, but it didn't explain how really works, Now I know what am i getting into
Love the talking toilet!! I've heard the flies can come from the brick. Some people microwave it first and others put in the freezer for 24 hours after buying. Both methods will kill the fly eggs.
So glad I found your channel and this video. Just pulled the entire black water system on our Irwin Citation 34 and it was a horror show. Hoping to install an Airhead but the shipping delays right now are 19 weeks according to their website. Cheers
Excellent video. We also have a composting head, and are generally very pleased with the results, but the tiny flies are problematic for us as well! There is no way, however, that I'd ever go back to the old Skipper and a holding tank! Zero smell, and a great system overall.
Just found you guys today and watched all your vids! Really cool to find other people doing what I want to do! Currently the admiral isn't wanting to live aboard , but maybe I can get her excited, I was going to say they (The Flies) are probably in the coconut husk, but looks like you already figured that out, and they are probably responsible for what is breaking down the pooh! :)
+Chase Mixon Hey Chase, we are really glad you enjoyed them! :) Yes, we found out that the flies are indeed from the coconut husk, but have noticed that as the temperatures have been getting lower, they seemed to have disappeared. Thanks for watching!
Good info. I went with a right angled fan fitting too that made it easier to route the hose out of the way of any users. Still haven't used mine yet but it's ready now. :-)
+W4ABN Good to hear it's ready to use - hope you enjoy it! :) If you have any questions, feel free to ask... we aren't experts, but have been using the Air Head for a while :)
I've heard that some people microwave the coco brick for a couple of minutes to kill any fly eggs. I've also heard people put some moth balls in to discourage insects.
Great every morning I start my day off looking at the boating vids . Then every evening I settle down with a nice snack and a cup of tea ,only to fined we this evening are talking about bodily functions and a load of POOOWWWW . All of a suddenly this Mars Bar has lost all its appeal . :-) lol I guess you have to be a bloody good shot to get to hit them 2 little holes :-)
+Roy Colley Hahahaha, sorry to have ruined your Mars bar snack :P The bowl is designed to take the liquids to the liquid tank, unless the angle is not right...
Thanks for keeping the comments open. I've a question that I've had problems asking. I promise to keep it clean as possible. Since our family has issues with #2, I was wondering how a compost toilet would work with our family issues. Sorry, but how well does it work with someone that usually has the runs when their #2 is runny or mostly watery?? I understand the composting toilet works best when the liquids are kept separate.
Great video guys! We have 2 Natures Head on our WS42 and love them. The Airhead is a fine unit, too. We notice the tendency of urine to migrate towards the solids hatch regardless of pitch. We solved the issue by putting a scrunched up paper towel in the solids shoot. The paper towel catches and absorbs the stray or errant pee. Could chat ad nauseum about the benefits of composting marine heads, but that might poop some out! Let's chat sometime about tricks of GO. Doug from WS42 Harmony
+Douglas Tate Hi Doug! Thanks for the suggestion. How often do you have to take out that paper towel? Is that something that you put in the solids chute every time?
+Through the Portlight The paper towel trick is used each time one deposits liquid and it is NOT put into the solids base. Each user puts the paper towel and any toilet paper into a bag for disposal. The paper towel trick is helpful for those with poor aim or for a flow too forceful for the baffle to handle. Another important point is that we do not use coffee filters, as we find the solid deposit goes through the "chute" just fine without any need for a coffee filter. All toilet paper is again put into a bag for disposal by the user. Not having extra paper (filters or TP) helps extend the time between empties. We clean our unit (bowl, seat, and liquid ports) with white vinegar. We find the vinegar cleans "everything" quite well. We also spritz vinegar into the liquid ports to eliminate odors and stains. The two of us can usually get 4 days usage with the pee bottle, although I would probably dump it after 3 days to keep it manageable. After about 2 seasons of usage, we have averaged about 5 weeks between empties of the solids. Now, we don't live aboard like you, but Harmony is on a mooring and we are exclusively on-board users (i.e. we do our P & P's on board). Love to talk more on this so that you can do other videos to help promote marine composting toilets. Lets email - I have Curtis's email and I will have him share mine with you. Doug on WS42 Harmony
An amazingly detailed review of the Airhead. This is what my wife and I are going to purchase for our 30ft Tartan Sailboat. We are not liveaboards yet however, we do plan on becoming liveaboards within the next year. We just bought our boat and are wondering how to make the transition since she is not liveaboard friendly just yet. We need to install a shower and remove the black tank when we install this. We could really use some advise and well help to convert our boat to be a more liveaboard friendly boat. Could you guys assist us with this?
Apparently you used what is termed a bugle head screw to secure the unit at the overhead. A pan head or washer head screw is a better choice as over tightening a bugle head can break plastic especially near its edge. Nice boat!
Re moisture in solids tank. Have you guys consider condensation? As you say, if it is a winter phenomenon then the warmer air in the tank due to bio activity (which is being replenished by the extraction fan) and colder ambient outside the tank may cause condensation to form on inside surfaces. Just a thought. We have a narrowboat in UK and condensation is is everywhere in the winter. Nice video by the way. Thanks for the info & insights on the Air Head.
Great, helpful video! Can you tell us where you got the Solar Vent? And do you think you could run it just with the solar vent, without separate power to the AirHead’s fan?
Not being familiar with this newer technology, I found your your explanation very good for just how this system works. You did not mention what is done with the liquids & solids. Also, how much does the unit weigh when full?
Through the poolight . Ha ha. Think I need to see someone . Found 18 mins of poo talk very interesting. And all while also watching Canada in rugby World Cup. Good work guys!!
how long does it take to empty the head? where do you empty it at when at a marina? seems a bit more trouble than other heads. How about on long sails? is it large enough to take care of things?
Thanks for this review. I am looking into a compost toilet for the same reasons you decided to eliminate the Jabsco, holding tank, etc. I was reading the info for Nature Head and was not aware Air Head was an option. I wish someone did a review for Nature Head akin to what you did for Air Head. And Hey, contact Air Head, they should compensate you for your endorsement. You have 3800 subscribers for pete's sakes. They should at least give you parts, coco bricks or something. (Although a chunk of moola every month would be nice).
Cool Video !!!! I want a toilet that makes goat noises when you flush it!! As for your bolt dillema. Look around for a good industrial bolt store...not your typical home improvement store...and they should be able to help you, provided the bolt is completely removable.
+Ken James Thanks, Ken! Yes, we would certainly find the proper bolts at a fastener place, but for now, it's closer to the bottom of our list than the top :P We thought we'd prefer a toilet that makes sheep noises when flushed, but then we realized it was a B-A-A-A-A-H-D idea!
I would suggest the flanges over the hexbolt be just replace by hasps that clip it all down, it's just to hold the seat and trapdoor unit to the solids bucket.
So, you empty it every two weeks. Do you dump it into a plastic bag and then that goes into a dumpster? Is it funky as hell when you dump it? (i.e. are your neighbors aware of what you are doing?) Don't large coffee filters clog crank? I am guessing that the soupiness in winter was a result of condensation--vapor from the composting condensing on cold sides of toilet. Thank you for sharing this. I am thinking about getting one as my holding tank takes up a vital spot where my water maker could go.
Could they be fruit flies, this time of year? Nice video very well done! But I'll still stick with my Lavac and fiberglass holding tank. the problem with most tanks is people have to small of vents, don't you wonder why they don't have a 5/8 or 3/4 hose on the air head. What happened to the end clips you started out with of scenic areas? loved seeing those.
+theislandpackrat Thanks for the comment! :) We have researched flies and coconut coir, thanks to what +A Surf had mentioned, and found that there can indeed be flies in the coconut husk! Who knew? We aren't knocking holding tanks and marine heads - just didn't like the system on our boat. Yes, good point about the size of vents being too small on most boats! As for the scenic clips, we have decided that the video was quite long enough, especially with the outtakes. We will definitely still include scenic clips in future videos, but will sometimes put outtakes in instead :) Good to hear that you enjoy those clips!
Planning on getting a sailboat. I have been watching Curtis then you guys appeared as dinner guests so I subscribed to your channel. Learning a lot from both. Thanks. One questIon, how often do you have to change out the solids?
+Robert Scott Hello Robert! We are glad you subscribed... welcome to our channel! We change out the solids every three to four weeks, depending on usage.
Seems like a lot of effort to empty. So I have to wonder about you saying that you have to have coffee filters to go. Isn't that an additional cost? What about TP and how it's handled by the comp[osting toilet? Thanks
Regarding the "tiny flies" that you've noticed, I wonder if it's from the coconut coir medium. The reason I consider this is that I use the same coconut coir medium in my turtle enclosure and have noticed tiny flies after 3-5 weeks. They're like little fruit flies/gnats and it doesn't matter how clean I keep the enclosure. Could it be that they exist in the brick and that moisture allows them to hatch and multiply to the point where they're noticeable? I wonder.
Good video. I am seriously considering an Air Head rather than fitting a holding tank. We can get them in England, but they don't seem to be that popular yet. Here's a delicate question. A female cruising friend of mine is refusing to even consider this - saying that the 'separator' part will simply not work for women. Any comments on this that I can feed back to her? No graphic details please - I am English and we like to pretend that this sort of thing doesn't actually exist.
We have an Airhead as well, and it's design is actually most appropriate for the stream of a woman who is sitting. Liquids go right down the holes at the front of the bowl. You can tell, because there are small, telltale droplets that show you where the liquid has flowed. Hope that is sufficiently delicate for your British sensibilities.
Cool system. Where do you dump the tanks both when you are at dock, or off shore? Can you also reduce the odor more by adding some coconut husk activated charcoal?
+insaynbcr Offshore (over three miles from land), the contents can be disposed of overboard. At the dock, the pee gets dumped in the toilet. The solids tank gets disposed of where diapers and pet waste goes. As far as odours, There normally isn't any odour from the Air Head.
Interesting review...... The only thing i would suggest - The screws holding the white plastic cowling to the inside of the cabin... I think you ought to add some cup washers, as countersunk screws onto a flat surface is not best fixing solution... Best regards to you both..... (Thumbs up from me) :)
+john wheatley Thanks John... yeah, those must have been the only screws that size that we had eight of. :P One day, we will get some nicer ones to replace them with! :)
hi guys- just a little boatyard tip- when you cut fiberglass it heats up enough to melt (that's why it smells like wet fiberglass when it is getting hot) and it gets gummy enough to burn out your drill/hole saw set up. by keeping it wet as you cut you'll be able keep the glass solid and use the hole saw with no damage to your drill.
Thanks for a great video. Love following your story. Got a question. #2 is not always solid (diarrhea). All the videos I have watched and no-one brings this up. 1. Does this introduce too much liquid into the solid container? You guys mention a coffee filter. Do you drop this into the solid part after use? Does it just break apart? 2. What and how do you clean the bowl when this happens. 3. Any extra precautions needed when a woman is on her period?
A thought on the flies...they may well be laying eggs on the intake screen, & some dislodging & being sucked in with the air. research suggest's a heating system to keep solids about 50-60c can fully compost in 20-30 days...& plenty of drying fresh air
Thanks for making the video, but the “learning curve” seems crazy. I mean, you essentially uninstall the entire unit every few days when it fills. Then there’s a separate toilet paper bin, coffee filters, etc. My holding tank seems quaint by comparison, replace the joker valve every year and pumpout once every 3 months if I’m ashore.
You guys made that fun...you've obviously done the....are we farting yet part of the relationship 😂🙈, I'm not sure about carrying that thing around when your underway, could get slippery 😏
+NICCAT Haha well considering we found we could discuss any subject matter under the sun in the first week of knowing each other, poo isn't that much of a stretch :P
I'm thinking of getting one but I'm confused over two things. First, where do you empty it? Second, is there not an old fashioned outhouse smell coming out the vent on deck?
I'm a camper van guy but that doesn't matter in this case. Most people just toss the used material into a garbage bag and toss it in the bin. You should not use human waste in an edible garden. The only smells you should get it an earthy, dirt smell depending on the medium you use. If you smell anything other than that, something is wrong.
You might consider sawdust instead of Peat, if you want to avoid the tiny flies. Peat has a musky odor of its own that many people don't like. Whereas douglas fir or cedar saw dust is cheap and piney fresh!
Do you have to let the coconut core dry before you put it in the Air Head... after you hydrate it.. i see it is a little damp due to hydrating it.. so i have to wonder if it is better to let it dry before putting it in. Thank you kindly for the video, stay safe and keep enjoying the dream.
It is typically slightly moist. Dryness at the outset will depend on how much water you put in. I'd suggest erring on the dry side, because too wet results in poor composting and bad smells.
Do you ever worry about dropping part of the composting head overboard when you're emptying "the matter" offshore? Or is it something you can easily hang onto when you're doing that part of this messy business?
Great video! Questions: 1. I've heard that it is acceptable to pour the urine down the sink drain (and into the sea) because it is non toxic. Is this not allowed? 2. Do you really need the "coffee filters"? 3. Solar vents have the reputation of leaking. How has yours done?
How do you keep water from the outside vent from draining down into the fan cutout & unit and further into the solid waste container? It appears this vent is flat and flush to the deck topside, which is a means for water to enter, interested if there is a check valve or other means to prevent this from happening? The "no see'um" flies, just like weevils in grain, the eggs are in hibernation awaiting the right conditions to hatch, your little moist, o2 rich environment may work just fine. As for who is peeing in the compost, I'll give you two guesses and the first one doesn't count. Have a great day.
Hello! and Thanks for the in-depth video. I was wondering if you still use the head for showering and if so does the moisture from the shower affect the composting toilet in any way??
Very good question, Jesse. Sorry about replying a year later! We do not (did not) shower in the Westsail, so I couldn't answer that. We now are on a different boat with a different composting toilet and we do sometimes shower in the boat but our head is not a 'wet' head on this boat.
I like the composting toilet for simplicity and saving fresh water, but I have to say that the only way a holding tank smells is if it had no carbon filter installed or if it had one the tank was overfilled to the point that liquid reached the the filter and collapsed.
+bandolero515 Our holding tank was installed in 1974 and we don;t believe they installed any filters back then :P Cheers to those that have holding tanks with no odours :)
+A Surf THANK YOU!! When we read your comment, we thought "nah, couldn't be!", but then we googled it and sure enough, there it was! Thanks for informing us! :)
To my opinion, it doesn´t really matter if you have 2-3 miniscule flies flying around, when you know the reason why they are there! If the reason is poo, then, you think you were obliged to do something against it, and if the reason isn´t poo, then it is socialy much more accepted... This is simply a case of bad PR of cocos-composting-toillets, cause if everybody knew that cocos contains fly-eggs, nobody would care, but sadly, most people tend to believe, that it is because of the poo...
next time you are using a hole saw, such as you did for the vent for your toilet. Use a screw driver to clean it out regularly during drilling especially through a thick deck like yours. This would greatly reduce the stress on your drill, and you would have likely not burnt it out
+Shawn Hambright Hello Shawn. We could have, but we ended up lowering the v-berth, which made the space where the holding tank was, quite a bit smaller. Also, our mattress is quite thick (and comfortable) and getting to that space would involve lifting the 100% natural latex (rubber) mattress. :)
I think we are all looking forward to the missing answers to the questions of , Paper, Poo and Pee The three P's So where do you put them? Im guessing the Pee ends up in the Marina toilets... but the rest?? PPP ? Great Vids Guys :)
+James Bell Hi James, and thanks for the comment! Yes, the pee ends up in the toilet. The paper and poo get emptied and disposed of in the same manner that soiled diapers and pet waste gets disposed of. :)
I guess the toilet paper is put into a airtight garbage can and you dispose of that along with the solids in a plastic bag and into the marina garbage. Many cruisers do this because paper is a real problem with septic systems. My question is if there are any regulations about disposing of human waste into the city garbage system? You mentioned having a second solids container with a lid, to properly compost the solids.
+David Richards Hello David, A second solids container would be ideal if there was enough space to store a second solids container on board. Every city has its own regulations, it seems, after doing a lot of research, that it would go where diapers and pet waste go. There does seem to be a bit of a grey area for partially composted waste.
+tim parker Hi Tim, With regular use, the waste doesn't get the chance to become fully composted, but it gets close. We dispose of it in the same place as soiled diapers and pet waste :P At sea, if you were not near shore, you can dispose of it overboard.
Natural condensation is a problem in cooler wetter climates, try breaking up coco coir as usual then drying it out in a ventilated bucket in the sun for several days, this should help with the gnats too, turn your handle several times every time you go!
In most areas in the states it's illegal to dump in the dumpster. You'd think if you can put a diaper in the dumpster you'd be OK, but no. Getting rid of the solids is a problem with these.
