Emptying and Refilling the Nature’s Head Composting Toilet

[@cphillips3857]

Excellent. This has helped me a lot!

[@danneighheart1890]

This is very helpful most people don't show how to do this or they aren't as detailed. You make this so much less intimidating Thank you and Happy travels ☺️

[@boldlysheroams]

Thank you so much!! I’m so glad I can help!!

[@Arlette-c1t]

Thank you so much for showing all the details, especially how to detach the power cord and venting tube. Your pace and attention to detail were so helpful.

[@boldlysheroams]

I’m so glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching ☺️

[@LJ-zk9iw]

Thank you. Loved your kitty helping. 😻

[@s-c..]

Another no-nonsense, helpful video 👍. Coconut coir is sustainable, peat moss not so much. Also, when dry in brick form it’s like slate, so easily breaks into layers rather than cutting across the “grain”. Just wedge a trowel or sturdy blade in the side & twist. This will also make hydrating it quicker. (By the way, the audio is really low, hard to hear with the background music (& birds!), except for the loud burst in the middle 😊)

[@boldlysheroams]

Thank you so much! This is super helpful both for the feedback on the coconut coir and the audio ❤️❤️

[@s-c..]

@@boldlysheroams Hi again Ellen, did you do something to the audio? It’s much better this morning (tho the outside footage is still quieter). Not as loud as other videos I’ve been watching, but last night I had to have yours, specifically, turned right up. Weird!! And, your cat is gorgeous! Keep up the good work, your videos are really helpful 😊

[@boldlysheroams]

The audio is different!! I’ve done some amateur filmmaking in the past and they always said to never go above a certain audio level… but then I got so many comments saying my audio was way too quiet, so now I’m ignoring my training and letting it be louder. Seems to be the volume people can hear now ☺️☺️☺️

[@lonewolfcabin304]

I'll be emptying my first bucket tomorrow. This video really helped

[@boldlysheroams]

Yay! I'm so glad! Thanks for watching!

[@goosewithagibus]

This was helpful. Mine just got here and I never once in my life thought there would be a moment when I was legit excited about having a $1000 toilet, yet here we are lol

[@boldlysheroams]

Hahahaha I completely understand!! I’m glad this could be helpful! It’s so ridiculously easy. Now that I’ve done it a lot more with the coconut coir, I’ve realized that it is so much easier to break it up if you let it soak in some water for a while!

[@MissSmudge78]

Thank you Ellen so so very much for this. I just subscribed. I am getting a Tiny Home built real soon and do not want a black tank. Your video is the first, that shows how to actually change it. Side note: my neighbours allowed me to adopt their kitty. I've been looking out for Tasman for 6 & 1/2 yrs, and now she is official my girl.

[@boldlysheroams]

HOW EXCITING!!! I’ve always wanted a tiny house!! How’s the build going so far? And congrats on your new furbaby!! Thank you so much for watching and subscribing 🥰🥰🥰

[@roadtriplover.]

I just want to share what I did, so people know there are numerous ways to establish a composting toilet. The worst part of the NHT is that the whole toilet has to be uprooted to clean it out. My self-built version can be cleaned simply by lifting the lid and removing the bag from the bucket and/or the urine container from the inside of the box I built to house them. Waste is separated through use of a diverter insert. That insert was the most expensive part, at just $130 versus $1000+ for an NHT. Honestly the price difference is really why I decided to build my own. The bucket is a 3gallon bucket and the urine container is a 1gallon jug that would have otherwise been thrown in recycle or regular garbage. I use cedar shavings that are inexpensively available from the pet department at Walmart (other materials can be used, but shavings work perfectly). After plugging the waste pipe that leads from the toilet into the black tank, I combined my grey and black tank to double my grey tank capacity. While the NHT definitely takes up less space, the one I built works like a charm, is super easy to maintain, produces no unpleasant odor, and the only negative is it’s largish footprint. I believe I can creat a smaller footprint, though, and I’m already working on a new design for the housing. Isn’t it awesome that there are multiple ways to accomplish the same goal? Like you said in your first video, nobody should be scared to give travel trailer travel and modifications a try. I love both!

[@boldlysheroams]

Holy cow this is an amazing DIY version!! And sooooooo much cheaper than a nature’s head! Thank you for explaining all of this!! I’m saving it for if I ever do another composting toilet!

[@roadtriplover.]

@@boldlysheroams Well, that makes me glad I shared. 😁 The deal you found on your NHT is great and you’ve rigged it to meet your needs. I love that there are ways to be creative. I really wanted to worry less about having to dump my tanks. Eliminating the black tank altogether and combining the grey and black to create 1 grand sized grey tank means I’m not visiting a dump and paying just to empty my tanks while in transit from one place to the next (common here in the east) nearly as frequently and I can camp less expensively at sites without hookups. Sites without hookups can sometimes be $20/night less expensive and I still enjoy campground perks. Woohoo!

[@albekayl041]

I have a question could you make it so it looks like the NHT but instead of moving it you make it sit a bit higher so you can put two “cubby’s” one on top of the other and the pee has a hose to the bottom and the top is where you keep the compost so instead of having to remove the whole toilet you can just pull out one or the other? Idk that’s just what I thought when I seen that the whole toilet had to be removed! Just curious! Probably never have a compost toilet but I seen a short and i was interested lol! Thank you for reading!

[@albekayl041]

I have a question could you make it so it looks like the NHT but instead of moving it you make it sit a bit higher so you can put two “cubby’s” one on top of the other and the pee has a hose to the bottom and the top is where you keep the compost so instead of having to remove the whole toilet you can just pull out one or the other? Idk that’s just what I thought when I seen that the whole toilet had to be removed! Just curious! Probably never have a compost toilet but I seen a short and i was interested lol! Thank you for reading!

[@roadtriplover.]

​@@albekayl041I imagine it could be done, but I had a few goals: i) keep it the same height as the average toilet, ii) use as few components as possible, iii) keep it light-weight, and reduce complexity. I've used my diy composting toilet for 3years with no overflows, no bad smells and super easy emptying. It's all but perfect. 🙂

[@Ikwigsjoyful]

Well, I enjoyed that more than one would expect (because one normally doesn’t enjoy talking about toilets?) - your explanation of the process was very clear and easy to follow, and you definitely showed that it was easy to do/not scary at all. I also enjoyed seeing your beautiful kitty (who seemed a little confused about why you were talking about toilets instead of making with the pets!). Looking forward to the next video. :)

[@boldlysheroams]

Thank you so much!!!! And yes he is very confused when the attention is not on him, because honestly he deserves it hehehe

[@lindaseymour2570]

Thank you

[@boldlysheroams]

Thank you for watching!!

[@pamelaemryes1581]

Good info. Probably going with a different type.

[@boldlysheroams]

Happy I could give some insight into this one! Thanks for watching :)

[@TheZuckertron]

How did you end up finding or creating a vent hole?

[@boldlysheroams]

I cut a hole in the wall of my trailer! It was terrifying because you couldn't go back, but the toilet is still working great for me and I have no regrets!

[@theracinghotel]

Thank you for the video! Do you know the ratio for the vinegar solution?

[@boldlysheroams]

Thank you for watching!! Per Nature’s head they say “a small spray bottle filled with water and 2oz of vinegar” I reused a Mrs Meyers spray bottle and filled it up about 1/2 or 3/4 with water then added the vinegar!

[@hollys.7278]

Really helpful info thanks!

[@boldlysheroams]

Thank you for watching!!

[@seanconradfishing]

Is there a smell to it? when you're using the restroom and the waste is below you like that, can you smell it or does the vent tube remove that?

[@boldlysheroams]

Great question! The vent tube removes the smell! The only time I could smell something was if I was outside near where the vent pushed air out and I had just recently used the toilet. Besides that, zero smell

[@womacko]

Isn't the urin in your gray water tank producing a smell, that comes out the sinks? How do you prevent that?

[@boldlysheroams]

It doesn't! I couldn't tell you the exact reason why, but I know even if I had kept the urine bucket on the front, the smell wouldn't come out as long as the lid is closed. It's designed like that so no urine smell escapes. But for mine, I never had any smell coming up from the gray tank!

[@markymarkfromreefton]

Thanks mate

[@boldlysheroams]

Glad I could help!

[@isabelpaterson7092]

Hi, Just wanted to know. Our toilet doesn't have an agitator or separates the liquid. I have been putting coffee grinds and hemp in. But it is very smelly and I have noticed little flies. What should I do.

[@boldlysheroams]

Hi! You don't need an agitator but you do need to separate the liquids. If the liquids and solids mix, it's not really compost anymore- it's toxic waste (kept separately they are not toxic, but when they mix they are). Also, make sure your solids are able to dry out with some kind of vent and/or fan to outside. I've never heard of hemp and coffee grinds being a compost option. The two most common for toilets are peat moss and coconut coir. I love using coconut coir! Hope that helps!

[@ckeilah]

add water?? huh? I thought the whole point was to DRY it all out... Is this toilet different from other dry heads? I just use small animal bedding--i.e. shredded paper.

[@boldlysheroams]

When using coconut coir, yes you do add water only because you need to rehydrate it!

[@LJ-zk9iw]

Thank you for this. In the future, don’t use background music. It is so distracting from your words

[@cphillips3857]

Excellent. This has helped me a lot!

[@boldlysheroams]

I’m so glad to have been able to help!! Thank you for watching!

[@ziaali5264]

Thank you

[@boldlysheroams]

Thanks for watching!!