Composting Toilet Type for South Central Mexico?

Hey, Svante... did I ever answer you?
Let me know if Claire comes back. There's four dance classes a week up here, can't believe it.
I, obviously, am dancing my ass off and then collapsing in the hammock.
I have no ready made design for you.
The chambers should be BIG (about 4 times as big as for a dry toilet) and the vent should be BIG (25-30 cm diameter)...the floor needs to have a drain for the piss to leach out...that's
all now....

Art
Hope all is well,

Huhuecoyotl wrote:

Hallo Mr. ART. The mighty VIKING is back, toasted at the ocean and ready to do some shitwork.

Giovanni seems to have come up with the same solution. A BATCH TOILET.

Now to the nitty gritty.
DO you have an actual detailed plan that could serve us, so that we can go ahead and build?
Otherwise are you dancing your ass off by African drums or just hanging out in the hammock.

Here Clair has left us all alone and the nice chicks have all left.
However Gwyn will be doing some circular, so we don't turn all fat and old.

My love to the sweet family.
Love to hear from you. Saludos to all Californians we know.
Svante. Subelefante.

At 08:53 PM 2/10/00 -0800, you wrote:
>Hi, Michel...
>
>Here are the options and what I think of them in your application:
>
>URINE SEPARATING TOILET (Like Bea's)-NO
>
>This needs regular maintenance which is highly unlikely in a communal use
>situation, and without it it is a disaster. I think this is the best
>system for
>all huehue private toilets, but not for the common ones. The likely
>failure mode
>is shit, toilet paper, dirt ashes etc. clogging the urine catcher, and
>no one
>wanting to reach in and scoop it out.
>
>HOMEMADE CLIVUS - NO
>
>This system is more sensitive to design details. I don't know the exact failure
>modes, but I've worked closely with people who build clivus toilets and they
>say nearly all the homemade ones have serious failings. The only ones which
>don't smell have a fan which runs 24 hrs a day. If the power goes out,
>then it
>smells. Dina Drago in the Yucatan makes good ones, but they will not be cheap
>and still use a fan.
>
>BATCH COMPOSTING TOILET - YES
>
>This is basically similar to the system you've got. Yes, it's going to
>smell a
>little, and draw a few flies but I believe this is nearly as good as it gets,
>with some improvement possible from improved design details...add solar assist
>screened vents (a dark pipe of 30cm diameter a meter or 1.5m tall), tight
>closing toilet seats, and the key thing--during events, someone checks the
>shitter every half hour or hour and tosses in a bunch of composted wood shavings
>or ashes as needed. A gross job? not gross at all- all you're touching is
>clean wood shavings and ashes-heaven compared to reaching your hand into
>a urine
>separator to scoop some unknown person's fresh shit out of it.
>Those are the things that come to mind right now. Also, the chambers
>must be
>really big, much bigger than Cesar's urine separating toilet.
>
>
>I am still excited to try out my new design for a bathing stall/sauna.
>I think
>it would be perfect for huehue as guests could have a satisfying 20 minute
>bathing experience with a bucket and a half of water, and about the same amount
>of gas as a five minute shower. It would seem very different than a
>normal bath,
>very satisfying and incredibly low resource use...it would complement
>well the
>message people get in the course they were attending. It could be retrofitted
>into most concrete-box type showers...I hope to build one at Bea's or huehue
>when I come back.
>
>
>It is finally raining here. I just filled all the way my new 10 m3 cistern
>today for the first time. It is shaped like a giant vase; (you can see a picture
>at:

<Water Storage-book)
>
>Hope to see you soon,
>
>Art
>
>Huhuecoyotl wrote:
>
>> Dear Art:
>>
>> We want to build a new latrine in Huehue for our guests and I would very much
>> like to hear your opinion on which system we should use. I'm sure that you
>> know more about it than we do, even though I remember you said that you didn't
>> know of an ideal model, last time we saw each other.
>> I know how to make the Bea type of latrine and the clivius.
>> Could you send us some ideas and details if necessary. We,ll appreciate it a
>> lot.
>> We cant use a flushing toilet because you know that we don't have enough water
>> and we don't want to put to much money into it, because we would like to use
>> our
>> limited resources in other communal projects as sauna, hot tub, etc.

>> I hope you, Lynn and Maya are OK. Come back soon.

>> Love.
Michel


Full greywater how-to details from our store