Building your own home is always exciting. Building a tiny home, perhaps even more so! With a tiny, you embark on a journey of downsizing and decluttering your life. And, often, going off-grid, becoming more eco-friendly, and self-sufficient. Tinies are often placed into beautiful, natural landscapes. And, if your tiny's on wheels, you can change up the scenery every so often, going from one jaw-dropping location to the next!
Switching to a tiny, however, is a process with its own set of difficulties to navigate. There is often no sewerage connection on rural sites, and you can run into the question of how best to accommodate your toileting needs. Septic tanks are expensive, require water and periodic pumping out, and their installation has a big impact on grounds. Incinerating toilets are expensive to buy and use a lot of power, and drying toilets use high voltage fans and can be ineffective in cold, humid climates.
Composting toilets are ideal for tiny homes. They don't require any expensive additional infrastructure or water. They don't involve too much maintenance and are user-operator systems, meaning you are in charge of managing your waste and don't need to rely on any other services to do so. Plus, they are easily movable along with your home - when investing money into a system for your tiny, you want it to be mobile for when you move site!
So, which composting toilets are the best for tiny homes?
Our top recommendation for a tiny is a batching split-system composting toilet. Split-systems have good-sized composting chambers, meaning they take a while to fill up and are low maintenance.
See product as example:
Split-systems come with 'traditional' style pedestals, which sit in your bathroom looking luxurious. These days, many of these pedestals are porcelain, which makes them even more 'normal' looking! Directly underneath the pedestal sits your composting chamber, connected via chute. The chamber sits underneath the floor and thus requires clearance under your structure (typically 500mm) - this space has to be accessible for swapping over of chambers.
Batching-split-systems come with multiple composting chambers, which are use on a rotational basis. Typically, the standard package includes two chambers, and more chambers can be added to expand capacity. One chamber is 'in-use' - connected to the chute, collecting waste, and composting it. Once this chamber is full, you put an 'out-of-service' lid on it, and sit it outside for further maturation of the compost, during which time you put another chamber into use. Once the contents of a full chamber have matured, they are ready to be buried in your designated land application area, and the empty chamber can be put back into rotation. Usually, (depending on use) the chambers are swapped over every three-six months.
The best batching split-systems have the following features:
- porcelain pedestal - great look and comfortable feel
- double-walled chambers - great for heat retention and especially important in climates with an average yearly temperature of below 18 degrees
- mixer blades - mixing mechanisms are great in smaller split systems as they maximize the space inside the chambers and give you more time between chamber swaps!
- effective ventilation - a good fan is important for both composting efficiency and for keeping the toilet completely odourless!
- good drainage - again, this is best achieved with double-walled systems, which have drainage holes throughout the inner chamber, allowing liquids to drain through to the bottom and out through the leachate drain
- trolley/wheels - avoid putting your back out when you need to swap over your chambers and opt for a system that has a chamber trolley or chamber wheels!
And the best part about these systems? When you're ready to change scenery and the time comes to move - your split-system goes with you! The pedestal is secure in the bathroom, so all you have to do is disconnect your composting chamber, take out the chute (so that it doesn't drag on the road), and take them with you. Then, simply reassemble on the new site!
Need help choosing a system? Call WCTNZ® on 0800 022 027 for free advice on system specification and setup. Advanced design consultancy services are also available.
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