Bye Bye Black Tank! - Installing an Airhead Composting Toilet and removing our RV's black Tank
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ส.ค. 2024
- So we have decided to go composting with our toilet needs! In this video we go through how we installed our composting toilet and removed the black tank from our RV.
6 Best Composting Toilets On The Market
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We chose to go with an airhead composting toilet for a number of reasons, primarily no need to dump sewage and no water usage. We will get into all the reasons in another video. Because of how our RV's black tank was configured we decided to remove if from the RV altogether. We were able to use the existing black tank vent to vent the new toilet out the roof of the RV and have been very happy with how it has been functioning. We have not had any smell issues, and so far find it much less smelly than the black tank. Overall a composting toilet works by separating the liquids (urine) and solids (poo). It uses the fan to consistently draws air through the solids tank and drys everything out.
If you are thinking of doing a DIY compost toilet install we hope this video helps you out. Every install is going to be different depending on where you install it but the general concept will be the same regardless of if you are doing a stationary installation, in a Boat or RV.
Thank you for watching our videos!
We are the Mortons On The Move and we live full-time in our fifth-wheel RV and travel the country. We blog, vlog, and share our journey on social media. We'd love for you to join us!
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You've got awesome handy-man skillz!! Not sure why everyone is so concerned about the resale value of YOUR RV... LOL. It's your home... make it yours and when it's time to sell, the right buyer will be there. I'm sure there are many people who would totally appreciate the fact that you just did all that work so they don't have to!
Totally agree! Right on!
Great job as always. Glad to see another full-time family making the move to compost. Those in the know, know how to go!
:) Yes they do!
Great documentation on your removing of the black tank and installation of the compost toilet!
Best video I've seen yet on toilet removal/replacement. Thank you and God Bless.
As per usual, Morton’s on the Move answer many of my in depth question and then done. There’s a lot to consider in undertaking a big project like thins. Thank you for sharing all sides of the process!!
Thank you guys for sharing and being so candid! I think your comprehensive attention to detail was exceptional!😘❤️
This is good timing for us - we're about to order an AirHead for our Airstream renovation. Thanks for showing each step.
I have watched MANY "how to take care of your black tank" Videos. I have to say Tom, this is the ULTIMATE "Black Tank" Video - LOL I did not even know it was possible to remove a black tank (without sawing it into) because they are installed before the floor deck is installed. You guys are "DA MAN"!!
Lol, thanks!
Love you guys' videos! I was watching the vent pipe connections you made at the floor, had a concern, but you totally addressed it at the end with the "finger of silicone". Great job.
Great job on the install, you are very talented and thanks for sharing it. I intend install one when we go full time living in the van.
Tom you continue to amaze me!!!!
Great video and way to take the plunge on pulling the black tank!
I installed a Nature's Head and was able to utilize the existing black tank vent. On the roof I have a Cyclone tank vent. On a breezey day I can feel it drawing air through the toilet. They really work.
The video is very helpful to understand what is needed with an installation and helps us consider our options in our RV.
Great googly moogly.. amazing job! Seriously..from the project itself to the video production..you guys did a super job! Congrats! I watched the video just to see what the flange looked like and watched the whole thing! Honestly, I'm really impressed.
Good job Tom, you had a plan and followed it to a T. Enjoyed your speedy installation.
Good content and well presented. I might have rounded the corners of the plywood patch and covered it with flooring to match existing.
I am amazed at your ingenuity
Ah the days of being able to crawl into tight quarters. Way to go. Glad it's working out for you. Thanks for the video and for explaining all you do. Blessings.
lol, thanks Neil!
Nice work, as usual, Tom. To put the finishing touches on the installation, consider some quarter round to "soften" the edge of the plywood platform; both visually and physically (toe stubber).
I was thinking the same!
Very good video you are doing great thank you for showing this link😊
Your videos are very informative.
Great job, and awesome video!!!!
Very nice work, impressed, good oh ya...
Just ran into this video as we are looking to do the same thing on our rig. Really appreciate this video and the installation looks great! We will have to search for the video with your thoughts on the toilet!
You did a great job!
You two smart brains & Handy ！
Nice video, good install. I installed an Airhead composting toilet in our truck camper just over a year ago right after we picked up the TC and have been very happy with it. Infinitely better than the whole black tank thing and so much eco friendly. I hope you will do a follow up video down the road after using it a while with your impressions.
Ditto - am hoping an update on how it's been working out for them is on their list of videos. Mortons are ON The Move!
Howdy, Hope your both well.
Just installed ours last week. More fun watching you do it!
Hey guys, Great to hear from you! Hope you are well too! That's awesome that you installed one too! Were about 2 months into using it and so far were loving it!
Very ambitious of you to remove the black tank. Good job.
Oh my god..what a massive project.I’d have to have that work professionally done. Well done 👍
Thanks!
Great instructional video...Thanks
Good job!
Thanks for sharing. As someone who collects and repurposes furniture and for those who might attempt this going forward it would be aesthetically pleasing to use a solid wood top from a small table top for your toilet base. Something curved. Not criticizing, appreciate you sharing.
nice DIY job
Great information, thank you.
most excellent video
Very professionally done! I would love to see you install on a Roadtrek.
Great video! Thank you
I’m going to need help this is a lot lol but u did a great job and great explanation
Sweet, thanks guys.
I wish you the best of luck, and I'll be looking forward to a review of the composting toilet about 6 mos to a year from now.........
Hoping to get the next vid out in about a month.
Nice video. Will be interested in the review on the toilet.
You could equalize the black tank in that set up you had. Just split the gray tank drain to run pipe/hose to the high end of the black tank. The gray tank will then overflow into the black tank. Thx for the video, it was entertaining and helpful.
Unfortunately the way it was planned we couldn't get the water to flow right.... Possibly the shower could have now that I think of it.... We ended up filling that space with batteries tho.
My Gosh yr talented.
Nice install till you used wire nuts... never use them on a RV or boat. Only homes. I would have epoxy'd the base you made as well to keep out moisture, and made it a bit smaller to match the contour of the toilet. But all in all a good install. Interested in seeing how you like it after a while. We will probably install one in our 1999 Foretravel U320 one of these days, but keep the black tank for more grey tank capacity.
thanks 4 the info
It might be worth mentioning that the AirHead only comes with one fan. The second fan is a additional purchase. It's also important to point out that a person thinking of purchasing the AirHead, had better think carefully about which side the crank is on. Since it's irreversible once you purchase. We have a AirHead and so far really like it. We cut out our blk tank also and haven't regretted it.
Yes very good points we will mention those in our next vid!
Great video. Man, it would sure be nice not to have to bother with black water and all the issues of cleaning and flushing the black water tank, although, you still have to deal with a urine bottle. I believe your boondocking time could be nicely extended by a day or two due to not using any water to flush.
Next, researching how to minimize and deal with gray water in a environmentally safe way.
Gone With the Wynns back in their RVing days, used a composting toilet and had some good videos on the subject. They traveled to Burning Man a few years ago and there were some examples that people were using on dealing with gray water in that episode.
Cheers from B.C.
I might have agreed to keep the black tank. However, it may have required a bit of engineering to use it as an additional grey tank and as a urine tank...might have been a bit complex and/or voided your airhead warranty. SO, you've gained some space, lost some weight, now able to clean up the messy wiring and should be happier. Good job on the installation instruction.
You can't join black and gray tanks right? Because of contamination from the black tank?
Bitworkx6028 Hi’ I’m interested in the possibility of having black tank just hold liquids, no water use. I’d like to hear your ideas on compost diversion in this way. Suggestions ? I like folks who think outside the box . Since I already Have a Tank but don’t want sewage and use up precious water
.......you guys amaze!!!!.......how you know all this stuff?!?!?!
We have friends who use this toilet and for added natural safe drying and odor control they went to a farm supply store and bought a bag of HORSE STALL DRY DEODORIZER. It is safe to use on wood, rubber, plastic, concrete, dirt etc. it neutralizes ammonia and smell. They add about 1/8 of a cup into the solids with the fresh coconut core. Mix thoroughly then just use as normal. They have also in a pinch used cedar stall bedding with it when they were unable to get their coconut core.
Next project is how Tom makes a Kayak out of the old black tank. Haha
Now that would be pretty funny!
Or he could turn it into several little nifty hats like the one I wear.
Haha he is pretty creative.
Nicely done. Considered composting unit, don’t think I would fully commit to removal of black tank but I get the space advantage. One thing you may want to check on- not sure doubling the fans makes sense, especially stacked so close. Has to do with turbulence and back pressure... yawn! Anyway, math and physics involved, but I know it is frowned upon in HVAC and hydraulic applications.
Absolutely great JoB Sir. This is my intention as well. May i very respectfully ask what model Composting unit you purchased?
The Airhead seems to be the way to go. Though I'd probably pick the domestic style, ie with an elongated seat.
Now, at the end of 2018, is it still so far, it's good? You have made so many great improvements to your fiver that you will have a LIST of buyers hoping for the day you post it for sale ;)
Working great for us! I dont think its for everyone but it has given us so much more flexibility. We have had company stay with us three times and while it weirded a few people out everyone got used to it.
@@MortonsontheMove (just watching this now) Candace was thinking the same as me. Good to hear that it is working well. For all the naysayers I would have to add that if I were in the market and I saw that the RV had a composting toilet update I would be more inclined to buy.
Great instructional! I have the same model Mobile Suites 5th wheel. Wouldn't you think that for a fairly high end model like these are, the wiring would be done a bit more tidy and professional looking?
good video.... most stinky toilets are due to 2 things. first is that the foam toilet ring leaks air, so I coat them with a little silicon to prevent smells from entering the compartment. You can actually blow air through them. Second, the sewer tank flush system has a vacuum breaker valve that fails all the time. The valve is located above the floor, most of the time under the bathroom sink but sometimes in other locations. I eliminate them, so no more tank smells entering the coach.
Yea that vacuum breaker many people don't think of.
I just took out an rv toilet and installed a nature's head. I kept the black tank and piped the liquid side to the black tank instead of using the collection bottle.
nice work. #2 is handled. but what do you do for the #1?
Nice video! You are a pretty young guy to have so much knowledge. Tell me your background please.
Just an average guy who has always loved mechanical things. I do have a background in Electrical engineering and power systems.
Is the inline screen you used a separate purchase? If so where did you find that?
What ya do is combine the grea water and old black tank and double your holding capacity for desert or remote boondocking where YOU ARE NOT allowed to surface dump. Throwing it away was a waste!
... did you see where it was mounted. 2 feet higher than our grey and no way to plumb into it. Yes most RVs can combine, not this one.
Hi my black tank pulley snapped! Ouch so thinking about bypassing the black tank and using the plumbing, all waste is plumbed in. Can i use the RV toilet for this?
Ok will have to replace the pulleys on mine maybe a lot easier thanks
Question? Great job guys 👍but, as I mentioned at peterdement comment below WHY NOT THIS IDEA.
.....why not also tap into the inlet drain pipe to GRAY TANK add a open close valve to redirect GRAY WATER (maybe gray water from BATHROOM could only drain into black tank and not kitchen) into BLACK TANK when BOTTOM GRAY TANK is FULL. This would have required you to drill a new hole in the top for inlet. Original BLACK tank carries gray water & urine to be discharged without the solids. More Capacity dry camping time.
....hopefully this could be done with out removing tank to modify, as far as vent, install vent pipe for Airhead (pvc) up the back inside back corner of toilet room and thru ceiling.
.....Do you think this idea was possible with you setup?
Thanks,
Jeff
As a note on vent pipe, also could drill into proper location to tap the original black tank vent pipe behind your Airhead compost toilet. Instead of my original idea using (pvc) cutting new hole in ceil roof.
.......I realise the extra space for future battery bank may have superceded all I have mentioned. 🖒glad to see that there still young people out there doing for themselves. Some young students right out of college don't know what a Phillips head screw driver looks like. Again👍👍
Jeff
Unfortunatly in the configuration it was we could not even get the shower into it so it was not going to work for grey. If we could have then yes I think that would have worked. Luckily our grey is 80 gallons so between our blue boy and grey we can contain the full 100 gal fresh anyway. We thought about plumbing the urine into the black but wanted the space to move batteries to someday. We don't even intend to sell this rig so for us it made a lot of sense.
Mortons on the Move .......Jeff again, ........later of it gets old dumping urine hand tank I suppose you could add a dedicated urine tank with manual dump valve above your gray tank to dump into gray at dump station time. 😆........make it easier when out boondocking.
........?.....what did you decide to do on below deck loop (vent tube) concerns with condensation collection blocking venting. One of your other followers mentioned.
Safe travels dry camping on your adventures for you & the Mrs.
Jeff,
War Eagle!
You was at an RV show. Who made that black wast tank burn off. Thanks
I get why you removed your black tank, but wondering if you considered resale in the future and leaving as much of the plumbing in place to facilitate easily re-installing a standard RV toilet?
Could you route the grey tank pipe into the black tank, then link the black to grey? I'm at 1 minute, you may answer that. Also, you no doubt have plans for the Black's space utilization.
Shit that’s a good idea!!! I’m going to do the same thing!!! Except I’m not making a shirty Kayak out of the black tank. I’m making a large large wine maker. Should be great to ferment the 🍷.
Have you ever thought about how your battery and toilet conversions might work on a boat? Some boats could also use solar, so the applications could be very similar. Boat owners have to pay for pump outs, and shore power. Most boats are already wired for 12v and 110v so that would be easier. Motor yachts, not small day use runabouts.
Did you install the "residential" or "marine" size?
Thanks!
Great install video. Seems like most everyone uses the natures head toilet. Just curious why you decided on the airhead.
There are a few big benefits to its design we will discuss in another video soon!
What's the name of the compost toilet like natures head but drains the urine? Is that this one or the marine composting toilet?
How do you manage compost toileting on the road? How often do you have to dump it and do you always use a dumpster to dump it? Also, I have always wondered exactly how difficult it would be if I were to permanently live somewhere, how difficult it would be to dispose of the compost continually.
We wrote about our experience with the composting toilet in this article: mortonsonthemove.com/review-of-air-head-composting-toilet/ This article will give you a good idea of what we think the pros and cons are and will also answer your questions about dumping. :)
I’ve always wondered if the fans run continually? If not how are they activated? I know you personally have plenty of power even when boondocking, but if they run continually what’s the power draw. Good video. Thanks.
I think the fans are around 3 watts each. You do need to run them all the time. We have considered adding another fan in line as a bathroom fan that would be activated by a external switch, more on that soon!
Thanks
@@MortonsontheMove
In the video you mentioned a smell problem initially. Just out of curiosity did you flip the bottom fan over when installing it? If not then I think that's probably the true culprit. Informative though.
You could actually combine them with a vented pipe that siphons off the top of the tank, but your grey plumbing would need to be fed into your black. In that configuration, black fills, then spills over to the gray.
Our black tank was 2 feet higher than the grey... P
@@MortonsontheMove It would have taken some added plumbing, but not impossible.
I have a question. I am not an RV full timer and I live in Canada, the cold part :). Can I use the same mulch bucket for a whole camping season?
If you are not a full timer then yes you can probably get away with once per season, The long downtimes allow the solids to compost and shrink. This is mainly used in boats and weekend use will usually last a season.
We have had an air head on our boat for the last few years. I would not recommend it. We used to be able to get good quality peatmoss. We haven't been able to find any for sum time. The problem is insect eggs. When mixed with water, they hatch and become flying insects. Last year we tried putting the brick into a 300 degree oven. It didn't work. This year i will try again for four hours instead of two. On a boat we were able to pump urin overboard when we were out of port. On land this would be a problem. The separate jug that comes with it fills quickly. I should have installed a new high tech marine toilet that uses a lot less water. It would also work very well in a rv.
Why not plumb the liquid collection from the new composting toilet to the tank (Black or Gray) to eliminate having to periodically empty the composting liquids container?
peterdement .... That's a great idea! .....Too include my idea with yours is why not also tap into the inlet drain pipe to GRAY TANK add a open close valve to redirect GRAY WATER into BLACK TANK when BOTTOM GRAY TANK is FULL. Original BLACK tank carries gray water & urine to be discharged without the solids. More Capacity dry camping time.
Jeff
We do intend to do that someday!
peterdement yeah what you said and the other guy.
Not everyone cares about how much money they are going to lose by caring for the environment. Nice video btw. Thanks
I would really like to hear your justification for getting rid of a liquid system. Is it more convenient? Easier? Why did you do this?
No longer having to deal with evacuating the black tank is the biggest thing. You can also get rid of the compost anywhere, because it's just soil.
@@kalel33 incorrect. It is not "just soil" it is still fecal matter until you have made sure it reaches a certain temperature (i believe it is 130 degrees) for a duration of time for sanitization purposes!
The black tank reeks.... smells bad !!
.
Doesn't making compost require storing it in a pile for it to decompose? How do you dispose of the solids from the composting toilet?
It doesn't turn into compost in a few weeks obviously, but it does break down the poo and kill some bacteria so what you have left isn't really a biohazard. I think most people just bag it and throw it away like trash, but if you do have a compost pile (used for non-food plants, probably) you can add what comes out of the toilet to it and eventually have compost.
Do the fans stay on all of the time or are the switched or timed?
All the time, but we will talk about fan options in a later vid.
My concern is female can leak urine while having a vowel movement making the system not work properly any thoughts?
We will cover that in a follow up video. We are still learning the unit. :)
Nature's head addressed this on their site, I'm not sure about the airhead. The forward area is slightly slanted and buffered via its shape towards the front urine collection. It's not an issue. It is however an issue if a male stands to pee as it's harder to aim for that front area without splashing into the main bowl for #2.
The only issue I see with your installation is that you have created a trap for condensation with routing your vent down underneath the floor and hooking back up to your old black tank vent. It might get blocked by condensation collection and or rain water seeping into the vent while driving. You'll need to keep an eye on that.
Yea we know that, have been checking it regularly, have not seem rain get in yet.
Seems like it would be easier to just tie the vent right into the black tank. I realize it frees up some space...
Most of the time the compost heat will create a chimney draft on its own without a single fan. Two fans is way overkill! I'm starting to understand your long attachment to your blackwater tank.
Nice job getting that stinky out. Now I don't want to remove mine but it's a mouse home.
good job. Where did you buy the toilet compost? I liked that model.
It's available in some RV shops, camping shops, but your best price right now is Amazon imho.
We got ours right from the airhead website airheadtoilet.com/
thanks for answering my question. Greetings.
To add to this, there are basically just two really valid RV choices, the Airhead and the Nature's Head, which is apparently a slightly cut-rate copy. A bit cheaper, but also a bit chintzier. Still works fine.
Plot twist: removing a composting toilet and fitting a direct flush toilet.
Hey guy, how do you know so much about this? Are you some kind of engineer or something?
Lol, yup.
Just remember if you do remove your black tank keep your release valve in place that way it will look like you are self contained...there are some TV parks that require them , a composting toilet is not considered self contained.
Kinda weird that it isn't... Because it is, but good tip. We have run into that.
So, there is only one house connected to toilet to remove moisture correct?
Correct.
How many hours/day does the fan run for, how loud is it, and have you measured how many watts it draws?
Finally put on gloves, I gag watching people work on such without gloves, Give me a pair of gloves and I will tackle anything, without gloves, forget about it! Does hurt to change gloves either, and have a bottle of straight 91 percent alcohol to spray over my hands and everything else involved in a nasty project. Very clear instructions for DIY
Surprised it took so long for you to ditch the blackwater tank.
I can almost smell it. lol
Could have bought 1/4 sheet marine plywood for base
A rolling outhouse... nice.... keep a Sears catalog handy...
Igor Schmidlapp A
I like the idea of the compost toilet, perhaps rv manufacturers will catch on. plus also, that is a mess of wires, typical manufacturers. Whata rats nest. Do the fans run all the time or is there an off on switch?
I honestly wish it were a build add-on so if you buy new, you can have it built from start to finish with that choice over a black tank. But if I ever have an RV I think I'll keep the resale value of leaving in the black tank just because it would be my first RV and if I'm dissatisfied later, it will be easier to return it back to normal operation if asked to.
The fan need to run 24/7. Moisture inside a composting toilet is the enemy, if it doesn't constantly vent out moisture you may have mold issues. Poop + mold... is probably not a fun combo.