Portable toilet - chemicals and duration

[blackwood]

I just bought a portable casset toilet and I found that the chemical I have states it will stop the odor up to 7 days. Does this mean I must dump the tank each week or can I get away with adding more chemicals until I'm ready to empty the tank?

I'm headed out for a 2 week stint, I'm not sure of when and where I will be able to empty the tanks. Are there other chemical treatment options I should look for other than this orange treatment?

 

[pugslyyy]

I just bought a portable casset toilet and I found that the chemical I have states it will stop the odor up to 7 days. Does this mean I must dump the tank each week or can I get away with adding more chemicals until I'm ready to empty the tank?

I'm headed out for a 2 week stint, I'm not sure of when and where I will be able to empty the tanks. Are there other chemical treatment options I should look for other than this orange treatment?

View attachment 357829

We use Happy Campers and really like it for our black tank. http://www.happy-campers.ca/odor-free/holding-tank-treatment/biodegradable/92-Compare
YMMV, but this works for us on really long trips, in the hot hot desert, etc.

 

[ChadHahn]

There are truckstops that have places to dump sewage. Some rest areas as well. Also camp grounds. How big is the toilet? I wonder if it would even hold two weeks worth. I have one similar to the one pictured and the first time we used it it filled up in about 4 days. I do think my daughter was using too much water to flush though. It is very handy though.

Chad

 

[blackwood]

The toilet is a 2.6 gallon unit, I would have gone with a larger unit but this is the size that will fit in the bed of the truck. I'm going to order the Happy Campers toilet treatment with my next amz order.

Turns out I will make some stops along the way where I will be able to dump in a pit toilet or rest area. My original trip was going staying through the forest for 2 weeks straight. I was using a garbage bag in a bucket with kitty litter before, there would be major odor without a gamma lid.

 

[perterra]

Mine is a 3.2 gallon Thetford, you'll be pressed to get 3 or 4 days out of it.

 

[M35A2]

I am at the opposite end of the scale. A 5 gallon spackle (mud) pail lined with a plastic bag from the grocer. Single use, obviously.

 

[blackwood]

A lined bucket works for me too but the female copilot who accompanies me at times isn't too keen to that. I would prefer a bucket since disposal is much easier. I feel sorry for the guy who empties the trash along the places I toss it at though.

 

[Kerensky97]

Most of the deep desert trips I've been planning on require you to pack your waste out. I don't want to deal with the smell or spills of a chemical toilet sloshing around so I went the "lined bucket" route but a little more refined. I got these Traveljohn solid waste bags work well to hold everything and are a bag within a bag that can be ziplocked shut to keep anything from escaping. http://amzn.to/2akvFZl
They come with everything you need, moist hand wipes for afterwards, and a little thing of TP but I'd recommend an extra roll just to be safe...
The only thing missing is a seat but you can get a cheap plastic seat like this that holds bags for under $20. http://amzn.to/2aaEsdo

Works good, airtight seals, and it solidifies the liquids so you don't have to worry about a bucket or toilet tipping over and spilling. The Plastic bags are even biodegradable so you can just chuck it all in the garbage and it will all breakdown over time.
Plus it doesn't use any precious water to flush and fill up the tank. 4-5 days worth will hardly take up any space at all.

 

[perterra]

Most of the deep desert trips I've been planning on require you to pack your waste out. I don't want to deal with the smell or spills of a chemical toilet sloshing around so I went the "lined bucket" route but a little more refined. I got these Traveljohn solid waste bags work well to hold everything and are a bag within a bag that can be ziplocked shut to keep anything from escaping. http://amzn.to/2akvFZl
They come with everything you need, moist hand wipes for afterwards, and a little thing of TP but I'd recommend an extra roll just to be safe...
The only thing missing is a seat but you can get a cheap plastic seat like this that holds bags for under $20. http://amzn.to/2aaEsdo

Works good, airtight seals, and it solidifies the liquids so you don't have to worry about a bucket or toilet tipping over and spilling. The Plastic bags are even biodegradable so you can just chuck it all in the garbage and it will all breakdown over time.
Plus it doesn't use any precious water to flush and fill up the tank. 4-5 days worth will hardly take up any space at all.

I use the Reliant when I travel by myself, they work very well.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/10098758?...75035&wl11=online&wl12=10098758&wl13=&veh=sem

Seal tightly, no smell

 

[doug720]

We use Happy Campers and really like it for our black tank. http://www.happy-campers.ca/odor-free/holding-tank-treatment/biodegradable/92-Compare
YMMV, but this works for us on really long trips, in the hot hot desert, etc.

Another happy camper who uses "Happy Camper!"

This stuff works and will not harm septic systems, which is important if you ever want to dump in a private system. Many toilet chemicals contain ingredients that will harm the "Bugs" that breakdown the waste in septic systems.

 

[thefishhawk]

I generally use Aqua-chem just since it's so readily available at places like Walmart. The dry packets are nice for a cassette toilet, a little easier to use and stow and not have to worry about spilling or anything. Can always just dump another packet in if needed down the road. It does a very good job of breaking things down if you don't have to dump the tank right away. Keeps it smelling nice.

I always try to figure out the approximate number of uses per tank size and work backward from there. (on raft trips we use tanks that are rating for 50 uses on a waterless system, so if there's 25 people on the trip for 8 days, 4 tanks go. Those are about 5.5 gal tanks) On a small cassette like that, maybe 20 uses dry, so with toilet paper and flushing, maybe 10 or 12 plus. So for two people you might get close to a week if you are careful about it.

If you are doing an extended trip and want to extend the life, don't put TP in. Take paper lunch bags and put the TP in there to be burned or sealed into ziplocks and in the garbage. Flush as little as possible and of course don't pee in there. If you aren't using much water products like Groover Tamer or just dry bleach work very well. With dry bleach a teaspoon on top of each use does a perfectly fine job and is cheap. For TP bags or wag bags a PVC pipe with threaded ends glued on keep everything sealed up nicely and easy to store.

 

[blackwood]

I got 6 days worth of use out of it before it got almost to full. I did have toilet paper in there and probably could have gotten more days if I was more careful with adding water and toilet paper. In hindsight, I should have gotten a larger unit and modified my space to fit it. I'm a fan of these portable toilets now instead of a bag in a bucket. A bucket and supply of kitty liter takes up as much space if not more.

There also is no odor with this. There was plenty of sloshing and steep angles on my recent trip. No problems what so ever.

 

[Accrete]

I got 6 days worth of use out of it before it got almost to full...

That's good to hear. I am surprised you were able to get such extended use with the two of you. . . and to ask a TMI Q did that include all the #1 uses also? My wife and I switched over to WAG Bag/DIY WB use as the unit we had (a ~5gal dometic) was not enough for a week's adventure.

Thom

 

[blackwood]

That's good to hear. I am surprised you were able to get such extended use with the two of you.

It was actually 6 days for 1 person, me. Poo only. I had to continue solo due to work changes. This toilet was suppose to be for female use only but I'm going to bring it on my solo trips I might take an old 7gallon Aquatainer and create my own black tank. Or buy an aux black tank to extend some days.

This was why I bought such a small unit, the width was perfect with an inch to spare. Also the height was good to be able to poo inside.





http://www.dyersonline.com/barker-5-gallon-tote-along-portable-holding-tank.html