Roaddude
Long time off-grid vanlife adventurist
I've used a homemade composting toilet for a long time when camping back country and in the desert.
Personally, I would not over-complicate it by piping a pee diverter/receptacle to a holding tank. A simple jug affair, similar to a Nature's Head set up, works slick.
In my homemade composting setup, I used a gallon laundry soap jug for urine and only solids went into the bucket with peat moss or cocoa fibre. Depending on how much you're going to use it, as in how many people and how many trips/nights out a year, you really don't need a complicated stirring mechanism either. I'm primarily a solo traveler, full-time, and can use a simple 5 gal composting bucket without a stirring mechanism for a month or more before worrying about having to empty it, though often change it if going by a good place to get rid of trash. After each use, I simply add a half a cup of peat moss to cover the solids or jiggle the bag liner so it gets covered.
I don't have a fan on mine, either. Keeping the urine separate, and keeping a bag you can close under the seat and another over the seat but under the lid has made it odor free and takes care of the condensation problem some homemade composting toilets have. Seriously. I use a simple 5gal snap on seat from Reliance.
Keeping liquids and solids separate pretty much eliminates offensive odors, as you seem to already know. But for that reason, I wouldn't let urine go into a tank to mix with waste water from anything else.
To dump both clean rinse water form my outdoor kitchen and urine jug when base camping for longer than it'll take to fill either, I typically dig a spot at least 200' from camp or body of water and fill it with whatever I can find for stones, gravel, and sand etc, to act as a rudimentary filter of sorts. Before breaking camp, that gets filled over with local dirt. Better to have a sump in one spot instead of dumping waste in several spots.
I have a Nature's Head that's never been used and is still in the box, my home composting set up as worked so well. Though I may finally install it as I get geared up for my next long adventure across the country. It's a little more comfortable, seat shape wise.
Here's a post I made last year about the home composting set up.
There are other outfits besides Nature's Head, too, that sell composting toilet kits and parts, like @sandtcompostingtoilets, though looks like they may sell complete kits only, not sure. Also looks like some of the components they use, like the urine jug, may be sourced from other composting toilet mfgs like Nature's Head.
Good luck. I'll be interested to see how this evolves for you.
.
roaddude.com
Personally, I would not over-complicate it by piping a pee diverter/receptacle to a holding tank. A simple jug affair, similar to a Nature's Head set up, works slick.
In my homemade composting setup, I used a gallon laundry soap jug for urine and only solids went into the bucket with peat moss or cocoa fibre. Depending on how much you're going to use it, as in how many people and how many trips/nights out a year, you really don't need a complicated stirring mechanism either. I'm primarily a solo traveler, full-time, and can use a simple 5 gal composting bucket without a stirring mechanism for a month or more before worrying about having to empty it, though often change it if going by a good place to get rid of trash. After each use, I simply add a half a cup of peat moss to cover the solids or jiggle the bag liner so it gets covered.
I don't have a fan on mine, either. Keeping the urine separate, and keeping a bag you can close under the seat and another over the seat but under the lid has made it odor free and takes care of the condensation problem some homemade composting toilets have. Seriously. I use a simple 5gal snap on seat from Reliance.
Keeping liquids and solids separate pretty much eliminates offensive odors, as you seem to already know. But for that reason, I wouldn't let urine go into a tank to mix with waste water from anything else.
To dump both clean rinse water form my outdoor kitchen and urine jug when base camping for longer than it'll take to fill either, I typically dig a spot at least 200' from camp or body of water and fill it with whatever I can find for stones, gravel, and sand etc, to act as a rudimentary filter of sorts. Before breaking camp, that gets filled over with local dirt. Better to have a sump in one spot instead of dumping waste in several spots.
I have a Nature's Head that's never been used and is still in the box, my home composting set up as worked so well. Though I may finally install it as I get geared up for my next long adventure across the country. It's a little more comfortable, seat shape wise.
Here's a post I made last year about the home composting set up.
There are other outfits besides Nature's Head, too, that sell composting toilet kits and parts, like @sandtcompostingtoilets, though looks like they may sell complete kits only, not sure. Also looks like some of the components they use, like the urine jug, may be sourced from other composting toilet mfgs like Nature's Head.
Good luck. I'll be interested to see how this evolves for you.
.
Roaddude - On the Road In North America - ROADDUDE
Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.
roaddude.com
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