Outhouse Maintenance

[Jerry-B-WI]

Soooo ... I put in a new outhouse last summer. Buried a 200 gallon tank, poured a slab over it and put up an enclosure. I'm wondering if it would be a good decision to throw some sawdust in and try to get some composting going. My old outhouse I threw lime in to keep the stink down. This tank is bigger than the old pit and I don't think lime is a good idea. I know I'll never have to get this one pumped out but I don't want to cause a headache for the next owner. Any input?

 

[SD51555]

I don't have a tank under mine, it just sits over a hole in the ground. The rule is, one fist of sawdust for every trip in there, and the hole is open to the air outside. That keeps the smell down completely. You could blindfold someone and walk them in there, and they'd not know it was an outhouse. If I've got a full house for the weekend, it can get a little noticeable, but after a day or two of no deposits, it's back to zero.

I'd think your tank will fill up for somebody some day. You may want to have a talk with the pumper truck guy and see what he thinks.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

If you throw sawdust in with the turds, won't you eventually be left with soil inside your 200 gallon tank? The tank will fill up eventually, but I don't think you will be able to pump it out if it is solid. Maybe put a bunch of water in the tank and have it pumped out annually?

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Guess I'll have to rethink the sawdust. I don't want to pay to pump every year either.

 

[buckdeer1]

They make a bacteria to put in holding tanks.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Pardon the pun, I dont know crap about outhouse set ups, but if it was me I would build the outhouse on skids. Dig a hole a reasonable depth, pull the outhouse over the hole, use said hole until it was say 12" from being ground level. Move the outhouse over another new hole. Fill remaining hole with dirt. Use what every reasonable manner necessary to keep the odor down.

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

They make a bacteria to put in holding tanks.

I know of a product called Roebic for septic tanks but it may only work in an anaerobic condition. This tank is open and has all kinds of air in it.

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Pardon the pun, I dont know crap about outhouse set ups, but if it was me I would build the outhouse on skids. Dig a hole a reasonable depth, pull the outhouse over the hole, use said hole until it was say 12" from being ground level. Move the outhouse over another new hole. Fill remaining hole with dirt. Use what every reasonable manner necessary to keep the odor down.

Too late to do it that way.

 

[Telemark]

You will want to get it pumped eventually, or it will fill up.

We use lime and ash in our outhouse to keep the odor down. We also get it pumped every few years, as it did fill up after about 20 years or so.

Water is your enemy when it comes to odor. I would install a tall pipe with a vent turbine on top. This will help evaporation in the tank and cause air flow that draws the smell away from the user and vents it high up where it can diffuse in the breeze.

We do sometimes use a bit of sawdust in the ,middle of summer if there are a few hot days with no breeze.

To have it pumped, you need to add a bunch of water for a few weeks to loosen it up. I think it costs about $150 cash or so every 5 years when the septic guy is already there to pump a neighbor's tank.

 

[tooln]

I'd listen to SD51555's idea. I know he's done a lot of research for his and has had it for awhile.

 

[Tree Spud]

Obviously you can't do anaerobic digestion (without oxygen). Aerobic digestion (exposed to oxygen) could be considered if you were in the southern half of the country. Both of these rely on consistent chemistry and temperature (temp can't be <58 F) conditions to maintain bugs (bacteria). Essentially either approach when the conditions are right will produce bugs that consume the organic solids (acid formers) that produce sugars when they consume the solids, and then new bugs (sugar formers) that will produce the final product. One by-product always is methane from this biological process. You will still have considerable amount of solids left like most public wastewater treatment plants do, it will just be more of slurry. All of these plants still produce a lot of post process solids even with rigorous tank mixing and maintaining precise biological/chemistry conditions. Solids are just easier to landfill after the process.

The problem is that your wastewater will need to be recirculated and mixed to expose the solids (organics). In your tank, solids will simply settle on the bottom. The other issue is you won't be able to maintain a proper temp range, or the correct pH to keep the bugs from dying.

Long and short is you can spend a lot of money to try and achieve aerobic conditions without getting results. Throwing some additives in as mentioned above can't hurt, just remember some of those will be solids that won't break down very quickly and will fill your tank up. Should plan on good venting and pumping based on amount of use and tank level.

 

[SD51555]

I'd listen to SD51555's idea. I know he's done a lot of research for his and has had it for awhile.

The first hole lasted 5 years. I just capped that one last summer. I threw some big chunks of aspen in to fill the hole and covered it up with the original dirt and mounded it enough to remind anyone what it is. I dug another hole right next to it, and slid the outfit over and started new. Took about 15 minutes, cost nothing, and we're off and running again. I periodically jump on the old hole to make sure it's stable and won't be a boot stealer. So far, it's rock solid.