# Any C-Head Users?



## SailingLazy (Jul 26, 2010)

Okay, I've read through all the composting head threads I could find here and elsewhere. The SO and I are seriously considering this option. We are intrigued by the C-Head, but I haven't been able to find reviews by any actual users. One thing we're especially concerned about is the potential for odors and general "yuckiness" since it doesn't have a trap door like the more expensive models.

Any C-Head users out there? What have your experiences with this product been?


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## amelia (Jan 6, 2011)

Our new C-head arrived recently, and now occupies the space of honor in our home-made houseboat. It's shorter than either of its main competitors, thus more comfortable to sit on, especially if the overhead is low. At $500, it's also half the price, with shipping included. It seems to be sturdily built, and was exquisitely packaged. The installation was quick and easy, and even before the ventilation hoses were installed, it was ready for immediate use. The liquid waste container is a simple gallon jug of the sort water and milk come in, thus easily disposable when it becomes discolored or stinky. 
Downsides: Both the solid waste bucket and the liquid waste jug are smaller than either competitor's, and thus need to be emptied more often. We don't find that a problem; the urine is less stinky if the jug is emptied every day, (in an, ahem, ecologically-sensitive fashion, that is, in an onshore toilet, on remote shrubbery, or -- look over both shoulders on a dark night-- you know...) and the solid waste, a week's worth, is simply dumped into a larger 5-gallon bucket with a ventilated lid, to dry further. When that 5-gallon bucket is full, it's time to dispose of the contents in a dumpster or on its own dedicated compost pile in the back 40, and start over. 
It seems to have been well thought out. I think I wish I had gone with the regular round seat rather than the elongated one... the round seat would have fit the containers beneath with less gap. So far, we are pleased-- not to have spent the extra $500 to $700. We shall see how long that pleasure lasts.


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## amelia (Jan 6, 2011)

I regret that I am not qualified to reply to PMs on this august forum, due to insufficient numbers of posts. Please know then, Ms. T, that I am not ignoring you. The answer to your question is YES! We are still pleased with the thing, very much so, after 9 months of light, cool-season use. There is no smell. None. Care could hardly be easier. 

I suspect that user-noncompliance accounts for a substantial percentage of all disappointment. If the males of your acquaintance cannot bring themselves to suffer the indignity of sitting to pee, there will be problems as the stuff that is supposed to dry the poop gets soaked with mis-aimed pee. Yuck. All users must sit for each use. That's all there is to it.

We weren't too happy with the fit of the elongated seat, so next time they were on sale at the local hardware store, we replaced it with a wooden round one, drilled a hole for the crank to fit through, and vi-ola! Much better, and for us, just as comfortable.

One surprise was to discover that TP doesn't get drawn down into the peat mixture, rather floats on top, where it quickly dries. We then, from time to time, pick it out, stuff it in a plastic grocery bag, tie a knot, and chuck it. Not a problem, as it turns out.

I may be talking out of ignorance, but I wonder if the gnats some have complained of are due to eggs hiding in garden center peat. We have not encountered any beasties at all in reconstituted coconut fiber. when we are using it more often, we will be emptying it more often, before, in theory, the bugs have a chance to hatch. We shall see.

But for the investment, this seems a very sturdy, simple, well-thought-out, affordable contraption, which would seem to be a perfect size for a small sailboat head. With great storage space where the icky holding tank used to be.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

amelia said:


> .....icky holding tank.....


You call the holding tank icky, but you pick used toilet paper out of your head?


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## amelia (Jan 6, 2011)

With chopsticks dedicated to the purpose of course. By the time I get around to doing that, it is entirely dry and odorless, and if I didn't bother, it wouldn't matter at all. The bucket would just fill a bit faster. No problem.
Part of the reason we went with this option is that we didn't want to have to use precious fresh drinking water for our "just like home experience." Or, for that matter, look at our dark tannin-stained swamp water pumped at some expense so we can pretend we are not going to have to face the results eventually. Nor must we keep a freaking NC-required pump out log, nor must we take the whole apparatus apart to repair it, nor must we scour the Internet looking for obscure spare parts and wait for them to arrive. Nor must we arrive at our next pump out station, many miles from the next one after that, with a full holding tank, only to find it placarded OTS. We needn't store bottles of antistinkum liquid, or salt for the treat & dumper. 
I am absolutely not saying this thing is the only way to go, but we did investigated a LOT of alternatives, smelled a lot of stinky boats. We call the nice Raritan rep our friend, he has even been to visit from time to time, and somehow we ended up with this C-Head anyway. We cant say we weren't warned. Peggie Hall was steadfastly agin composting heads, but I would love to have her evaluate this one. I believe they have devolved, if you will, a long way, toward simplicity.
Who knows? We haven't lived aboard yet, have not spent a humid Southern summer dealing with its minimal requirements. We may eventually end up with an expensive, heavy, complicated traditional flushing head, delicate macerator, holding tank to monitor, and all the complexity that entails. If so, we aren't out much money! Frankly, it was a personal decision based on a fair amount of reading and listening, ( we had originally planned on a hold-n-treat-n-dump, until NC outllawed them) and so far, this cheap, simple thing is working nicely for us. I don't think I would recommend it to someone such as yourself, whose mind is already firmly made up, though.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

I don't know where you get the idea that my mind is firmly made up. I find all solutions to have their pros and cons. Picking used TP out of a head with chopsticks is a clear con in my book. You've detailed some pros too and I agree with them.

However, a holding tank does not have to stink. Period. They only do when managed incorrectly, such as ever adding anything like an antistinkum liquid. Just like a C-head will stink, if managed incorrectly. 

As far as I'm concerned, they are both viable options. I chose the holding tank because I believe the significant number of non-sailor guests we have aboard find it more comfortable.

If you've ever noticed me push back on this subject before, its usually focused on those that say there is absolutely, positively, hands down, no odor or anything objectionable about a c-head. That's nonsense, but you didn't say that. I was only referencing the irony between calling a holding tank icky (which it is), in the same paragraph where the user must reach in and handle used TP.

For me, and perhaps only me, its like finding dried up used TP on the sidewalk and picking it up with chopsticks. Icky.


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## arf145 (Jul 25, 2007)

I'm a composting head advocate and admirer--don't have one because we don't have the space. I find the idea of waste composting in a dry bin much less icky than waste soup floating around in a tank. However, even I would put the idea of picking out TP bits with chopsticks in the icky column. I don't think you'll find that suggestion in any of the sales materials of the composting head companies, even if it is a good volume reducer.


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## amelia (Jan 6, 2011)

Actually, if anybody had suggested to me that toilet paper would have to be handled in any form, post-use, I would have recoiled in disgust, too. It only occurred to me one day that that dried paper had been there for ages, floating on top,lightly dusted with coconut fiber,that I might remove it without undue revulsion. So I did. Took all of ten nonupsetting seconds, and I suspect most people wouldn't bother. I surely won't bother either once we are living aboard or on the long-anticipated longer cruise, and emptying the lumpy peatish mixture into its secondary composting bucket once every week or two, rather than once in six months. As it is, the head goes mostly unused for weeks on end as we tend to construction chores within twenty paces of home. Some people, I understand, carefully put freshly used paper in a wastepaper basket beside their head, both for traditional heads and for composting ones. I am happy this hasn't proved necessary for us. 

I shook my head firmly NO when the idea of a composting head was first proposed. I love my Birkenstocks, but that is a little too close to Mother Gaia for this southern belle, thank you very much. I pictured immense Clivus Multrum rigs, and heads that incinerated the deposits, and I imagined 33-gallon garbage cans full of loose peat required for others.... Uh-uh. Not me. Then NC solons in their overweening wisdom, said no treat-and-dump in our pristine (or not) waters. And keep a log of pumpouts. That put things in a whole new light. Who do y'all think you're shoving around? We had not gotten too far down the plumbing path to change our minds, so back to the literature. As it turned out, C-Head had just been introduced, and offered what seemed to be significant improvements in the state of the art, at half the price of other 'composters'. We decided to give it a try... What did we have to lose? 
As I said, so far, we are content. Nobody has fouled up the works with, um, feminine contraband, probably because there is precious little machinery to jam. So far, the only males to use the thing have been cooperative. The thing, so far, looks nice, takes no extra space, requires no platform to step up up on, is easy to operate and maintain, is lightweight and has absolutely no odor, not even the earthy peaty smell some have described.
so. Will this blissful honeymoon last? Breathless readers,stay tuned to see how our heroine feels about it a year from now, after, she dearly hopes, some serious use. We shall see how it goes from here.


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## arf145 (Jul 25, 2007)

I definitely appreciate reading about your real-life experience with the C-Head, Amelia. A lot of us have opinions on the composters, but there is no substitute for the experiences of real users--especially realistic ones like you. I hope you'll report back on how it's going from time to time.


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## amelia (Jan 6, 2011)

One more thought, to speak to the Original Poster's initial question, I haven't tried the Nature's Head or AirHead with trap doors, but this design, using the same basic concept, seems to work fine without one. No need for coffee filters, and an additional layer of mechanical complexity. With our very light usage on overnight trips, all-day picnic cruises, and in full use as a Christmastime guest house for overflow grandsons for a couple of weeks this year, we have been relieved to find the arrangement to be unyucky. All my embarrassingly detailed questions to the manufacturer were answered matter-of-factly and reassuringly, and he- and his wife- seem to know whereof they speak. We have a squirt bottle of cleaner just in case, but have not needed it except for routine maintenance.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Tell me more about NC pumpout recording. Is this an intercoastal thing? How far offshore must you be to dump overboard? Since State's were only granted rights out to 3nm, I wouldnt' think they could regulate beyond. 

Personally, I agree with banning the treat and dump process. Its the toxic chemicals that people add to their tanks that makes them bad for the environment. However, they are fully unnecessary and counter productive. Treat with aerobic culture and keep anything you didn't eat out of your holding tank. Then it should be able to be dumped in reasonably flushed waterways, not confined harbors.


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## amelia (Jan 6, 2011)

I haven't investigated it, to be honest, since I first hit the overhead about the high-handed way The Busybodies That Know What's Best For Us All snuck the bill through without a public comment period. Since then, I gather parts of it were put on hold pending 'investigation' when it became clear that our substantial number of snowbirds would bypass NC altogether, provisioning in Virginia and South Carolina instead, staying three miles out, rather than risking adding their harmless and infinitesimal amounts of treated waste to our hog farm runoff, our untreated municipal sewage overflows, and other far more significant sources of nitrogen additions. Not to mention that the politicians had a heck of a time getting Pampers to stay on Pelicans and porpoises. Typical swallowing of lucrative agricultural camels and straining at political feel-good gnats, and I got no patience with it. But, to answer your question, I believe 3 miles out you can dump whatever you please, and assume it will not poison the innocent children cavorting on our beaches.
The chlorine is formed through electrolysis that renders holding tank discharge harmless, is quite chemically unstable, and either rapidly evaporates or combines to form half of the NaCl in our coastal water, can hardly be alarming enough to desecrate our otherwise perfect paradise, right? Especially when you consider that most of our day trippers don't have a head at all, nor do many of our watermen and duck hunters. Most cruisers and sportfishers have a holding tank sloshing with poisonous nastiness, and a few of those are scofflaws who will open the discharge valve as soon as they don't see a badge-toting reason not to. The ones with a treat-and-dump system have invested in doing the job right, and the manufacturers certify the system as ecologically responsible. The log? if you have a holding tank, that stupid law mandated that everybody with one had to maintain a log, with pump out dates and locations. Mostly to be enforced in popular areas like Beaufort, where tickets and fines form a nice revenue stream. Nobody would dream of hastily falsifying one upon seeing blue lights approaching, right? 
That is a lot more than you want to know, but for a while there, it was one of my hot buttons, which, as it happened, saved us well more than a thousand dollars,and a lot of aggravation and complicated apparatus to maintain. It's an ill wind, indeed, that blows no good.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

It would be interesting to see the text of the NC laws you ar referring to, since even a composting(not really) head is still a permanently installed marine head, so technically whatever you are holding the sewage in might still be a holding tank!

Then too there's the interesting question of where you empty the not-quite-composted sewage, which is still sanitary waste and runs afoul (no pun intended) of municipal laws in many places.

I applaude the comcept, but I'm still not sold on it. And I'd rather use a wastebasket with lid than chopsticks.


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## amelia (Jan 6, 2011)

Actually, the C-Head is not officially "installed." It is a portable toilet, and thus not subject to the strictures of installed heads. And what I do with the partially composted stuff is apparently nobody's business but mine, so long as I am decent enough not to toss it overboard, which is all the regulation covers. The manufacturer suggests putting a non-removable lid on the full 5gallon bucket and chucking it in the dumpster. I haven't yet crossed that bridge, so I'm not sure. The idea of hiding a wire receptacle behnd the azaleas in the back 40 has a theoretical appeal, but we lack the experience to make that call just yet. Some people just put soiled diapers, doggy pickup bags, and used kitty litter out on the street with the trash, to contaminate the landfill. Imagine that. Odd what people choose to make an issue of, especially when they have no first-hand experience. You apparently save soiled wet toilet paper in what would seem to be an inevitably soggy, smelly trash can, and I leave mine in the coconut fiber where it is odorless and soon dry. Whatever makes you happy. As I previously and inconveniently noted, I will no longer feel inclined to remove excess dried TP once we are emptying the collection container more regularly, but that isn't as much fun to ridicule, is it? 
I feel no need to try to sell this product. I was merely responding to a question I took to be an honest request for my opinion. There would seem to be a reason sailors obsess over waste handling to such a peculiar degree. I would postulate that it is because the usual methods don't work very well. My own sailing experience supports that hypothesis. Those who get tired of the plumbing problems and expense may find this thing sells itself, eventually. Many, perhaps most,will not. It's no skin off my nose either way. I have watched the lineup at our town's pumpout facility many a hot summer day, and don't envy anyone that task. Nor do I wish to be downwind. I surely wish you the joy of it, but I'm sure you will excuse my decision to choose otherwise.


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## sww914 (Oct 25, 2008)

We've been using our C-Head full time, 3 people, for over 6 months. Extremely happy with it. Never a problem or any bothersome smell if 2 simple rules are followed.
Us guys must sit. Sorry.
Add dry peat moss type stuff with each poo, just a hand full.
We put the TP in a bag and throw it in the trash once a week, not a big deal especially in Mexico where that's what everybody does everywhere anyway.
My wife wrote it up on our blog here- Landfall Voyages » Day 10: The **** Diaries, Golden Showers and ****


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## amelia (Jan 6, 2011)

what a wonderful romp through random entries in your blog. You can't imagine how cheered I was to read of your satisfaction with the C-Head. Love the writing!! Thanks!


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

One place I would use a composter is in a camp cabin, where I could not put down a septic field and there were no municipal services. Perfect use of one. Outhouses are a pain to manage, have to be relocated occasionally and are sometimes dangerous to walk to in the dark.

Glad to see people like them on their boats, but they do take some cultural adaptation, that's all. Some are okay with it, other aren't. Agreed, no skin off anyone's nose.

I will repeat, however, there is absolutely zero good reason for a holding tank to smell up the boat. I wouldn't want to stick my hand down into the holding tank, but neither would I stick my hand into the composter.

Bears $hit in the woods and whales $hit in the sea. Humans do too. Pollution is all about dilution.


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## tjvanginkel (Sep 26, 2006)

I will chime in as another satisfied c-head user. We have had our c-head in full time use for the last three weeks only so not too much experience yet. Ours is currently set up at our land home, replacing an different style of composting toilet that we had been using for 4 years. The one being replaced was not designed for marine use so I will not go into its many shortcomings. And it has many!
We have not set up the ventilation system on our c-head yet as there has actually been no need. It really does not smell. We keep a small spray bottle with a mild vinegar solution to spritz the inlet after a liquid deposit. 
Some of our TP is thrown into a garbage bag but the more heavily soiled ones go into the head. This works for us. Minimizing the amount of TP in the bucket definately helps it not to fill too fast. And with two adults using it full time we are emptying the bucket once a week as the manufacturer suggested. 
We did alot of research on the marine composting (not really composting ) heads. We wished to comply with the no discharge law now in effect in our province and also be a better neighbour in other countries. Plus I don't really want to go swimming in my poo! With our small (31 foot double ender) cruising sailboat we did not really have space for a holding tank and it would have to custom made $$$$. So our options were fairly limited.
We settled on the c-head due in main part to the fact that it is by far the simplest to empty. Open the top and lift out the jug or the bucket! We could not imagine dismantling the natures head or airhead in our very confined head compartment and after dealing with our old toilet we knew exactly how horrible things could get.....
So far the simplicity of emptying it fars outweighs the more frequent requirement to do so. I also love the fact that if there is some sort of leak or spill it will be contained within the base.
We have placed an order for a second one that we will use at home and will be moving the current one to our boat. Perhaps we will get around to setting up the ventilation fan......
Tanya


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## amelia (Jan 6, 2011)

Dear Multihullgirl, I apologize for the public reply to a PM, but I still have not amassed sufficient posts to be permitted the privilege of a private reply to your nice note, and my lengthy reply vanished, as did, apparently, the last attempt to post all that here. Argggghh.

So, more briefly, we remain well pleased. Make that VERY well pleased.

Admittedly we still haven't given the thing a lengthy midsummer hearty-party workout, but with our relatively light usage, it is just fine. We are able to smugly report that our $&@#, indeed, don't stink, at least not after a good stir. The male of the species has been gratifyingly cooperative in agreeing to sit the heck down, dammit, which makes the entire system work perfectly as advertised. There is a jar of cypress shavings or coir nearby for users to add to the poop bucket as they deem necessary for extra desiccation, and the vent hose out the bulkhead provides all the ventilation, a very slight draft, necessary. 
And at the risk of grossing out the squeamish among us, (avert your eyes, guys) I admit that we are at present, given our proximity to real plumbing, approaching the waste disposal question as if the bucket were the world's most odor-free litter box. A cat box scoop, a plastic grocery bag, and those dry lumps and scraps of TP whoosh right away at the end of our trip, or whenever we get around to thinking of it, maybe weeks later. The urine gets dumped daily. Don't ask. 


No evil beasties, no chemicals to buy, no salt to store, no maintenance beyond the obvious. I don't know what a flapper valve looks like or how to operate a pumpout. And I am pleased. As a result, natch, so is my husband!


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## FirstPet02 (Aug 21, 2018)

Here's my version of the good (mostly), the bad and the ugly on the C-Head. After one season of actually having the C-Head wedged in beside the marine head on our Catalina 27 we had enough use to decide to remove the marine head and commit to the C-Head. We are summer-only boaters in the Pacific Northwest where humidity is not a problem. We have not installed the vent hose. We have tried the following media: 1) Animal bedding (which I think is likely of mixed softwoods and not the thin shavings Sandy describes on the C-Head web site). 2) Peat moss. 3) Coarse coconut coir. 4) Softwood pellets (Sandy calls them equine pellets). 5) Hardwood pellets, the kind used in pellet stoves.


The winners for my sensitive nose are the pellets with the hardwood having a slight edge over the softwood. They are cheap, readily available, compact and the least odiferous. That said, I have found that we are dumping the solid waste receptacle about every 4 days with just 2 persons using it. Maybe my keen nose is the reason. Maybe it's the lack of a vent hose. None of the other media smelled acceptable to me though, like Sandy says, it's not the most offensive odour you will ever encounter. And peat moss is also really messy. And they are much bulkier. And I had to prep them at home and bag them up. Too much work.


But...dumping it is a dream compared to the Porta Potti we had wedged in beside the old marine head prior. It's fast and I don't even get my hands dirty. I mostly use the outhouses in the local marine parks for this and, believe me, for that procedure it's the outhouse that stinks, not the C-Head. And it takes far less time. I don't bother to clean out the solid waste receptacle until the end of our trip, just re-charge it with new pellets and water. I find there is no odour for the first 2 days then just a slight odour during use for the next couple of days. So we open the hatch on the ceiling above during use. And, truth told, after a contribution to the solid waste receptacle I like to stand and replace the little inner lid then proceed with my clean up. That's just me. My husband does it the old fashioned way. (It's a Catalina 27 - no bathroom door, just a curtain, so no real difference from the marine head there!) I bought 4 cheapo cereal containers from a dollar store and each holds one charge of pellets. On arrival at the boat I pour them in, add 2 cups of water and churn then churn again in 30 min to 1 hour and it's ready to go.


The first season only I did find a bit of urine odour. Now I use a small squirt of water after use followed by a quick spritz with a vinegar solution - 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water. (I don't think my husband ever bothers to do this little procedure.) I try to keep the vinegar out of the solid waste container. After dumping the liquid waste I rinse the jugs with about 1/2 cup water and then a bit of the vinegar solution (however I don't think this is essential). I think over time we have improved our aim and, between that and the vinegar, I no longer smell it unless the jug has been sitting unused for a week or two. So it helps to let the jugs dry out when we are not on board. A few sugar cubes into a stinky jug seems to also fix this but I don't have to use sugar if we are using the C-Head regularly. If there is no outhouse/toilet around I cap the jugs and dump later. We seem to produce the best part of 1 jug of liquid waste per day. Paper goes into a separate receptacle. The reason for this is that it is light weight and does not get buried when churning so if it's soiled with solid waste there may be odour. One last thing on personal note. (Squeamish people, stop reading now.) Women of a certain age may not have the world's most controlled urinary stream. There are times (read - when my bladder's really full) when I find it helpful to place a strip of toilet paper across the opening of the solid waste container to catch those stray bits of pee. (This problem solved. See update below.)


If there's no outhouse I bag the solid waste and it goes in the garbage. I won't lie. This has been the one thing where I've made a real mess more than once. I suggest you perfect your procedure somewhere other than the cockpit! I also suggest using a large garbage bag. Pulling a plastic bag over the bucket and inverting the whole thing did not work well for me. The bag slid all over the place. Bottom line: dump in a controlled fashion over something with a large opening. (Edit: I am now dumping into a paper grocery bag upon arrival at our marina at the end of our trip, the only time I have to actually bag it. Careful if there's a breeze.)


We did experience some user error. One evening we forgot to swap out the full urine jug and used it over night and in the morning it was apparent the jug had overflowed. Oooops. The overflow was fully contained in the "box". It is now part of my routine to replace it every evening. I like to put an empty jug in when are underway and have had no trouble with waves/heeling causing a problem. We have never had any trouble with insects and we've used it for the last 3 summers. I'm assume the fact that we dump it regularly helps. They've been hot summers so anything I said about odour applies to hot days. The cooler it is, the less of any odour I detect. But I do sleep in the bow with MY head very close to the C-Head head and my husband calls me the Super Sniffer and odour was my most important consideration before purchase and...…..overall we are VERY pleased with C-Head and have zero regrets. Just be willing to give it some time and try different things until you find what works for you.

UPDATE: 2020. We've now used the C-Head for about 5 summers. I am experimenting with other media as I did find the wood pellets (which I loved since they were so easy to use) had an odour starting on day 3 that got to me a bit and by day 4 was really annoying. What I am learning both from experience within our family and what I see on-line is that the odour thing is super subjective. Didn't seem to bother my husband at all. So I have been trying wood shavings. Softwood shavings, which I think were likely made from mostly fir, were not much different from the wood pellet smell. Same with kiln dried hardwood shavings. However I did find that cedar shavings were distinctly better for my sensitive nose. I am still ready to dump the solid waste on day 4 even with cedar but it's just better. Also I should say that I find cedar hard to source since it has gone out of favour for use as animal bedding. What smells good to us is thought to be toxic to small animals. It is usually carried at our local Wal-Mart but COVID interfered with the supply chain this year. I recently found a source for spruce shavings (a pet store that specialized in reptile supplies) but I have not tried them as yet. Bottom line: experiment until you find what works best for you.

Last but not least...more personal stuff.....I now rarely put TP across the solid waste port as I seem to have refined my aim but it's not perfect. This is a definite challenge for ladies and takes some time. I see now the designer/manufacturer, Sandy, is recommending a simple solution: a nylon ladle or deep spoon with a 1" hole cut into the centre which one holds close to or touching the body above the urine port and which catches and directs the stream into the appropriate container. At first I thought this sounded icky but now plan to try it next season. I will likely just need it first thing in the morning.

We are now really used to using the C-Head and find it to be quite a good sewage solution. We dump often and have never had an insect problem. I would recommend removing urine jugs from the boat if it will not be in use over winter. I have come across reviews of some other brands of "composting" (misnomer) toilets who find the urine stinky to dump. I have only noticed an odour if the urine had to wait a day to get dumped and even then it was minimal. I have no qualms about taking the jug into a restroom to dump as I don't smell it any more than I do the urine of the person in the next stall. Maybe these people are not rinsing their receptacles. I do carry the jug in a cloth grocery bag so I'm a bit discreet. That's it for now!

Update spring 2022: I tried the spruce shavings once and they worked very well but were a bit pricey as I recall. I found them at a pet store that carries tons of reptile supplies. In the meantime I had found cedar shavings at Wal Mart and am still using up that supply so I'll have to try spruce again in a year or two when I run out. We used only half of a 40 L bale last summer (and didn't use wood pellets at all.)

The big change is that I tried the ladle with the hole drilled through it and what a difference! It keeps the liquid waste from getting into the solid waste bucket. It took some time to get used to but now I find I use it most of the time. I have always kept a flexible plastic squirt bottle on hand to give the liquid waste funnel a quick rinse between uses. Now when I'm done I squirt the ladle first, give it a tap and set it in a plastic tub. Then I stand and clean myself. I know this is a lot of detail but, especially for older women, aiming is a problem and I suspect it is a problem for users of other dry toilets. And the number 1 thing to keep odours down is to NOT mix liquid waste with solid waste.

Still happy with the C-Head : )


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