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DLMcBeath
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# Posted: 2 Feb 2015 08:28pm - Edited by: DLMcBeath
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I need a little training on outhouses. I drove up to my cabin Saturday just to check on things. My outhouse is falling apart, and is in bad shape. I know very little about outhouse design, other than the physical house part. I need to know about the pit, depth, liner no liner, etc. My cousin has a porta-john that he will give me, but I don't want to have to pump it out. I was thinking about cutting a hole in the bottom so the waste will go into a pit that will be lined with a 55 gallon poly drum. Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
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TomSmith
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 10:29am - Edited by: TomSmith
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This is a moldering privy made from a jobsite toilet with a hole cut in the bottom of the tank. The wood frame is 24" high and lined with screen on the sides and hardware cloth on the bottom. No pit. Add a handful of crunched up leaves with each deposit. Depending on use, will probably last for three or four years before needing to be moved. When full, move the privy to a new base and cover the old base with plywood. By the time the second base is full, the first base should be completely composted. I helped a friend build this one a couple of weeks ago. I have one that has been in use for 6 years. No smell. In the summer, we get a faint earthy smell. Not bad at all.
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Montanagirl
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 11:27am
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There is a long thread with outhouse pics, but you might find this helpful--it's more on the building and less about the pit, but it might be of help.
http://cottagelife.com/files/2011/05/Privy-Plan.pdf
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Wilbour
Member
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 12:02pm
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TomSmith
Be careful when resorting to wiping with those leaves. From my limited experience with palm leaves at Palm Sunday, they tend to have barbs along the edges.
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DLMcBeath
Member
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 12:02pm
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Thanks for the info
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Truecabin
Member
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# Posted: 3 Feb 2015 10:36pm
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i read this tip somewhere
put the woodpile between the outhouse and the cabin
then if a woman is headed for the outhouse and she sees a man anywhere she will instead pick up a piece of wood and go back to the cabin and try again later when the coast is clear
that way you don't ever have to carry wood to your stove again 
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2015 08:57am
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Quoting: Wilbour Be careful when resorting to wiping with those leaves. From my limited experience with palm leaves at Palm Sunday, they tend to have barbs along the edges.
And gettign into nettles, poison oak, poison ivy....
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TomSmith
Member
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2015 09:38am
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I know y'all are kidding. Right? The leaves are only for the composting process. I hope I'm in the right place. Small Cabin forum, not prepare for the zombie apocalypse forum. 
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Wilbour
Member
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2015 09:45am
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I joined a Star Trek site that was all about circling Uranus to wipe out Klingons...at least that's what I thought....
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Steve_S
Member
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2015 10:07am
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LOL Wilbour !  Always good to start a day with a good chuckle.
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bradleyj
Member
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# Posted: 13 Feb 2015 04:20pm
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my question is what do I do with the kitchen sink water when my proposed cabin is going to use a vault privy? The location in colorado will allow a vault privy as long as the design is approved by the county. The county wants to know where that kitchen sink is going to drain. I want to use a hand pump outside on the well so there is no indoor plumbing.
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Bevis
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2015 11:26pm
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TomSmith....that sure does look like florida.
Wilbour, in a pinch those cabbage palm fronds work great...either that or you go sleeveless, free ball'n, or missing a sock ...
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TranquilMan
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# Posted: 17 Feb 2015 06:13pm
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I'm new to the forum and would appreciate any suggestions on my outhouse problem. I built it 20 years ago and it has been perfect up until 3 years ago. That was when the flies arrived. We never had flies until then. We are located in northwest Ontario, remote off-grid cabin on an island. The pit still has lots of capacity. We only access the cabin between May and October. The flies get started late July and come on strong right to the end of the season. I don't want to use any chemicals that will destroy the natural biota working in the pit. Otherwise it is a fine structure complete with a window and urinal on the outside wall for the guys. Any ideas appreciated.
- TranquilMan
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 17 Feb 2015 09:26pm
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Quoting: DLMcBeath My cousin has a porta-john that he will give me, but I don't want to have to pump it out. I was thinking about cutting a hole in the bottom so the waste will go into a pit that will be lined with a 55 gallon poly drum.
Perfect.
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beachman
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:55am
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Tranquil, we also have an outhouse and used to have flies. We screened around the base and installed a Magic Screen at the door with great results. We are in SW NB and remote as well. We use sawdust to keep the smells in order and that works great too. Our newer cottage uses a Sunmar 2000 low water compost toilet and that is really nice.
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TranquilMan
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# Posted: 18 Feb 2015 12:36pm
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Thanks beachman. The flies we have a black "house flies" that are breeding in the pit. A couple of people I've talked to have suggested that the pit is too dry. We started dumping water down with enzyme but it didn't seem to help. Somebody else suggested lime but I don't want to destroy the microbial action that makes an outhouse pit work. I'll try a sprinkle layer of sawdust. Making sawdust is my hobby. I've been hanging fly paper strips and catch hundreds of flies during a 3 or 4 day absence. I can catch 100 flies over night.
I just finished building a separate wash house building for a shower, sink and composting toilet. The toilet is a Sun Mar non-electric model. I still use the outhouse. The fancy toilet is for my wife and her friends. They all love it. I appointed her the "Compost Captain" but that hasn't worked out very well. After about a month of operation (last August) the same black flies started to breed in the new toilet. I talked to the Sun Mar people and they tell me that the compost must be too dry. Next season I guess I'll sticking my head inside more often to be paying more attention to the moisture in the mix. Friends have had an earlier version of the same toilet for about 12 years and just started getting flies last year. They are puzzled by it also.
Ours is a seasonal, off-grid, remote, boat access place so keeping things simple is important to us. Any suggestions welcome and appreciated. Thanks again beachman. Over and out.
-TranquilMan
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