# Composting toilet/grey water system in manufactured home



## JRoyalimage (Mar 28, 2016)

hey guys. So my wife and I are in the process of purchasing a manufactured home. We have gone to some home lots and have a good idea of what we want. 
We have a site on our property that would be perfect for our new home. However, it has a well but no septic system. So it has brought up a conversation of alternative waste management and if its possible. We were toying with the idea of having composting toilets and a grey water system (or pond). 
Is this something we could do? I’ve only ever heard of such toilets being used for tiny homes or completely off grid homes. Would it be more wise to just install a septic system?


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

The very first thing I would do is talk to your county building and zoning department. Tell them that you're calling for a friend.


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## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

If it's legal in your area, go for it. Locally, no septic means no permit.

Jeff


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

I would go with the septic system....


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## oldtruckbbq (Aug 8, 2016)

JRoyalimage said:


> hey guys. So my wife and I are in the process of purchasing a manufactured home. We have gone to some home lots and have a good idea of what we want.
> We have a site on our property that would be perfect for our new home. However, it has a well but no septic system. So it has brought up a conversation of alternative waste management and if its possible. We were toying with the idea of having composting toilets and a grey water system (or pond).
> Is this something we could do? I’ve only ever heard of such toilets being used for tiny homes or completely off grid homes. Would it be more wise to just install a septic system?


Have you priced composting toilets? If you buy a 2 bedroom home, you will need at least 2. I've gotten prices for putting a pond in at our place, and it is a lot more than it is going to cost for a septic system. Personally, I'd put the composting toilet and pond money into a septic system and be done with it. If you want to put in a grey water system for irrigation, you could always do that at a later time, if it is legal in the area. I also agree with the suggestion of checking zoning and permit requirements in your area. Not following those requirements will cause some really expensive headaches that will make a proper (legal) system look cheap.


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## tripletmom (Feb 4, 2005)

4 of us used a store bought composting toilet full time for 5 years. Hubby has his outhouse. I found the toilet brand new in the box at a yard sale for $100.
If you're serious about it, it's really no big deal. I carried a tub out every week or 2, dumped it and hosed it out. Hubby made me saw dust. It is a commitment cause, well, when the sh__ter's full, the sh__ter's full!!
That store bought composting toilet was not intended to be used full time by 4 people!! It started breaking and cracking and no amount of shoe goo and duck tape could fix it any longer.
They are very expensive to buy and I was 'over it' so we put a flusher in. We already had a tank and a backhoe
Which leads me around to the gray water system. Run it out onto the garden!!
We put in a 1000 gal septic tank when we built the house. Gray water turns black real quick in a tank! Hubby would pump it out ever week and it stank!!! 
I would definately do the composting toilet. Have you read the Humanure Handbook?


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## Steve_S (Feb 25, 2015)

I use a Compost Toilet (Saw Dust Type) with a Urine Diverter which goes to my grey water system. As a reference, you may want to grab a copy of "The Humanure Handbook" which I highly recommend. REF: http://humanurehandbook.com/ I built my own "Cabinetry" to accommodate the "toilet" but also a supply box for the sawdust etc.

FYI on Sawdust compost type toilets, while mentioned in books sorta, it is not highlighted very well. Do NOT use cedar sawdust or others which do not decompose quickly. Do NOT add chemicals and be cautious of what goes into the compost cycle. It is always best to use softwood sawdust or shavings (like used for animal bedding), you can add grass clipping, food wastes to the pile as well which can accelerate decomp and make the resulting compost much richer.. 

For a Urine Diverter, I used a We-Pee in the toilet which as I said above is plumbed directly to my grey water system and to accommodate the clearance issues & to ensure I have a good "P-Trap" I used a HepVO Waterless P-Trap (also used one for my shower)

REF: Urine Diverter http://www.we-pee.com/
REF: HepVo Waterless P-Trap: https://hepvo.com/

The Grey Water system I have in place, handles Kitchen Sink, Shower/Tub, Urinal & Toilet (diverted urine). It routes through a large filter box (catches hair & particles) in straw (change it out every 3 months to compost pile) then goes to a 45 Gallon Dry-Well which is buried, that in turn has 2, 45' runs of 4" Drainage Pipe going downslope. The Drainage Pipe is buried 6'+ deep and is sitting on 1' of drainage gravel and topped with the same and back filled. I could do this as I have good slope, the soil is good Sandy Loam. The two trenches are also "over wrapped" (under & around drainage gravel with the tubes in centre) with Commercial Grade landscaping Cloth, as my area is mixed coniferous forest and so root control had to be considered in the trenches. PS The trees are loving all the extra water & nutrients.

EDIT - ADDITION:
I thought I should add another note in regards to G.W. Systems which is very important. Unfortunately many people have become lackadaisical in regards to how they use the sink & toilet as a dump for "stuff" and a Grey Water system can't be used in such a way. There are different types of GW setups and as such can handle things differently but there are still good rules to follow. No toxic's, No hard chemicals (toilet cleaners etc NO NO !) NO Grease / Oil (even with a filtration catch unless you wanna change it a LOT) and also No Fecal Matter !. In my particular case as my system ultimately filters to ground, prudence in what is going in there is a must. It takes getting used to and always thinking about it when you start to use a Grey Water system, to that end, I lived with Stickies because, even I, who has always been conscious on such, had to adjust to it. The Method / System for Grey Water is also very dependent on the land your on and how it handles water absorption and what vegetation is there as well and of course climate zone too (not much good if it's frozen solid for a couple of months). 

You may have noticed above, the "Urinal" ! Well what does a person do most often in the washroom besides look in the mirror ? Logical & Rational thinking applied to minimize waste water etc... I built a Urinal out of a 40# Aluminium Propane Tank (the type used on forklifts) which after making the cabinet stand & polishing the aluminium, it's a bit of a conversation piece too... I looked into "Retail home units" and was quite shocked at what they want for the simplest ones...

Couple of points to note:

My Grey Water System is located 80' away and downslope from my Well Head. In this region, you cannot locate a septic closer than 50' from a well head and must be downslope / down grade. Grey Water is acceptable as long as it is done correctly. The Compost Toilets are a bit more of an issue, the preference is certainly for commercial units but there is quite a cost for those and some require proprietary "consumables" while others use elements to "cook" the results (quite energy intensive too). The Various Regions, Counties etc often have assorted rules & regs, so best to check on that. As well, Insurance Companies may have some issues as it's "not the norm they like".

Here's a couple of pics from when I was building my compost toilet.
It's built to regular toilet height @ 17-1/2" and can accommodate a full 5 gallon bucket as well as the smaller rectangular 3 gallon buckets (preferred). Built from 3/4" G1S Plywood, screwed & glued together with Pocket Screws and 4 coats of oil based clear urethane covering all of it, inside & out. The seat is a modified solid oak jobby, had to mod it for the hinges and to screw it down on the Plywood.
















Here is the mockup / setup showing the HepVo waterless P-Trap to the diverter. It's shallower than a regular P-Trap (providing more clearance) and no water, so no freezing up or drying out issues.










I hope you find this information helpful. 
Good Luck and have fun !
Steve


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

This is awesome!!


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## RaylinTom (9 mo ago)

Hmm, I think the most important thing is to comply with the law and not try to deal with the problem yourself. I'm also doing repairs at home right now, at the moment I'm repairing the bathroom and I'm going to install the bidet converter kit. I also thought to figure it all out myself, but it turned out that there were plumbing problems in my house and my friend who came to help me said that if we broke something, we would have to change the plumbing throughout the house, so I decided to call the masters who would help me with repairs. If you are not sure what to do, always contact the master, let it be better if you pay more money, but you will be calm that everything is fine.


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## RJ2019 (Aug 27, 2019)

This thread is years old, just letting you know. You probably won't be reaching the OP, and they have long since resolved the problem


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Raylin doesn't yet understand homesteading. Welcome, Raylin. We are problem solvers, focused on doing what works, doing what is logical, and not necessarily compliant folks.


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