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Atomic Bimbler

Tenderfoot
Feb 7, 2006
83
0
47
Cheshunt, Herts
twitter.com
Hello

I'm setting up a little 'Wild' camp site for use with my wife and boys and any friends that want to join us for the weekend. It will be on a 14 acre field in deepest rural Hertfordshire, and although not in a woodland, with a bit of work, I think it will be a lovely place to spend our weekends. The field is surrounded by dense hedge row and there is plenty of woodland near by.

Any how!!

The first job, to get the approval of the good Wife, is to get a toilet on site.

My plan is to make a light weight timber structure with roof, stretch and tack a tarp round the frame for walls, Have a bench inside with a normal loo seat.

This will make it light weight so it can be relocated, or hidden when we are not on sight.

So..... Under the bench will be a hole. What i need to know is,

- how deep should the hole be

- after each use, should soil or saw dust be put in the hole

- If used every other weekend, how often should i fill in the hole and move the loo to a new site.

Thanks

Paul

May have put this in the wrong section, please move if required :D
 

Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
27,807
2,893
62
~Hemel Hempstead~
Congrats on getting site AB :) sounds like you'll be having fun there.

As for the loo when I had a couple meets the toilet was built onto a large upturned flower pot which was ideal and made it easily transportable. The holes were dug about 18" deep, a small spade was kept by it and we used the soil that was dug out to cover the deposits. Another good thing is to keep a waterproof box there with matches or a lighter in it to burn the toilet paper which helps it rot down quicker. As for leaving it it might not be a good idea as smells etc could develop so it'd be better to do a fresh one each time.
 

Ogri the trog

Mod
Mod
Apr 29, 2005
7,182
71
60
Mid Wales UK
Amongst other books on the subject is one called "How to S*** In The Woods!" and it is as informative as it is humerous.
Many Forest School sites have exactly what you are describing. A hole as deep as you can reasonably dig and move it when it tells you that it needs to be moved. Do your utmost to keep the contents dry by using sawdust and keeping the rain out and having "number ones" performed elsewhere.
There are Eco loos that can seperate the fluids and solids for later processing but I don't know if they are portable - but thinking on it, there was a thread recently on the cardboard single use toilets that used a plastic bag inside.

Your project is easily do-able, though you may have to adjust the expectations of the users.

ATB

Ogri the trog
 

Atomic Bimbler

Tenderfoot
Feb 7, 2006
83
0
47
Cheshunt, Herts
twitter.com
load of replies b4 i finished answering the fist 1 :D

Sniper - That would be easier, but the fun of this project is that the people using the site will be creating all the camp furniture.

Starting with the loo :) , then the log store, benches, table, kennel/dog run, kitchen rack, garden, veggie patch etc, etc.

And environmentally im not sure about the chemicals used.

Good point though, that was my original plan, but after best part of a week in bed with flue my brain has gone into overdrive

Cheers
 

Atomic Bimbler

Tenderfoot
Feb 7, 2006
83
0
47
Cheshunt, Herts
twitter.com
Mesquite - Another Hertfordshire lad :D .Yr plan sound great if I can score the occasional use of a nearby woodland, but need to be more 'toilet' like for my wife

Wilderbeast - saw dust is the way fwd

Ogri the Trog - Cool name :) 'A hole as deep as you can reasonably dig and move it when it tells you that it needs to be moved' thats kind of what I was thinking. was also gonna have a P post for the boys, cos the hedges are full of munchables :) and would rather they didn't get peed on

Thanks guys
 

Mike Ameling

Need to contact Admin...
Jan 18, 2007
872
1
Iowa U.S.A.
www.angelfire.com
Some people go for a pretty "open air" type of set-up. But one thing I did manage to learn from women is that they prefer some ... privacy ... in such situations.

So every fall when I set up a weekend camp, I set up the privy in one of my spare tents. I set up the tent, dig the hole, and set my wood-framed bench/seat over it. I keep the TP in an old coffee can with plastic snap-on lid (to keep the mice out). And I hang a candle lantern in there for those late-night trips. It is also set up 50 yards from our campfire and tents. That way everybody has some privacy.

The simplest set-up I ever saw being used was made from an old oil drum. A hole was cut into the top, and a normal toilet seat bolted on. And the other end was cut off so that it set at the appropriate height when set down into the dirt a couple inches. The hole was dug, and it was set down over that hole.

The last one I saw like this in use had no shelter/screen around it. You wore a long loose coat when you went to use it. That long coat became your "privacy". Of course, this was at a private home/cabin, and set back away from any casual traffic.

I try to dig my holes at least 3 feet deep. But, due to rocky soil, I usually can't get much deeper than 2 feet in the area of our camp.

At home and at our Cowboy/Old West town, we use normal wooden outhouses - much like a small tall tool shed. The pits underneath are around 2 to 3 feet deep. We keep a can or sack of Barn Lime in the outhouse. When it is used, we then sprinkle some of that barn lime down the hole and over the contents. It helps control the smell and flies, and it starts or aids the decomposition. Wood stove ashes have a similar effect.

A number of friends have picked up those special toilet seats that clamp on top of a conventional 5 gallon plastic bucket. Some even are designed to have a plastic bag slipped down in them to contain the waste for removal and other disposal. That way your "bucket" can be set up anywhere you like, and moved whenever you want to.

The book mentioned earlier is a good one to get and read on this subject. But always keep in mind that "privacy" issue, and clean/dry T P.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
- who spent most of a year with just that "chamber pot" and outhouse
 

oldsoldier

Forager
Jan 29, 2007
239
1
53
MA
Using one place to urinate will cause the plantlife there to die, permanently. This was something I picked up in the Army, oddly enough. The ammonia kills the soil. So, a pee post is a good idea; however, it will cause a bald spot in the grass ;)
I have seen those 5 gallon portapotties, and think they are a great idea! No digging, no hole to fill in, no animals digging up old holes (here in the US, animals WILL do that). Environmentally sound too.
 

clownman

Member
Jan 9, 2009
24
0
51
Tamworth
my loos on scoutcamps are always 3ft long a 1ft wide by 2ft deep, small spade and soil on top when used. Maybe you could make the seat so it could slide along the channel letting it be filled evenly.
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,109
2,847
66
Pembrokeshire
I recall visitting a Scout Camp in the Czech Republic which had a loo that had been built as a tree house, about 30' up!
Now that is what I call a long drop!
The "doings" fell into an open pit that was open to the elements and as the camp was there for the whole summer, it was disgisting!
I took my shovel for a "truffle hunt" in the woods instead......
 
Aug 17, 2008
262
1
Hampshire
Don't forget the 'Desert Rose' - seen here next to some Turdises:

100_0124_DesertRose.jpg


They are made from plastic drainpipes and extend into the ground for a couple of feet. Quite revolting, and the need for a headtorch for night use is obvious.
 

Mike Ameling

Need to contact Admin...
Jan 18, 2007
872
1
Iowa U.S.A.
www.angelfire.com
I like that "desert rose". And moisture is always a problem with any outdoor set-up.

I don't know the current army way, but back during that SE Asian trip, each biffy at a large base had half an oil drum slid under it. Then one "chore" assigned to various grunts was to pull that drum out, douse it in diesel fuel, light it, and occasionally stir as the contents mostly burned up and/or evaporated. Waste disposal - military style. More than a few just found/made a ditch nearby to dump things in.

The P-tree does tend to concentrate things off to the side. But it does kill off the grass. Ammonia is just part of the problem. The other is the "salt" buildup in the area. All urine contains various "salts" - potassium nitrate being the biggie. That's why years ago urine was collected and then boiled down - for those "salts" in it - to make gunpowder.

A classic item on many old farms was what at that time was called a cesspool. A deep pit was dug, and then filled mostly in with rocks/gravel. All the household liquid wastes were then directed down into it, where the water then leached down into the soil beneath and around it. So any urine went in there, along with bath water and water from washing dishes/clothes.

As long as the cesspool was far enough away from a well or stream, there usually were no problems. Just make sure to dig it deep enough and wide enough to handle the amount of liquid flowing into it - or you would get liquid backing up the pipes. And, of course, don't dig it down into CLAY soil.

One friend spends so much time working out in his garage/shop with all his buddies that he built a version in the corner of it. He dug and filled the cesspool pit just outside the one corner. Then he mounted a modern urnal in the corner with a small privacy wall, and piped it down into that cesspool. Occasionally he gives it a good "flush" with a pail of water and a small bleach rinse. The grass and flowers out around that cesspool do well, especially during droughts. And that ammonia and "salts" stay trapped in that rock bed in the pit.

Of course, he also has the extra fridge and stack of adult malted beverages right next to that ... relief station ... in the corner of his garage/shop. Some of that careful pre-planning. No, it does not meet any building/zoning codes, but those don't apply out in the country where he lives. And it is far better than everybody just stepping outside and relieving themselves alongside the building. Some other guys have made a much simpler version with just a funnel attached to some plastic pipe running out into a rock-filled pit. He just happened to salvage a urnal from a construction project. And his wife appreciates not having all the guys tromping through the house all dirty/greasy, or killing off here flowers alongside the garage.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
 

Atomic Bimbler

Tenderfoot
Feb 7, 2006
83
0
47
Cheshunt, Herts
twitter.com
Thanks for all your input guys :You_Rock_

Been out to the builders merchants today and scared myself with the cost of all the materials for the projects I want to do (Also converting the loft, got 3 boys in a 10x10 bedroom)

So, I'm gonna get a Utility tent, and make a box with loo seat with hole under. should cost about £40 and can use it for family hols etc (I like things to have more that 1 use). Later, if need be I will get a porta pottie.

Then I can put my cash into some of the more fun projects and a big parachute :headbang:

Thanks again

Paul Siebke

Another grumpy German out in the wilds of Hertfordshire :D (kind of)
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,984
7,763
Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
That sound like a sensible way forward. I bought a Portaloo for a long trek into the Sahara which we never used - the shovel was so much easier and quicker (it needs to be quick at times!).

As far as How to Sh*t in the Woods is concerened, in my oppinion it tells you everything except How to Sh*t in the Woods!!

Cheers
 

clb

Feb 3, 2009
5
0
Taiwan
Have you considered Humanure? The book is available as a free PDF from Joseph Jenkin's website. Humanure will definitely help build a compost pile, if you're interested in doing a little gardening on the site. It's got to be the cheapest and easiest 'stationary' toilet system--no digging, no stink, cost: toilet seat and bucket. Jenkins recommends the 5 gallon buckets, but I'm getting good results with stainless steel (easier to clean).

CL
 

verloc

Settler
Jun 2, 2008
676
4
East Lothian, Scotland
Ok so If we are setting up a base camp and plan to be there for more than a night or two then we use a BioToi - this thing is great.

easy enough to transport - comfortable and collapsible and the best bit is that it uses biodegradable bags for the bowl which sit over the seat itself and give you a nice clean bog every time. Not cheap but I love mine for those "base camp" set-ups. It has no chemicals and because I tend to bury the corn starch bags in a new spot each time then I don't feel like I'm picking on one part of the woods.

Cheers
Tom

oh its also very very very strong and sturdy - which is something I investigated before buying
 

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