DIY latrine toilet seat?

[C_Claycomb]

On a couple of group camps that I have been on, the organisers have provided pit toilets with some sort of box with a household toilet seat screwed to it to sit over said hole in the ground. What I can't remember is what kind of box or barrel, or upside down tub was used to mount the seat.

Any suggestions?

I may need to have such an outdoor latrine set up in a month or so and weighing options of the pit vs a purchased Argos chemical toilet. For the frequency of use and where it will be used, I like the idea of a hole.

...and I know one can just squat, but there are people who find this difficult for age or medical reasons, and sitting is much better.

 

[TLM]

How about 60-80l plastic tub. I have "seen" it used for that purpose but have no direct experience.

 

[Broch]

The way I have done it in my 'tree bog' in camp in the wood is a plywood box, hole cut in the top so a round, tall, plastic waste bin (with the bottom cut off) fits in and extends below the wood (you don't want the wood getting wet or soiled under any conditions,) then a loo seat screwed to that. The whole thing sits on a wooden platform 1m above the floor.

A 'tree bog' is a wet composting toilet (as opposed to one that can only handle solid/dry waste) that requires no maintenance as it relies on the trees around it (planted or established) to extract the nutrients (wit the help of all the bugs and fungi in the soil).

 

[Nomad64]

Any simple plywood box and normal toilet seat or a commode type set up would be fine but if you have older people and/or those not comfortable with al fresco ablutions, a composting system based around a urine separating pan can be very civilised and are used in campervans, narrowboats and places without drainage.

The system we have just uses a soakaway for the urine and a 20l bucket (lined with a biodegradable bin bag) with sawdust for the solids but you can just collect the urine in a container.

Available fully assembled from the Bay of E

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/2027984932...3%26rvr_ts%3Ded5b99841700aadd39a29ec9ffff3104

But apart from the fibreglass separator pan, the other components to make a DIY one are cheap or free.

https://compoosttoilets.com/collect...ine-diverter-for-eco-compost-toilet-seperator

Keeping the liquid and solid waste separate makes things very civilised and odour free and unless people go beserk with the sawdust, a 20 litre bucket lasts a surprisingly long time and you are left with a flagon of liquid compost fuel and a bag of the human equivalent of cat litter which can be burned, buried or composted for fruit trees etc.

 

[Mesquite]

Chris, I'm happy to lend you the thunder box complete with toilet seat that we use in the Turdis at Dingly Dell.

Let me know and I can drop it off at your workplace at a convenient time.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Thanks Steve, I am not sure how long I am going to want this thing for, so would be better to have my own solution than accept a lend. Thank you very much for the offer!

I like the composting toilets, could be a bit more complex than I was thinking of.

At this point what I am really after is suggestions for the box, bucket, crate, drum that the seat is attached to...and where they are purchased from. Ply boxes would be good for a permanent set up, but this is going to be more a temporary thing, call it a couple of days at a time.

Plastic waste bin, that might be a good one to look at. What I didn't want was to rock up at the DIY store, buy just anything, and have it collapse!

 

[Mesquite]

No probs Chris, if you change your mind let me know.

What our box is is a collapsible one which folds down flat for easy storage and the toilet seat is mounted on the top and screwed down to make it ridged. We then line it with a couple bio-degradeable bags and dig a deep hole for it to sit over.

Toilet paper is bagged in nappy bags and put in a bin for disposal. We also chuck a handful of woodshavings down to aid the composting

 

[Alan De Enfield]

Have you considered the method propsed by the Government in the 60's during the 'protect & survive' training in schools in the event of 'Nuclear War'

Simple chair over a bucket or hole in the ground.

 

[John Fenna]

In my place at the Care Farm we used a metal framed commode chair over a trench. Soil was used to bury anything you left and the loo roll burned.
Canoeing on the Orange River in South Africa we had to carry everything solid away with us so had a seat attached to a wooden frame over a large paint tub. The tub was lined with heavy duty bin bags/rubble bags. The Asst. Guide had to carry all this in his canoe - and once there was too much to be secured for travel in the tub he was seen to actively pray that nothing burst in the canoe!
In Scouting we had an old Elsan seat on a can, lined with "biodegradable" bin liners, and the liners used to keep the can clean ... changed every day and buried in a strategically placed deep hole dug by the farmer whose land we were on...

 

[santaman2000]

Here’s the idea I like most. cheap, portable, and effective.

 

[John Fenna]

It is a jinx!
My loo at home just decided that it hates it's seat and threw it off - stripping the bolts that hold seat to loo in the process!
Thanks!