My partner said, "James should be a teacher". Which I think is possibly the best compliment you could give to a KZfaqr.

Sensitive and articulate. Well played, sir!!!

Very informative James.

Just chucks the seat on top. “Yeah, job done, a toilet”. I just guffawed heartily at that.

Without a shadow of a doubt, your most entertaining video yet. Endless laughs.

The look on your face was priceless at certain points during this film; especially when describing the elsan station; I had a good few chuckles. Great and informative video. I know which one I am going for now and it won't involve any pumps or cassettes. Thank you.

Hi James, glad to see you've got your loo. Just a word or two of advice, as you will be living aboard you will be emptying the solid bucket a lot more often than every few months, especially if you are putting toilet paper in there. I would recommend using some sawdust or something as it will soak up any moisture in the bucket, there will be some, it's just the nature of these things 😳😆 also double line the bucket for those just in case moments, nothing worse than a bag splitting. You summed up in this video a lot of the reasons why I ripped out my pump out inc the tank 🤢 and replaced with a composting one, another great video 😀😀

Hi James.....Firstly your brave talking about boat bogs ( light blue touch paper and retire!) I did initially look at the simploo toilet but then opted for the kit from Strumpet and Trollop (yep!) it’s much sturdier and we got a green glitter separator (wife’s idea) we’ve been very happy with it, the best thing we ever did was rip out the smelly pump out bog. The compost/waterless bog has absolutely no smell.......see you about the cut mate, keep up the good work.

Fascinating always wanted to know the different types and you explained it perfectly, thanks James for talking s..t !

Well James. You’ve covered this sensitive subject gracefully 🤣

Never mind talking shit, get on and paint the panels. Everyone has their own preferences on toilets,mine is cassettes. I’ve had a caravan for eight years working up and down the country doing shop fitting and that cassette toilet was fine. I don’t know about compost it’s toilets and the sound of them doesn’t appeal to me and as for pump out sooner have the cash in my pocket. If my cassette gets full I have three in total so I’m not worried about emptying it if l can’t empty straight away. It’s no hardship to emptying a cassette not to me. Why not have a vote on this one, could be interesting. Nice Vlog keep it up Phil

Hi James many thanks for your last upload I have subbed and watched every single video and I must say that you are doing a fantastic job can’t wait for you to get in the water again we have a cassette and we have 3 cassettes but I have been looking at these for sometime now I must say you may have convinced me any info on where to purchase on during lockdown would be great many thanks keep up the great work buddy Regards Clive in Nottingham 👍👍

Composting toilets don't do a lot of actual composting in the bucket; mostly they are desiccating toilets and the composting completes in landfill. Many people will moan about this without realising that the solids from the domestic sewage plant wind up in landfill after drying as well.

Pump out any day, the description of the Elsan reminded me of very early rock festivals when the toilets were troughs with a canvas screen around them, Too old for all that now

Excellent and accurate description of the three options and you kept a straight face throughout wirhout the use of puns. I have heard that the CRT are considering the introduction of compost heaps. On our first hire boat in 1967 we had a sea toilet which pumped straight into the cut. Instructions included advice like not using it in a lock. It was not so pleasant when you moored with the outlet on the towpath side. Sorry, I'll stop there!

A section from the Simploo web site We incorporate a 20l solids container in the Simploo, once full, the solid waste can then be emptied into an external compost bin where composting can continue. Also, we include a ‘vanity’ hatch which covers the contents of the solids container. Once fully composted, which can take between 9 months to a year, this can then be used in the garden. The solids container will need to be emptied every 20 to 30 uses if toilet paper is added to the solids container, considerably longer if toilet paper is disposed of in a separate bin. A composting starter material such as cocoa husks or even grass clippings can be added to the external compost bin that the solids are emptied into, for further composting.

We are British. Queuing just adds to the pleasure.

Thanks for the info

Hi James, your blogs are great mate, you seem like a straight forward kind of guy, your descriptions are normally good but that loo is not stylish mate !! I agree though they are good for there purpose, I have a pump out on my widebeam for when I cruise as space is no problem but I also live on a marina with great facilities so most of the time I use them, keep up the vlog it really good watching.

Hi James, we've had a simploo for nearly 3 years now. We have no complaints and think it is a great solution.

And I thought narrowboaters were a hardy bunch. Rather than their little noses being occasionally offended by the terrors of an Elsan point, where the waste goes into a proper waste treatment process, they pretend to compost (for the sake of the planet) and then chuck a 20 litre bag of untreated human waste, of varying vintage and fragrance, into a handy litter bin. Marvellous.

I've always thought that a composting model is best as well. Hope that model works for you, and if it doesn't well shit happens (couldn't resist). All the best, you are doing brilliant with getting everything ready. A truly inspiring and remarkable achievement over such a short space of time. You'll beat Liz into the water at this rate.

We've had our Simploo installed for five weeks now and as far as we can , we absolutely adore it. We will never use any other option again. Beats our older cassette hands down. Quick tip... but a hand full of sugar in to your empty fluids container before use , it'll eliminate any odour whatsoever and I promise you won't regret it.

Fabby, may every poop be a happy poop. Parp, parp! You are now officially a boater, you have crossed the Rubicon and discussed toilets. There is no going back. Thanks for this one! Be well and happy. Ro

Always gonna be controversial James there will be those skeptics who suggest chucking a bucket of piss into someones hedge is somewhat unhygienic and a bag of “composted” um solids into a regular bin may not be strictly composting however I think all three have pros and cons to them. I like the idea of not having any chemicals so may be looking at this type of system for my boat in future. Great video cheers :)

Hi James, very informative yes. I am not a boat owner but hooked on you channel because of the build in general. For a vacation, soon I hope, to try out for sure. Into more detail without being to ...in terms of cleaning the toilet. How will you don that with a compost one. There is obviously a bag inside ... but you need to clean it on the inside or is there no contact of then faeces with the internal part of the compost loo. When I clean the toilet in my house I use water, cleaning products and simple flush. In an compost you have no water. Still I suppose you need a good clean once in while:) ....and how about toilet paper? In a separate bin?

As far as cassette goes... 1. a trolley is a must. 2. a Gas mask. 3. good old fashion bleach... job done.💙👊😎

My first narrowboat holiday with Scouts on the Leicester arm we had 2 pump-out toilets on the boat. The boy's end of the boat didn't get that you needed to limit the amount of water in a flush so filled the toilet in a day. They then thought that as the water wasn't going anywhere, adding more water would clear the blockage. Really not a peasant environment particularly when Yelvertoft was closed and we were an overnight away from the next pump out at Crick... character building.

We have had touring caravans for over 45 years and the old bucket and a lid!! now the modern cassette toilet comes easy to us. You are now encouraged to buy environmentally sensitive products.

Interesting James. Can the vent run to the cabin wall? Or to the roof? Does it make sense to use both: a cassette for #1 and a compost for #2?

I had an Airhead on my liveaboard yacht for 10years so I have some experience with toilets of this ilk. So if you are interested 'Ill try to clear up a few things. Including why this like all the others isn't a composting toilet (except in exceptional circumstances)!!! 1. The fan extracts air not pumps it in, it's purpose is to assist in the removal of moisture (and a tiny bit of odour) and yes if you want you can have a charcoal filter fitted inline. Best to use some sort of additive, saw dust etc to help in this process. 2.There is little or no odour as this is mainly a consequence of the solids and liquids mixing. It's the interaction of the two that produces the unpleasant smell. 3. With the best will in the world you might get 40 "deposits" (less if you use toilet paper) in the solids bin before you need to empty it. For continuous cruisers such as you James that is a few weeks if there are two of you. So you will be popping off to a bin near you about twice a month. That said this waste, double bagged, can be stored onboard if you need to. Liquid waste can be poured down a toilet, into an Elsan or disposed of "in the wild" but not within (don't quote me) 50ft of the canal. 4. This style of toilet being classified as composting is totally wrong and it annoys the hell out of me. Used the way they are by most boaters (ie being emptied more than once a year) the are desiccating toilets. They will remove moisture from your deposits (which vastly reduces bulk) and maybe if you are really lucky start the long long process of composting. But as stated unless you leave it in your toilet for a year or more then it ain't composting anything!!! When all said and done I wouldn't have anything else on any boat I ever owned whatever watercourse they were traversing. They are simple (no moving parts, apart for a tiny 12v fan) robust and very practical. Obviously there are those who might faint at the prospect of using one but after a week you will wonder why every boat in the world doesn't have one. In defence of the other brands there are many reasons why they are more complicated and most employ agitators and yes they are more expensive but, in life, you generally get what you pay for. If you really are budget conscious you can build your own version of the Simploo minus the glossy exterior, (well done Simploo Marketing Department for the best ever disguise of a bucket) for very little. You can purchase the separator and crack on from there. The one I now have in my workshop cost less than £100 and a day of my time to construct. If you are interested then the topic is well documented online and most ably by those in cruising yachts as they can't just jump off their boat at a moments notice. Have fun James and keep on trucking!

Mine has a sea toilet but doubt if I would be allowed to use it on the canal :/.... by the way, that Winnebago brave that is on site used to be mine and I lived in it for 8yrs :)

I think it sucks the air outside.

Have you got a link for this particular loo?

I never thought I spend 14-minutes, 8-seconds listening to someone talking shit. On a serious note, another useful, and very well explained vlog, James. BTW, what make and model did you get? I thought they were a lot more than £320.

A few months?? for the solids? I hope you do a video after a few months of use.

The jury is out on this one. See how the kids get on with it, not so easy for little ones.

This video was just going through the motions.

No ads today?

Tomato growers dream 😁

What's your response to the statement by the Canal & Waterways that human waste takes 3 months to compost and should not be placed into bins? Where do you put the mixed up waste/compost? Genuinely interested because I'm planning to get my own boat and am exploring options.

Like yourself; however, via a builder, I've almost finished renovating our 70' boat. It has been designed for a family of 4 with private cabins and two loos. We kept and updated the macerator tank. We have decided to get rid of the Thetford cassette- all that carrying and emptying, no thanks, have hated that thing from the start when we used to have a few stays on her before the changes. We will replace it with a Compoost loo. It has a stirrer etc. What is the name of your one? Thanks.

OMG! that ‘guy’ outside, looking in your window at 8:30 scared the #### out of me 😳

anyone looking at these composting loos now should note this make has more than doubled in price

Do you have to pay for the pump out if you have a residential mooring in a marina that has one ?

Ive seen a few videos of people carrying those cassete loo`s I alyways asumed (wrongly) that you just attach a hose and and it whoosh`es everything away and bobs yer uncle I didnt realise its was so `` hands on ´´type of afffair , a bit offputting that

So if the composting toilet does not need sawdust, what material is in there to break down the solids ?

Can you give us a link to where yours is from. Had my eye on the Compoost one for a while but they killed their cheaper model ager the Foxes featured them and they got popular and 800 is a bit steep for something that looks like yours.

Does the fan take the smell outside? Not nice for your neighbour. Maybe a charcoal filter like the one I fitted to stop that.

Top "WC'ing" :-)

Looks like compost, smells like compost, but does it taste like compost? Good job you didn't step in it, man. ;o) (With apologies to Messrs. Cheech and Chong.)

Dont they throw the air outside from the toilet?

I have a question: seat comfort? When you use this how comfortable is the experience and how strong/flimsy is the seat. There is nothing worse that an ill fitting seat and spoiling the experience.

If i understand the composting toilet you have purchased correctly? If it takes several weeks etc to do it's thing where do you shit in the mean time? The stuff at the top is always going to be fresh.

Elsan points are shit I agree The best I ever came across were on the Coventry Canal open air stainless Steel construction Its a smelly messy business boating life unavoidable

👍👌🇨🇦❤

You seem to have had some bad experiences with elsan points that I have not in the last 3 years. The methods you are proposing to dispose of your waste are not hygienic enough for me. As you say "each to his own".

Could this video be called “The Captains Log?”

You didn’t mention toilet paper

Hi why do they call it the cut?

Where do you put your compost now you’re not allowed to put it in the bins

I think you must have had a bad experience with a cassette toilet not all Elsan points are points of doom and the more modern cassettes have built in wheels so you don’t always need a trolly

Bio washer tablets sort my cassette and I extend the life of cassette by having a low sink. Sink is cleaned more!

So not a fan of the cassette toilet then James! 💩💩 We've used them for years with no issue but your description of the Elsan points (entirely descriptive of many out on the network) was starting to make even me feel a bit bilious! 🤢🤢 PS: Our current boat is pump-out but we still have a Porta-Potti (cassette toilet) for emergencies. 🙂 👍🏻

Not that you shouldn't have people on your boat but WHO the hell was that person in the window?

Haha, evidently when you buy a narrow boat, you dont just rip out the toilet, you rip out everything.. 🤣

Compost toilets. It's the way to go.

I watched a vlog recently by an established KZfaq channel it needs to be double bagged and marked as human waste

Will it stand up to a curry and ten pints of Guinness?😭