Design for a DIY marine composting head.

If at first you don't SECEDE, try, try again.

 

The main problem the Confederacy had was that it wasn't a country; it was a loose alliance of semi-independent states - which even kept some rights to conduct their own foreign policies. Its central government was modeled after that originally set up for the US by the Articles of Confederation - which we dumped for a new constitutional government after a very few years, because they weren't working.

The Confederate government didn't have the power to levy enough taxes to support the war effort. It started out relying on tariffs on imports, taxes on exports, and voluntary contributions. When that income started petering out and the individual states didn't step up to the plate, it had to resort to financing the war with debt..... At the beginning of the war, a Confederate dollar was worth about 90 cents compared to a Union gold dollar; by the end it was worth less than 2 cents.

The Confederate armed forces didn't even have a formal central command, until late in the war. They were made up of separate armies with their own command structures, who often didn't play well together and coordinate their efforts. Look at the amount of time Lee spent in Virginia; a lot of what he did was like fighting a house fire by keeping the porch from burning down.

To sum up: the South's insistence that states' rights and powers prevail over national needs and concerns doomed it from the beginning, IMHO.

 

Ah, yes, personal interests vs group interests. That is undoubtedly the real challenge to solving a certain unmentioned problem best left for discussion on other closed threads.

 

More like the 'War of Southern Overestimation'.

If + if + if + if = maybe.
If + if + if + if + probably = fantasy

 

BTW, when looking up a synonym for 'fantasy', the first word in the dictionary was 'Atlantis'.

http://thesaurus.com/browse/fantasy

 

LOL I'm getting confused myself!
Let me see, we were talking about jugs of piss....

 

Woops!

I deleted that post.
It only survives in your quote.


Might be fumes going to my head.

I will stop smelling the pee bottle.

 

I appreciate your posting the Petco orange stuff inhibits the urine odor.
I haven't looked for it in the stores yet.
Assuming it may not be available every where, I'm experimenting with the oil film, cause oil IS available most everywhere, if ONLY it works!

A couple of those swimming pool tubes/logs noodle things, cut to length and slitted and slid over door edges could seal major gaps.

 

Another significant problem the South had was they had no heavy industry (all the factories were in the north). The South's whole economy was based on farming, mostly cotton (which required at the time slaves to operate). Once the north blockaded their ports, they had no way of generating revenue, and they had no way of manufacturing war supplies, particularly heavy artillery, rifles, ships, etc. Almost everyone in the North, and most in the South, knew their attempt as secession was going to fail. The south's only hope was that the European customers of their cotton (the largest export product at the time) would come to their aid, which never happened. Ultimately it came down to economics.

 

FYI, portions of the article on composting toilets for small boats from "Small Craft Advisor" no. 83 July/Aug 2013. page 38.

"Waste bags: the original Wag Bags are fuly biodegradable bags that contain a special power that turns urine into a gel and deodorizes the waste. The special enzymes in the gel also kill bacteria and promote the break down of wast and the bags. One pack can be used five or six times, seal it in the pouch supplied with each kit, than deposit in the trash. Lin and Larry Pardey discuss wast bags on their website wwww.landlpardey.com/Tips/2006/March.html"

"Composting Heads require a little more space but are still surprisingly compact. The Air Head, the Nature's Head, and the C-Head are some currently available marine composting toilets. ...After using the composting toilet, you spritz a little soapy water in teh urine area and throw some peat moss on the solids area-its that easy" All systems employ a system called "urine separation"."

" all of the systems are simple, no pumps, no thru hulls, no valves, no sewage lines or water lines. They exhibit less odor...adding peat moss or saw dust produces a pleasant, clean small. .. they cost much less than traditional marine head"

Than they list pictures and sizes of the different types and prices (none was larger than 18" x18"):

Go Anywhere toilet $99
Luggable Loo $15
C-head $499
Air Head $996
Nature's Head $875
Separate Privy Kit $125

 

I think Petco brand products are only available in Petco stores. But you can probably find a decent enzyme-based pet stain and odor remover just about anywhere they sell pet products, especially in the big box stores.

They aren't cheap. On the other hand, a little should go a long way for our purposes...

Generally I just deal with the gaps above and below my bedroom door by stuffing laundry into them. In keeping with the bachelor lifestyle motif, there's rarely a shortage of laundry at hand. Sometimes I wish I lived the type of bachelor life my wife thinks I live when I'm away, instead....

 

Back on the 12th, I made a pee bottle and put a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in it, to seal off the oxygen from converting the urine to ammonia.

So far, doesn't stink, and I peed in it a couple times since. The oil floats to the top of course.

Eureka?

I'll give it a week before declaring success.
Providing my wife lets me and my pee bottle stay.

 

Update on the pee bottle.

It stinks.

Back to you, Troy.

 

I've heard that adding sugar to your urine bottle cuts down on the smell. I've not tried it, and if it works I have no idea why. But it is a cheap experiment.

 

I have heard that also.
I think Troy has the solution, odor eating enzymes.
Any natural sources?
I'd try the sugar/urine experiment, but my wife applauded when I pitched the stinky bottle.
Should I read into that, more pee experiments would NOT be appreciated?