Outhouse questions

[AK Troutbum]

I’m going to be building an outhouse for our cabin so we have something to use in the winter when the water’s off. I already have exactly what I want to build in mind and I plan on using a 55 gallon plastic barrel for the septic. So my question is, how should I prepare the barrel before putting it in the ground. Obviously I’ll cut the top out, but should I also cut the bottom out, or just drill holes in it, both on the bottom and sides? How big should the holes be, how many holes, and how far up the sides of the barrel should I drill them? Also, is it necessary to put gravel at the bottom of the hole before placing the barrel, and is it necessary to backfill around the barrel with gravel as well? I’ll also have it vented out the top of the building, probably with a 4” vent pipe. Is there anything else I may not be thinking about/missing?


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[*zap*]

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

If I was setting up an outhouse that barrel would start off with 6” of sawdust or fine pine shavings in the bottom and I’d preposition a large container of the same next to the hole. Each user would be instructed to dump a gallon or so of fresh sawdust on top of their business. Sawdust keeps my chickens’ poop from stinking and I think it would do the same for an outhouse. Once the barrel gets full hoist it up and you’ve got some useable compost.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Never been in an outhouse that was anything more than a hole dug in the ground.. following to see how others do it..

If I was setting up an outhouse that barrel would start off with 6” of sawdust or fine pine shavings in the bottom and I’d preposition a large container of the same next to the hole. Each user would be instructed to dump a gallon or so of fresh sawdust on top of their business. Sawdust keeps my chickens’ poop from stinking and I think it would do the same for an outhouse. Once the barrel gets full hoist it up and you’ve got some useable compost.

We always had a bucket of some sort of lime powder in there, and we'd sprinkle a cup full down the hole after we were done..seemed to work pretty well. No idea on the price though, sawdust might be cheaper and work just as good or better.

Fun fact.. I believe outhouses are illegal here in Iowa..

 

[5811]

Never been in an outhouse that was anything more than a hole dug in the ground.. following to see how others do it..



We always had a bucket of some sort of lime powder in there, and we'd sprinkle a cup full down the hole after we were done..seemed to work pretty well. No idea on the price though, sawdust might be cheaper and work just as good or better.

Fun fact.. I believe outhouses are illegal here in Iowa..

Same here with lime. Sawdust might just fill the hole up quicker.

 

[Legend]

Not sure what the barrel does for you. Unless you plan to pull the barrel out of the ground and replace when full? Or maybe it holds the walls up?

I have just dug a hole. Then after each deposit add a cup of lime. Works great.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

The way we do it is with a drain field leading away, the PVC pipe with all the holes in them can't remember what they're called. That gets installed about 2/3 of the way up. Barrel is sealed so that 2/3 is always full and bacteria liquefies the waste, as you flush or "dump" more the liquid spills out and dissipates throughout the drain field. There's proper ways to set the pipe with gravel and such but with a super low volume system it's likely not a problem.

The one we have now is in pure sand, they'll fill up with sand after a while if done like a above so for that I installed two large PVC elbows on flanges that point downward with 2' of 4" pipe pointing down. I left the pipe open at the bottom thinking gravity will keep the sand out. Water level is roughly 2' deep there so the barrel is actually trying to float, gotta fill it with water before burying it.

RV toilets are great for these, super low water consumption and seals the pipe, but you can hold it open to view if need be.

A more proper way is offset with two barrels, a collector and a digester, but unless a person is living there full time that's probably not necessary.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Not sure what the barrel does for you. Unless you plan to pull the barrel out of the ground and replace when full? Or maybe it holds the walls up?

I have just dug a hole. Then after each deposit add a cup of lime. Works great.

The barrel holds water and waste so it can decompose and turn to liquid.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Yeah, the barrel is just to maintain the integrity of the hole so it doesn’t cave in on itself. Since we would only be using this in the offseason, when the cabin is winterized (Sept.-Mayish), the hope is that it wouldn’t be used a great deal and would never be needed to be filled in and moved…at least not until after we (my wife and I), are long gone. I also plan to have a covered box on either side of the toilet, one with sawdust and the other with lye, and a scooper in each to scoop and put in the hole when you’re finished doing your business.


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[Forestryguy]

If close to water of high water table I would use a barrel with holes around the side but close to the top. Let liquids evaporate off. But if fill the barrel it will over flow, slowly. Kind of a drain field without the field. Solids will naturally compost down. If you have a lid on the seat, run 4" pipe out and up from the barrel. Get it above the outhouse and it will keep the smell down as long as the seat is kept closed.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Yeah, the barrel is just to maintain the integrity of the hole so it doesn’t cave in on itself. Since we would only be using this in the offseason, when the cabin is winterized (Sept.-Mayish), the hope is that it wouldn’t be used a great deal and would never be needed to be filled in and moved…at least not until after we (my wife and I), are long gone. I also plan to have a covered box on either side of the toilet, one with sawdust and the other with lye, and a scooper in each to scoop and put in the hole when you’re finished doing your business.


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In that case I might just build the outhouse mobile and dig a big hole, if it ever fills up move the outhouse over a bit and dig another hole and use the dirt to cover the first one. Let it all decompose naturally in the soil. If you wanted the barrel to keep it from caving in then yeah probably cut the bottom out and cut a bunch of holes in the sides. Just spitballing there.

 

[tony]

Dig til you hit water, that's what my ex F in L told me when we put one up

I actually did hit water.

Built a cabin on his old homestead, he didn't do anything fancy laid about a foot of gravel in the bottom and kept a bucket of lime I think it was to dump in it. Probably not the best set up but, it worked for its purpose.

 

[justinspicher]

I built one of these for my buddy’s cabin in alaska a couple of years ago. I had a blue barrel with no lid.

I dig a hole that would fit the barrel, which was the longest part of the entire process.

At the bottom I laid about 2-3” of river rock, then put the barrel over it.

I also drilled a hole out in the side for a tube that came from the toilet for liquid. Dug a trench and buried it as well.

Covered the entire barrel with dirt and that was that.

Kept sawdust and lime next to the toilet, along with TP.

So far no issues.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I have zero experience building out houses. But if you have power in your cabin, run a line out so you can mount a light for those night time visits, that or mount a battery operated light. Don't forget magazine rack. One question, if you do put a plastic drum in sump with run off holes near the top, would you need to add septic tank chemicals???

 

[AK Troutbum]

I have zero experience building out houses. But if you have power in your cabin, run a line out so you can mount a light for those night time visits, that or mount a battery operated light. Don't forget magazine rack. One question, if you do put a plastic drum in sump with run off holes near the top, would you need to add septic tank chemicals???

Absolutely. I’ll definitely have power to it, with the plan of having a switch in the cabin that will power it. We’ll have a couple lights wired in, one on the outside, and one inside, and also have an electric heater plugged in that will come on when the switch is flipped. Night time around here, in the middle of winter, lasts from about 4:00pm-10:00am, so having light is imperative.


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[GSPHUNTER]

Absolutely. I’ll definitely have power to it, with the plan of having a switch in the cabin that will power it. We’ll have a couple lights wired in, one on the outside, and one inside, and also have an electric heater plugged in that will come on when the switch is flipped. Night time around here, in the middle of winter, lasts from about 4:00pm-10:00am, so having light is imperative.


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Might best get heated seat. I hear it gets on the cool side up there.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Sounds like you're setup nicely.

I wanted ours to be separate from the main cabin power so it's got it's own deep cycle battery with a small solar panel. The lights are RV LED lights and the water pump runs on the 12v too, pills from rain collection barrel. I put a boat switch panel inside to monitor voltage and turn the gizmos on and off, oh there's a 12v fan too. I like that heated seat idea but we need a cooled seat down here. Lol

 

[wildwilderness]

What about a propane toilet? Do they make electric ones? Can just put it inside in the current bathroom during the winter

 

[AK Troutbum]

I want something that’s big enough to move around in comfortably (even for large people, even though we are not), clean, bug free in the summer and warm in the winter, smells good, and an overall pleasant and inviting experience. Basically something that you might even look forward to going to as opposed to dreading. I know that it may seem I’m putting a little too much thought and effort into it, but I’ve experienced some real shit hole outhouses (as I’m sure most everyone on here probably has as well), and I don’t want ours to be anything like that.


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[ScreamingPotato]

I was looking through my pics to see if I had anything helpful but apparently never took any pics of the finished product. This is all I've got from when I was buliding, much nicer now. It's very comfortable though. There's a fully covered deck there now and a shower next to it. 4x4 is plenty, much more roomy than I figured it would be.