Sara Baird investigates a conveyable different in composting bathrooms with the Compo Closet Cuddy.
This summer time I wrote about testing out a composting bathroom and the liberty it offered after we went tent tenting. I liked having the identical freedom from utilizing an outhouse or ready in line for the bogs we had when tenting in a Camper with a rest room with out the effort of hauling a camper.
The dear composting bathroom I reviewed was small and designed for portability, it labored completely for tenting for just a few days and as a backup when a full toilet was not out there. I had thought of utilizing it in our camper transform however after we journey in our camper we frequently keep locations the place we fully depend on our camper toilet and whereas it will work I didn’t assume it will be superb.
When Compo Closet reached out to see if I wished to check out their Cuddy Composting bathroom, I assumed it may very well be the answer that we had been searching for.
Compo Closet
Richard Peter dreamed up Compo Closet throughout his time as a traveler. As he explored choices for bathrooms of their self-converted van he fell in love with composting bathrooms and located all the present fashions left him wanting. He then designed the Cuddy Composting Rest room and Compo Closet was shaped. Compo Closet strives to assist its clients in residing a sustainable and adventurous way of life.
The Cuddy Composting Rest room
Compo Closet sells two variations of the Cuddy Composting Rest room, the Cuddy, which comes with an agitator, and the Cuddy Gentle which has all of the options of the Cuddy with out an agitator. The Cuddy Composting Rest room. The Cuddy is constructed to be compact and transportable. It’s 16.3 inches excessive, 15.1 inches vast, and 16.8 inches deep and has chrome steel hinges that mean you can place the bathroom flush with a wall. It weighs 21 kilos.
The Cuddy is filled with options. It has a 1.7-gallon liquid container with an LED liquid stage indicator to point when the liquid container is full. The solids container is 3.9 gallons and has an agitator to combine waste along with your chosen medium to start out the composting course of and scale back any odor. It additionally has a carbon filter to get rid of odor and a fan that enables it to be vented exterior.
The Cuddy is designed for straightforward set up: “Put it down, plug within the energy, and completed!” The one energy sources wanted are a 9-volt battery for the liquid indicator and an 11 volt for the fan. Each of those usually are not required to make use of the bathroom.
How Composting Bogs Work
Composting bathrooms separate urine and strong waste to forestall odor and make disposal simpler. To get rid of the waste you’ll be able to both dump the urine into a rest room or outhouse or dilute it and put it in your backyard. The strong waste may be composted or thrown right into a rubbish can.
Composting bathrooms don’t require any chemical substances, making them environmentally pleasant. The solids container may be full of fill of your alternative. Decisions embody wooden shavings, peat moss, coco peat, or litter. The Cuddy has an agitator so you’d merely add your fill after which combine it after every use to start the composting course of. The Cuddy Gentle doesn’t have the agitator so you’d add some fill after which add extra fill after every use.
The benefits of a composting bathroom are that you do not want to take care of a black tank in a camper, portability because it doesn’t have to be plumbed in, and it doesn’t require chemical substances like different transportable bathroom choices.
The way it Works
To put in the cuddy you merely set up the batteries, add medium to the solids bin, and be sure that the proper valve is on the liquids container. Then you’ll be able to merely place it the place you prefer to it and start to make use of it. You should utilize it in a cabin, a camper, or perhaps a tent. Relying on the place you utilize it chances are you’ll select to vent the bathroom exterior or not, directions are offered on how to do that.
Testing It Out
The Cuddy arrived in October and I hoped to get in a fall tenting journey to try it out however unhealthy climate and sickness foiled our plans. As an alternative, I performed round with it at house to determine all of the options. I discovered the batteries and filter simple to put in and wanted to take away the cardboard from the agitator for the Cuddy to be absolutely arrange. Compo Closet was even good sufficient to ship some Coco Noir for me to make use of as a medium within the solids container. It was tremendous easy to hydrate the coco noir and add it to the solids container.
The seat of the Cuddy was very snug and felt very very similar to sitting on an everyday bathroom. The peak is decrease than a regular bathroom however not extraordinarily low. I poured in water to check out the liquid container. I seen that it was by no means arduous to ship the liquids into the liquid container. The diverter is deep sufficient that it might tolerate some quantity of unlevel floor and nonetheless divert the liquid into the proper container.
I used to be intimidated by the thought of dumping the solids container right into a bag relatively than simply having it bagged up. I made a decision to offer it a dry run and see how troublesome it was to empty the coco noir right into a bag. It’s good that the container pulls proper out and is straightforward to deal with. There is no such thing as a want to maneuver the bathroom. It was not troublesome to place a bag over the container and empty it.
My Advice
My foremost curiosity in a composting bathroom was to find out if it will be a great match for our Fifth-wheel camper transform. We regularly camp in locations the place we depend on the toilet in our camper and sometimes it may be difficult to discover a dump station. There are additionally occasions when the black tank is full and we don’t need to transfer. I might be proud of the Cuddy in our camper. I discovered it was snug and simple to make use of. Since I didn’t get to try it out on the highway, I learn critiques of others who’ve them and located that individuals didn’t have points with odor and had been proud of the Cuddy.
I appreciated that’s it snug to make use of and that it’s compact and may be positioned flush with the wall. The diverter was designed nicely and works because it ought to. The scale of the Cuddy is giant sufficient that it may be used usually with out always needing to empty it however not so giant that it might’t be transportable. It would slot in a cabin, camper, van, and even an choice when tent tenting in a automotive.
I used to be very impressed by the customer support supplied by Compo Closet after I picked out the mannequin. They even supplied to ship me to “potty coaching” to make sure I knew find out how to use the bathroom accurately. There may be additionally a Fb group for Cuddy homeowners to debate experiences and Compo Closet workers are energetic on the location offering assist as wanted.
My solely reservation in regards to the Cuddy is that I’m undecided I would like an agitator. I might really feel higher about utilizing a compostable bag to line the solids container. I feel that is solely one thing that I can work out with use. I feel whereas touring I would like a liner however might see how an agitator can be useful when utilizing it in a cabin or when stationary. The cool factor is that I should buy a solids container with out the agitator for less than $35 from Cuddy and use that instead of the agitator. That method I can use both choice because it suits my consolation stage.
Have you ever used a composting bathroom or would you take into account one in your van, camper, or rustic cabin? I might love to listen to your ideas. You may take a look at the Cuddy at https://compocloset.com/product/cuddy/
