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We all have to pee sometime. Some go behind a bush. Some use a toilet and flush 5 gallons of water down the drain every time they pull the handle.
In this instructable I will introduce you to a simple alternative, one that uses less water than a flush toilet. Water is a resource that is becoming scarcer over time; one that we should conserve better.
PVC, polyvinyl chloride, is a thermoplastic. It softens with heat and hardens up again when it cools. It is easily available in most hardware stores in the form of pipe, and is not very expensive. Considering all the things one can make out of it, I would even call it cheap.
You will find several different urinal designs here. Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and read on.
In this instructable I will introduce you to a simple alternative, one that uses less water than a flush toilet. Water is a resource that is becoming scarcer over time; one that we should conserve better.
PVC, polyvinyl chloride, is a thermoplastic. It softens with heat and hardens up again when it cools. It is easily available in most hardware stores in the form of pipe, and is not very expensive. Considering all the things one can make out of it, I would even call it cheap.
You will find several different urinal designs here. Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and read on.
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Signing UpStep 1THE BASIC IDEA
The basic urinal is composed of a cup to catch the urine, an "S" shaped piece of 1/2 inch diameter pipe that conducts the urine to the ground, and a buried 5 gallon bucket. The inverted bucket creates an air chamber. The urine enters the air chamber and filters into the ground.
The "S" bend in the pipe creates a small reservoir that holds the last of the flush water. This is the same as the trap under a sink. It prevents vapors from beyond the water reservoir from rising in the pipe and smelling up the room. The system is basically odorless.
The "S" bend in the pipe creates a small reservoir that holds the last of the flush water. This is the same as the trap under a sink. It prevents vapors from beyond the water reservoir from rising in the pipe and smelling up the room. The system is basically odorless.
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A friend had an allotment with a small tool shed on it, his compost bin was near the shed and he had a diy urinal in the shed with a pipe going to the compost bin.
Here is his site: http://bobflowerdew.co.uk/
How about we just say that these great instables are made for use to better our lives by giving ourselves something to do....Now I must do as the wife demands and look at her puzzle.....good day. (sigh)
A small water distillation unit might be a good addition to the home, to handle whatever water might come one's way in the future.
I have read that one can mix one part urine with three parts water and use it directly on plants without burning them.
There should be no odor problem, due to the water trap in the line.
I was fortunate enough to have a previous owner try to build a patio BBQ and leave a 3 in. ABS pipe underground that lead from the side of the garage under the patio roof to the back bathroom on the house and danged if he didn't tie it into the cast iron pipe elbow under the back toilet (he also left a natural gas pipe and cold water pipe; it must have been one heck of a BBQ going in)!
I fashioned a foot deep locker over the urinal with twin doors that open into a privacy stall. I used an old urinal from a trash dump I found in great shape and plumbed it with a trap. So mine is actually going into the sewer. I used a self closing faucet above the urinal to flush enough water to clear the bowl.
Most sewer pipes under your home end at a clean out. My 1952 house has these clean outs aimed at a vent hole in the crawl space.
Maybe you can insert a threaded pipe into one of the clean outs, outside the bathroom and have it go through the vent to the outside of the house. Then build a sort of old fashioned 'water closet'. A out house with a half moon cut in the door would be a riot and visitors would think it fun to use.
Another tip for saving water is to keep a 5 gallon bucket in the tub. My water heater is on the back porch at the opposite end of the house as my tub. I open the hot water valve and let it run until I get hot water. Then shut it off and open the shower valve. It only takes two showers to fill the bucket and you can use it 2 to 4 flushes depending on whether you just stood or sat.
As for the upside down bucket, that's brilliant! You could use leach line rock for a filler if you think your pit would crush in. I did this method years ago and just put a little bleach down it once a month in the summer months. You could also buy septic tank enzyme from the market or RV supply store to keep it sanitary as need be. I had termites in the area and also put malathion down the hole now and then to kill any termites using the water as a drinking source. Please take caution if you have fruit trees or the like near by.
I try to avoid chemicals, like bleach and malathion, but I recognize the temptation. Given the water traps in the urinal drain pipes, there is never any malodorous gas from the system.
When I do put bleach or insecticides in the ground, its just a few drops per gallon, I don't go overboard. Just enough to taint the water to them underground bugs. As for bleach its self, it is in all green plants; chlorine. There are herb and natural remedies books that tell you to put a few drops of bleach in a glass of water and drink it to kill a body fungus you can get. Wikipedia says it's element 17 on the chart & "it is abundant in nature and necessary to most forms of life, including humans."
Yes, it's a "chemical" by definition, but in drop by drop use it will just kill bacteria on a "as needed" basis. It will neutralize and cancel out and not harm nature or your earth in your yard. As a pool owner I can attest to chlorine and algae doing battle and in the end, the algae is dead, and so is the chlorine. Test shows zero and time to add more. It's a salt, that's why you have to add acid to the pool after. Out of the bottle it can eat the hair out of your nostrils, but in correct amounts it is safe as anything.
Chemotherapy can save lives, but it sure can wreak havoc, too. I guess proper action depends a lot on priorities, too.
chlorine is not a nutritional need... "Importance of chlorine in human body?
In: Human Anatomy
Read more:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Importance_of_chlorine_in_human_body#ixzz1QMEpwrP5
"Sodium chloride literally keeps our bodies from drying up, moves our muscles, makes our meals matter, and attacks germs to keep us healthy."
There's more... much more. Google it.
Ice cream has deadly chemicals in it. We should ban that; I suppose.
I'm not going to get rid of my pool but, I am going to go out and pee in my pack yard now :)
If animals need salt, I wonder where they get it? I suppose that carnivores would probably pick up some chlorine from the meat they consume. I'm vegetarian. Maybe plants don't have the same salt content as animal products.
Anyway, thanks for the chlorine info.
Hey, how am I supposed to take it when I expand on what I see in your pages here and you come back that pool owners contribute to acid rain. That's a weird comment anyway since all I said to put a few drops down your urinal. I think toxic waste would build up there as anywhere. Especially since your upside down bucket is a dead end.
Have you ever seen the 20/20 where they looked into the spreading grounds in large cities that feed their own underground reservoirs? They found out that there was an incredible amount of toxic and bacteria build up in the soil for thousands of feet outside the area, leaking into peoples fruit trees and gardens. People were showing up at the hospital with all kinds of cronic illnesses far above the average. And that was clean water! They have to now pump extra water so there is overflow so there is a place for things to run off. They can't let it just sit and fester.
What you have here is a small cesspit. They were outlawed decades ago for the very same reasons. Toxins seep up to the surface over time and cause much damage to property as well as humans. They are far from "green". It would be better to study up on septic systems and build and properly maintain small version if you are worried about chemicals that can kill you. Because just as salt and carrots, too much human waste in a concentrated area can....
k-i-l-l y-o-u
Acid rain is mostly sulfuric acid, I think. My comment on pool owners was probably a wild idea, but I still don't see where the chlorine goes, except into the atmosphere, and hydrochloric acid seems like a likely form for it to take.
It just seems out of control sometimes, like we don't know what we're doing, and our population keeps growing. Reduce our population and we would automatically reduce all of our negative impacts from the things we do. .
Ecologically, I think composting is the way to go. Try to find The Humanure Handbook. http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/humanure.html You don't need much more than a bucket to use his system. It's not "waste" anymore when you can put it to good use.
Here's one link for composting toilets. http://www.solareagle.com/sunmar.html
Still a nice idea for a deer lease, or treehouse. Someone should forward this to Tarzan, and Gilligan.
:)
Apparently, you were not planing to have the drain accept toilet paper in the first place, so the women who wish to wipe, will need a basket near by to toss the waste paper.
It is also interesting to note that if urine can be keep separate from the poop, the poop will not stink near as badly as when they get mixed as they do in most pit toilets. Therefore, if your solid collection device can separate the solid from the liquid, you can reduce the odor significantly.
For those that live in an urban environment where this may not be practical, I suggest you consider urinating in your bathtub, where "flushing" takes only a couple of cups of water, and the faucet is (usually) right above the drain/urinal.
Even though I live on a farm, I did this as a temporary measure when I had drainfield problems in the winter and was desperately trying to put the absolute minimum liquid into the system. Sounded a bit strange & unsanitary at first, but it really isn't.
I figured I was saving almost the whole 5-gallon flush each time, and since I was on Lasix, I was hitting the bathroom almost hourly. Massive water savings, when you add it up.
After I sorted out the leaky connection in the distribution box, I just kept using the bathtub since it seemed like a good idea anyhow. When I'm outside, of course, I use the same system as my dogs do ... and no flush necessary. Just don't hit the same spot every time, or it will "burn" the grass eventually.
Certainly a more practical way of saving water than Al Gore's worthless "two-gallon flush" toilets. Every one I've ever used has been a piece of .... well, you get the idea.
Ideally, I'd figure out a way to use the gray water from the sink to "flush" the bathtub drain ... but I haven't figured a practical way to do that yet. And it's a minor savings in water anyhow compared to skipping the flush-toilet.
One could place one of these adjacent to an area where you have a problem with deer gnawing away at your plants and it should be a nice deterrent. (well maybe not all that nice!)
Thanks to all!!
www.theruralindependent.com
Great Instructable; makes me want to live somewhere 'less socialized'. I've told/kidded my wife that the next house will have to have a urinal in it.
I went to your site at www.angelfire.com/in2/manythings, and realized that my father-in-law (a cement fiend) would love your projects.
Thanks; this was a project well worth reading, for the variety of information that you've presented.