Originally Posted by mountainy man

I have the separett 9000 for the last 6 years, no wife so fine there but you are right about the neighbours you would think they had a high pressure hose that they can't control ! Not sure what you mean by work as you need to clean a "normal" loo too.

First they stand in front of it and piss all over the toilet, the wall and the floor. A bit like a tomcat spraying I'd say.
There is a big sign on the toilet saying "Use only while sitting on it ". Hardly anybody notices that.
Frequently the urine is found around the s hit bucket inside the toilet frame- I have to take out the bucket and clean the inside of the toilet .
You know the toilet- two people actually shat into the front part were you pee into. I do not have a clue how they managed that. Used toilet paper is frequently put into the pee part or just thrown behind the toilet.
One neighbour is so bad- I lock the bathroom door when I see him coming.
You are right- a standard toilet has to be cleaned as well after untrained people.
General work is required in the normal use of this special toilet. We are 3 people and I have to empty the bucket every week and clean the lot. A standard water toilet just needs a bit of toilet duck and a brush in a while...with trained users.

Originally Posted by olli rehn

First they stand in front of it and piss all over the toilet, the wall and the floor. A bit like a tomcat spraying I'd say.
There is a big sign on the toilet saying "Use only while sitting on it ". Hardly anybody notices that.
Frequently the urine is found around the s hit bucket inside the toilet frame- I have to take out the bucket and clean the inside of the toilet .
You know the toilet- two people actually shat into the front part were you pee into. I do not have a clue how they managed that. Used toilet paper is frequently put into the pee part or just thrown behind the toilet.
One neighbour is so bad- I lock the bathroom door when I see him coming.
You are right- a standard toilet has to be cleaned as well after untrained people.
General work is required in the normal use of this special toilet. We are 3 people and I have to empty the bucket every week and clean the lot. A standard water toilet just needs a bit of toilet duck and a brush in a while...with trained users.

Oh god Olli that gave me a good laugh, I can't imagine how they shat in the front section, the mind boggles. I have had the paper left in there too, now I give demonstrations in its use and if they don't get it right from that I send them to the woods where they belong! With only myself I only have to empty once a month, I put an inch of saw dust in the bottom not the silly paper thing that it was supplied with and works well . I have wonderfull blackcurrants too!

Originally Posted by bmw1

bird s hit.....e lead leaves snails -all of course related to the roof and not the water

Birds are NO problem if you run your system the right way.
Birds s hit, dead snails or beetles- all no problem if you do not clean out your tanks with hard chemicals like chloride. It will kill all micro bacteria- the good ones and the bad ones. If you clean your system just with water and a sponge, you leave enough microbes alive to reinstall a self cleaning habitat.Leave a nice biofilm on the walls of your system and let some stuff built up on the bottom.
I searched around but could not find an English link about this subject.
Those who are able to understand Frau Merkel's language:

REWALUX-Ratgeber zur Regenwassernutzung
Persistenz pathogener Bakterien in Zisternenwasser

There were tests done in Bremen University. 1 gramme of of dove's s hit used per 1 litre of water in a cystern system. They used 3 kgs (two handfull) of dove s hit and 3000 litres of water. The pathogenic content was mesured and watched over a certain time frame. What happended was a short rise in the bacteria- and a sharp fall after another short while. Pathogenic bacteria went down to zero. This did not happen with a tank containing a sterile- or "clean" atmosphere. The pathogenic count would go sharply up and stay up. There were no microbacteria in the system which would do the destruction of the bacteria- and the water stayed polluted.
With a biofilm and a sediment in the water you should have nice clean water.
Think of a lake in the countryside- with no sewer discharged into it. Fish live in it and die. Insects, snails, all vermin- die and sink to the ground. You still can drink the water without problems- the natural destruction of the animals keep the water clean.
A good rainwater system is a bit of an intact eco system.
I do not know what happens when the climate gets warmer. I presume the tanks cannot hold the water fresh that long as it is now .
The above tests in Germany were done with water up to 37 degrees-and it was still ok.
I saw some pages from Oz pointing out that problem. What a luck that Ireland very raley gets a heat wave...

I have collected 100L per hour from my roof in the past 4 hours (400L total).

My miniature prototype wind turbine is dervish-like inside my vented window. Plus it has solar powered steam backup.

Groove Armada - But I Feel Good - YouTube

I think I might be Spanish.

This is a very interesting thread, thanks in particular to Ollie.

I can vouch for the shiny hair thing - We always had the barrels at home growing up. One evening I came ome from a hard day in the bog to find the water gone again from the taps. What could I do only wash in the yard behind the sheets on the line, before heading into town to the disco. <Glamourous lifestyle> Got so many offers that night! So yes - rainwater has been proven to make you more attractive to the opposite sex

Oh - this was in the early 2000's, not the fifties either

My four barrels are full and overflowing now,so a small reservoir will be my next task. Roadside Guerilla gardens stetching a hundred metres can mean me emptying barrrels of rainwater in no time at all!

Originally Posted by olli rehn

Have a look here- it is not a composting toilet, but also a waterless toilet. We have one of them for 10 years now. No problems if you are willing to do some work:

Separett - Separett

Separett Villa Installation - YouTube

A word of caution: The wife MUST like it- otherwise you are in trouble.
And beware of some neighbours- they still have not learned how to use a toilet without pissing all over it- and you are left with the mess to clean up...

Im thinking of installing one of these at a location without running water,are they really odour free?

Originally Posted by RepublicOfLuas

The idea of harvesting rainwater at home has been with me for some time, but since the talk of water charges have come in to the public domain, the idea has never been more prevalent. The following video is from an American perspective but one assumes it can easily be done here in Ireland, considering our annual rain fall levels.

How to recycle rain water for use at home | SmartPlanet

In the video, the narrator suggests you could be in violation of the law unless you have a permit. Do such laws exist in Ireland, or even on a grander scale, the European Union? I've already taken the initiative and have placed a bucket under my gutter pipe!

In my opinion, home rainwater harvesting should be compulsory in Ireland.

I too have been toying with the idea for a number of years but procrastination, not being arsed and simple hopefulness over get off myarseness have ensured that I have yet to buy the water butt and adapt my drain pipes to it (probably just cut them so they just stick into the top of the butt).

There is probably more water to be collected than I will use, but that is beside the point. We all should do it.