Private porta potty?

sharpstick · Post by **sharpstick** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 6:05 pm

our village of 100+ is considering renting our own potty. it will be inside our village, hidden from sight, locked with a combination lock, covered with a shade structure. it will have an electrical ventilation fan and either a curtain in front of it, or one hanging in the doorway so we can have privacy without getting overheated. and an "occupied" sign to insure our uninterrupted reading and meditation. if the curtain hangs down to about shin level, people won't need to knock to see if it's busy and it should allow adequate air circulation. aint nothing worse than spending ten minutes in one of those crematoriums on a sunny afternoon!
we plan to use it only at night and for "emergencies".
it will be on its own trailer and will be towed to the main potties for pumping every couple days or so.
it will be near the perimeter and maybe next to our gennie so it won't be in the middle of camp. hopefully one moderately used potty won't be too smelly.
i'd like to hear feedback from anyone who's done this before.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 6:38 pm

A bunch of us did this. It was a years first camp out. About 100 people and one shiter. This was at temps day55 nite 37. The smell was bad. Now we rent 6 pots. That's for about 150 pepole. Still not good but all we can afford. It wont hurt every one to take care of them selfs. Two people in our camp. We each have a pee bucket w/lid. 2gal. plastic paint bucket. Then a 5gal. bucket w/lid and pastic bags. This is for natures call in the middle of the night or if we become ill. Carry your own dump your own. easy.

calsur · Post by **calsur** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 6:49 pm

I got the following answer about using my little 5 gallon pottie. Enjoy.
You may try PM RobbiDobbs dirrectly

Hi, I'm the Chief Poopervisor of the Pottie Project. You asked...
>OK, So the first one is about crap. If I bring a little port-a-pottie (5 gallon), will I be able to empty it into the pottie on site? Basically consolidate the crap? The only thing in the little one is human waste, single ply TP from Camping World and water.

You are welcome to bring your little personal pottie, it's a terrific idea for those midnight piddle sessions. I personally use a 5 gallon industrial bucket w/ a snap-on toilet seat.

BTW: there is a great deal of discussion on this subject on other threads, but here's the short version: You may not throw water down the public potties. Here's why: we do NOT want to encourage folks to throw any grey water in there. A few years ago there was so much grey water (dish water really) going in the public crappers that it was the equivalent of an extra 10,000 piddlers, and JotS got pissed off. Not that you have a lot of water to dispose of, but JUST DON'T DO IT please, and we'll all be happier.

I recommend that you use your personal pottie for #1 only, and toss it in w/o any adulteration. For #2, just hike to the public Temples of Excremeditation, meet people, feel like a part of a community, and you won't have to worry about how to store your shit for any amount of time/effort.

The rest of the questions aren't my issue. I remember people burning couches fercryingoutloud. Glue on fire isn't nice downwind.

RobbiDobbs clear

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 7:51 pm

it will be on its own trailer and will be towed to the main potties for pumping every couple days or so.

Um, are you planning on paying to have it pumped out? If not it seems to me that regardless of the size of the camp that what you're doing is taxing the resources of the the event for the sake of your own exclusivity.

precipitate · Post by **precipitate** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 8:04 pm

> we plan to use it only at night and for "emergencies".

Note that people will use an available resource whether or not it's an
"emergency." Make sure you have contingency plans to deal with this.

> will be towed to the main potties for pumping every couple days or so.

And JOTS isn't going to pump it, unless you have a separate contract with
them. In which case, make them come to you. It is neither feasible nor
recommended to empty an entire portapotty into another portapotty,
especially at the end of the week when the pumping schedule just about
keeps up with demand. Besides, what're you gonna do, siphon by mouth?

> hopefully one moderately used potty won't be too smelly.

They're smelly no matter what. Probably something you can live with, but
smelly.

Not that this isn't a decent idea. Not relying on the event's infrastructure
takes you that one step closer to self-sufficient. But don't expect to have
your own portapotty for 100+ people and be able to easily rely on the
event's contracts to take care of your shit. Might wanna talk to JOTS about
what services you can buy out there. A bank of 2 or 3, emptied once a
day, would go a long way towards meeting your village's needs. Is it
worth the money, vs. just using the ones supplied? Prolly wouldn't be for
me, but y'all may be different.

sharpstick · Post by **sharpstick** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 8:16 pm

Um, are you planning on paying to have it pumped out? If not it seems to me that regardless of the size of the camp that what you're doing is taxing the resources of the the event for the sake of your own exclusivity.

And JOTS isn't going to pump it, unless you have a separate contract with them.

the plan was to research it thoroughly, either have a contract to meet them at the main potties(our second choice was to have them come to us).
but since i posted this, it was decided that it was not feasible, costing about $550, and a royal pita. and we don't want to have to be the bad guy by saying, 'no, you can't pee in our potty!".
actually, we had hashed this whole issue out two years ago, but had all spaced out and forgotten why it wouldn't work.

precipitate · Post by **precipitate** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 8:21 pm

Yeah, I would think it would be expensive. Recommending the personal
pisspot route for midnight emergencies, and a 5g bucket with plastic bags
for real emergencies should help out.

So I have a totally unrelated question for you.

Why did you post this under Newbies? Is it because it was the first thing
on the page, or because it seemed appropriate to you? (Total curiosity
on my part.)

calsur · Post by **calsur** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 8:28 pm

Does anyone have a contact number or email for JOTS?

I just have a little 5 gallon pottie and have no problem with paying someone else to deal with it. Plus I will not be depleting BRC resources.

precipitate · Post by **precipitate** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 8:30 pm

> contact number or email for JOTS

Google says:
Johnny on the Spot Inc
2375 E 4th St
Reno, NV 89512-3803
(775) 826-5646

calsur · Post by **calsur** » Wed Mar 17, 2004 8:39 pm

Danke Schoen

Icepack · Post by **Icepack** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:00 am

sharpstick wrote:
Um, are you planning on paying to have it pumped out? If not it seems to me that regardless of the size of the camp that what you're doing is taxing the resources of the the event for the sake of your own exclusivity.

And JOTS isn't going to pump it, unless you have a separate contract with them.
the plan was to research it thoroughly, either have a contract to meet them at the main potties(our second choice was to have them come to us).
but since i posted this, it was decided that it was not feasible, costing about $550, and a royal pita. and we don't want to have to be the bad guy by saying, 'no, you can't pee in our potty!".
actually, we had hashed this whole issue out two years ago, but had all spaced out and forgotten why it wouldn't work.

$550 doesn't seem like much if you are spreading it among 100 people or so. I would gladly pay $5-$10 to have a private portapotty at camp. I am currently looking into buying one of those $100 portapotties that camping stores sell, and realizing that adding into the car is going to take up space that we didn't have last year. So I'll probably have to rent a bigger car this year than I did last year. We definitely won't be able to fit a portapotty in the car we have now.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:18 am

Farthest I ever had to walk to a JOTS in BRC- maybe 200 yards.
Longest I ever had to wait to use one- coupla minutes.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:34 am

I carry a little bag with me. It has toilet paper, wipes and a plastic bag. The TP is a one ply that can be found in sports goods. It has no cardboard center. Put some wipes in a half size ziplock. Put your used wipes into a sandwich ziplock. "Do NOT put "wipes" in the potties". Less camp=more fun.

robbidobbs · Post by **robbidobbs** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:48 am

precipitate wrote:Yeah, I would think it would be expensive. Recommending the personal
pisspot route for midnight emergencies, and a 5g bucket with plastic bags
for real emergencies should help out.

Again...I do NOT recommend using personal potties for pooping in. JotS keeps finding poo-poo bags in their camodes. Turns out the people who use these bucket-liners don't realize that the plastic bags don't go into the Dark Blue Deep. They don't want to have to deal with up-ending the bags, and maybe get their own crap on their knees, so they drop the whole fucking bag in. This is REALLY BAD for the pump-trucks. The trucks evacuate the Ookey-obliettes once every 6 hours...by contract. Even if the bag sez "bio-degradable", it isn't made of SUGAR, and will not melt down in 6 hours. I don't care how hot it is. So unless you're willing to do the work of dealing with Hazardous Material (which human excrement is BTW), the just use the fucking public potties. Hell, your ticket paid for them.

Bottom line:
Piddle-buckets...ok.
Poo-poo buckets...a pain in the ass.

RobbiDobbs
Chief Poopervisor of the Pottie Project

sharpstick · Post by **sharpstick** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 8:05 am

So I have a totally unrelated question for you.

Why did you post this under Newbies? Is it because it was the first thing
on the page, or because it seemed appropriate to you? (Total curiosity
on my part.)

i'm sorry. i confess. i been two years. i don't belong here. if i submit myself to the GLOM bondage wall, will i be forgiven?
cause it was the only topic under 2004. Not extremely familiar with eplaya, specially the new "improved" version.
maybe under tips and tricks - health and beauty?

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 9:36 am

Again with 5gal. bucket, w/toilet lid and plastic bags. If you have to use it in the night or what ever. Just tie the bag off (get the air out) and install a new bag. This will only make a small lump in the bottom. If you have enough to share(soiled bags that is) you can throw them at the exit gate people.{:-( Or not. Take the fucking things home with you. If traveling a long way. There are city dumps that you can use. OK?

Less camp=more fun

precipitate · Post by **precipitate** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:16 am

No need to apologize. I asked because there was discussion about how to
rearrange and consolidate topics, and this seemed to me to be an
example of someone going, "No idea where this belongs. Let's try here!"
No shame in that. I was just asking to see if you actually had a concrete
reason.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 11:08 am

....perhaps next year there'll be a Log Flume at Waste Treatment Camp.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 1:08 pm

robotland wrote:....perhaps next year there'll be a Log Flume at Waste Treatment Camp.

/
Sounds like a shitty camp.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 1:32 pm

No offense but.. is a 2 block walk to the potties really that big of a deal? I understand if you have difficulty moving around, but one of our neighbors last year was a group of 20-something in shape people who took turns with the bucket every morning. It seemed like more work to deal with the bucket than it would have been to take a nice morning walk a few times a day. Oddly enough, they had a fully enclosed shower structure but had no qualms about squatting over the bucket out in the open.

Perhaps I just haven't gotten myself sufficiently hung over to understand.

Menehune · Post by **Menehune** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 3:15 pm

Every large camp should have their own waste treatment plan to deal with gray water and human waste. We have used the following with great success when camping here on Oahu’s Ku’ena Point. Cat litter in a 5 gal bucket lined with a trash bag works fine. With some imagination & modifications you could actually use a cardboard (18” x 18” x 18” lined with two trash bags filled with cat litter) with multiple (4) 2.5” PVC pipes for men’s urinals. As for the ladies and solid waste (#2) you can apply the same with the 5 gal bucket. A mixture of cat litter & salt will dehydrate the solid waste and reduce the odor within 12 hours. Once dehydrated the solid waste can be removed and burned with a little help with gasoline or diesel. As for the toilet paper place them in zip lock bags and then burn them. The burning part is optional and should be done in approve screened fire pit at night.

A camp with 100 members would generate 100 to 200 gals of gray water daily if everyone participated with daily hygiene. Our plan is to recycle 100% of grey water with the swimming pool treatment theory, filter & chemical treatment. Gravity filters can be constructed with 5 gal buckets (2 minimum) filled with sand or 5” PVC pipe 10 feet in length filled with sand. Holding and treatment tanks can be made from cardboard boxes (18” x 18” x 18”) lined with two (2) trash bags which will hold 18 gals each. Chemicals can found at Home Depot or Lowe’s. When purchasing your chemicals keep in mind the PH balance of the grey water will be alkaline and you will need to raise acidity levels to properly treat with chlorine. With imagination and modification you could filter the treated water with canister filter ($120.00) to remove any sediment and chlorine. IMPORTANT: The finish product (water) is not for human/animal consumption. (NON-PORTABLE WATER).

III · Post by **III** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 3:18 pm

sheesh - that's so much more work than walking two camps down the block and taking a dump next to one of their cars...

precipitate · Post by **precipitate** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 3:20 pm

> (NON-PORTABLE WATER)

Yeah. Water's pretty heavy, especially when you're talking, what, 1400
gallons? Whew.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 3:27 pm

I keep saying: Less camp=more fun. Then meneh-- come up with a way kill people. Your dealing with children here. Don't be telling them to mix bleach with pee water. Did that once with a flush camp pot. The damn thing did a dance.

Icepack · Post by **Icepack** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 3:32 pm

robbidobbs wrote:
precipitate wrote:Yeah, I would think it would be expensive. Recommending the personal
pisspot route for midnight emergencies, and a 5g bucket with plastic bags
for real emergencies should help out.
Again...I do NOT recommend using personal potties for pooping in. JotS keeps finding poo-poo bags in their camodes. Turns out the people who use these bucket-liners don't realize that the plastic bags don't go into the Dark Blue Deep. They don't want to have to deal with up-ending the bags, and maybe get their own crap on their knees, so they drop the whole fucking bag in. This is REALLY BAD for the pump-trucks. The trucks evacuate the Ookey-obliettes once every 6 hours...by contract. Even if the bag sez "bio-degradable", it isn't made of SUGAR, and will not melt down in 6 hours. I don't care how hot it is. So unless you're willing to do the work of dealing with Hazardous Material (which human excrement is BTW), the just use the fucking public potties. Hell, your ticket paid for them.

Bottom line:
Piddle-buckets...ok.
Poo-poo buckets...a pain in the ass.

RobbiDobbs
Chief Poopervisor of the Pottie Project

Poo-poo buckets with really good sealable lids are okay. You can buy special lids that will not open up once sealed. Put these on your bucket and bring it to the Fernley Transfer Station and pay your $5 and be rid of it. The lids cost about $10 I think.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 3:39 pm

Looking for a better price. Tie the bags close and into a 2gal. paint pale w/lid. $3 bucks less room. Keep thread coming. I'm learning a bit here. So will the new folks.

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Thu Mar 18, 2004 3:48 pm

Or for the ultimate in Playa-Poopers...

http://www.citizensafe.com/storgasintoi.html

Would need several for any but the smallest of camps, but this is Burning- Man after all!

regards, Jafe

Badger · Post by **Badger** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 9:39 am

Or, there's always this:

http://www.bumperdumper.com/

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 10:15 am

...I only laughed LOUDER when I realized that it wasn't a put-on......

III · Post by **III** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 10:30 am

some of us old farts actually use those. (squatting over a hole is hell on an aging back and knees when your bowels aren't cooperating...)

some of my younger acquaintances have outfitted one with a seatbelt, for high speed lakebed runs...

Private porta potty?

Private porta potty?

Talk to "RobbiDobbs",Chief Poopervisor of the Pott

$550

Piddle buckets

Re: Piddle buckets