Natures Head
The Nature’s Head ® by Nature’s Head USA is great for cottages, boats or RVs. You can say goodbye to septic or holding tank systems. The Nature’s Head ® composting toilet is very easy to install and use (you will need a hole for the vent). It holds approximately 60-80 solid ‘uses’. So two people might go for 6 weeks before they have to empty it. If you are only using on weekends, you could easily go the entire summer before you have to empty it! This is amazing capacity. The output is natural fertilizer. However, the contents still have to sit for an additional 120 days before you can put it on non edible plants. No more stinky, raw sewage.
urine diverting toilet bowl in Nature’s Head
The reason that the Nature’s Head works so well is the urine separation. Basically the front of the bowl is a funnel and the back of the bowl a chute. The urine goes down the funnel and the poop falls down the chute. See in the photo on the right – there are two drain tubes in the bowl of the Nature’s Head that capture most of the urine. The solids drop down when you open the trap door (shown closed here). The urine is collected in a heavy duty bottle. Urine has to be emptied about every second day if two people are using the toilet full time. (Note: many people improvise a drain tube in the bottle, which means it never has to be emptied!)
Buy the Nature’s Head here. Super Pack on sale!
National Distributor for Nature’s Head USA
There is so much misinformation around composting toilets. Many older models worked poorly, and stank! The odor problem largely came from mixing urine and feces together. This is sewage! With a urine diverting toilet like the Nature’s Head you never have sewage – you get compost. Urine diversion results in easy, odor free composting.
There are different ways to make a composting toilet with plastic. The Nature’s Head by Nature’s Head USA is rotationally molded. Rotational molding is extremely strong – that is how white water kayaks are made. It also uses stainless steel hardware. There is no way you will ever break this toilet! It is extremely strong and durable.
Here are some of the features of the composting toilet:
- 100% odor free.
- self contained. Does not require a urine drain.
- stainless steel hardware.
- full size elongated seat.
- disassembles in seconds for emptying.
- handle can be mounted on either side.
- vent hose and fan can be mounted on either side.
- molded in toilet seat for easy cleaning.
- translucent 2.2 gallon liquids tank allows for easy visual capacity inspection.
- rear of tank is angled for installation on boats.
- Affordable!
The connection for the 12 volt or AC adapter is located on the top f the fan housing. There is very low current draw. It is rated at 0.07 amps, which is 0.84 watts at 12 volts. Over 24 hours you will use 1.7 amp hours of your battery capacity. Power-free installation of the composting toilet is possible in some situations with the optional solar vent. The vent hose is attached to the fan side. A wall adapter is available should you want to plug it in to a regular household type receptacle.
-
- Fan can go on either side.
-
- Solar vent (optional)
-
- Hose connection can be made on either side
-
- Wall adapter
-
- Extra Urine bottle
-
- Included parts.
Here are the Nature’s Head composting toilet dimensions. You need an additional 2″ front to back, to allow for tilting the toilet top to remove the urine bottle (19.75″ needed, front to back).
Nature’s Head measurements
Note there are two handles that you can choose from – the shifter handle (new in March 2020), and the original spider handle.
-
- Shifter Handle
-
- New Foot Spider Handle
Getting ready to use the Nature’s Head composting toilet
Before using the Nature’s Head, and after each time you empty it, you need to put some coconut fiber or peat moss in the lower chamber, to help with composting.
To empty the solids bin, open the toilet it up and put a compostable garbage bag over the lower bin. Turn the bin upside down and dump the contents into the compostable bag. Take this to your composter on your property. The entire process just takes a few minutes. The garbage bag can then be placed somewhere else to finish composting.
Let it sit for about 12 weeks and you have finished compost. Adding lime greatly accelerates the process. The finished compost can be placed on ornamental plants. Just to be 100% safe, you never put human compost on vegetables. A slightly more convenient solution is to buy a second bottom chamber. The bottom chamber is then just exchanged when full.
Possible French drain for modified Nature’s Head
Urine is almost sterile and does not pose a health risk. Still, you need to be careful where you dump it. Boaters and RVers can simply pour it in a regular toilet, outhouse or anywhere it is legal to take a pee. If the toilet is installed at a cottage, you could build a simple French drain. This is a small pit, filled with gravel, then covered with landscape cloth, soil and finally grass. A vertical plastic tube should be placed in the middle of the drain so you can pour the urine from the top down into the gravel. Some owners use a flexible plastic tube that runs right from the toilet into a French drain beside the cottage, so they never need to empty the urine container at all.
There is a small 12 volt fan built into the Nature’s Head to ensure continuous air movement. It runs on a miniscule .08 of an amp, but you need a power source. A 12 volt battery works well for boaters or RV owners. A solar vent can be purchased as an option, which means it will run without outside power (nice!). Cottage owners can order a wall adapter, then plug it straight into any wall outlet. The vent exhausts outside.
Things to consider…
The small size of the Nature’s Head means it will probably not work for more than 2 people full time.The simplicity of the design requires a bit more involvement from the user than some of the larger, more expensive composting toilets. However, this simplicity is also a positive, since there are no mechanical raking systems or heaters to require maintenance or break down. The only thing that could possibly fail is the fan, and that is a standard computer fan that can be replaced for a few dollars. This toilet should basically last forever.
Composting waste from the Nature’s Head
When you empty the Nature’s Head, you will have partially composted material that must be further composted outside (or as a last resort, thrown away). You can see my post on composting here, and read about the best composting tumblers here.
Summary
The Nature’s Head is a well-made unit that does what it is supposed to do. It is one of the least expensive composting toilets on the market, and will fit in very small spaces. There is a 30 day money back guarantee, (buyer pays return shipping, however) and a 5 year warranty. Should you need to return the Nature’s Head, there is no “restocking fee” as there is with most composting toilets. It ships from Ohio by UPS, usually the next day.
The Nature’s Head composting toilet is $925 plus $35 flat rate shipping (Lower 48 states only. Call for shipping to other locations).
Purchase: Buy Nature’s Head – Official National Distributor.
You can read frequently asked questions here: Frequently Asked Questions.
There is a detailed user’s guide User Guide.
Installation instructions and videos are here Nature’s Head Instruction Manual.
User poster to print for your guests
Nature’s Head FAQ video:
How to Prep and Dump the Nature’s Head:
Customer Feedback
Thanks again for being so prompt, skilled, and courteous in handling this order, Richard. Our society certainly would benefit from more folks like you. Much appreciated!
William
I love it!! Thank you for coming up with this design for the Nature’s Head. My husband and I have crawled all over the web looking for something just like this and it’s actually affordable (when compared to toilets made by SunMar and similar companies). It frees up space where the black water tank would go.
Bree Gray-Eskue
Hi, just a short note to tell you how easy it was to install our Nature’s Head. I bought two units and put one in while a cruising neighbor watched. He actually talked me into selling him one of my units and installed it in his boat. They work great! I’ll reorder a second one in a bit, I’m redoing my 12 volt system as part of a refit before taking a 3 year extended cruise around the world. I’ll continue to spread the word.
Michael Garfield, aboard “Flexible2”
This toilet has worked great! I have a 30′ Pearson sailboat. The holding tank was way too small and took up room in what would have been a wet locker. It always smelled. It is illegal to pump over board and the pump out stations were not functioning most of the time . With four people on a 3 day weekend the holding tank would soon be overflowing. I looked at replacing the holding tank for a larger size but that reduced space further. I then started looking at composting toilets. The short answer is the first season in Maine the toilet worked like a charm. It doesn’t smell. It was simple to install and I was able to use the composting portion for the whole season with about every weekend use and a week family vacation with at one weekend 7 people on board! Urine disposal is quick and easy. It fits great in a cloth grocery bag and you simply dump it at the marina toilet. The only addition I am going to make is add an extra urine tank as we moor at islands that do not have marinas. The product works like a charm and I don’t have to worry about what my kids are swimming in.
Dr. David Boss, Maine
You can purchase the Nature’s Head composting toilet here.
Submit your review | |
I was a skeptic. But this really works. At first we had an odor, but Richard quickly figured out the problem. We had installed the hose in the wrong spot, and the fan was blowing stinky air into the bathroom! Quickly fixed.
I absolutely love my composting toilet. It is perfect for someone living off grid or just someone with the desire to shrink their carbon footprint. It is everything I hoped it would be. No smell, easy disposal and can be moved wherever you like. If you’re considering the purchase I can assure you it is well worth the money. This waterless toilet is an excellent investment and every time I use it I feel good about not wasting water. You can use it with a normal ac plug-in or for you off-grinders like me it comes with a dc for solar use. Big thumbs up here!
Just got off the phone with Richard. I had a few first time user questions. He answered the phone right away and was friendly and answered all my questions. Great customer service and great product.
We live in rural Alaska and we've been using an outhouse for the past 18 years. Groundwater issues prevented us from relocationg it when we needed to. I was doubtful about composting toilets because of what I had heard from others using different toilets. They just seemed way too hands on and difficult.
The Natures Head turned out to be practically effortless. I empty it every 3 - 4 weeks (2 people - full time). That is just about it. No odors, no worries.
Richard helped me decide between his 2 products based on my situation and his advice was spot on.
I admit, I had my doubts. But it works. It seems very well made and sturdy.
My husband and I wanted to build a tiny house and for a while we used chemical toilets. Yuk! Apart from the smell, there was the issue of having to go to the dump station every week to empty out. We bought a Natures Head composting toilet and we LOVE IT. Its a breeze to empty, it has no smell and its so much better for the environment. Thanks for developing this brilliant product
This thing is built like a brick and that is good because no one is gentle with it. Works as described. It needs an external vent cover that is not supplied.
Even after 2 years Richard is still eager to help. The best thing is that he gives me several alternatives (for example the bioenzyme block he has, but he suggested I buy it locally). And he takes the time to explain everything and answered all my questions. I feel taken care of. How good is THAT!?!
Richard Brunt is amazing!!! I needed my Nature's Head Toilet by Saturday because I was moving. I got it paid for on a Tuesday and the toilet got here by Thursday. Any questions I had he has been more than happy to answer. Every time I needed to call he was there right away. This is miracle customer service in today's world of automated bologna. Thank you Richard!!! 🙂
I have surveyed boats for 10 years. Have a natures head since a while and don't understand why the boating industry doesn't offer them as a standard option. Odorless, waste tank less, seacock less... and no more pump out. We have 4 onboard and just remove half each month This is the solution!
We purchased a XXX-head (name redacted) composting toilet for our camper van a few months ago. We were told it did NOT need ventilation , so we finished our van build… believing this “nonsense.” We are seniors and spent all of our retirement savings on this van build. We have taken it on 2 road trips and now we cannot because of this awful product. After the first trip we could not deny the odor, so called the company to ask If venting might help. Again we were advised “it isn’t necessary” and instead we were told to just change the compost medium from Aspen to Hemp (Even though Aspen had been highly recommended on their website). So we bought Hemp and took a second trip. By night 2 my poor husband got up in the middle of the night to empty the bucket (was used only twice!) because he could not sleep with the odor. Thankfully I was suffering from allergy and had a stuffy nose. Now, we are grounded. We simply cannot use our van, it is devastating to be lied to and cheated out of $850. This toilet absolutely does not work. We realized that it is the turning that is creating the odor, because the waste gets caked onto the center stem as you turn the crank and that waste does not get absorbed or dried out by the medium as the rest does.
We contacted the company about how unhappy we are but have received no response at all. If you have any advice for us we would truly appreciate it. My husband is trying to think of a way to rebuild this toilet in an airtight compartment and vent it without having to tear the van apart.
Thank you for any help you can offer.
You should keep trying to get help from XXX (name redacted) Head. Maybe they have designed a vent you can add. Perhaps something can be designed. You need a way to get a hose or pipe attached to an opening in the toilet. Pool supply stores have all kinds of flexible hoses and attachments. They might be able to figure something out. In my opinion, all composting and waterless toilets need vents and fans. A vent on its own will be a big help, but better would be to install a small fan, maybe where it exhausts out of the van. A little creativity with fittings might be needed. You can use a small computer, which is very inexpensive.
I live in northern Minnesota and wanted to put a composting toilet in the basement. It does get quite cold down there-would it work? Is there any reason why it would not work-it would not be used by more than one person. Also, can one person assemble this? Thank you!!
Cold is not a problem. Yes one person can assemble. You need to think it through – how it will be vented, and powered.
Would toilet work ok in wet shower bathroom on RV?
Yes, if you protect the fan with a plastic bag and turn off the power to the toilet.
We have used the head for 5 years, love it. Question, do you have a heater or a suggestion for the compost for colder weather to help keep the process going? We get nights down to 35 degrees and feel the process isn’t working. Any suggestions?
The Nature’s Head will work fine in cold climates. We have them in arctic conditions, at -50 F. As you know, composting stops maybe at +45 degrees F. This is not a problem. The waste continues to shrink, lose moisture and break down – but it won’t become compost until the temperature warms up. I supopse you could add a heater, but there is no need.
We bought one with regular handle and it is difficult to turn. Would spider handle work easier?
Both handles should be very easy to turn. The problem is not the handle, it’s the contents – they are too dry. Add some water.
I would like to buy one for my small cabin in the woods but need to know if the head toilet offers a place to add a ursine drain pipe for a French drain outside the cabin.
You can drill a hole in the urine bottle and install a bulkhead fitting and hose.
We have had one for years, we like it. We use SAWDUST not expensive and non renewable peat moss. Sawdust is cheap (about $4 for a huge bail that lasts 6-9mo) and Peat Moss is a rare non renewable resource that they need to dig from Peat bogs. Sawdust won’t decompose as fast, but we use 2 v large (I think they are the 40gal bear proof garden compost bins) composting bins that take about 1-2 y to fill so the other sits for 1-2y and is then fine to put on the ground where it will continue to degrade. We tip direct into the bins without the compostable bag now after a few yrs of getting used to handling poop! Can do it without getting hands dirty!
I share your concerns about peat moss, and recommend coconut coir which is cheap and renewable.
I’m glad you have had success with sawdust, but we don’t recommend it in general. First, many people reported that the handle became difficult to turn with sawdust. This might be due to how coarse or fine the sawdust is. Second, sawdust takes far longer to break down and compost. Some types of sawdust could take years to turn into compost. In your case this is not a problem, but most people want it to happen much faster than 1-2 years. Coconut coir is fully composted in a few weeks.
I got the toilet with the crank handle, but it is really hard to turn without getting down in the floor to pull it upwards. It seems like the spider handle would be easier, as you don’t have to pull it up. Can I install a spider handle to replace the crank?
Neither handle should be difficult to turn. The problem is likely that your contents are too dry. Please watch this video on the topic. (Scroll down the page – it’s called how to prep and dump a composting toilet)
I’m researching, and really hoping, that my household can go “off grid”; but I am still dancing around the toilet issues common in my household due to compromised health. In a word “vomit”…does it compost like #2, or should I stick to flushable/black tank plans? After seeing the tip about lining the bowl with a coffee filter, I have hope for this option.
And IF I am able to go with composting….pet waste? Can that be composted like human waste? There is much hope for being “off grid” but I have to keep reality in my planning.
First, you do not want to vomit into a composting toilet. When you open the trap door, you are looking at poop! If you vomit elsewhere, I suppose you could put it into the toilet, but I don’t know why you’d do that. I’m sure it would compost. I do not know anything about composting pet waste, sorry. I’d presume you could.
I absolutely love my compost. However there is two things im concerned about. How do i get the urine build-up out of the tanks and now it is forming on the toliet as well. I live on the hook so limited use of fresh water. Thank you in advance.
In the tank, you should start with a bottle brush and hot soapy water. Let it soak for a little while, preferably overnight. Then you should be able to scrub it off. You can also put some fine gravel or coarse sand in the bottle and give it a really good shake. The toilet can be cleaned with a non-abrasive cleaner. Salt water will not hurt the toilet, by the way.
Do you know the differences between the Airhead toilet and the Nature’s Head? I can’t decide which one to get. I want to use it in my home instead of a flush toilet.
They are both good toilets with some subtle differences. Please give me a call.
Was wondering if anyone had pictures of how to do the windshield washer pump out method. I mount mine in a 2005 airstream classic adn was able to take floor flange out, unscrewed it after removing screws, put a 3″ screw on cap and mounted NH on floor of bathroom.
Was thinking about way to route pee waste to old black tank by putting 1/2″ section of plywood under toilet, cut slot in plywood and run tube from tank or use a windshield washer pump to pump waste into black tank.
When talking with Mike @ NH we mentions others had done this I was just looking for pictures of install.
Hi Carl – were you able to do this? I am looking at setting mine up soon – and would like to divert the urine into my black tank. Can you post a pic if you have one? Thank you!
Any diagrams or instructions for running the urine diverted without the tank?
Does this come with everything needed for installation in a tiny house? I am in the middle of building one.
Yes, except the external vent cap. It comes with 5′ of flexible vent hose, so it’s possible you might need some vent pipe as well. Every installation is a little different.
Recently purchased the toilet to use in our cabin Can regular toilet paper be used. With 4 girls using the toilet last weekend. I think a lot went down in compost tank. Suggestions please.
Can you use sea water to hydrate the moss or coconut material or does it have to be fresh water?
Sea water should be fine.
I like using a spray bidet instead if toilet paper at home with my flush toilet. Would this be impossible with a composting toilet? Too much moisture? Too risky with the fan?
It’s an interesting question, and a great idea. The fan should be OK. With the trap door closed in the Nature’s Head, a modest amount of liquid should drain into the urine bottle. But a fast flow or a large amount of water would not work. However, the bottle would fill up fast, so you’d need to plumb the urine to a drain or bigger tank somewhere. Your idea would not work with the Separett. Please let me know if you try it.
This is a fairly common modification. The urine bottle holder must be un-bolted from the toilet, and screwed permanently into the floor, in exactly the same position. A hole is drilled in the bottom of both the urine bottle holder and the urine bottle for a drain hose. The drain hose is attached to the urine bottle with a simple barbed fitting. This can be run to a tank, but of course the tank would have to be lower, or you’ll need a pump. Because the bottle holder is no longer attached to the toilet, you can empty the toilet without concern for the urine drain system you have installed.
We have the toilet in a remote cabin. Has anyone ever put a drain on the urine tank?? Thinking it would be nice to drain the urine into an underground crib. Any ideas on that?
Yes., that can be done. You’ll need to drill a hole in the bottom of the urine bottle, and install a simple hose fitting with a nut. You’ll need another hole in the urine bottle support piece. Then you should be all set. Urine will drain anywhere gravity will take it.
Can the vent go through the floor and out under the house?
Yes, as long as you take the vent pipe down, then 90 degrees out to the side. It should not exhaust under the building, but rather out the side.
Do the vent and hose need to go directly to the outside of the house? Our bathroom and exterior utility closet on our tiny house share a wall. The closet is accessed from the outside, it contains our solar panel computer and water heater. The toilet will sit against that shared wall. Can we just connect the hose to vent to the closet?
Is it absolutely impossible to get it shipped to Alaska?
We ship to Alaska all the time.
Can you use this composting toilet in a Wetbath bathroom in the RV? Of course with the lid down.
The toilet has an electric fan. You’d need to somehow protect the fan and wiring from water. You cannot pour water on an electrical device
I had a Natures Head on my 42 ft Westsail and loved it. I have downsized to a 23 ft. Maycraft Pilot House boat and am considering installing a Natures Head. Question: I would like to provide some ventilation for the bilge. Do you think it would work and be effective to suck air from the bilge into one side of the Natures Head and expel it overboard from the other side? If that would work, I could satisfy a couple of needs at once.
Thanks.
If you attached a vent hose to the intake side of the toilet, you would pull some air from the bilge, yes. However the toilet is not airtight, and also draws air from around the seat. I am not sure if it would adequately ventilate the bilge, but it’s certainly worth a try.
I’m interested in possibly doing a permanent install of the NH for a urine diversion pipe with some sort of ‘quick connect/disconnect’, and likewise for the vent fitting. Do you have the measurements on either fitting? Are they threaded, or would it simply be a gasket pressure fit? Is the urine container cubby some sort of structural necessity for balance, or can one simply remove it via the exposed screws?
I know many people have done that. It’s a good idea for a permanent install. A hose could be attached where the urine exits the bowl, with the urine bottle removed. There is a spigot there. The outer diameter of the spigot is 1-1/8 inch. It is definitely not threaded. You could probably find a quick connect clamp for this connection. It wouldn’t have to be much – just to hold it in place. The bottle support is not structural, and can be removed. The vent hose is a friction fit, and is easily removable. You don’t need a quick connect fitting there.
I’m impressed with the info for both the Nature’s Head and the Separett toilets. From the videos I’ve seen it looks like the Nature’s Head makes compost right in the toilet; a big plus. Why does the Separett not require an agitator or peat moss? Would it work just as well or better if you did add peat moss? Since Nature’s Head makes compost, it doesn’t use a bag, what would happen if you didn’t use a bag in the Separett (I don’t like having to buy special stuff like decomposing bags)? What keeps the trap door from flipping down and getting in the poop? I like the look of the Separett better and it looks like it has a better separator and I like the child seat but if would be nice to have it make compost like the Nature’s Head.
The two toilets use a different approach. The Nature’s Head as you say starts the composting process inside the toilet. The advantage of this is simply that much of the material (but not all) will be well on the way to becoming compost when you empty it. The material must continue composting outside in a bin or other container. However, unless you are in a hurry to have finished compost, or have very limited composting space, this is not an issue. The focus of the Separett is dehydration of the solid material – not composting. The poop loses all odor as soon as it starts to dry out, and it shrinks drastically inside the toilet. The actual composting then takes place in a bin outside. (As with the Nature’s Head). You definitely do not use peat moss or anything else inside the Separett. The bags can be bought at any hardware store and are cheap. The trap door swings horizontally for both toilets – it cannot drop down into the poop!
Do I have to unscrew/detach the toilet every time I empty compost bin?
With the Nature’s Head, you undo two clamps and the top just slips off. It takes 10 seconds.
How do you clean the inside of the bowl, like a normal toilet. It will get dirty, correct?
You spray the bowl with water, and wipe it clean. The paper towel can be dropped in to the bowl. Some people use a toilet brush with a bit of water on it, then wipe it clean. Another solution is to use a coffee filter basket to line the bowl, then everything goes down, leaving no mess on the bowl.
Are there any toilets made for children? My 3 year old won’t hit the hole when going.. and she likely won’t be able to separate #1 and #2, what do you recommend for these issues?
If they sit, the pee will go to the right spot. Sitting is the best way to use these toilets, especially for small children.
I have a delicate question. What do you clean the bowl with where the poo may have hit the sides before going down. Leaving a little left behind.
Keep a spray bottle near the toilet, After use, spray the bowl, wipe it clean with a paper towel and drop the paper towel into the lower chamber. Some people have a toilet brush sitting in a container of water, and they use that. Either way, it is a bit more work that a flush toilet.
You needs to do a bit more research. Urine is NOT sterile.
A very interesting comment, and technically correct. Until quite recently, it was taught in both biology classes and medical schools that urine is sterile. This was challenged and investigated. A good study published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology in 2012 found no living bacteria in urine. However, other studies have found tiny amounts of bacteria. Sciencenews.org reports that a study published in 2014 found tiny amounts of bacteria in urine. The theory is, urine is sterile in the bladder, but may become contaminated on its way down the urethra. I believe the consensus now is that urine may not be sterile. It’s an academic point however. It is either sterile or very nearly sterile, poses no health risk, and is safe to dispose of without treatment.
Is there an attachment available that will make it easy for men to pee standing up? Maybe a bowl cover chute or something? We want to install one in our guest cabin, but guests may be less careful than owners…
No, but a separate urinal might work.