Hi Dhapolaa,

What images do you have? I don't understand your request.

Thanks, Marcos

Hi Krischan!

1. Not exactly that, pedal do the flushing, handle is just for the cover material mechanism. Is not a step back, just another version that we want to test in order to have independent control of covermaterial; sometimes you just need one flushing, but you need more cover material.

2. We have ventilation pipe! It is not in that drawing. Sorry! Good observation! You can see it in these pics...

We are currently installing our first 50 units in the Ecuadorian Cost, in rural communities.

We are not only approaching the toilet, but also the whole unit including basic accessories, rainwater collection, and grey water and urine recycling on a productive garden. As you all probably know, sanitation lack is a fact, but toilets demand not! So we want to install a "sexy" and complete unit that give them more than just a toilet.

We are working not only in toilet engineering and cost reduction, but also doing deep analysis about the booth+accessories configuration and costs.

Judging from the picture:

1. You need to pull the handle for "flushing" and then press that foot lever for turning the auger? Seems a step back from the one-step process you had before. Did it turn out to be mechanically too complicated?

2. No more need for extra aeration through a ventilation pipe?

Looking forward to hear more about it.

Hi everybody!

It is a great pleasure to communicate that in July 2013 we received a Phase II grant (worth USD 973,689) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to continue development of our prototypes and begin the process of commercialization. Our goals are now to:
1- To develop large-scale demonstrations of our new prototypes (a total of 300 to 500 toilets built and installed in Ecuador) in order to assess the acceptability, logistics, utilization of by-products (fertilizers) and fate (destruction) of pathogens.
2- To develop a business plan for production, marketing, assembly and distribution that is sustainable and competitive, focusing first on Ecuador and Latin America, then the global marketplace.
3- To develop a plan that promotes local economy and job creation.

Find attached a picture of one of our last prototypes to be tested.




Great 2014!

Good, can you have detailed drawings
Warm Regards
DSDhapola
New Delhi

++++++++++++
My introduction (moved here by moderator from a separate post):

Dera All,
I am development professional having 28 + years ( including Water & Sanitation programme management, Governance with State/ULB level government bodies in India) of diverse experience in WATSAN, knowledge transfer, Capacity building, engineering procurement, large project management, Environmental sanitation, tendering, urban planning, infrastructure project implementation, coordination, team management, monitoring & evaluation, networking & assessing programme feasibility in water supply, sanitation broadly in JNNURM, Ministry of Urban Development, GoI, National Mission for Clean ganga, Ministry of Environment & Forest, GoI, state government, USAID, World Bank, British council, Asian Development Bank, Joint Japan fund etc sponsored urban infrastructure development programmes at senior management level.
Warm Regards
DSDhapola
New Delhi
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I prefer to have a (at least a partially) composted product come out of the end of the chamber - much better looking as a soil amendment! We have, however, had situations where the solids dried out quickly due to too much sawdust being used (the family added extra sawdust in addition to what our dispenser provided because she said her children had never NOT had diarrhea and she wanted to keep the toilet clean). In one sense, this drier state may accelerate pathogen dieoff, but I personally object to having an end product that has recognizable dried feces. Not had much of a fly problem in any of our demos so far - presumably because the moisture/temperature is always in a good range for rapid composting. My personal prototype I was using/testing in my basement did have some very small black flies show up - but they disappeared when i started venting and reduced the excess moisture.

I'm sure we will run into conditions that promote fly problems in the future - we'll tackle that problem when/if it shows up!

Interesting, so you don't actually try to dry the solids as in the classic UDDT approach? How do you prevent excessive smell and maggot/fly larvae infestation etc.?

About moisture and air, Elizabeth -

"How do you get enough air and moisture into it for composting?" As you know, feces are about 65% water, sawdust varies but can be anywhere from 20% to over 50% water; and that the ideal moisture for composting is between 40-60%. So, one could assume that initially the mix of materials is about right for ideal composting. (Obviously different cover materials will yield different initial conditions - my favorite cover material is used coffee grounds! And yours???) We have a passive air ventilation system (black pipe) that does a great job of moving the air from the toilet seat up through the vent via heating by sunlight. That is more than adequate, and in fact may dry the compost too much through the compost chamber. We have found both situations - in Ecuador, the material dries out too much, in my house in the mountains outside of Seattle, i have experimented around with venting and have greatly reduced the moisture loss - can actually achieve a little leachate (the CO2 evolves, the moisture is left behind). Moisture is definitely a parameter that we are in the process of fine-tuning over our continued development of new prototypes. And we certainly expect to have to adjust the system(s) for various climactic conditions. For example, our next phase calls for demonstrations in the hot humid, hot arid, and the cool Andes.

Hi Elizabeth,

Blockage - in one of our earlier models (30cm dia pipe, 2 m long) we had trouble turning the auger when it sat too long, but not an actual blockage. Since that time, we've gone to a 20cm pipe and 1.5 m - more for cost reduction than blockage problems. This greatly reduces torque on the axis, as you would imagine.

Our latest prototype has additional features to help mix and breakup the materials Please suggest something to test!

And, yes, the auger is that long to get a good start on the composting - to make it an acceptable looking/smelling material to store for required pathogen dieoff.

I'm pleased that the auger is being used in more toilets! It makes so much sense to use it to add mixing, aeration and movement, doesn't it? I hope more composting toilets will adopt this idea - and improve/add features that neither EcoSan nor El Taladro currently have - while, of course, respecting each of our unique designs.

A little history: the original 'Earth Auger' (a.k.a. El Taladro de la Tierra) was built in 2001 - my first composting toilet as a potential tool for a University of Washington study abroad program in India. At that time it was affectionately called 'The Poo Screw.' Later, it was disclosed to the University of Washington (who did investigate the similarities of EcoSan with my design).

Since that time Marcos and I have added and tested a number of features (including single lever flush, auger turning and cover material distribution) - many of the developed during the period of our Phase I Gates Foundation grant - and still with the goal of being able to sell the unit for about $150.

To have two great products that have been developed independently (I assume) validates the concept, wouldn't you agree?

re: the South African version - I've found some more snapshots from an excursion by (then) GTZ-ecosan in 2003:










I believe the difference to be the sawdust vs. fan.