3 Year Review On The Luggable Loo

When I was growing up I could never imagine that I’d be sitting here writing an in depth review on a toilet, but here we are!  This is a review of my experience with a 5 gallon bucket composting toilet with the Luggable Loo toilet seat.

luggable loo review

I want to qualify this review before we get started.  I’m a very particular person, my house is kept very clean and tidy, I have germaphobe tendencies and I work in a white collar work environment where good hygiene is a must.  I say this only to give people an understanding of where I’m coming from because when I was reading reviews I couldn’t find others with similar lifestyles or standards.  When I first started, I was concerned how making the shift to living tiny might impact my corporate job at the time.

Where To Buy The Luggable Loo

You can find the seat in a few different places in the stores, Walmart, Dicks, and REI all carry them from time to time.  The problem is that it’s pretty hit or miss, they don’t carry many of them on the shelves.  So going online is the best option and I’ve found also happens to be the best price.

Shopping List To Use The Loo

Using A Luggable Loo For My Tiny House

With that out of the way, when I first sat down to plan my tiny house a flush toilet was a very important thing for me to have.  I was dead set on having a traditional toilet.  Then the real world happened.  The city I live in prohibits septic systems unless you have an extenuating circumstance (read: it ain’t happening).  For me to get a sewer line ran to my tiny house, permits, connection fees and labor it was close to $50,000!  I was shocked.

So I started looking into options: Nature’s Head, Envirolet Systems, Sun-Mar, Incinolet and many others.  The one thing that stood out to me is that they were all big, complicated and expensive.  I hadn’t made a decision because whenever I’d talk to friends who actually used them in real life, they all weren’t super happy with them and many didn’t like it.

While I was trying to decide what I was going to do, I had to move into my tiny house and just needed something.  So I swung by my local big box and grabbed a 5 gallon bucket ($5) and a Luggable Loo ($13) and some hamster pine wood chips ($3.50) and a roll of 13 gallon trash bags ($4).  A Complete kit for $25.50, much cheaper than a $600 composting toilet or $50k for a sewer line.

The setup was simple.  Take a five gallon bucket, place a trash bag in the unit with the edges hanging over the edge, put on toilet seat (which firmly clips onto the lip of the bucket) and then toss in some wood chips.  The lid will keep the bag in place so you don’t have to worry about an edge falling in.

how to setup composting toilet

Luggable Loo Review Over 3 Years

Like I said, at the time I viewed this as a stop gap, something that I was begrudgingly going to use until I could make a decision.  Then something interesting happened… I really liked it!

I will be the first to admit that there was an initial ick factor to get over, but that goes with all composting toilets.  But after a few weeks I realized it’s seriously no big deal.  If you’ve ever had a kid and changed diapers, that’s way worse.  With this setup I pop the seat off, pull the trash bag draw strings, tie it off, and drop it in the trash bin at the street.  You only have to touch the draw strings.

Urine Diverting Composting Toilet Setup

pee diverterOne caveat that I do want to make here is that, as a male, since I keep my toilet outside, I just pee straight forward on the ground, I keep the liquids out of the bucket for the most part.  I don’t have a diverter of any kind and if a female needs to use it, I just toss in a bit more of the wood chips for a little extra absorption and not worry about it.

Keeping your solids and liquids separate is very important in terms of ease of use, but also reducing smell.

If I had a live in girlfriend I may look into more complicated setups such as this urine diverter insert, which you the only place I could find online (or anywhere really) was here on Amazon.  There are some other options where you use a funnel, but honestly I like this molded plastic insert, it’s totally worth it.

Luggable Loo Tips Learned Over Time

luggable loo tips and tricks

I’ve been using this setup now for over 3 years and that means I’ve had a lot of experience in different weather, temperatures, rain, snow, etc.  Here are some experiments and lessons learned:

Skip The Wood Chips

Since I’m a guy I don’t have much liquids coming into the mix, so I thought I’d try not using wood chips at all.  That was over a year ago and now I don’t use them at all unless I have company.  Wood chips absorb liquids – some what – (I want to do a test with peat moss) so in reality it’s only to cover up what you leave behind and keep it out of sight.  If I was using it with someone I might switch back to chips or opt for a his and her throne.

Double Doodie Bags Review: Nice, but not required

double doodie bag review

These bags are very popular with the Luggable Loo, mainly because Reliance (company that makes them) is the same maker.  In many cases they’re sold together or have a coupon, which is how I tried them out.  While the bags work really well, I found that as a guy, I just would pee separately.

 

Summer Vs. Winter

summer vs winter on a composting toilet

I like the toilet setup much better in the winter.  Since I keep my toilet outside, the weather is a factor.  With cooler weather means less bugs, which means less flies and gnats.  To mitigate the bugs in the summer I just empty it once a week and I never have to worry.

There may be a few flies inside, but I give the bucket a kick and they fly away.  If you wait a few weeks in the summer you’ll run into flies laying eggs, which leads to larvae, which are gross.  Emptying it once a week means you’ll never have that happen.  In truth you can get away with a few weeks, but why chance it.

In the winter I usually empty it once a month.  There are no bugs to speak of in the winter and the cold of Fall and Winter make everything a breeze.

The Smell

smell of composting toilet

This is a very common question and here’s the truth: there is a smell.  This is really why I started using this outside.  Now that said, there is a smell, but it’s never worse than if you just went.

I have considered adding two little fans to the cover to bring in fresh air and draw smells out.  With those fans, there never would be any smell.  For those of you who are skeptical, consider that I’m a very clean person and the smell has been so little of a concern I felt adding a simple fan wasn’t worth my time.

Keeping The Toilet Outdoors

keeping toilet outside

I don’t really know anyone else that does this, but I am a major proponent of this.  I have considered building a little enclosed area to keep it in, but living on 32 acres, I don’t really have to worry about privacy, plus the view is much better!

My recommendation would be build a little outhouse, throw a little solar panel on the top and have a tiny fan always running.  If you’re camping you can get one of these pop up toilet tents which are great.

Many people ask me about rain and snow, but honestly it has never been an issue.  Every time it has rain I just put it under a base of a tree and the leaves shelter me pretty well.  There was one time when I got very sick and needed to use the facilities very often, it also poured for several days.

I just put it on my tiny house porch and it was totally fine.  In the snow, which it doesn’t snow a lot here in NC, it wasn’t a big deal either.  Even in wind, no big deal.  I have been surprised at how little it matters when it rains, is windy or is snowing.

Going To The Bathroom Outside Is Awesome

There is something really pleasant about taking care of business when you have a really nice view or just enjoy the peace and quite of nature.  If you’ve ever gone backpacking and use a toilet with a great view, it’s very enjoyable.

The Seat Of The Luggable Loo

luggable loo toilet seat review

I am very impressed how comfortable this seat is, for $13 it’s totally worth the money.  The lid for me broke off after about a year and I like it better because the lid kind of hugged a tad too close in the back.  The lid still works, I just set it on top and it has a pretty good fit.

The other thing I really like about the Luggable Loo is how well it snaps onto the 5 gallon bucket.  It has a very positive snap on the lip of the bucket, but still leave room for you to put a trash back and lock it in place.  It’s holding power on the bag is very important because it means the bag is kept in place and your business goes where it’s supposed to and stays here.

Worst Case Scenario

luggable loo horror story

The setup has worked really well for me, but there was one thing I’ve always dreaded: if it tipped over.  One day I came out and it was apparent that some animal had come up to it, knocked the lid off, then flipped the whole thing seat down.  This mean that the “contents” literally were on the ground.

This was very unfortunate, but I figure out that I could grab my shovel, slide it under the leave on the ground, using the leaves as a barrier layer, and in one motion, flip it right side up.  In the end not one bit fell out and I just bagged it and it was all good.

So far, knock on wood, I haven’t ever had a bag leak.  Even if I did, I keep a few extra pails on hand and a few lids.  This means if I ever have a catastrophic failure I just put a lid on the bucket and seal it all in, then toss it.  Pail and a lid are super durable and at only a few bucks, you don’t care if you have to toss one.

 

So that’s my review and experience with the Luggable Loo 5 gallon bucket composting toilet.

Your Turn!

  • What are you planning on using for your toilet?
29 Comments
  1. Your set up sounds like something we commonly used in the Arctic. We called it a “honey bucket” and in some villages everyone used them. I’ve been using a Sun-Mar space-saver for 2 years and I’m not thrilled either. Expensive and maintenance is disgusting. Plus I have the ubiquitous and continuing problem of fungus gnats because the composting is accomplished via a fungus. These are everywhere in nature and being tiny they end up in my composting in-door toilet. Over the past year I’ve come up with a way to control them but not eliminate them because they ARE ubiquitous. But I’ve reached a truce with them. My fondest dream is to someday flush again! In 5 years I’ll be a 68 year-old woman moving my house from NC to New Mexico. Your experience though is a viable alternative when I return to my desert homeland. And I’ll still be able to provide lots of compost to my desert plants just as I do my NC plants now. Thanks!

  2. I have a similar set up, just a home made seat set up. (Esthetics) I use saw dust though as this is in my work shop. I find using fine sawdust stopped any smell as soon as you get your deposit covered. This keeps my wife happy when she uses it and me happy since it’s in my shop. If I had 36 achers I might have one outside also, but I love not having to go out side in inclement weather.(being a little older, lol)

  3. Anyone out there ever tried or currently have an Incinolet incinerating toilet? I’m abandoning my Sun-Mar after 2.5 years. A broken foot made maintenance a nightmare. Especially when I discovered my evaporation chamber was hosting a primordial soup of fungus gnat larvae. SO! I’m looking for input ASAP. I’m going to buy an Incinolet, model CF. It’s electrical…I’m tied into the electrical grid and this puppy only pulls 2000 watts when burning for a 75 minute cycle. Looking forward to no more flies!! But would like to know what pitfalls you’ve discovered. I drank the kool-aid, so to speak, on the Sun-Mar, and would like to be more informed for what might be ahead with this one. Thanks.

    • Too late to help *you*, but in case anyone else is researching… I used an Incinolet at a mountain cabin once. I found it fairly complicated to use, with the owner having posted a step-by-step instruction sheet on the wall. If you just need to be able to GO immediately, without fussing around, or having to think about what you’re doing, I’d recommend a different toilet.

      You have to put down a paper “cone” of sorts that catches the “business” – this is not optional, and you have to position it correctly. My BF and I would just put one down after we were done to save the other person having to do it next time. You sort of have to pee carefully to make sure you don’t get urine outside the cone.

      Then once you’ve wiped and stood up, you have to step on the foot pedal hard enough that the entire cone and contents are sucked down into the fiery hellpit beneath the bowl (it’s slightly scary to see the flame, lol!) and make sure the foot pedal comes all the way back up, completely closing the two halves of the bowl. Then you press the start button to begin a burn cycle, which lasts, if I recall, two hours.

      There wasn’t any particular smell that I noticed, certainly nothing worse than with a flush toilet, so it gets great marks there. It was pretty comfortable to use, minus having to be more mindful of where the pee went. I bet if you have one for a while you develop muscle memory and it gets easier, but the learning curve is noticeable at first.

      I think it’s about the same footprint as a flush toilet, not weirdly bulky or uncomfortably small. But you can’t tuck your feet in next to the bowl, like with a flusher, so keep that in mind.

      Hope this was helpful to a fellow prospective Tiny House builder!

    • We have had an Incinolet since 2010 for a half grid (we have electricity but no running water indoors)property in western Wisconsin. The property is used year round. We had a insulated outhouse built to put it in. In the winter we use a small space heater for warmth. It was not cheap however we love it and as it was installed and is used as directed it should last for many more years. NOT hard to use if you can comprehend directions. Easier if you own it and use it more than once.

      • Hey, thanks all on the Incinolet question I had. I did buy one, the Carefree model and installed it in about 15 minutes with help from a friend. We couldn’t believe how easy it was to install. MUCH easier than my previous composting toilet! I’ve been using it now since Feb. of 2018! I love it. I have found it very easy to use, extraordinarily easy to rid myself of the ash, and wish I’d sunk the money I spent on the Sun-Mar into the Incinolet instead! Uses less electricity than the continuously operating fan on the composting toilet to sunk out the smell. Has no smell because it turns everything to ash and therefore, only uses electricity for the burn. The ash goes in my trash so my garden isn’t constantly expanding to accommodate “compost” that may or may not be fully composted! AND I don’t have to clean out the infamous “overflow” tray, because there is none on the Incinolet. I’m just gonna say it; until you’ve had to suit up in a garbage bag, with a face mask and gloves on to clean primordial soup out of the “overflow” and watched the fungus gnat larvae cavorting in the soup……you really can’t imagine what a pain in the butt a composting toilet can be! I survived 2 years with my Sun-Mar!

    • We moved into a rental in 2020 & previous (careless) tenants would flush anything & require a septic guy to remedy the clogs, so landlord removed the flush toilet & installed an Incinolet CF.

      We hated it & were honestly ready to break our lease bc of it. After reading online reviews, I realized something was very wrong & decided to do one of the most disgusting tasks of my life… take it almost completely apart, clean it within an inch of my life, & inspect the exhaust installation. We found a fine mesh screen over the vent (contrary to the installation instructions explicitly stating *NOT* to do this!) & none of the other tenants did *ANY* of the routine maint/cleaning of the Incinolet for years.

      After all of that was remedied, we have no real complaints. As long as it is installed/vented/maintained properly, it’s a legit choice. Incineration is complete, ash is easily disposed & there isn’t any incredibly offensive odor throughout the process. Energy consumption/cost is negligible (equivalent to an electric stove for folks who primarily cook for themselves).

      We (2 adults) only use it for solid waste… my man just walks into the yard to wazz & I use a Luggable Loo in the shade of the back deck (I empty/clean every day or 2)

      I’ve maintained a composter before (Envirolet low water) & totally not a fan of that process. Flush is best, hands down, but the incinerater/outdoor combo is workable.

  4. Hi there. A couple of things: this shouldn’t smell, actually, if you have the right cover material and everything gets covered. If you are just pooping then you should have no problems with smell. The urine is the thing that really makes things smell. Peat moss with coffee or just sawdust usually takes away everything, provided everything is covered. No need to conserve on covering. Also, have you seen the box that the Luggable Loo can be inserted in? It is on the Humanure website (the guy who created the loo and wrote the book on composting). Just curious why you don’t compost it since you have 32 acres? None of this is supposed to come across as judgemental or preachy–it is very hard to assess tone online. I am just adding to the conversation and think it’s really cool that everyone finds a way to do this.

    Thanks!

    • Agree on P-Moss and Coffee Grounds. We have a similar set up and we use both and it’s fantastic. It takes away the smell, helps break down things that we then use to fertilize our doug firs, keeping the forest happy.

    • I completely agree with Samantha. With sawdust smells are gone, further: you should definitively add urine to the mix, then compost everything, just rem mber to always put new content in a hole you dig on top of existing compost and the add cover material, in 2 days it reaches 55 degrees celsius and every bacteria, virus is gone. You keep adding to compost until it is filled, then you switch to a second compost bin and wait for 1 or 2 years. Read humanure handbook, a bible on fecal matters

  5. I want to buy this exact urine diverter, but all i see are not the same, can you help me, where can i buy one like this thank you!

  6. I want to buy this exact urine diverter, but all i see are not the same, can you help me, where can i buy one like this thank you!

    I’m not off the grid but am going to try making a composting toilet, I’m 55 years old, and I’m trying to convince my husband off the grid is the way to go, but one step at a time.

  7. Hi. I’m Barbara, posted in Dec. 2017 looking for input on anyone’s experience with incinerating toilets. I had a composting Sun Mar space-saving unit for 2.5 years. My composting toilet had a variety of issues two of which were why I was ridding myself of it. FIRST: fungus gnats SECOND: I needed more and more flower garden space to put the “compost”. THIRD: not at all easy to clean. I researched everything I could find (I’m a scientist) and tried every method of resolving the fungus gnats, that everyone suggested. Nothing worked, except a Dawn detergent solution, sprayed throughout the bathroom and into the toilet every darn day I had it. Had to hit the gnats with WET spray. Always only 1 step ahead of a gnat population explosion! I got an electric Incinolet from a Texas company. I love it. REALLY is easy to maintain. Had it since January. Every 6 months I open the machine and wipe out the inside to clean off any ash remnants using 409 spray. I line the bowl with a waxed liner paper, poop, and depress the foot level to dump it into the incinerating unit. Push a start button to engage the burn coil and everything is reduced to ash within 75 minutes and no, I don’t need to stay home while it is burning. Once a week I remove the burn chamber and put the ash into my kitchen garbage can. Takes about 4-6 minutes. You also piss in it and follow the same instructions. I have no smell, no need to buy and store cedar chips, special compost, special “rakes”, whatever! Should have gone with this from the start….it also was about $200 less than my SunMar. And according to my lot mate, she has seen no increase in my electric use, I suspect that’s because I no longer have a unit running a continuous noisy fan! My toilet is only using electricity when it’s burning. Everyone should at least compare/contrast incinerating vs. ANY composter before you commit to any toilet!

  8. When we lived in California, I saw some composting toilets in national and state parks that used the sun to bake the contents dry. A few years later, on a ten-day Permaculture course in Australia I learned that if you use those big metal cans in which they supply the oil for deep fryers, squish down well the wood chips or whatever you use to cover the poop, and then, when the can is full put the lid on tight, after you’ve stored the can for two years all the pathogens will be gone and you can use the contents as compost. But of course you’d need a lot of cans!

    So when the time came to create our own composting loo on our thirty Australian acres, what I did was to combine those two methods. I collected all the Frytol cans that our local café threw out. Kept collecting till I had twelve. My partner built a little free-standing toilet next to our cabin. I found an old wooden chair at the dump, cut a hole in the seat and put a Frytol can underneath. On one side of it I put a bucket of dead leaves, hay, grass clippings or whatever I could find as covering material, and on top of that one I rested a thing I labelled ‘Poo Squisher’ – this was a round wooden disc with a handle on it. On the other side of the chair I put a 5 gallon plastic bucket with the luggable loo seat on the top and some soapy water from our outdoor shower. That was the pee bucket. On a shelf, there was a set of instructions on how to use all this stuff, plus some incense, a box of matches and some books to read. Visitors loved our toilet!!

    Elsewhere on the property, we placed a small cement slab, on top of which I built a bunker with sloping walls made of mud bricks, and covered it with sturdy, clear plastic. (It was a structure the size and shape of a cold frame and it sloped towards the sun.)

    Each Frytol can lasted about a month, after which I put the lid on tightly and stored it away. After twelve months, I emptied the contents of all twelve cans into the bunker. There it sat and baked in the sun for the year it took to refill the cans. By which time, it had reduced to a totally odourless, pathogen-free powder, which we sprinkled around the orchard. Meanwhile, the pee bucket got emptied daily on to the flower beds. Nothing wasted. No plastic bags. All nutrients recycled.

    (Of course, to use my store/bake method you need a sunny climate. Otherwise you just have to do the store-only method, which requires a huge number of cans!)

  9. Yup. I couldn’t (and there wasn’t a reason to) wrap my brain around anything more than Luggable Loo and a bucket. Why don’t you just compost on 32 acres? Sending your poo in a bag to a dumpster? Yeah, I had 4 babies but I washed their diapers too!! Ofc, there were disposable diapers but.. Anyway. Yes, I ditched sawdust after a while, too. I got it free at Lowe’s but it didn’t empty easily out of the bucket into my compost. Why add more to “dump?” I will throw grass, straw, hay, old fruit and vegetables on the pile but there was no reason to fill it up with sawdust. I empty my bucket(s) almost everyday. The indeed-sturdy fitting seat is ALMOST too difficult to take off everyday for emptying and honestly, I’ve sat on nothing but the bucket at times. My premium compost toilet is the Cabin Can. I think the man doesn’t make them anymore. But it’s beautiful, handmade.
    PS: I have draped a handtowel over the seat and put the cover down to keep moisture from condensing on the inside of the lid/cover and touching my back when sitting.
    Yup. Happily proficient at this since 2013! Sometimes, to just go and flush is great. But then I always think about the clean drinking water I just pooped in. I actually said that to an old friend as we sat at a restaurant. I said there are 2 kinds of people (as I held up my water glass.) Those who poop in clean drinking water and those who don’t.

  10. Hi ,mozzie and flies don’t like Rosemary and Cedarwood, it’s in natural anti pest creams, so why don’t you see if you can get a couple pots of Rosemary plants to put near your outside loo and a little dish of Cedarwood chips inside with sum rosemary oils drops over it, would keep clear and free of bugs, oh n ants don’t like peppermint ,so if you get a any problem smear the oil around windows n doors too, Have fun your going well. 🙂

  11. Most useful comment thread I have read yet! Thanks all!

  12. Nice post. I was checking constantly this blog and
    I am impressed! Very helpful info specially the closing part 🙂
    I deal with such info much. I was looking for this particular info for a long time.
    Thank you and good luck.

  13. It is actually a great and useful piece of information. I
    am happy that you just shared this useful info with us.
    Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.

  14. where can i buy just the urine seperator

  15. I accidentally found out that some of the little potty training seats for children will fit the buckets. (never tried with bags or anything like that). We were traveling and one of my children, that was potty training, needed to go potty. I ended up putting the training seat onto a bucket. It was perfect. It has the little pee rim on the bottom to stop urine from escaping under a normal toilet seat, so the little rim held the seat on the bucket. It was such a big help when we were 20 miles from the next rest stop. Eventually my husband, who drove over the road (18 wheeler), ended up using our little system in his truck. I didn’t know about the snap on toilet lids or I would have given him a bigger seat. lol

  16. Just bought one. Trying it out on a two week van-life road trip. Wish me luck!

  17. My current set-up is a budget version of a luggable loo that I came up with for emergencies. A storage bin lid with a hole as a makeshift seat, trashbags, and a five gallon bucket. If I need to pee, I use a lidded cup that I rinse aftrr each use.

  18. I use sawdust &/or pine shavings(free at no cost) to cover solid waste and prevent the odor. Replace the sac daily. At the cabin we have a small room specifically for the lugaloo with a small window to vent if needed.

  19. I live in a yurt in NC and use 2 luggable Loos, one for liquid (I’m a woman living solo) and one for solids. I usually keep the liquid bucket in the yurt for nighttime needs and the solid stays outside in a Clam pop up shelter that I keep up all year. I have a “floor” on the shelter of resin pallets that works wonderfully. I have my propane water heater shower/sink set up (Joolca originally but then got tired of everything breaking and switched to a Camplux) in the shelter as well as my off grid clothes washing set up. I leave the shelter flaps open in the warm mouths so it is a screen house and air is always blowing through and the flaps down in the winter to keep the heat in when I’m showering. I can use a liner bag for a week in the solid loo and then put it in the garbage bin. Sometimes I place pine shavings over the solids, but hardly needed. I’ve not yet encountered any bug or animal issues. The liquid bucket has no liner, I just dump it every few days and wash it out. Honestly, I could never have imagined that I would PREFER using a bucket! But I honestly love it and find it as easy or even better than a flush toilet. I started out with a urine diverter set up in a wooden case my dad built and it had a fan… but it wasn’t easy, comfortable, and it smelled. Now I deal with no smell issues, super easy, and I am pleased. Sometimes I feel a little embarrassed when I have guests and they think it’s really strange or when someone hears what I use and is judgmental… I’m not totally above feeling odd for using something many consider barbaric. But the ease of it and lovliness of going outside is really worth it!

  20. I don’t have a compostable toilet – yet – but I just bought parts to make one. I have two thoughts from past experiences that might help with the odor. In all the times I have raised reptiles and chickens, coconut coir has surpassed every other imaginable substrate for absorbing liquid and neutralizing odor. It can be purchased in large (or smaller) compressed bricks that can be cut down to make a very easily stored cost-effective poo bucket additive. Diatomaceous earth and zeolite can also be helpful. I sometimes have to use a pee bucket, and sometimes it gets stinky before I have a chance to empty it. A little pinch of Happy Camper makes it odorless. These all are nothing short of miraculous and are worth more than just a Google and a try.

  21. Is there a taller bucket than the standard 5 gal. on. which the Luggable Loo seat & lid would fit? I a a tall guy (6’4”) and the 5 gal pail is kind of low.

    • There are 6 gallon buckets of the same design as a 5 gallon, just taller. Check online for them.

  22. Hello! I’m so happy to have found your site! I think I’m going to gain tremendous knowledge by the time I get through it!

    Here’s my naive question: You mentioned living on 32 acres so why don’t you dispose of your toilet contents in nature? Is there no use for it? The idea of putting a trash bag of it in the trash pick up sounds disgusting to me. If living off grid, what does one do with body waste??

    Thank you
    Michelle

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