Composting Toilets Canada is an authorized dealer for Separett toilets
Separett Composting Toilet
Urine separating toilets like the Separett represent the first true advance in this technology in many years.
Composting toilets have been slow to catch on, because of problems with odour. This has largely resulted from too much liquid mixed with solids. With too much moisture you don’t get compost – you get a stinking mass of raw sewage! By separating the urine from the solids the Separett toilets solve this problem – resulting in odour free, trouble free composting.
Separett composting toilets are only now becoming widely known in North America, although they have been used and proven in Europe for over 10 years.
Here is how the the Separett works:
Separett urine drain forward
Urine is separated in the bowl. There is a drain in the forward section. Urine will naturally flow into this drain when we sit on the toilet. If standing, you may need to aim slightly forward. Standing may result in splatter, therefore the manufacturer recommends that men sit down to pee.
The blue ‘trap door’ or ‘view screen’ seen in the toilet bowl on the right opens automatically when you sit down. The solid material drops down into the lower compartment, where it rapidly dries out and shrinks dramatically.
The urine drains away from the Separett, and is then disposed of in one of 3 ways. Urine is sterile (or very nearly sterile) and does not pose a health risk.
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- French drain.
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- Drain to a tank.
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- Separett grey water connection
Separett inner compost bin (removable)
Soilds are contained in a lower bin, lined with a compostable plastic bag. The solids rapidly dry out, with the aid of a fan. This is critical to the success of the Separett, because the focus is dehydrating the material. To be blunt, dried poop does not stink. Because the material is shrinking rapidly, this bin will only need to be emptied about once a month or so, depending on the number of users. 2 bins (and 2 lids) are included with the toilet.
Solid waste never comes in contact with the inside of the Separett. It is all contained in the compostable bag. This makes emptying the toilet clean, fast and easy. You simply open the toilet, close the plastic bag, and take it outside to finish composting in a compost bin.
Ventilation
Separett – venting options
A big advantage of the Separett is that you have several venting options. Many other composting toilets MUST be
Separett Toilet – inner bin removed
vented through the roof only, because of odor issues. The Separett operates virtually odor free, so direct venting through the wall is also possible.
All composting toilets should be ventilated. If they are not, any smell will have nowhere to go other than into the dwelling. A small fan (built into the Separett) is the best way to do this. If there is no power available, you can try a passive vent that rotates in the wind. If at all possible, I strongly recommend using the fan. You can use a deep cycle (RV or marine) 12 volt battery, and a small, inexpensive solar panel to charge it. That is all the power you need. I do understand that some people have very remote cabins, and don’t want the hassle of electricity.
Below you can see an outdoor toilet installation, with no power and a rotating vent.
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- Separett
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- Separett outhouse
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- Whirlybird
This might be fine in an out building. In your house, you’ll need the fan to eliminate any chance of odor.
There is now only one Separett Villa model – the 9210 DC/AC. It comes with a much mre powerful fan than the previous 9210 DC/AC. The one speed 9210 DC fan uses about 3 watts. The 9210 DC/AC does come with a wall adapter, so you have the option of plugging it into a regular outlet if you wish. Both fans are very quiet, slightly louder than a whisper.
The dimensions of the Separett are as follows. These diagrams are in metric (sorry!).
total height 541 mm = 21.3″ height to seat 440 mm = 17.3″
wide 456mm = 18″ deep 672mm = 26.5″
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- Separett Composting Toilet
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- Separett with optional child seat
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- Separett
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- Separett toilet
USA customers please visit the USA site. Call for shipping cost to other locations outside of Canada or the USA.
5 year warranty. 3 years on the fan.
Made in Sweden by well paid and fairly treated workers.
Note: The Separett Villa does not come with the child seat mentioned in the video.
You can purchase the Separett on my secure order page here
You can read frequently asked questions about the Separett here
The Separett toilet is ETL certified in Canada. Please click on the label to read more.
This is an excellent video review of the Separett from a recent customer of mine.
Here is a video on installing the Separett. Note: The Separett Villa does not come with the child seat mentioned in the video.
Typical Customer Feedback. Zero unsatisfied customers to date.
“I did a lot of research when looking for a composting toilet for the new rental house I was building on my property. I decided upon the Separett 9200 Villa that separates liquid waste from solid waste. It seemed to make sense that separating the solids from the liquids would increase the decomposition rate of the solid waste, keeping it drier as well, which in turn would decrease any unpleasant odours indoors. That was four years ago, and really, it was the smartest decision I could have made.The Separett toilet not only looks smart but it is the easiest, non fuss system you could use. For two people, the solid waste bucket gets emptied into the specially designated outdoor bin, for further decomposition, maybe once every 4 weeks. The liquid waste I simply diverted into the existing plumbing of the building, and there is no smell, none! Honestly, for a waterless system, it is clean and so simple to use that I don’t understand why every household, especially those in more densely populated areas, do not have one of these in their home. Not only that, but by doing a few very easy things to aid in furthering along the decomposition of the solid waste in your contained area outside, you can have the blackest, richest soil to use in your garden later! I will be using this system again, in a new building, soon to be completed, and when/if my current septic system in my own home finally requires a clean out, forget it, I’m putting in a Separett waterless toilet.”
– E. Posgate
“We really like the Separett toilet. It is perfect for the location of our log cabin in northern Saskatchewan. It works very well. This is a great product and the service we have recieved from you and your company has been exceptional. We truly do appreciate this service.” – Charles C.
“At first I was skeptical about the Separett being odorless. My first test the May 24th guys long weekend, do I need to say anymore. This toilet performed flawlessly, it’s easy to install, clean and maintain (emptied once a year). Need a new septic system? Why spend $25,000 when you can buy a Separett at a fraction of the price with less maintenance and hassle. – Barry J. Clayton.”
“I liked my brother’s Separett toilet so much I went out and bought myself one” – Wayne L.
“We love our Separett Villa. It is truly odorless and is very easy to maintain” – Bruce and Mary T.
“I love the Separett toilet. Works like a charm!” Brian L.
“This is one fantastic device!” Eric B.
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We purchased compost toilets for our new build, a one storey sustainable home in Shirley, BC. We are thrilled with them, after one year of use. They work so well, no odour ever, it takes less than 10 minutes to move a full bucket of waste from inside the house to the holding shed where we keep our bins. We divert urine to a greywater tank to be used later as fertilizer. Easy to clean, easy to use. We have installed two so far and even our friends who thought they wouldn't like using them have given them the thumbs up. I highly recommend the Separett compost toilet.
We have been using a large bucket in a plywood box with peat moss cover with great success for a few years. Sadly my family does not care for the mess, and as we use our off grid cabin during winter extremes (-25C or more) the peat would be a frozen mass for days upon arrival and made even more of a mess. I installed the Separett this past week and we used it for about 6 days - everyone likes it, no smell at all- easy to manage and gives everyone that home pot feeling. Seems well built and I trust that I will get great customer care as someone really did answer the phone when I called.
Although I ordered the wrong toilet, Richard corrected the situation immediately with warm service. He is great to deal with and I would recommend his company.
We ordered the Separett 9210 DC/AC after years of using composting systems of our own making. This is the system we chose for many reasons and are looking forward to 2 very important features. 1) the air vent, which is very imortant in both drying out the solid waste, and in keeping down odour 2) the closure that opens when you sit on the seat, also very important in keeping odours down. The toilet seems to be very well made and we look forward to using it and giving another review. The first toilet arrived in a very damaged box. Richard arranged to have a new one shipped out and sent return labels to send the damaged one back. Great customer service and I would recommend making your purchase of one of these systems from this company. Thank you
Richard has been super knowledgeable and helpful in helping me understand what I need for my situation. The Separrett is a very good compost toilet and guests in my home who use it are impressed. Thanks Richard!
We purchased our toilet from you. We built an outhouse to house it, and placed it on our vacation property in beautiful Celista, BC. We have a solar panel on the roof running the fan no problem. We divertedthe urine into a french drain. We have had 4 of us using it every weekend since June and it functions beautifully!!!! We are so very pleased with this product. We thought we would share some pictures, and will continue to brag about this toilet to anyone who will listen lol
Cheers
Claire & Harley
We bought a separett 2 years ago and it is fabulous. Now we are starting an off-grid building project and we are buying another one for the building site. Very good product and Richard is so helpful. Buy from him!
Does the job. No odour. Easy to empty and clean. Pour a little water down the urine drain once a week or you can get a build up.
I have purchased 2 units over the years and I have tried them all and
yours is the best.
We are using this in a big Bunkie at the cottage where we cannot install a water line. The toilet is absolutely odour free. We emptied the bin once this summer as we use the Bunkie only on weekends and the poop dehydrates quickly. We are very happy with this option
This all sounds very good but I am concerned about the loudness of the fan. Does it run all the time? I live in Victoria, where can I see one in operation?
Bob
The fan is very quiet, similar to a quiet whisper. You can barely hear it. Unless the toilet is right beside your bed, I doubt if you would hear it.
The toilets are sold direct to the customer, to keep the price as low as possible. There is no showroom or stores where it can be seen, unfortunately. They can be easily returned for the cost of shipping only (if in new condition), but that is extremely rare.
Hi – we are interested in the Separett toilet for an outhouse at our prospector tent. We do not have hydro but usually have a nice breeze of the lake. Would this suffice for the venting requirements?
It’s impossible to say, but in an outhouse it is worth a try. A rotating turbine vent would help. Then if it doesn’t work use a solar panel and 12 volt deep cycle battery.
We have an Ecojohn SR5 toilet in our guest cottage and have had nothing but trouble with it. We can’t wait to get rid of it and replace it. This Separett waterless toilet seems ideal.
I was wondering 3 things. How easy is it to install, can we use our existing roof vent? And where do we buy these compostable bags?
It is easy to install if you are fairly handy and have basic tools. If not, hire someone such as a carpenter or plumber. The vent needs to be 3″, with ideally no more than 2 90 degree bends. You can call me to discuss if you are unsure. You can buy bags from us, but many people are using generic tall size compostable bags, double bagged.
Single lady… can I install this myself?
Also currently have Sunmar toilet- which I have never liked, can I use the venting stack
from it on the Separett?
Can I get the box in my car?
I cannot say if you can install it yourself, because I don’t know your skill level. You need to be a reasonably handy person, comfortable with a hole saw and drilling through the wall of your house. If in doubt, you need to hire a handy person. Sun-mar used different stacks over the years, so I cannot answer this. You quite possibly can, but I’d have to talk to you about it. You need a 3″ vent pipe, as short and straight as possible. The box will fit in a hatchback, but not a back seat.
So where do people get rid of the bags of waste or do they put them in their compost piles?
Not in a compost pile. In a compost bin. Please see my page on how to compost human waste.
It looks very interesting. My concern would be if I install this in my tiny house and use my wood stove in the winter I will have negative pressure.I have had a back draft created by my bathroom fan. (The whole house filled up with smoke while taking a shower) what would be your recommendation to address this issue?
The toilet fan is low powered, and unlikely to cause a back draft. But if you have an airtight stove, I do not see how smoke can enter your home. Maybe the problem is the stove? A related problem is when a powerful bathroom fan overpowers the toilet fan. In this case you need to either crack a bathroom window when running both or turn the toilet fan off when the bathroom fan is on. The final and best solution will be a completely airtight toilet. It’s not quite here yet.
I have the option of having a separate unit under the cabin (also can build a separate little bathroom to house the unit). Can you comment on the need and pros of a separate composting unit under the toilet. This is a cabin with electric that is used all summer. Previously had an all in one sunmar without urine diverting and found it difficult to maintain.
I don’t really like the under the floor models, where the waste drops down into a crawlspace or basement. The problem is, when that large container needs to be emptied, it’s heavy. It’s also an unpleasant job. The pipe going from the toilet to the lower bin cannot be cleaned. It gets coated with dry poop.
Hi Richard,
We have an off-grid cottage and don’t wanna drain the battery power while we aren’t there. Can the fan be off for a few weeks? Will natural composting still occur, and vent air past the non-turning fan?
Sun-Mar had a model that didn’t use ANY power, the heat generated from the composting process provided natural ventilation. Is this so with the Separett?
Yes, no problem. Put the lid on the bucket and turn the fan off. Composting does not occur within the Separett. The solid wast loses moisture and a lot of volume, and much of the odor due to urine separation. The waste shrinks and compacts, but the actual composting takes place in a compost bin outside. Please see my page on how to compost human waste. This is much easier, far better, and faster than trying to fully compost waste inside the toilet.
There have been toilets that tried to use no power, with minimal success. It looks good on paper, but in the real world it is hard to achieve the required volume inside a toilet to generate much heat. Of course this would cease in cooler weather anyway. The big problem is that the toilets are not airtight. There is stinky air inside that toilet and if you do not blow it outside with a fan you will likely get some odour on the bathroom from time to time. That is unacceptable to me. In an outhouse you might experiment. A rotating turbine vent works great when the wind blows. But in the hot, still days of mid summer, not so great.
What’s is the difference between the 9210 and the 9215
The 9210 is the Canadian version and the 9215 is the US version. The only difference is the vent pipe. In Canada we can easily find 3″ thin wall sewer pipe. It is light, cheap and ideal for venting the toilet. This pipe is harder to find in the US, so the 9215 uses 3″ schedule 40 PVC. You don’t want the 9215 in Canada, and we actually can’t sell it in Canada.
Hi. Interested in getting the Separett for our ski cabin. It’s quite snowy and temps are well below zero. Does the Separett need to be in a heated space? Or can it be in an outhouse with -15C temps.
Cold weather is no problem at all. Of course the solid contents will freeze, but that is fine. Just use normally. You need to think about the urine drain. Insulate the drain pipe. If possible it should drain below the frost line. There is no standing water in the pipe so that won’t freeze, but there could be freezing in the bottom of the drain pit if it does not percolate away quickly into the soil. Again, no harm done. You might need to pour a little hot water down there occasionally, but I doubt it.