How to choose the best RV toilet system
A toilet system is an essential element in our caravans and motorhomes, and there are various options available. Before deciding on the best toilet for your personal situation, it is essential to understand the differences between incinerating, cassette, separation, and bag welding toilets. In this guide, we’ll explore these systems considering comfort, hygiene, flexibility, and sustainability to help you make an informed decision. So, what’s the best RV toilet for you?
Incinerating toilets
Incinerating toilets use electricity or a fossil fuel to evaporate and burn human waste, and reduce it to a small amount of ash. Comfort: Offers a similar experience to household toilets, and disposing of the ash is straightforward via the general waste system. This is, however, by far the most expensive RV toilet system. Hygiene: Almost completely eliminates waste, and the resulting ash is easy to handle without any contamination risk when disposed correctly. However, the gases and vapors escaping from the flue channels are not harmless. Flexibility: Suitable for off-grid use, as no water is needed, and provides flexibility in energy sources. Sustainability: No water use but the consumption of energy is extremely high, produces significant amounts of CO2 during incineration, and releases potential harmful by-products.
Cassette toilets
A cassette toilet is a toilet system with a removable waste holding tank that can be discharged manually. When the sealed container is full, the tank can be detached and emptied at a dedicated discharging location, or in a household toilet.Comfort: The compact and lightweight design makes it a popular choice for RVs and other temporary set-ups.
Hygiene: When regularly emptied and cleaned using appropriate additives and maintenance products, the cassette toilet remains hygienic.
Flexibility: The waste-holding tank can be emptied at numerous discharge locations across the UK and Europe, or at any toilet connected to a sewage system. In locations connected to a septic tank, septic tank safe additives are required.
Sustainability: These toilets use only about 5% of the water that household toilets do and need fewer chemicals to control odours, making them more environmentally-friendly.
Separation toilets
Separation toilets divide liquid and solid waste into different compartments, reducing the need for water and additives. However, we would recommend using a drying agent (like sawdust or coco fibres) to dry solid waste, and a cleaning agent for odour control in the urine compartment.Comfort: Offers a similar experience to household toilets. However, knowledge of liquid-solid waste separation is required and not always easy to achieve.
Hygiene: When regularly emptied and maintained with the correct additives, the separation toilet stays clean. For the best odour control, an electric ventilator is recommended. You can dispose of liquids in any toilet connected to the sewage system, but solids need to be treated as residual waste. With more campsites and government regulations restricting disposal in regular waste bins, this could become a challenge.
Flexibility: Suitable for off-grid use, as no water is needed.
Nachhaltigkeit: Separation toilets do not use water but need many plastic bags and some additives, which makes it a less sustainable solution. Composting is not a realistic option, since it takes too long and needs very specific conditions.
Bag welding toilets
Bag welding toilets collect waste in heat-resistant bags – one per use – which are sealed to prevent leaks and odours. Some systems may offer containers to temporarily store the sealed bags until they can be discarded.
Comfort: Easy to use and resembles the comfort of the standard household toilet. Users only need to push a button to start the sealing process, and maintenance is minimal beyond emptying the bin of sealed bags when full.
Hygiene: The bags for this type of toilet system are leak free without any risks of spills or contamination. Sometimes additional odour-control features are in place to further reduce bad smells.
Flexibility: Developed for off-grid adventures, as no water or additives are needed.
Sustainability: No water or additives are needed. However, a couple could easily use over 300 heat resistant bags a month. Furthermore, the combination of liquid and solid waste in each bag means they must be disposed of in residual waste bins, raising similar concerns to separation toilets.
Finding the right fit
For most of us RV users, the cassette toilet remains the most practical option, offering a balance of comfort, hygiene, and flexibility. While incinerating toilets provide high-tech solutions, their environmental impact and cost may be prohibitive. Separation and bag welding toilets are suitable if you have specific off-grid requirements but come with their own set of challenges.
Choosing the right RV toilet system depends on your priorities and lifestyle. Consider the pros and cons of each option to find the best fit for your needs. Curious about the real impact and myths surrounding toilet additives? Watch this video to learn more.
