4 old toilets. Ideas for water basin?

I replaced my water hungry toilets that came with the house. I’m not a fan of the bowl itself being in my garden, but I can’t help but look at the water basin and wonder if it has any reuse.

Is there something it could be used for that is better than simply using a bucket?  Does porcelain offer a quality that can be taken advantage of?

I’ve looked into donating them but habitat for humanity won’t accept them if they aren’t at least 1.6 gallons per flush. I can understand why.

in my garden, i would use them as toad houses, or if I had more than one, I would consider putting one up somewhere with a spigot as a permanent place to brew comfrey tea on an ongoing basis. Free-standing barrels of comfrey tea tend to come to very unfortunate stinky and spilly ends around here.

Another option might be to add a spigot to the bottom and have it act as a slightly smaller but mouse proof dispenser-- i'm thinking for rabbit feed, birdseed, something like that. Nothing is going to get in there.

I love your suggestions.  In fact, using the water basin as a place to brew compost or comfrey tea was one of my thoughts.  Although wouldn't it be simpler to simply use a 5 gallon bucket?  I believe it would hold more.  I do like the idea, but also want to have it make the most sense.  I waste so much time trying to be smart when it ends up being less so :(

I don't have any live stock unfortunately.  Though I would love to someday.  Love the toad house idea too, but we live in dry and high-altitude colorado so I'm not sure what critters would like that except for those ones I am trying to discourage.  Mice, Voles, Rattlesnakes

Maybe the bowl could be used for a bird bath but it would be unsightly

I have an old one back behind the barn ...

Here are some rather unique ways to make the toilets more presentable:


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I think their shape is an asset.
Generally rectangular, I have used them as the walls of raised beds.
The lids make them more useful as well.
Plastic will eventually degrade under the uv from the sun, porcelain will not.
You can cut them with an angle grinder, but mind the dust, it is extremely hazardous to eyes or lungs.

To make a planter I use water stop cement in the bottom of the tank.
I cut a slot in the side, to release excess water, but if you didn't,  you could have a micro pond.

A more porous plug could be a terracotta pot or maybe regular concrete.
Sink it down next to a plant, and fill it with water to make a huge Olla.
Buried to almost the rim, you can plant in it and not worry about roots escaping.

Cut out the bottom entirely and use it as a worm tower.

William Bronson wrote:..
Generally rectangular, I have used them as the walls of raised beds.
The lids make them more useful as well.
...
Sink it down next to a plant, and fill it with water to make a huge Olla....

Cut out the bottom entirely and use it as a worm tower.

I do need to make some raised beds!  My thought was to use them in some way to hold water to slowly leach out, like one would with a milk jug and a small hole.   Is that what a Olla is?

I have many worm bins, they need to stay inside because of bears.  But what did you mean by worm tower?

S. Marshall, here is a good explanation of ollas:



This is good example of a worm tower:

Really old ones that are solid glass are sought out by flint knappers. They call it "John Stone". Modern ones are glazed ceramic and far less interesting.

Back in the 80s worked in a facility built in the 60s. At some point a men's restroom had been converted to a women's. Someone complained to the quality of life committee about the still present urinals. Old machinists suggestion to "plant flowers" went over like a lead balloon. Still funny to me after all these years since it actually was a good idea.

Wall/fence mount the rectangular reservoirs (tanks/water basins) in a row, each one slightly lower, so the first would flow into the second, then third, and fourth, via overflow pipes attached at the existing hole where the handle was.   The base hole would need to be sealed; perhaps a "garage sale find" thick ceramic "side plate", face down INSIDE the tank, sealed with aquarium silicone/sealant. This way there is no risk of breakage, trying to drill holes.

These act as tanks; once filled with water, attached to trickle-fed irrigation you would have safe (no hot plastic bucket) water on hand for the new beds.

My thought is the thick ceramic would limit evaporation, and be impervious to the desert climate. Could potentially be fed from gutter to water catchment; controlled by spigot when tanks require filling. Water sources could also be municipal or well if rainfall or catchment is not viable.

Good idea.  I've already set the tanks aside considering the idea of incorporating them into the wall of raised beds.  Your idea would work too on my terraces watering certain plants on the downhill slopes.

I don’t know about anyone else’s dogs, but mine LOVE drinking from toilets... The idea I’ve had is to plant flowers in the tank for the cute factor and probably whatever water runs out from the watering of the flowers will actually add beneficial soil organisms to the bowl where the dogs will drink so I wouldn’t even try to plug the hole between the tank and bowl.  When I need to change the water it will be easy to clean... just brush it out and use a bucket to flush it. I’d set it up on a base that allows the flushed water to flow out onto the garden bed.
I haven’t set it up yet because I haven’t decided the location and I‘ve been brewing on how to bring the water level in the bowl higher so my smaller dogs can get to it.

Leah Terrell wrote:...and I‘ve been brewing on how to bring the water level in the bowl higher so my smaller dogs can get to it.

If you're gonna plumb the outlet anyway, you could install a tee on that line. Install it so the two openings on the ends are horizontal and the middle one faces up. Use a removable plug or a valve to close the opening that faces away from the toilet. (It's for wintertime drainage.) Install a pipe in the vertical opening the same height as the desired water level. From there, use an elbow or elbows to take the water where you want it. You may need to drill a small hole at the highest point to prevent emptying the bowl by siphon.

Note that toilets aren't meant to be installed that way. I don't know if a wax ring would keep it sealed. You might have to use silicone instead.

I suspect your tee and elbows would seal without glueing, since there's no pressure. It would be great if it works that way, because you could adjust the water level by rotating the tee so the highest point goes higher or lower.

Let me know if that's hard to visualize, I may be able to come up with an illustration.

Sounds like a fun puzzle.  If you don’t want to make them pretty, and tend them, they could be out of sight, hidden in shrubbery, or where ever, where they could function as toad and snake habit, and mulch… or water reservoirs, or chip receptacles where culinary mushrooms could grow… put them somewhere and see what happens around them, then utilize  the conditions they create

Kind of depends on your climate, because what a cool chunk of porcelain accomplishes will vary in relation to surrounding conditions.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:...they could be out of sight, hidden in shrubbery, or where ever, where they could function as toad and snake habit, and mulch… or water reservoirs, or chip receptacles where culinary mushrooms could grow… put them somewhere and see what happens around them, then utilize  the conditions they create
..

I LOVE this idea, ha.  Unfortunately I had to dispose of the base portions.  I couldn't convince my wife to have the visible seats out in the yard.  I can understand that, there's not many places to hide them.  

But I did keep the tank portions and will use them!

By "water basin", do you mean the water tank that stands behind the bowl?

Jerry Brown wrote:By "water basin", do you mean the water tank that stands behind the bowl?

If you’re asking me, yes, the tank on top for two piece toilet models.