Urine separating composting toilet smells

Hi, Jenny here.
I just built a composting toilet on my land with a bucket for poop and a kildwik urine separator that (for now) goes into a plastic jug. Im having issues with odors from the urine! I’ve seen some information on this issue such as putting oil in the bucket to catch the odors or fermenting your pee with sourkraut juice and sugar but i guess I’m skeptical. I’m looking for the most convenient but also resourceful way of dealing with the smell. Should I simply pipe the pee through the floor and outside the house so it doesn’t offgas into my house or do problems await me in that scenario as well?
Thanks a million

I suggest mixing the pee with 10 times as much water & using it for plant food. Why waste perfectly good pee?

I wonder what could keep that ammonia smell from escaping.
Maybe charcoal in the jug or maybe ashes would change the PH and capture ammonia.

Firstly, well done for building a composting toilet! It's up thereon my to-do list for the next year or two.

I'm sorry to read that your urine separator is smelling. It sounds like you should try to find a solution that moves it away from the building - preferably outside.

I would also suggest that you dilute the urine (10:1, with water) and that you use it as a liquid fertiliser. It's a fantastic source of nitrogen (hence the smell!) and it seems a shame to be wasting it.

If you don't have any use, you could consider using it to feed willow or another nitrogen-loving tree or plant. The biomass that these create will be locking up atmospheric carbon and you could obtain a firewood yield by doing so.

I once stayed at a permaculture project where they had separate urinals, for the males, that automatically added 10x the volume of water to dilute the urine. I think the quantity of water was actually 10x the average wee - I imagine they had fun taking that average measurement! The diluted urine was then piped into a banana circle where it was absorbed and cleaned by the bananas and other nitrogen-loving plants.

Depending on your set up, you could replicate this automatic-dilution and either pipe the resulting liquid into a tank, for later use, or out into a willow feeder/WET system/reedbed. If you opt for tank storage, it would pay to add a decent overflow and a u-bend/gas trap to vent any smells.

I hope this gives you some options to consider!

Oh - and welcome to Permies!

Mike Barkley wrote:I suggest mixing the pee with 10 times as much water & using it for plant food. Why waste perfectly good pee?

The OP, Jenny posted this back in 2018.  I hope that the problem has been solved by now.

I like Mike's suggestion so I bet that worked since that was Jenny's one and only post.

Luke also offers the same suggestion so I bet that works!

Luke said, "I would also suggest that you dilute the urine (10:1, with water) and that you use it as a liquid fertiliser. It's a fantastic source of nitrogen (hence the smell!) and it seems a shame to be wasting it.

For anyone having this problem, I would suggest trying this solution.

I have the same problem, and diluting it wouldn't work, as the urine container will fill up too quickly. Has anyone tried something else? Like bokashi water or bio char?

Synne Sofie wrote:I have the same problem, and diluting it wouldn't work, as the urine container will fill up too quickly. Has anyone tried something else? Like bokashi water or bio char?

Pour the urine out of the urine container, mix 10:1 water/urine and use that mixture as plant food or to water outside plants.

For the bokashi and biochar here are some threads that might interest you or others:

https://permies.com/t/39821/simple-composting-toilets#1558306

https://permies.com/t/40/16231/bucket-toilet#1412969

https://permies.com/t/166004/composting/sawdust-toilet#1302901

I apply it undiluted to plants and beds, but I make sure only a little at a time with a good break before I apply in that location again. Or I pour it in any quantity I want onto the compost heap. I don't (usually) leave it indoors long enough to stink.

Synne Sofie wrote:I have the same problem, and diluting it wouldn't work, as the urine container will fill up too quickly. Has anyone tried something else? Like bokashi water or bio char?

Yes! I have been filling jugs 1/3 full with dry, fresh biochar and collecting urine for years and years. It works. There is no smell, I assume because because the high pH of the char with a little ash slows the decomposers that make it reek. I dump it on compost heaps and around trees/shrubs and shrubs. I have never seen negative effects, though I'm careful to use sparingly.

BTW I use old Miracle-Gro fertilizer jugs because I think it's amusing as hell.

Joe Jenkins of Humanure Handbook fame strongly recommends not separating urine. Instead, use sawdust (damp and slightly broken down is best) as the cover material and do all your business in the same receptacle.
The whole book is available free here: https://humanurehandbook.com/