On my way. ?instant w/heater, compost toilet? (Hilo, Mountain View: sales, new house)

[nowhereatoll]

New House is a shell with roof (shelled in?). I need a few things to get a temporary bathroom going; does anyone know about those instant propane water heaters advertised in Craigslist for 200$. Any good? Also whole house heaters for 300$.
Anyone have a compost toilet, I need recommendations.
I will have temporary catchment, and shipping 300 gal containers for other purposes also. I shipped household goods inside them. More questions escape me but will pop up soon enough.

BTW thanks ALL for the advice on solar. Will evaluate when I get there.

[leilaniguy]

I have had both Paloma and Aquastar W/H over the past 14 years, both satisfactory, Aquastar is cheaper, just as good. $450 is about the price for an Aquastar here. I use this in my 3 bed, 2 1/2 bath house and do clothes washing with it. Haven't heard of the brands on CL, so can't comment. My only experience with toilets is flush type ending in a cesspool or a crack in the earth. Chemical/compost toilets I've seen reek.

[hotzcatz]

Why do you need to heat the house? Or is that a whole house water heater? Where is the house at? If it's a higher elevation, then a house heater might be nice.

If the house is shelled in, didn't they put in a septic tank? If they did, then just build a small shed on the top of that and plumb in a toilet in the small shed. That should do until you get the official plumbing put in place. Although, technically, all plumbing is supposed to be done by a licensed contractor. How about calling one of them and having the toilet installed? If the house is shelled in, then it's about time for the plumbing to be installed. Probably about the same price to have a plumber install a standard toilet than to buy a composting toilet. Oh, if you don't have the water running in the house yet, you can always bring in jugs of water from the roadside water spigots and use a bucket to fill the toilet tank. It will then flush like a regular toilet.

[nowhereatoll]

Thanks Guys.
the ones( Water heaters)advertised in craigslist sold out of Pahoa are Marey brand.
The house had no cesspool yet, (legal in that area on one acre).
Lelianiguy, trying to save money, thanks for the tip, will look for that brand in Hilo.
hotzcatz; Yes I will set up a temporary catchment asap as I wrote. Must get the permit back in place for the plumbing and elect to commence.
I am at 1700 feet, not sure if house heater necessary yet.

[nowhereatoll]

BTW where is a roadside spigot (fresh water) near mile marker 15 on Volcano road mauka Mt View?

[hotzcatz]

Kurtistown park has a water spigot and I think the park across from Higashi store up near Volcano has one, too. If you get over towards Naalehu, there is a water spigot in their park that has the sweetest water. I think it's actually Waiohinu although it's hard to tell where Naalehu stops and Waiohinu starts. It's Waiohinu park, anyway. It's always worthwhile to carry a 5 gallon water jug if you plan to drive through that area.

Hmm, 1,700 feet. A heater of some sort would be nice in the winter probably. You'd be able to tough it out wearing socks and long sleeves, maybe a jacket if you didn't want a heater. An electric blanket (which work surprisingly well on alternate electrical systems since they don't actually pull that much power) would make sleeping nice and toasty. A small woodstove might be nice since more than likely you'd have wood available on your lot, but it's coming on summer time soon so you'd have time to work on the house heater. I've heard the Ace at Southpoint (HOVE aka "Oceanviw") has wood stoves at reasonable rates, but I've not looked there personally.

Well, if a cesspool is legal, it might be less expensive to have that installed than to buy a composting toilet. What's the price of a composting toilet? Weren't they a couple thousand? That's about the price of a cesspool and you'd probably eventually need to install a cesspool anyway. Since you already had a permit, the cesspool location should be shown on the plans. Have your plumber install the cesspool in the place indicated and have him sign off and finish the plumbing work when you get your permit back in place.

[mdand3boys]

Check amazon for them - several people have said they went that route and saved a bundle. Free shipping with a Prime membership and no sales (GET) tax.

[KaraBenNemsi]

If you need a cheap water heater just for showering use these ones. $35 bucks are hard to beat. But you need to have a 30 AMP line!!!

They are not legal in the USA but used all over South America. They also may not work well with ice cold water in Wisconsin, but our already 60 degree county tap water has no difficulty getting hot in those shower heads. Got one in my outdoor shower and works just dandy.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by leilaniguy

Chemical/compost toilets I've seen reek.

Chemical toilets and composting toilets are two completely different things, and well constructed and maintained composting toilets don't smell. Famously, actor Ed Begley Jr. has Envirolet composting toilets (or is it Biolets?) installed in his Beverly Hills mansion, and uses the output to fertilize his prize winning rose garden. Closer to home Hawaii County has been accepting composting toilets in place of conventional flush toilets in fully permitted buildings for at least 6 or 7 years.

The biggest obstacle is cost. The better ones use heaters and fans and motors to stir the... errr... contents, and can easily cost $2K or more, with bottom level (hehe - "he said 'bottom'!") models from SunMar at maybe $1.3K. My personal fave is the Ohio-made Nature's Head, a compact, all manual Coast Guard Cat III approved (no emissions) composting toilet for $925 + shipping.

But if you're going to dig a cesspool, you probably can't justify the cost. People who have no good options for cesspool or septic tank are the primary customers for composting toilets.

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Why do you need to heat the house? Or is that a whole house water heater? Where is the house at? If it's a higher elevation, then a house heater might be nice.

I am at 1700 feet, not sure if house heater necessary yet.

At 1,500 ft in Mountain View the maximum temperature range is something like 50 - 74 F and the average is about 59 - 64. I think most people just pull on a hoodie if they're feeling cool. On the other hand, some folks in the area put in heat in at least one room just to dry things out a little. Otherwise you can be uncomfortably damp all the time.

A solar water heater is required by code unless you get a waiver due to lack of sufficient sunshine at your location. I think Mountain View probably should qualify for a blanket waiver, but you still have to apply for one individually.

Originally Posted by nowhereatoll

Thanks Guys.
the ones( Water heaters)advertised in craigslist sold out of Pahoa are Marey brand.

Home Depot in Hilo, and others, stock the better brands for permanent installation. If you're looking for the under $200 camping rigs for temporary use, then the internet may be most convenient.

The house had no cesspool yet, (legal in that area on one acre).

Remember, you do need a County permit, even if a cesspool is legal at your location.

Originally Posted by nowhereatoll

BTW where is a roadside spigot (fresh water) near mile marker 15 on Volcano road mauka Mt View?

As Hotcatz mentioned, there is a County water spigot located just southwest of the Kurtistown 7-Eleven on Highway 11, opposite side (mauka side) of the road.

There's also one in Mountain View itself, at Mountain View Park, opposite the Mountain View Gym. To find it head south on Hwy 11 maybe 800 ft past the Gas N' Go, past the Old Volcano Rd intersection that leads up to the Mountain View Village shops, just before the little church and Na Wai Ola (Waters of Life) public charter school on the makai side, is an unnamed road that leads down to the gym and the spigot opposite, in front of the baseball field. I was going to give you the Google Maps coordinates and cracked myself up when I pulled up the Street View. Right there, captured by the remarkable Google technology, is the sign which proclaims:

Water for Emergency Household Use Only.
No Containers Over 55 Gal Allowed.
Resale of Water Prohibited.
Exercise Courtesy in Line.

And right in front of that sign, if you pull up the Street View, are two guys, one with a 220 gallon tote (steel cage with a poly liner), and the other with a 330 gallon size.

Welcome to Hawai'i

https://www.google.com/maps/@19.549,...B7fzGxmp0w!2e0

As to the spigot at Glenwood Park, opposite the Hirono store, it gets such heavy use from the Glenwood Dope Farmer's Chess, Croquet and Social Alliance meetings there, which are scheduled every day from Rooster Dark: Thirty O'Clock AM to Way Past Coqui O'Clock PM that it's hard to find a parking spot. Mountain View Park is probably your best best.

Good luck!

[terracore]

Originally Posted by nowhereatoll

New House is a shell with roof (shelled in?). I need a few things to get a temporary bathroom going; does anyone know about those instant propane water heaters advertised in Craigslist for 200$. Any good? Also whole house heaters for 300$.
Anyone have a compost toilet, I need recommendations.
I will have temporary catchment, and shipping 300 gal containers for other purposes also. I shipped household goods inside them. More questions escape me but will pop up soon enough.

BTW thanks ALL for the advice on solar. Will evaluate when I get there.

Amazon.com: Eccotemp L5 Portable Tankless Water Heater and Outdoor Shower: Home Improvement

$119 and free shipping to Hawaii.