A frequently asked question

People who live with the benefits of plumbing often ask me how I do without. The answer is a five-gallon bucket, trash bags and a nifty lid.

I started with a Luggable Loo seat-lid combo that snaps onto a five-gallon bucket with a plastic bag inside. They're popular. But I didn't like that the cover just flopped over the seat. It didn't seal. That meant either putting up with the odor or sealing up the plastic bag. One use per bag. Neither was a good solution.

Luckily, there's a lid for five-gallon buckets that does seal. Gamma lids are designed to seal five-gallon buckets of paint, adhesive, food, whatever. It comes in two pieces. One is a threaded ring that fits on the lip of the bucket. You need to pound it on with a rubber mallet. The other is the lid. It has an O-ring gasket for sealing. The lid screws into the ring. They come in a variety of colors.

Though the lid seals tightly, there's enough of a gap in the threads that it can fit over trash bags. I double bag with 13-gallon trash bags. And I hold them in place with a bungee cord.

Another problem with the Luggable Loo is that the opening is too small for large guys. With my system I get almost the entire diameter of the bucket mouth. The ring and bags also provide enough cushion for my bony butt.

So, now you're wondering, how do I dispose of the contents? As often as possible I pour it into an outhouse/vault toilet/regular toilet. I tie off the empty inner bag and then the outer bag and toss them in the trash. But... but..., there's residue of, ew, human waste in the bag, you say. True. But it's far less than in the typical disposable diaper, or a sack of dog poo, which we toss without a care.

Finally, whenever I wash and vacuum the Rolling Steel Tent I give the bucket and lid a good blasting.

The bucket will eventually wear out. You can't really pry the ring off the bucket without damaging it, so I already have a spare Gamma lid for the new bucket. Maybe I'll get it from Home Depot next time.