The owners of dachas and country houses of temporary residence have one serious problem - how to prevent the toilet bowl from freezing in an unheated house in winter in cold weather? Water frozen in the siphon will expand and may simply burst the toilet. On the Internet you will find a huge amount of advice on how to avoid this, so that when you arrive at the dacha in the winter you will not find such a picture:
The most reliable way to solve the problem is to drain the toilet siphon before storing the house for the winter. But what about those who plan to visit the cottage on weekends all winter? Refuse to use the toilet or have fun once a week by draining the toilet immediately before leaving. In addition, after draining, it is necessary to plug the sewer with something else so that the smells from there do not spread throughout the house.
Someone suggests adding salt. But salt water freezes even at -5 degrees, and in our country the temperature outside can drop to -30. During a long absence, even the most insulated house will also have time to freeze well.
They also suggest pouring alcohol instead of salt. But this is some kind of non-targeted use of a valuable product 🙂 In addition, alcohol evaporates over time.
There are smart people pouring antifreeze into the toilet. They do not evaporate, but after flushing, all this chemistry enters your septic tank, killing bacteria or is absorbed directly into the ground (someone has a sewer system). It's of little use, anyway. In addition, antifreeze is also an expensive pleasure with frequent winter visits.
Some try purely mechanical methods - they put several loops of a rubber hose into the siphon. The hose remains filled with air. Freezing water squeezes the hose and does not break the toilet. Unfortunately, no one can confirm the reliability of this method. And what to do with this hefty ice plug in the toilet when you arrive at the cottage in the cold? Pour boiling water from the kettle, so the toilet will burst simply from the temperature drop.
Lucky for those who have a warm floor in the bathroom. You turn it on in winter at a temperature of +5 - +10 degrees and you can sleep peacefully. Even with a power outage, the bathroom will remain warm for some time due to the heat accumulated in the thickness of the floor and heated walls. We are talking, of course, about the electric floor heating system. For those who have gas heating, it is recommended to set the automation for heating the whole house for the winter. The bathroom can also be heated with an electric heated towel rail.
We don’t have a heated floor or a heated towel rail in our bathroom yet, and gas in our summer cottage is unknown when it will appear. Heating is possible only with wood or electricity. We did not plan to go to the country house every day to warm up the house by lighting the fireplace. But here, coming once a week or two, I wanted to be able to use the toilet normally. Therefore, to solve the problem of the toilet freezing, we simply lowered an electric thermostat for the aquarium into it.
The thermostat was taken the simplest, with a power of only 50 watts. He will not gobble up much electricity during the winter. But the convenience of this method is obvious. We arrived, the thermostat was turned off and removed from the toilet. You can use. Before leaving, the thermostat was lowered into the toilet and plugged into the outlet.
This method has its drawbacks. It is volatile, but we almost never have power outages for several days. Another disadvantage is that our thermostat has a minimum temperature of +16 degrees. The house in severe frosts can freeze up to -15 degrees. Due to the large temperature difference between water and air, water will constantly evaporate. Experience shows that it is necessary to drive up at least once every 10-15 days to add water. And because of the constant evaporation of water, a scale crust (water stone) forms on the surface of the toilet bowl. But it seems to us that washing the toilet in the spring will not be the biggest problem.
And for paranoid people who are afraid of long power outages, it is recommended to simply turn on the thermostat through an uninterruptible power supply. Even the simplest UPS will keep a low-power aquarium thermostat running for several days, especially if you wrap the toilet siphon with some kind of insulation to cool down more slowly.
Speaking of toilets for summer cottages, they often mean the simplest toilet from boards, assembled in a booth installed around a cesspool. In fact, there is a fairly wide selection of devices to satisfy almost any requests of summer residents. We will talk about this in detail later.
Straight
Such toilets are installed in summer cottages, where it is not always possible to supply water for draining, so they do not have a knee with a water seal and a drain tank. The release is made vertically down into the storage tank, septic tank or into the cesspool.
Straight toilet bowls can be made from both standard sanitary ware and chemically resistant plastics.
Often, such products are produced assembled with a stand or even built into a cabinet.
When choosing a toilet of this type, special attention should be paid to the quality of the material, since such a toilet must withstand large changes in temperature and humidity, and in addition, the plastic toilet must be mechanically strong and resistant to the aggressive effects of ammonia released from human waste.
Alternative to factory products
If you do not want to spend money and think that it is quite possible to equip such a toilet on your own, you are right. This is not difficult. Below we will consider the possible options.
wooden toilet seat
On the floor of the outdoor toilet, above the hole in the pit, a structure in the form of a pedestal about 40 cm high is assembled.
An oval-shaped hole is cut in the upper part for the toilet seat that you plan to install. The seat must be covered.
Most often, wooden boards are used for this design. It is advisable to make such a stand for the entire width of the outdoor toilet cabin - this is very convenient.
It is imperative to provide for the possibility of quick dismantling of such a pedestal when pumping sewage.
Toilet - bucket
Such a plastic toilet looks like a simple bucket with a seat and a lid. After use, the toilet is taken out and emptied into a cesspool or compost pit. This type of device is made both sealed and without a bottom.
If a toilet without a bottom is chosen, it is installed above the septic tank and fixed to the floor. For this, special holes are provided in its body.
The choice of this device is simple and comes down to the selection of shape and color.
Powder closet
Such a toilet is similar to the previous one, but is made exclusively with a sealed container.
After its use, the contents of the container are sprinkled with organic fertilizer (peat, humus, ash) or ordinary soil, which eliminate odors. After filling the tank, it is emptied into the compost pit. This toilet does without a pit latrine, so it is easy to carry.
You can arrange such a toilet yourself by making a box with a seat and installing a storage tank inside. At any time, the container can be removed, carried out and emptied.
Electric dry closet
The most convenient, but also the most expensive of dry closets. The receiving tank is divided into two parts, in which liquid fractions are separated from solid ones.
To operate the device, 220 V electrical wiring is required, since an air compressor is installed in the system, with the help of which solid fractions are dried and accumulated in a special compartment with their subsequent removal.
The system involves a drainage drain and mandatory forced ventilation. The price of such devices starts from 8000 rubles, the average is about 35000 rubles.
The most demanded model in the Russian market is Thetford Porta Potti Excellence Electric, Holland.
- Automatic drain with an electric pump;
- Storage tank - 21 l;
- Drain container - 15 l;
- Price 12000 r.
The device is equipped with an overpressure valve, an indicator of the filling of the lower tank and the drain tank. Manufacturer's warranty - 36 months.
peat toilet
Peat or compost is one of the varieties of dry closets. Outwardly, it is very similar to a conventional toilet, but structurally it is made differently. It consists of two containers - one for peat, the second for waste. After using the toilet, the waste is not drained, but sprinkled with peat from the tank using the dispenser mechanism.
In this case, the natural transformation of feces into a substance similar in composition to fertilizer and absolutely harmless to the environment occurs. After filling the container, it is taken out, the contents are poured into a compost pit, in which, in about a year, high-quality compost is formed to fertilize the site. This toilet does not use harmful chemicals.
This system is not without drawbacks:
- obligatory ventilation device, sometimes forced with a fan;
- such systems cannot be used in the cold;
- larger than other dry closets sizes;
- predisposition to the appearance of flies and other insects with poor-quality sealing of the structure.
When choosing a peat toilet, you should pay attention to the ventilation system - there must be a valve on the pipe to protect against the penetration of insects and rainwater.
In addition, make sure that the toilet lid fits securely and tightly to the seat - slots and gaps are unacceptable.
Prices for such toilets - 5000 - 28000 rubles.
The most typical device of this type is Piteco 505, made in Russia. Price - 5600 r.
The basic kit includes: couplings, a hose with clamps for drainage, a seat with a cover and, as a bonus, a bag of peat filler.
Chemical toilet
The chemical toilet is made up of two tanks connected to each other. The lower one is equipped with a valve with a pipe for cleaning and is designed for the accumulation of waste, and the upper one for water. The upper tank is mounted in a housing on which a pump, a toilet bowl and its seat with a lid are installed.
For the splitting and processing of solid fractions of waste, it uses potent chemicals - sanitary liquids, which are quite harmful, therefore it is not recommended to drain such waste into open ground.
The choice of this type of toilet comes down to the selection of the tank capacity and the pump installed in it.
There are three types of pumps:
- Piston. The simplest device that requires some effort to obtain the desired pressure, but it allows you to get a strictly metered amount of liquid.
- Pump action. The device is more complex and at the same time easy to use.
- Electric. The most convenient option, but it requires timely replacement of batteries, otherwise it will simply stop working.
As for the capacity of the tank, the larger it is, the better, however, it should be borne in mind that the dimensions of a large tank are quite impressive, as well as its weight, so a decent space and a reliable solid floor will be needed to accommodate such a device.
Separately, it is worth asking about the presence of a filling indicator and a pressure relief valve. Such a valve allows sewage to be drained without splashing.
The cost of products in this group starts from 4,000 rubles, and the price of 50,000 or even 85,000 is not the limit.
A popular model from the Dutch manufacturer is Thetford Porta Potti Qube 335 (see photo).
- Pump type - manual piston pump;
- Storage tank - 10 l;
- Drain tank - 10 l;
- Price 10600 r.
The toilet bowl is completed with the valve for dumping of excess pressure and the indicator of filling.
Self-arrangement
If you want to save money, you can make a country toilet yourself from improvised materials.
It’s worth starting with the purchase of a waste disposal tank, and only then, based on its size, make a cabinet in which it will be installed.
The curbstone is made of boards or plywood and a hole is cut at the top for the cover and seat. Such a design can be installed in the house or build a booth for it on the site.
Any materials are suitable for the manufacture of a booth - wood, plywood, plastic panels, flat slate, or a combination of them, the main thing is that the structure is durable, and ventilation should be made in it to prevent the accumulation of unpleasant odors.
For ventilation, a polyethylene sewer pipe with a diameter of 100 mm is well suited. One end of it must be inserted into a box with peat, the other end must be brought outside the booth and equipped with an anti-rain visor.
Emptying a tank of this design is carried out when it is half filled, and before use, it is necessary to sprinkle its bottom with peat.
In our opinion, a toilet bowl for a country toilet can be any of the considered designs, but two of them should be paid closer attention.
A peat toilet is perhaps the best thing you can think of for a summer residence - it is not only a toilet, but also a device that produces high-quality fertilizer.
But as for the device with chemical decomposition, the situation is ambiguous. With all the convenience, its waste is quite toxic and requires certain burial conditions, otherwise contamination of the soil and plants is possible, so we advise you to be wary of such a toilet bowl.
To connect plumbing fixtures to the water supply network, a flexible water supply is used. It is in demand when connecting faucets, showers, toilets and other points of water intake, and greatly simplifies the installation process. Flexible piping is also used when installing gas equipment. It differs from similar devices for water in manufacturing technology and special safety requirements.
Characteristics and types
Flexible hose for plumbing is a hose of different lengths, made of non-toxic synthetic rubber. Due to the elasticity and softness of the material, it easily takes the desired position and allows installation in hard-to-reach places. To protect the flexible hose, the upper reinforcing layer is designed in the form of a braid, which is made of the following materials:
- aluminum. Such models withstand no more than +80 ° C and retain functionality for 3 years. In high humidity, aluminum braid is prone to rust.
- Of stainless steel. Thanks to this reinforcing layer, the service life of the flexible water supply is at least 10 years, and the maximum temperature of the transported medium is +95 °C.
- Nylon. Such a braid is used for the manufacture of reinforced models that can withstand temperatures up to +110 ° C and are designed for intensive use for 15 years.
Nut-nut and nut-nipple pairs are used as fasteners, which are made of brass or stainless steel. Devices with different indicators of permissible temperature differ in the color of the braid. Blue ones are used to connect to a pipeline with cold water, and red ones - to hot water.
When choosing a water supply, you need to pay attention to its elasticity, reliability of fasteners and purpose. It is also mandatory to have a certificate that excludes the release of toxic components by rubber during operation.
Features of gas connections
When connecting gas stoves, columns and other types of equipment, flexible connections are also used. Unlike models for water, they are yellow and are not tested for environmental safety. For fixing, end steel or aluminum fittings are used. There are the following types of devices for connecting gas appliances:
- PVC hoses reinforced with polyester thread;
- synthetic rubber with stainless steel braid;
- bellows, made in the form of a corrugated stainless steel tube.
Holding "Santekhkomplekt" offers engineering equipment, fittings, plumbing and fixtures for its connection to communications. The assortment is represented by products and materials of well-known foreign and domestic manufacturers. Discounts apply for bulk purchases, and product quality is confirmed by standard certificates. For information support and assistance, a personal manager is assigned to each client. The ability to arrange delivery within Moscow and to other regions of the Russian Federation allows you to quickly receive the purchased goods without any hassle.
Drainage is a hydro-reclamation measure to remove excess groundwater.
If water does not leave the territory of the site for a long time, soil gleying occurs, if shrubs and trees quickly disappear (get wet), it is urgent to take measures and drain the site.
Reasons for waterlogging the soil
There are several reasons for waterlogged soils:
- clay heavy soil structure with poor water permeability;
- an aquiclude in the form of gray-green and red-brown clays is located close to the surface;
- high occurrence of groundwater;
- technogenic factors (construction of roads, pipelines, various facilities) that impede natural drainage;
- violation of the water balance by the construction of irrigation systems;
- the landscape area is located in a lowland, a beam, a hollow. In this case, precipitation and water inflow from higher places play an important role.
What causes excess moisture in the soil
You can see the results of this phenomenon yourself - trees and shrubs are dying. Why is this happening?
- the oxygen content in the soil decreases and the content of carbon dioxide increases, which leads to a violation of the processes of air exchange, water regime and nutrition in the soil;
- oxygen starvation of the root-forming layer occurs, which leads to the death of plant roots;
- the intake of macro and microelements by plants (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, etc.) is disrupted, because excess water washes out mobile forms of elements from the soil, and they become inaccessible for assimilation;
- there is an intensive breakdown of proteins and, accordingly, the processes of decay are activated.
Plants can tell at what level groundwater occurs
Take a close look at the flora in your area. The species inhabiting it will tell you at what depth the groundwater layers are located:
- top water - in this place it is best to dig a reservoir;
- at a depth of up to 0.5 m - grow marigold, horsetail, varieties of sedge - blister, holly, fox, Langsdorf reed grass;
- at a depth of 0.5 m to 1 m - meadowsweet, canary grass,;
- from 1 m to 1.5 m - favorable conditions for meadow fescue, bluegrass, mouse pea, rank;
- from 1.5 m - wheatgrass, clover, wormwood, plantain.
What is important to know when planning site drainage
Each group of plants has its own moisture needs:
- with a groundwater depth of 0.5 to 1 m, vegetables and annual flowers can grow on high beds;
- the depth of the water reservoir up to 1.5 m is well tolerated by vegetable crops, cereals, annuals and perennials (flowers), ornamental and fruit and berry shrubs, trees on a dwarf rootstock;
- if groundwater at a depth of more than 2 m, you can grow fruit trees;
- the optimal depth of groundwater for agriculture is from 3.5 m.
Do you need site drainage?
Record your observations at least for a while. You yourself will be able to understand how much drainage is needed.
Maybe it makes sense to simply redirect melt and sediment water along a bypass channel, and not let it flow through your site?
Perhaps it is necessary to design and equip a storm drain and improve the composition of the soil, and will this be enough?
Or is it worth making a drainage system only for fruit and ornamental trees?
The exact answer will be given to you by a specialist, whom we strongly recommend calling. But after reading this article, you will gain some awareness in this matter.
At the end of the technological and production tasks associated with the arrangement of the sewer system in an apartment building, an industrial building, as well as in a private household, it is required to test the system involved using the forced spill method. This task was applied to identify possible defects or improper installation of the entire sewer part involved, and the act of testing the internal sewerage and drain systems will be material evidence of work on the acceptance of the facility.
A visual check should be accompanied by entering into the act of testing internal sewerage systems and drains according to SNIP, which is currently represented by the current regulations of the appendix of the "D" series, which corresponds to SP 73.13330.2012 "Internal sanitary systems of the building", recently a new one has been applied updated working version according to SNiP 3.05.01-85.
The toilet is a practical building, which is usually the first to be built on a suburban area. Agree, without it you can simply forget about a comfortable stay in the country. Basic amenities are necessary at the beginning of the construction of a residential building and when using a summer cottage as a garden.
The comfort of the toilet is determined by factors: water access, lack of smell, structural reliability, the appearance of the building and a convenient country toilet bowl, which should fully replace the home counterpart. In this article, we will talk about how to put it all into practice on your own.
Here you will learn all about the types of garden toilets and understand how to choose the right model. In addition, we will tell you how to install a country toilet. In the article you will find many useful tips, photos and videos from experienced professionals.
A garden toilet bowl can be purchased ready-made by choosing from a wide variety of products on the sanitary equipment market. If you want to save money, the owners of the summer cottage can build a budget and no less practical design of the toilet bowl with their own hands.
The final choice is made by the owner of the cottage, but before that you should familiarize yourself with the possible options.
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For those who have a lot of "beech a in not a silivaet" Output at the bottom...The goal is not to be afraid that the toilet will burst in the cold (for weekly winter visits).
I read on the forum about the possibility of protecting the toilet from bursting in the cold by inserting a soft hose into its siphon.
I decided to conduct an experiment on a jar - if it does not burst, then the toilet bowl will definitely survive, because. he is stronger. Still need a guarantee...
I took the hose from the shower, cutting it in half. t=-15оС.
The result - failure - the bank burst.
See photo.
Visually, the hoses were compressed, but obviously not everywhere ...
Actually, because When water freezes, it expands by about 10%, then the volume of voids in the hoses must certainly be greater than 10% of the volume of water. And taking into account the fact that the hoses are not compressed everywhere, then - with a large margin. Unless, of course, you need a guarantee...
Experiment #2:
I inserted the hose folded in half into a beer bottle, and together with the control specimen (without the hose) put it in frost -12-18 ° C.
The result - not a single bottle burst ...
Again failure.
Then the people found a more successful experimenter - this is our colleague chicken-A.
Here is information from him on a successful experiment:
“I take a 3/4 [inch] tube, soft, from the inside of some kind of washing machine. But you can use any rubber one, the main thing is that the diameter of its internal cavity is sufficient. The siphon of a plumbing device is parabolic in shape, smooth. in the direction of the horns of this parabola, and if the force of friction against the walls is small, then the device remains intact even without any devices. The tube simply insures against such an afront. You need to stick it in there deeper, so that ideally it goes through the entire bend of the siphon. The watering hose is made of plastic, I think not the best option - it is hard and easily flattened before the time.
About him:
"It has already frozen 7-10 times, it thaws quite quickly if the air in the house has already warmed up and if you pour a little warm water (not hot) on top."
A discussion on this topic and a bunch of small but useful ideas can be found here.
Now a little about the "physics" of freezing water:
I tried to figure out why not the entire tube shrinks in frozen water, but only its lower 70-80%, and I seem to understand.
When I periodically watched the freezing of water in bottles, I saw that at first the water froze in a thin disk on top of the bottle and below, and only then everything else.
Those. - when this disk froze, the pressure shifted it along the jar up (there was room to move along the smooth glass), but not to the axis of the jar, and therefore the tubes in the disk did not shrink.
And when this disk could no longer move due to friction (or due to the abutment at the beginning of the neck of the can), the pressure of the freezing water compressed the tubes, because. "he" had nowhere else to go.
This is probably why the bottles didn’t burst either - I didn’t add water to them with a reserve until they narrowed, and when freezing, the ice top disk-cork did not reach the obstacle, and taking into account the greater strength of the bottle, the friction force of the disk against the walls, apparently, turned out to be less strength of these walls.
And now about the physics of freezing water in the toilet:
Thanks Vovochka!:
"Freezing starts from above, because the density of water is maximum at Т=+4С, and the coldest water "floats" where it freezes."
This is true, therefore it is clear that (see photo of the toilet bowl) the "cork" freezes first at point 1, then at point 3 (they plug the holes), and then everything else.
The pressure of freezing water presses both on these plugs and on the walls of the toilet. Well, and whoever kicks out first, he "won".
Completion of theoretical research:
On the construction market I bought a "polyvinyl chloride tube" - soft, like a rubber tube with a diameter of 18 mm, thickness. walls - 2mm. Price - 22 rubles / meter. See photo. This is what you need!
Another experiment and another failure:
A 3-liter jar with six soft hoses has burst...
Curious:
1. The water in the jar froze for at least 32 hours (!!!) The jar was found burst after 39 hours.
t=-5 - -15оС.
2. The hoses (unlike previous experiments) were not compressed by freezing ice... Apparently, this did not protect the jar.
3. In the process of freezing, strange "needles" were created in the jar, apparently from air bubbles, but I did not understand why they are not round, but long. And they go strictly from the axis of the can to its walls ... See photo.
A version of the reason that the hoses did not shrink was born:
The water was first frozen along the edges of the jar and in it (in the center), before complete freezing, an oval (ellipsoid) of unfrozen water remained.
And for some reason, I put the hoses closer to the walls of the can, and when they freeze, apparently, they should not have been compressed, because. when the hoses froze over, the water in the center of the can was not yet frozen and the pressure was not yet high.
And when the pressure became dangerous for the can, the hoses were already frozen into the ice and could no longer shrink.
Now it is clear - the hoses must be located in the center of the protected container. Moreover, ideally - with the maximum possible total diameter.
Conclusion:
So that the toilet does not burst when water freezes in it:
Fold a thin-walled hose with a diameter of about 15-25 mm several times (the more, the better. For example, 6-8 times), but so that after inserting into the toilet siphon there is no water in the hose, i.e. holes - up. When freezing, the expansion of the ice is compensated by compressing the hose.
It must be inserted into the siphon deeper, to the end.
