GL 90 Batch composting toilet

Our GL90 is up and running; we just swapped out the container for the first time. I really love how small the composting container is, and bought an extra container in case it requires removal more often than projected. Our situation had a number of odd wrinkles: ❖ This is an elevated house; the living area including the bathroom is 8′ off the ground. The area below the house is unenclosed, so we didn’t have typical space constraints. ❖ We were replacing an original “Carousel” compost toilet from the early 1980s, so we had to line the GL90 up with the original chute, and find a way to connect it to the original vent pipe. ❖ One complication is that the old Carousel was destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Milton. It was raised less than a foot above ground, and the roaring floodwaters came up about 3 feet. So wanted the replacement composting container to be elevated as high as possible. My solution was to hang it from the ceiling below the house, to avoid any structure under the container that could get washed away if we get another flood like that (even if the container itself was above the flood level). ❖ Another complication, this one self-inflicted, was that I was also reinstalling the fire sprinkler system and the water heater, both of which were also destroyed by flooding, and needed to be elevated as well — and for various reasons needed to be in almost the exact location where the toilet needed to go, and needed to be protected from wind-driven rain. I did have a few technical problems with the GL90: ❖ I was aware that the hose and vent fittings on the GL90 were metric, but I hadn’t realized that the nominal metric sizes used in Australia are different than nominal metric sizes for hose and pipe made everywhere else in the world! After numerous false starts and then deep research, I finally figured out ways to make everything work — but that wrinkle alone took this project way beyond the DIY world. Good thing I love a challenge, and have technical and research skills… ❖ We had a serious fly problem shortly after we began using the GL90. I still am not sure exactly why, but I did notice that the lid doesn’t fit tightly on the container. The three clamps just aren’t enough to keep even marginally fly-proof. My solution has been decidedly low tech: a brick on the lid between each pair of lid clamps. It’s also possible that the exhaust fan is too weak; I’ve purchased a replacement that should move twice as much air. ❖ I still haven’t figured out how to keep the toilet seat on straight. It keeps moving off center, and I’m afraid to tighten the connecting screws any further; they don’t seem that robust. The brackets hold the toilet to the floor don’t seem that robust either, but the toilet has stayed in place, so I don’t want to argue with success (and I’m managing to avoid permanently fastening the toilet to the beautiful terra-cotta tile floor in the bathroom).