Having lived with this beast for a bit, I thought I would write a review and maybe clear up some of the questionable information I'm seeing on the web regarding the Boxio unit.
As an intro, we're live-aboards. We have lived on one or another vessel for going on ten years now, and we love it. We have always used a composting toilet, a DIY one that I came up with, (instructions on an Amazon pamphlet Here: https://www.amazon.com/Floating-Empire-composting-toilet-book-ebook/dp/B07P8JLF1J/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=don+elwell&sr=8-3) Unfortunately, on our new boat the design wasn't working well. For various reasons, it was hard to dump and clean. We were looking for another option (that we could afford) and the Boxio unit came available on Amazon, so we thought we'd give it a shot.
Construction: The unit is small, compact, and quite stoutly built. Think (if you're an American) milk carton construction. The urine diverter is similarly solid, rather thicker plastic than I'd be led to expect. The internal containers for waste and urine are likewise molded plastic and are adequately solid.
Assembly: is pretty simple. The unit came well packed, and all that is needed to assemble it is to screw in four post-and-screw assemblies on the four courners (a hex wrench and washer for use as a flat blade is provided) and to use an included cord to lace on the lid as a hinge. I had initially some questions about the strength of these little posts, but once installed, they seem quite solid.
Use: The urine container keeps all odors away from your living quarters. We were at first concerned about the size, but the thing is obviously larger than it appears. We wind up dumping it on a daily basis, but it's usually only about half full.
The solid waste container uses biodegradable liners (as an option. It would, of course, work fine without.) Dumping the waste us a matter of gathering up the sides of the little bag and twisting it to close. Very, very effective.
The hemp biomass (provided with this kit) works well and can be used sparingly. We have, for years, used wood stove pellets as biomass (they're cheap and tidy) and have not attempted to use those in this particular application, but I see no reason why they, or coir, or sawdust wouldn't work just as well.
The lid does an admirable job of keeping smells contained and flies out of the unit. I like that it fits snugly.
Things we like: No odor at all, easy empty, compact design that simply blends into the environment when not in use.
Things we dont particularly like:
It's really low. We ordered the raised base, which should ameliorate that, but talk about a squatti potti. . .on the other hand it would fit easily on a small boat or in a cabin or van.
There's a little detent in the seat/urine diverter at the front which is apparently intended to facilitate opening it, but there's really no way to get traction with it. I still wind up sticking my fingers where I'd rather not to open and dump the thing.
As many have pointed out, the only way to empty the urine container is to unscrew the seal in the center and dump it out. While it has a handy carrying handle, the handle is in the way of the urine when you turn it over to dump it, and it's very nearly impossible to get every last drop of the pee out of the bottle. A side drain (and some folks have drilled one) on the top would fix this, or moving the handle to the edge.
On the whole, though: This is a nice, compact, well thought out alternative to either a bucket or to the $1000 composting toilets available on the market. We're happy we bought it and it is, at least so far, working well for us.
Don aboard the shantyboat "Dragonfly".
