Biolet Review

6 months ago, our two person household purchased a Biolet 60XL (top o' the line model, rated for 4 people full time, 6 people part time use), and it has malfunctioned non-stop ever since, over saturating and filling with sludge every week. This, in spite of our two person household functionally consisting of 1 1/2 people (since my husband spends half the week away from home, running his practice).

 

Before you ask, let me offer that we had the unit professionally installed by a contractor who scrupulously followed all directions, and we've always used fresh, expensive, compost purchased directly from Biolet, USA.

 

Still, the 60XL has repeatedly over-saturated itself, resulting in our having to remove the entire unit from the house to clean the stinky, sludgy, really funky waste material out of the bottom (since on every occasion except one it had overflowed the collection basin). Since our November '08 purchase, we've had to remove it in its entirety to empty, clean & restart once every month. We now have a large holding container of toxic waste accumulating in our front yard. Yuck.

 

Several emails and phone calls to Biolet USA customer service have resulted in no response from the company. Yet they were only too friendly when accepting our $2000 when we bought the unit...

Guess you would recommend that all parties put this company on their toxic waste list!

 

 

My folks bought a biolet a few years ago and were very happy with it until it broke.  Started smelling very unpleasant.  The biggest problem they've had is that there seems to be no one who can actually tell them what's wrong or how to fix it and the company itself absolutely does not respond.  Dad's been on hold with their "Help Line" 4 times for over 10 minutes at a time and no one ever answers the call. 

My XL60 did the same thing.  I found corroded and broken wires behind the cassette.  It was on a little brown box that looked like it was wired to the thermostat.  You have to remove the 4 screws of the panel and look behind it.  Be careful for the rod that comes up from the float if you have one.

So it turns out the the thermostat tests all worked but the wires were broken so the elements would not heat up.

 

Good luck

This is a letter I wrote to Biolet just before I landfilled the piece of junk and switched to a humanure system which functioned without a hitch--

To Whom It May Concern: I bought a Biolet Delux in August of 2004 for about $1600 dollars. It was my understanding that the toilet was easy to install and tried and true (over a million sold worldwide, according to the website.) Now, when the package arrived, I was very excited, along with my environmentally conscious friends. Unfortunately, the unit arrived without the Installation Video. Not to be thwarted so easily, I decided to look to the paper Biolet owner’s manual, assuming it would provide all neccessary information—afterall I am a carpenter, I should have no trouble. OOPS! No instruction booklet either. Okay, no problem, I’ve got a fax machine. A quick phone call and we’re under way. I read the instructions over carefully, to make sure I have a good grasp on what I need to do. I proceed to install the toilet, though it is a good thing I am a carpenter, because the directions leave a few gaps. For instance, as I learned later, it is of the utmost importance for proper draft that the pipe insulation be cut at the roof angle so that the pipe section inside the flashing is fully covered. Lucky I thought of that myself because the directions don’t mention it. Another thing the directions skip over is the fact that the included pipe insulation does not fit over the bells in the 2 inch pipe. Strange, you would think they would’ve solved this problem after selling a million of these things. So I wrapped the joints in insulating tape. Also, the directions for installing the roof flashing itself are quite vague, and if I understand them correctly- suggest that I install the flashing so that only the top course of shingles is over the top of the flashing. Again, it’s a good thing I’ve spent lots of time fixing just this sort of roofing mistake, or my roof would be leaking in a few years. (With proper installation, no silicone should be necessary, or even wanted) Okay, extend the pipe above the peak, got it. If only the booklet mentioned something about windy areas… I may well have saved tons of trouble. Roof work complete, I’m ready to start up the toilet. I get out the bag of starter mulch and read the directions. I did it all. Got it going finally. Now, after a year and 1 half of trying to use this toilet, and several phone calls to Biolet, I have come to the conclusion that it is unfair for me to continue trying to get this thing to work. First, the motor went, I was told it was the sheer pin. They sent me some, but the sheer pin was fine. About a week later, they sent me a new motor which I installed. Of course, when you install a new motor, you must free up the mixing arm, which means completely emptying the toilet via any means you can. (The little L shaped metal “manual mixing rake” is about as handy as a parachute in a submarine) So I get out the shovel and clean out the toilet (dry compost material is like mortar) and replace the motor. Now, shouldn’t a motor equipped with sheer pins specifically designed to break before the motor burns out, be protected by those very sheer pins? Anyway, that done, we continued to use the toilet, buying mulch from Biolet when necessary for a whopping $30 per bag, plus $8 shipping. (I subsequently made some myself using their recipe for about $5 for the equivalent amount) But be careful, use of any mulch besides Biolet Approved mulch could void the warrantee. So I must pay $38 Dollars per bag for little more than dirt and wheat hulls until my warrantee expires—at 1 bag per three months for two people times three years: that’s $482, not adjusting for inflation. So after a couple more months, the moisture level fluctuating constantly and uncontrollably, after I’ve added water here and turned up the “thermostat” there, read the owner’s manual again and again as though I’m Indiana Jones sleuthing for some cryptic secret path to the composting grail, made several phone calls to Biolet who suggested that I add coarse perlite in greater and greater proportion to my mulch to eliminate the unpleasant odor caused by the moisture level I attempt to maintain for fear of running too dry and breaking the motor again… the motor stops again, and I shovel the toilet out, again. The Biolet folks ask if I or my girlfriend are vegetarian or have cancer… Neither of these things are listed as problems on the website or literature mind you. I am at a loss. I want my money back because the toilet does not work for me. The people at Biolet are positive it must be something we can fix. But for how long can I be strung along in the hope that someday I can once again defecate and micturate without worry. (Its been a year and a half already) I am afraid that I will continue to nurse this optimistically overzealous contraption along for three years and then, when my motor breaks, I will be paying an extra $100 or so dollars when I buy my $30 dollar mulch, but at least I’ll be getting more for my $8 shipping. The environment is important to me, much more than money or business. I live on a 100% solar powered ranch in Northwest New Jersey, and wish so badly that I could say I live on a functional composting, solar powered ranch in Northwest New Jersey. But I can’t. At this point I would pay Biolet another $1600 to have avoided the experience all together. I know that the environmental movement is one that spreads largely by word of mouth and through environmental literature, and I’m sorry that I cannot give Biolet my recommendation through those avenues. As it stands, I may even need to be vocal about my experience to spare others the aggravation. I think your product needs some more streamlining. At the very least, the instructions should be much more detailed. If you know shifting wind patterns can be a problem, include that. If you know people are installing these things wrong, draw some more pictures. These simple suggestions could save you lots of money, and your customers time in nose plugs. Plus, why not make the thermostat a functional realtime, perhaps even digital, thermostat. This would allow the user to have a bit more control. Just an idea… Unfortunately, I cannot in good conscience, resell this toilet on Ebay, as Biolet suggested, because I would have to lie to do so. I have had no success with the toilet, and pawning it off on someone else to reclaim some of my investment would be unethical. I still however remain hopeful that you at Biolet will see clear to simply return my investment, and I will gladly return your merchandise. P.S. If you have sold a million toilets, and have made only $100 profit on each, that's $100,000,000. What is a well written, widely published description of an attempt to use one of these silly things worth?

I wish I had read these reviews before buying my Biolet 20. I've only had it a couple months and the fan has stopped. I have been trying for the last two days to get through to Biolet and they simply will not answer the phone or return my message. All I wanted to know is how to open the thing up. As an electrical engineer, I think I can fix a simple fan problem but it's a mystery how to remove the open portion of the toilet and I'm afraid of cracking the plastic. If anyone knows the trick, I'd be very grateful for your help. 

 

If enough people are having problems with their Biolets and the company is refusing to honor their warranties, I think it's time to start a class action suit.

"Class action suit" has a nice ring to it at this point in my experience with the product and the technical support "group."

DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE SHABBILY CONSTRUCTED PIECES OF CRAP!!!!!

 

And don't bother calling their tech support. It's all your fault anyway, and if you need parts, don't count on them remembering to send them.

These people are corrupt, lazy, miserable excuses for human beings and should be sued into non-existence. You would be better equipped with a

5 gallon bucket and a stir stick.

 

Whew! I needed that!

 

 

 

 

You number one priority would be to avoid the Biolet or anything that resembles it in form or function. Then put them on whatever list feels good to  you.
 

 

Just another ho-hum day in Biolet paradise. HAHAHAHA

As a 9th grade science project this thing may have some merit, but as a consumer product sold to the well-intended public........NAH!

To say the "biolet commode" is a disappointment is an understatement.  I bought one for $1600.00 so my mother who lived in a dry cabin (no plumbing) could

have it easier than going to the outhouse at 20 below zero.  She was 60 years old then.  I had it professionally installed & they followed  the instruction booklet.

It worked for about 1 1/2 months with the moisture level being a constant fight.  The mulch (from biolet) was unmanageable & the fan could never keep up

(deluxe 4 person full use) with just a one person use.  I cleaned it once a week for her & still the entire system was over taxed.  I finally apologized to her for the

aggravation it caused her & moved the entire system out of the cabin.  I would never waste my money on anything this company produces again.