Compost Tumbler

[jashgtp]

The design is a compost tumbler with an internal air circulation system.

I used 2" pvc and just drilled 3/8" holes randomly for the air vents.

The frame is made of pressure treated 2x6s and hardware is galvanized
carriage bolts.

The barrel is just a 55 gallon drum of food grade black plastic.

Not the most major fabrication but i got to use a bunch of tools.

What do you all think?

~Jash

 

[JCQuick]

I like it. I was traying to make something up out of old pallets(something i saw online) I have lots to compost and the pallet idea looked good till I figured it would take too much effort to stir the stuff up. i like your i dea let us know how it works

 

[jashgtp]

yeah i hear you about the mixing work.

That why i went with the tumbler design. Just push and it will spin around mixing everything up..or at least thats the plan.

Now i just have to research how to start it and what to add to get it going.

 

[aqr81]

Great idea, looks like it will work as intended. You'll get better mixing when it's not too full of material.

 

[bchee]

Looks cool.
Why did you make it tumble on the short axis, instead of the long axis, like turning a pig over a fire?

Also, would be cool to make the inside like a clothes dryer...
thanks for the idea.
I saw some barrels on CL the other day.

 

[silver hair deere]

could you use a blue drum also ? why the inside pipeing .

 

[metal1313]

blue drums would be fine as long as they didnt hold nasty chemicals. i want to build one as well, but need one far larger than 55 gallons.

 

[W_KY]

I really like the idea. What would be the downside of running the air tube all the way from one end to another? Do you think water could get in there. Would that be a bad thing? For some reason I thought I heard you are suppose to wet compost ever so often.

 

[pistolpete]

There isn't much you do to "get it started". Basically put food scraps in there, no dairy, no meat, no bread products, let the bugs at it and thats about it, or thats all I have ever done with ours. The air piping isn't a bad idea at all.

^W KY - Water isnt a bad thing at all, as it will just increase moisture and we all know what moisture and little heat will do in a closed space, which is kind of the idea in letting the bugs and bacteria break the materials down into soil/compost.

 

[jashgtp]

The pvc pipe inside is for air circulation.

Most people just drill holes in the barrell, but i wanted to limit what gets in. I have screen that covers the inlets.

I see no reason for the pipe not to go all the way through but it might intefere with the door for getting the compost out.

 

[hawkeye2]

You might want to wrap your air circulation system with lanscape fabric -- Let the air in, and keep the compost out of the PVC pipes.

 

[Lippyp]

If you want to really get it going pee into it in the morning, that acts as a great accelerator. Morning is best as your pee is stronger.

 

[lilredex]

Really don't need anything that special, a bottomless box sitting on a concrete base will do. Put a mower bag full of grass in a black garbage bag for a week (in the sun) until it turns gooey and slimy, and start with that. Throw your kitchen junk on top of that and away it goes.........does help to pi$$ on it too!.

Last summer they were filming a TV commercial over at the local school, involving a horse. I told the director that I wanted "it" when the horse did something...................got a whole bag full out of his trailer. Put that in the sun, first, also.

Haven't emptied mine in about four years.........haven't had to, just keeps reducing and getting better every day. If you want the best grass ever (or tomatoes) in your neighbourhood, just spread that mature stuff around.

 

[silver hair deere]

Don't mean top be dumb , we have just about no kitchen waste due to food cost , so how about coffee grounds , egg shells , and grass and bush trimmings , also how long till it's ready , live in western tn . always hot .

 

[lilredex]

Don't mean top be dumb , we have just about no kitchen waste due to food cost , so how about coffee grounds , egg shells , and grass and bush trimmings , also how long till it's ready , live in western tn . always hot .

Not talking about only peaches and bananas gone bad, but there is lots of other discards when preparing meals.........carrot tops, corn husks, radish tops, first layer of cabbage, outter lettuce leaves, etc........all the kind of stuff you wouldn't eat unless you were part billy goat.

It is really ready when it looks like "black gold"............the longer the better. Mine has been going for about four years, might empty it next spring.

Corn cobs* are about the only thing I don't throw in, takes "centuries" for those to break down. (don't have coffee grounds either, you might research that one also)

* If you have a pile of them you can install the bag on your mower and shred them first.


EDIT: a quick guide to components:

http://www.owensound.ca/environment/composting-tips.html

 

[Brad54]

My only concern with your design is that the axle is small diameter, and is going through the relatively thin side walls of the drum. I'm wondering how much weight it will support before wallowing out the axle holes, or outright tearing the sides of the drum.

I'm planning on making a composter out of a steel drum, side-mounted like a pig on a spit, with some re-bar tines inside to help mix it up.

I've heard coffee grounds and egg shells are good to compost, and rather than peeing in it, I've read that a 2liter bottle of root beer is excellent... it specified root beer, not just cola.

I've often wondered why you aren't supposed to put meat scraps, bones and fish in compost piles... I know when I bury fish in the roses, it always does well, and growing up fish were always buried in the garden. As for meat scraps--there's usually not a lot of scraps. Bones seem like they'd take a long time to break down (if ever), but the calcium and other matter can't be bad for the soil .

The composting experts are the Mother Earth News crowd... I often wonder if the "No meat scraps" is a way of promoting their vegetarian agenda?

-Brad

 

[MScott]

I've often wondered why you aren't supposed to put meat scraps, bones and fish in compost piles... I know when I bury fish in the roses, it always does well, and growing up fish were always buried in the garden. As for meat scraps--there's usually not a lot of scraps. Bones seem like they'd take a long time to break down (if ever), but the calcium and other matter can't be bad for the soil .

The composting experts are the Mother Earth News crowd... I often wonder if the "No meat scraps" is a way of promoting their vegetarian agenda?

-Brad

Meat scraps, fish and dairy products will putrify and stink, attracting wild animals (racoons and skunks and even bears if you live in a rural area,) as well as flies and maggots, not something you want in your back yard. A properly managed compost should be almost odourless. Undoubtedly meat is a great fertilzer, but as you mentioned, should be buried in the ground.

 

[z28toz06]

Here's a good place to start. you must mix your nitrogen with carbon or it wont work too well. http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-2-21-829,00.html

 

[Max Power]

I've been composting for years with a rig I move stackable frames side to side. Turn the compost with a small pitchfork. I get about 100 pounds a year. By the way, my weird veggie sister sends me copies of Mother Earth News. Lots of interesting articles on raising and butchering livestock. Hardly a vegg agenda.

 

[Brad54]

Lots of interesting articles on raising and butchering livestock. Hardly a vegg agenda.

Maybe they're more of an anti-hunting agenda then. I contacted them about doing some stories, they liked the idea, liked my experience, asked what I had in mind, two of them were deer hunting guides for beginners, and never heard a reply. Went from "Yeah! Let us know what you have!" to crickets.

-Brad

 

[alpinewhite]

Read all about this on http://www.compostumbler.com

I've been composting for years and I love it. I originally bought one of these

Later, in addition to the first one, I bought a double-compartment similar to this one from a different manufacturer.

Go Green!!!!

 

[Big-Foot]

Pretty cool contraption...

Some friends of ours moved and gave us a tumbler, but I don't really have a clue what to do with it to make it work...

If you want to really get it going pee into it in the morning, that acts as a great accelerator. Morning is best as your pee is stronger.

I am not sure I really want to know how you know this works!!

 

[alpinewhite]

Pretty cool contraption...

Some friends of ours moved and gave us a tumbler, but I don't really have a clue what to do with it to make it work...

I am not sure I really want to know how you know this works!!

Read up on http://www.compostumbler.com. That's where I learned about composting.

 

[Big-Foot]

Read up on http://www.compostumbler.com. That's where I learned about composting.

Good info..
Thanks..
https://www.compostumbler.com/StoreFront/how-to-make-compost

It says I can also compost coffee grounds here.. I see a lot of stuff that we put in the garbage bin today - so maybe I'll give this a try.

Not thinking about any manuer as we have none, but how bad does this thing smell? One of those things where you want it well downwind of the house or?

 

[alpinewhite]

Good info..
Thanks..
https://www.compostumbler.com/StoreFront/how-to-make-compost

It says I can also compost coffee grounds here.. I see a lot of stuff that we put in the garbage bin today - so maybe I'll give this a try.

Not thinking about any manuer as we have none, but how bad does this thing smell? One of those things where you want it well downwind of the house or?

Properly aerated compost does not smell bad. It smells earthy. Turn the barrel regularly (daily) to regularly aerate the compost and it won't stink.

 

[R6 Racer]

I have one of these.

It collects the compost tea in the compartment under the drum.
I then put the compost tea into my rain barrels that feed my drip watering system.

That way the "tea" gets watered down to a usable strength (don't want to burn the veggies) & feeds directly to each individual plant as I water.
I do have to remove the composted remains (dirt) every so often & I have recently been thinking about getting a second one so I can rotate usage.
I find it hard to get the dirt out as plain dirt because I'm always adding more waste to it.

Steve

 

[Oldbear]

If you want to really get it going pee into it in the morning, that acts as a great accelerator. Morning is best as your pee is stronger.

Image I don't need...

 

[Oldbear]

I have three earth machines in different locations on my yard (1/2 acre). We dump our kitchen waste (fruit/veggies/coffee grounds/egg shells) and all our leaves in them; and I mix in regular old dirt... even with our frozen winters, it makes great soil/compost within a year or two... and I only mix them up once a month or so during the three seasons its not a frozen lump.

 

[grego]

I have a tumbler composter. The only thing I could add is to have several all started at different times. It takes a while to get it going but when you do, it does an awesome job. I have my kids pick up the worms when it rains or anytime they see them and toss them in the mix. They really help to break the organics up and their tea and their castings mixed into the soil helps.
In all total, I have three tublers, and one worm farm that has different trays. I always get asked where I got my green thumb from. And as for the smell, going on three years and no one has ever said anything.

 

[Sureshot]

My only concern with your design is that the axle is small diameter, and is going through the relatively thin side walls of the drum. I'm wondering how much weight it will support before wallowing out the axle holes, or outright tearing the sides of the drum.

I'm planning on making a composter out of a steel drum, side-mounted like a pig on a spit, with some re-bar tines inside to help mix it up.

I've heard coffee grounds and egg shells are good to compost, and rather than peeing in it, I've read that a 2liter bottle of root beer is excellent... it specified root beer, not just cola.

I've often wondered why you aren't supposed to put meat scraps, bones and fish in compost piles... I know when I bury fish in the roses, it always does well, and growing up fish were always buried in the garden. As for meat scraps--there's usually not a lot of scraps. Bones seem like they'd take a long time to break down (if ever), but the calcium and other matter can't be bad for the soil .

The composting experts are the Mother Earth News crowd... I often wonder if the "No meat scraps" is a way of promoting their vegetarian agenda?

-Brad

Those plastic drums are much tougher than you would think. I would go the direction you suggest bot don't worry too much about ripping.