This looks like scaled down system invented by a French farmer Jean Pain in 70s. He used a big piles of straw and plastic tubes, I think. The non-rotting layer of straw served as isolation.
That is exactly what this is!! We reference him in the first few videos. We are working on scaling it down to heat a hoop house or greenhouse. We are doing this in video online as an open-source learning experience that everyone can work at and improve. We will be posting more soon, be sure to follow along!!!
Back at the ranch, Wheelers ranch, Sonoma County, we had 55gal drums with 2 filled with chicken and cow shit, used copper coil inserted into 2 55's that were elevated for a gravity shower. Temp was over 130. There was very little radiation heat at 3ft.
Inoculate the chips with lignin disassembles such as actinomycetes which make so much heat they are nicknamed "fire fang". then you can use other species such as oyster mushrooms, ps. cyanescens, axurescens which will convert full size chips into a nutritive biomass that can be added right to the soil without any worries.
I'm doing something like this. I thought of it today and I'm glad to see it does work. I have a large chicken run that I put all my mowed grass in and after it builds up and gets pooped all over it is pre charged and I STRONGLY suggest EM1. It is amazing stuff. I spray it on everything. My plants and orchids thrive with that and biochar. So I put a layer of really poopy grass and spray it with EM1. Its a bottle of beneficial microbes. It revives living plants and dissolves dead ones. Fast. I have a little 7x7x4 ft quarter round greenhouse attached to a wall I built thats posts are 2 ft in the ground to fasten it to. On the backside of the wall I built walls perpendicular 7 ft out and 5 ft tall. I have a huge tarp that goes on the bottom of wall and extends like 15 ft. So that way I layer then spray and repeat. 4 in layers. Then I put a layer of used potting soil then straw to top it off. Spayed the whole thing with tons of EM1 and fold the tarp back over like a taco. Walls keep it from falling out. The less O2 the better. It will cook. My plane is to have a 200 foot coil of black plastic pipe in the center of the pile. The pipe will be attached to a 55 gallon black barrel on its side closed in a box with thermal pane glass door over it in front of greenhouse at an angle buried in the ground half way. That water will be pumped through asiers of pipe running back and forth under sand and light gravel to create radiant heated floor. I really hope it works. I deal with temps from 40 to 0 degrees in winter.
That sounds like an amazing setup!! We are also planning on using some of these methods. If you plan on posting a video, we would love to watch it here on the farm. We hope your efforts add to the effect of encouraging others. Our setup didn't work as well or as long as we would like. As such, this year, we are trying something new to gain better results with greater efficiency. Keep an eye out this fall for new videos on compost heat!!!
I have decades of experience with thermodynamics from my previous life as an engineer. Now a mini farmer with 8-9 yards of compost in process year round. IMO, a much better use of resources is to make a bin from heavy gauge 1/2" hardware cloth that's four feet in diameter by four feet tall. Nothing else required, but you can increase efficiency by putting a chimney in the center. Easy to make by wrapping a section of hardware cloth around a pipe at least four inches in diameter and secure by bending end cuts inward with a pliers. If your greenhouse won't accommodate a bin four feet diameter, it's worth the effort to modify the beds. Obviously locate on the north side of the greenhouse.
These are some excellent ideas and suggestions!!! Thank you so much. These ideas will be incorporated in the next phase of build testing. Air flow was certainly an issue we have been working on getting addressed properly.
Hello, I am currently building a greenhouse. I want to heat my greenhouse with compost. Do you have a video of how you set this up after you built your system. I also dug down 6 feet so I could put pipe in the ground to lead up to the compost. Do you have any advice?
Hello! Currently we dont have a video showing much more. We are upgrading the system this year and are working on a new video. We arent digging down because less than 3inches down is straight rock. We are working on building up our soil to correct this. Thanks for watching! ~Riana
Awesome! I'm wondering if you think this would work with woodchips that aren't green? Or perhaps there is a similar/better material to use as a substitute?
@@BroodhomeFarms This would work better with cut grass cuttings ! My piles of grass cutting get extremely hot when decomposing ! That or wet straw that can reach temperatures that literally can set itself on fire !
you could use Aluminum but the aluminum would corrode over time. Best solution is probably to use some sort of protective yet conductive coating on the coil material for either solution.
Hey there, it failed after a few weeks, I encourage you to check out the comments and our follow up videos, thanks for popping by! ua-cam.com/video/KOf54LsRF04/v-deo.html
People confuse temperature from a mass where heat is not being used, with how much heat energy it can produce over time. Remember you will be removing the heat from the mass of organics at some rate, do you really think the biology will keep up with that heat removal rate? And if the temperature is reduced the biological reaction will stop. Thermal batteries of a similar volume/ but MUCH higher mass would be heated to thousands of degrees to be somewhat useful in a small well insulated place if you wanted the heat to last overnight. You can use Bing AI on the balanced setting to get an idea.
These are some excellent points. We are doing these each year to try and research what will and won't be successful. This is being run as an open source experiment. Feel free to improve upon our methods and share!!!!
Hello, please do not ignore my comment and answer my question?! Can you write to me the working method in detail, how to start working, and what temperature I will get if I use this method??! All thanks to you 💙
Hi there!! I'm sorry if we missed your question in the past. As far as a detailed working method, this is all experimentation. We are searching in an open source manner for how to make this work. We have been using traditional compost builds but have made mistakes along the way and used improper substitutions. The barrel reduced airflow too much, and the copper of the coil killed microbial life early in the reaction. Our green material was very green but too woody. As far as temperature is concerned, the interior of a compost pile reaches temperatures between 140 degrees Fahrenheit and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. When our setup can achieve this reliably, we will then move to testing intervals and duration of time for circulating water through a series of hoses and bellies. This winter, we plan on doing a video each week following along our route of success until we hit a new learning opportunity.
i can think of a few good uses for that copper coil,.,,.,.,,.nice work,.,.you sound like mr rogers sometimes,. explaining,.,.not bad thing , u haters,.,..,,...,.
Probably dont even need the copper coil, and i would just pee in it and add some sugar, for moisture nitrogen and super food for bacteria. Im going to do 2 barrels this winter and have a swedish heater as a backup. (Burning barrel with ascending pipe through it.)
Lol hello! My name is Riana, your Microsoft Speech Synthesizer, thank you for watching our video lol (this comment made my day, I am the lady in the background, lol)
I think that it makes no sense to ad a coil and everything else, because the barrel will radiate the heat anyway. And if you cool the compost, which is what happens with a copper coil inside the pile, the bacteria and other micro organisms will become less active and therefore produce less heat. And the copper is toxic to those micro organisms and bacteria, which will also result in less activity and thus less heat. Personally I would never recommend people to do this.
Cut grass is absolutely an excellent option! We will be using differing amounts in some test recipes. Future video coming with updates and things learned!
Hey there! It kept itself going for about a month in total. We are working on putting all the bits together in a better way, utilizing what we have learned, in an attempt to keep our hoop house warm all winter. But you are correct, it did not last, but its exciting to see what did and did not work :) Thank you for watching! ~Riana
Old Way alchemy
I love it!
This looks like scaled down system invented by a French farmer Jean Pain in 70s. He used a big piles of straw and plastic tubes, I think. The non-rotting layer of straw served as isolation.
That is exactly what this is!! We reference him in the first few videos. We are working on scaling it down to heat a hoop house or greenhouse. We are doing this in video online as an open-source learning experience that everyone can work at and improve. We will be posting more soon, be sure to follow along!!!
Back at the ranch, Wheelers ranch, Sonoma County, we had 55gal drums with 2 filled with chicken and cow shit, used copper coil inserted into 2 55's that were elevated for a gravity shower. Temp was over 130. There was very little radiation heat at 3ft.
This just sounds fun lol
Thanks Ernie. Great engagement Rianna.
Thank you AJ! We appreciate you!
Best
Riana
Inoculate the chips with lignin disassembles such as actinomycetes which make so much heat they are nicknamed "fire fang". then you can use other species such as oyster mushrooms, ps. cyanescens, axurescens which will convert full size chips into a nutritive biomass that can be added right to the soil without any worries.
I'm doing something like this. I thought of it today and I'm glad to see it does work. I have a large chicken run that I put all my mowed grass in and after it builds up and gets pooped all over it is pre charged and I STRONGLY suggest EM1. It is amazing stuff. I spray it on everything. My plants and orchids thrive with that and biochar. So I put a layer of really poopy grass and spray it with EM1. Its a bottle of beneficial microbes. It revives living plants and dissolves dead ones. Fast. I have a little 7x7x4 ft quarter round greenhouse attached to a wall I built thats posts are 2 ft in the ground to fasten it to. On the backside of the wall I built walls perpendicular 7 ft out and 5 ft tall. I have a huge tarp that goes on the bottom of wall and extends like 15 ft. So that way I layer then spray and repeat. 4 in layers. Then I put a layer of used potting soil then straw to top it off. Spayed the whole thing with tons of EM1 and fold the tarp back over like a taco. Walls keep it from falling out. The less O2 the better. It will cook. My plane is to have a 200 foot coil of black plastic pipe in the center of the pile. The pipe will be attached to a 55 gallon black barrel on its side closed in a box with thermal pane glass door over it in front of greenhouse at an angle buried in the ground half way. That water will be pumped through asiers of pipe running back and forth under sand and light gravel to create radiant heated floor. I really hope it works. I deal with temps from 40 to 0 degrees in winter.
That sounds like an amazing setup!! We are also planning on using some of these methods. If you plan on posting a video, we would love to watch it here on the farm. We hope your efforts add to the effect of encouraging others. Our setup didn't work as well or as long as we would like. As such, this year, we are trying something new to gain better results with greater efficiency. Keep an eye out this fall for new videos on compost heat!!!
I could see putting a top or second from the top layer of compost to prime the decomposition.
Great video
I have decades of experience with thermodynamics from my previous life as an engineer. Now a mini farmer with 8-9 yards of compost in process year round. IMO, a much better use of resources is to make a bin from heavy gauge 1/2" hardware cloth that's four feet in diameter by four feet tall. Nothing else required, but you can increase efficiency by putting a chimney in the center. Easy to make by wrapping a section of hardware cloth around a pipe at least four inches in diameter and secure by bending end cuts inward with a pliers. If your greenhouse won't accommodate a bin four feet diameter, it's worth the effort to modify the beds. Obviously locate on the north side of the greenhouse.
These are some excellent ideas and suggestions!!! Thank you so much. These ideas will be incorporated in the next phase of build testing. Air flow was certainly an issue we have been working on getting addressed properly.
Interesting thanks
Thanks for watching!
Hello, I am currently building a greenhouse. I want to heat my greenhouse with compost. Do you have a video of how you set this up after you built your system. I also dug down 6 feet so I could put pipe in the ground to lead up to the compost. Do you have any advice?
Hello! Currently we dont have a video showing much more. We are upgrading the system this year and are working on a new video. We arent digging down because less than 3inches down is straight rock. We are working on building up our soil to correct this. Thanks for watching! ~Riana
Awesome! I'm wondering if you think this would work with woodchips that aren't green? Or perhaps there is a similar/better material to use as a substitute?
So. We have found through tinkering you need way more green material than anything else. That could be green wood or even yard debris.
Add some chicken manure, likely bagged/dried from Tractor Supply or similar outlet
the leaves arent the only thing "cooked",.,.lol great informative video,..,had to warm up my hookah,.,.,.
Lolol
@@BroodhomeFarms This would work better with cut grass cuttings ! My piles of grass cutting get extremely hot when decomposing ! That or wet straw that can reach temperatures that literally can set itself on fire !
Copper is antimicrobial. Did it seem to affect the compost process? What kind of water temperatures were you getting?
It did effect everything! The system slowed down after like 2 weeks.
you could use Aluminum but the aluminum would corrode over time. Best solution is probably to use some sort of protective yet conductive coating on the coil material for either solution.
Now that you have had it running a few months, what results have you had? Did it heat the hoop house?
Hey there, it failed after a few weeks, I encourage you to check out the comments and our follow up videos, thanks for popping by! ua-cam.com/video/KOf54LsRF04/v-deo.html
Not enough bulk to heat much at all. You need min of 1 metre cubed.
People confuse temperature from a mass where heat is not being used, with how much heat energy it can produce over time. Remember you will be removing the heat from the mass of organics at some rate, do you really think the biology will keep up with that heat removal rate? And if the temperature is reduced the biological reaction will stop. Thermal batteries of a similar volume/ but MUCH higher mass would be heated to thousands of degrees to be somewhat useful in a small well insulated place if you wanted the heat to last overnight. You can use Bing AI on the balanced setting to get an idea.
These are some excellent points. We are doing these each year to try and research what will and won't be successful. This is being run as an open source experiment. Feel free to improve upon our methods and share!!!!
my opinion is that a plastic spiral is better than Copper
You may be right!! We are experimenting with new materials and recipes and plan on an update video soon. Look for your input to be referenced!
Dig a hole but green hay and plastic tub and a transfer pump to a fan .. heat the house !?
Hi. How long did that compost produce heat?
About 2-3 weeks. We've added some videos to explain where it went wrong. Thanks for watching!
Hello, please do not ignore my comment and answer my question?! Can you write to me the working method in detail, how to start working, and what temperature I will get if I use this method??! All thanks to you 💙
Hi there!! I'm sorry if we missed your question in the past. As far as a detailed working method, this is all experimentation. We are searching in an open source manner for how to make this work. We have been using traditional compost builds but have made mistakes along the way and used improper substitutions. The barrel reduced airflow too much, and the copper of the coil killed microbial life early in the reaction. Our green material was very green but too woody. As far as temperature is concerned, the interior of a compost pile reaches temperatures between 140 degrees Fahrenheit and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. When our setup can achieve this reliably, we will then move to testing intervals and duration of time for circulating water through a series of hoses and bellies. This winter, we plan on doing a video each week following along our route of success until we hit a new learning opportunity.
Thank you very much
i can think of a few good uses for that copper coil,.,,.,.,,.nice work,.,.you sound like mr rogers sometimes,. explaining,.,.not bad thing , u haters,.,..,,...,.
I was thinking .... use green hay to heat my house ?
You'd need more than that but grass and hay get hot, so it's def a possibility. try it and let us know!
Probably dont even need the copper coil, and i would just pee in it and add some sugar, for moisture nitrogen and super food for bacteria.
Im going to do 2 barrels this winter and have a swedish heater as a backup. (Burning barrel with ascending pipe through it.)
We are actually going to start a new system without the copper coil. We are going to use rubber tubing throughout.
If you set the speed to 1.5, the woman in the background sounds like a Microsoft speech synthesizer.
Lol hello! My name is Riana, your Microsoft Speech Synthesizer, thank you for watching our video lol (this comment made my day, I am the lady in the background, lol)
Дак процесс нужно запускать правильно 😂 то есть нагревать да и объем маленький и в бочку незачем пихать так как приток воздуха там мал 😂
That is something we got wrong! We are creating a new set up right now that is being done correctly 😀 thanks for watching!
I think that it makes no sense to ad a coil and everything else, because the barrel will radiate the heat anyway. And if you cool the compost, which is what happens with a copper coil inside the pile, the bacteria and other micro organisms will become less active and therefore produce less heat. And the copper is toxic to those micro organisms and bacteria, which will also result in less activity and thus less heat. Personally I would never recommend people to do this.
I do not understand why my first comment was removed.
It wasn't, and you're not wrong, we tried something and now know how to do it better next time
You need to fix the volume. can not hear this.
Hey there happy holidays. The sound works fine on all of our devices. I'm unsure of the issue you are having.
well this tinman needs oil,later
Hahha
This would work better with cut grass !
Cut grass is absolutely an excellent option! We will be using differing amounts in some test recipes. Future video coming with updates and things learned!
OMG this will not work!
There is no way a temperature gradient differentiation this low will be successful for continual circulation 👎
Hey there! It kept itself going for about a month in total. We are working on putting all the bits together in a better way, utilizing what we have learned, in an attempt to keep our hoop house warm all winter. But you are correct, it did not last, but its exciting to see what did and did not work :) Thank you for watching! ~Riana