[compost_tea] Re: Simple CT maker

From: Ted Patterson <patters_at_erols.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2003 09:00:40 -0400

At 9:21 AM -0800 4/26/03, Jeff Lowenfels wrote to the compost_tea list:
>>>Jason asked about the five gallon bubbler bucket that was featured in
>>>an old magazine article when CT was just starting....I think the
>>>machine is no longer state of the art homemade..... you are right,
>>>constructive.....I think the machine has too little oxygen. Use a much
>>>bigger pump. And, the air stones make too small bubbles. Switch to 1/4
>>>inch soaker hose which you should be able to get wherever they sell drip
>>>irrigation. A two foot span coiled and duct taped to the bottom of the
>>>bucket puts out bigger and more bubbles. Cheers, Jeff L<<<

Jeff,
Last summer, on a worm forum, there were several discussion threads that
centered around optimum containers and bubblers for small home worm compost
tea brewers. Much discussion around surface area and bubble size.

A couple of the wormtalk correspondents reminded us of the oxygenation
efficiency of fine bubbles because of increased surface area. I got sent
off to look at the tech talk pages of my Aquatic Ecosystems catalog, and
indeed on page 33 they had a short course in fine bubbles.

A second thing that happened to me: Like most Americans, assuming I needed
a BIGGER pump for my home brewer, I spent considerable time poring over my
catalog and choosing one. When I called the Aquatic Ecosystems folks to
order, I ended up talking to one of their tech reps and wastewater aeration
expert. After I described my 8-gallon bucket setup, he basically said
there was no reason for me to step up from my aquarium pump. --Unless it
seemed I wanted to create compost froth, rather than compost tea. [Worm
tea latte, anyone?]
An unusual way to do business, and I hope that he wasn't fired for
declining my hundred dollars. But I also found it encouraging that he
seemed to feel I could get decent aeration from my aquarium pump and fine
bubble diffusers.

I'm not interested in recreating the worm forum debate here, but I'd like
to double check on what the current thinking is.
As long as it remains on the Taunton website, Elaine's Fine Gardening
article remains a ready reference for beginners on setting up a backyard
compost tea brewer. I'm just wondering if anyone could be more specific on
the deficiencies in the aquarium pump setup that is sketched out in
Elaine's early article.

For what it's worth, I had moved away from airstones to fine bubble
diffusers. I think Jeff is suggesting diffuser _hose_.
Does anyone have a site reference on state-of-the-art homemade brewer
design and how to put it together in a 5 gallon bucket?

By the way, here are some citations to the worm forum threads on buckets
and bubbles:
http://www.wormdigest.org/forum/index.cgi?read=19997
http://www.wormdigest.org/forum/index.cgi?read=19941
You can find several others with their search function.
Thanks for your info.
-Ted



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Get A Free Psychic Reading! Your Online Answer To Life's Important Questions.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/O10svD/Me7FAA/AG3JAA/0PSxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
compost_tea-unsubscribe_at_yahoogroups.com

 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/




Received on Mon Apr 28 2003 - 12:27:32 EDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Tue Feb 07 2012 - 14:29:10 EST