Re: [compost_tea] Re: Air Needed for 55 home made Brewer

From: Robert Norsen <bnbrew_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2003 21:52:52 -0800 (PST)

See below, spigold ( is that your name? - if So, Hi ! ))

spigold <spigold_at_yahoo.com> wrote:
Robert could you please be more specific about the introduction of
air? Yes, I spent a few years designing and testing a system that does 50 to 250 g a time. Recently we achieved SFI test 97815, AB 65, TB 11008, AF 19.7, TF 102, HD 3.5 The brewer costs retail less than what you will spend building your own. What about recirculating the tea and having it splash over
something (screen) before it reenters the container? I would like to
use a sump pump for pumping the tea to the field and would like it to
serve as the aerator also, any ideas? Your sump pump will work OK as a one time device to deliver the ACT. If you use it to circulate and aerate your ACT the microbes going thru the pump repeatedly will be (1) discouraged from propagating. (2) be killed in large numbers by the violence of the pump. (3) the noise of the pump will drive you nuts. (4 ) the cost of electric power is about 7 times what it needs to be. Air is what aeration is about. use air. Air will circulate the water faster than your sump pump but Oh so gently. You need to circulate ALL the water to escape stagnant areas such as on the bottom. Do lots of arms deep in the tank to learn what your air is doing. Try an an all glass tank or a tank with a glass window. Use a light and under water viewing box ( glass bottom boat ). Add some particulates to watch the action. Test the actual cfmproduction from your air pump. Test at the depth of the air release.

THEN test to find the shape of whatever you use as a compost holder. How well does your air also extract the microbes from the compost? Is the action quite strong but not violent? Will the microbes escape easily into the container? Will the system retain the compost, only allow particles that carry the fungi escape in small enough size to go thru your application system? Do a few thousand $ in tests to assure that these estimates are right.

Make sure your selections are of such character and quality that your system will produce for several years without being a maintenance or cleaning problem. Try to make it so easy to use and clean that you will not become agrivated by it. Be sure it is quiet because ou will sleep by it many nights. Let me know how you make out. It can be fun. It is a thrill to achieve all that - and more. Bob

Spigold


--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, Robert Norsen <bnbrew_at_y...> wrote:
> From 1.7 to 3.4 cfm depending on the compost nutrient load you
carry. How and were you add the air makes a critical diference. Bob
>
> hissong70 <secira1_at_f...> wrote:I am looking at making an inexpesive
tea brewer out of a 55 gal
> plastic drum and I need to figure out how much air is needed to
keep
> the brew aerobic. I am looking at using an aquriam pump, but I am
not
> sure what size is needed. The drum is 34 inches in height and 24
> inches in diameter. All help is greatly appreciated.
>
> Eric
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> compost_tea-unsubscribe_at_yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT

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



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.





Received on Sun Dec 07 2003 - 01:33:59 EST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Tue Feb 07 2012 - 14:14:55 EST