Greetings From Vermont

[davidbooth65]

Hello and thanks to all for making these forums so fascinating and informative. I have very little formal science background, but being a lifelong gardener, and now market gardener/farmer, my interest in science has steadily grown. I have been making charcoal this winter (removing chunks of hot coals and cooling in water). Mostly for the garden, but some for the grill. It's a bit messy, but so was the divorce, and I figure that I may as well play amateur scientist in the living room while I can. I am scaling up soon, and hope to have at least a few more 50lb. grain bags full for the spring. Since I am doing this in a very hot woodstove, the gases released are combusted, and I do not waste energy simply to produce charcoal.

I am also interested in reducing my fuel/electric usage as much as possible. A hay bale insulated fridge (just off from the kitchen, on a screen porch) is in the works right now. With luck I'll set enough ice aside to make it last until next winter, enabling me to get rid of the wretched electric beast. Paying for cold in Vermont seems so silly. We'll see how it goes. The ingredients for a compost heated hot water are ready to be mixed; I just need a little time and plumbing advice. I've been pretty consistently getting my piles up to 165 degrees F, so I think that I can make this work pretty easily...

Lots of other interests; many that I count myself as a rank amateur, and a few in which I hope that I may contribute to the knowlege pool. Looking forward to learning with, and from you all.

 

Sincerely,

 

David B.

[belovelife]

compost heated hot water

 

wow thats an awsome idea

[TIC]

I am also interested in reducing my fuel/electric usage as much as possible. A hay bale insulated fridge (just off from the kitchen, on a screen porch) is in the works right now. With luck I'll set enough ice aside to make it last until next winter, enabling me to get rid of the wretched electric beast. Paying for cold in Vermont seems so silly. We'll see how it goes. The ingredients for a compost heated hot water are ready to be mixed;

 

It ain't easy being GREEN! Good on ya!

 

So, how much compost can you keep working and suck heat from 360 days a year, year in and year out? What's the source?

[davidbooth65]

Thank you everyone. To answer the question regarding how much compost can I keep hot 365 days/year while extracting heat from it, the answer is I do not yet know. I do know that I need to make compost anyway for the farm. I do know that I can purchase unlimited amounts of horse manure mixed with a lot of sawdust. It is absolutely perfect as it does not compact as easily as hay and manure. It comes already preheated in the truck, with just about the perfect moisure content. It also contains a lot of carbon, thus allowing me to control the temperature and duration of the process with the addition of nitrogen (think free, natural and steady supply) at regular intervals. I get it 30 yds. at a time; it is basically free for the trucking, and believe me, the trucking is well worth paying for... We are talking about sixty, one thousand pound pickup truck loads, and that is delivered in one load here for about $175. Those are some pretty cheap btu's if my math is even close to being correct. Of course, the devil is in the efficient extraction.

I am pretty sure that this kind of quantity is going to give me many btu's to spare. In fact, I may be having compost heated hot tub parties here pretty soon... I do have an old hot tub that could be moved to the farm, so this may soon become a reality. I'll announce the time and date of the inaugural soak should it come to be, and should any curious forum members live nearby.

 

David