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| I am new to composting and decided that since there are so many different opinions and recommendations for composting that I would do a test to compare composting with a tumbler vs. composting in a pile. Both have the same ingredients: 3-parts browns (mostly straw hay, dead leaves, and some peat moss) to 1-part greens (mostly fresh lawn trimmings, fresh leaves and kitchen scraps) One week into my experiment, and the pile is clearly in the lead. Pile temp was around 145 degrees and steaming up a storm when turned this weekend. Tumbler is still kinda cold...not really heating up.
Any thoughts folks? Don |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| What kind of volume are we talking? Lloyd |
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| The tumbler is a 50 gallon drum. The pile is a 3 x 3 x 3 square pile. The pile obviously has more total volume than the tumbler. The pile also is arranged in a more layered fashion, whereas the tumbler has the ingredients all mixed together. I've noticed that the temperature is higher where there is more green material breaking down than in spots more concentrated with browns. Don |
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- Posted by eaglesgarden 6b - se PA (My Page) on Mon, Nov 8, 10 at 20:28
| The biggest differences I see are volume and air flow. |
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| Apples and oranges. Lloyd |
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| Hey Lloyd, Care to elaborate？ |
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| Twenty seven cubic feet compared to less than seven cubic feet. Lloyd |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Mon, Nov 8, 10 at 22:36
| The difference between Twenty seven cubic feet compared to less than seven cubic feet. would be the same heat ratio difference if we made a 1 cubic foot pile...... it would be way colder than the 7 cubic foot pile which is way colder than the twenty seven cubic foot pile There has to be some "minimum" size of a pile that would bring the desired results....
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- Posted by nutsaboutflowers 2b/3a (My Page) on Mon, Nov 8, 10 at 22:58
| Hey, where've you been Jon? Do you have anything new on Youtube lately? |
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| I used a tumbler for several years before switching to mesh bins. The mesh are cheaper, bigger, stand out less in the yard, and easier to work. Using smelly materials like fish and fruit and veggie wastes are less problematic with the mesh bins. It took three tries with the tumbler to get the heat up to 160F. Everything had to be just right, the C:N mix, and the particle size very small. The center bar rusted thru after four years, so I gave the tumbler away. It was not being used at that point.
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Tue, Nov 9, 10 at 12:51
| Howdy, I've been lurkin' ,but only respond when I have something pertinent to add....hence, lurkin' ;-) |
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| Jon I love your steamy compost. ;) Ya stuff heats up in my worm bins but not like my big pile. I have no need for a tumbler right now. Curt |
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| Wow Jon... Dem's some serious compost heaps. But isn't using a backhoe kinda cheating? LOL. Those are great pix. But getting back to the tumbler question, if density is strong contributing issue for breakdown, is there anything I can do to facilitate the tumbler process. Basically, I'm thinking that I'll probably reserve the tumbler for summer composting when there is more heat and fewer browns around...As I live in Los Angeles, I have limited space for piles, so my current pile is where my veg garden will go come springtime. At that point I'll use the compost I have and then just use the tumbler for the suplemental amounts I'll be creating during the summer. Don |
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Tue, Nov 9, 10 at 16:22
| Yes, Totally Cheating.... but I wouldn't have it any other way ;-) Bins/Tumblers etc etc will all work and they do have their place in the composters world... Have you ever seen Lloyds tumblers ....... I started with these funky barrels and then went to wire pens,then to my current bins.
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| OK...Tumbler still not heating up. We know the pile is working...all steamy and blacky/moldy on the inside. But tumbler is not really doing anything. Moisture level is good. Balance of browns and greens seems pretty good. Plenty of air. But no heat...and no blacky/moldy/break-downy action happening. Any thoughts folks? Don |
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- Posted by thecompostnerd (My Page) on Thu, Nov 11, 10 at 23:25
| While I love using a tumbler, I'm not surprised that you're not seeing the heat that may have been expected. The biggest temperature spike I've had in a tumbler involved adding a 5 gallon bucket of juicer waste. Anyway, as others have stated above, the difference in volume is the major factor here. |
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| Any thoughts folks? Sure, either your C/N ratio is off, your moisture is off, your aeration is inadequate or your volume is in sufficient. If there isn't sufficient nitrogen to break down the carbon, add more nitrogen. Moisture can be tough. As wet as a wrung out sponge is the best description that I've heard. If everything else is optimum, then aeration may be an issue. If spinning the drum (I assume) isn't enough, then you may have to physically get in there and mix it up. |
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| Can heat up to 155-160ish. Difference? Volume. Lloyd |
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