Post your DIY Aerated Compost Tea Brewer (proprietary brewers will be tolerated)

[Trichgnomes]

Jay, that brewer looks awesome!

Edit: I scrolled down and saw this picture which was way cooler.

 

[Zendo]

Yes! My experience at Home Depot was absolutely lovely. An associate basically built the whole thing for me!

Trich- would you mind showing a pic of how you have the air hose connected with the top of the pvc pipe?

It is really cool seeing a real world picture of the instructions on MM's page, thanks!

I was having a hard time picturing it..

 

[Trichgnomes]

Trich- would you mind showing a pic of how you have the air hose connected with the top of the pvc pipe?

No Problem, Zendo.
This was a part I thought might be confusing, hence quoting MM in my initial post,

First of all, for your air input you need to match air tubing with your air pump and get a threaded barbed fitting that the tubing fits over and a slip X female threaded coupling to go over your long straight piece of PVC pipe which goes down and joins to your whateveragon. This, you may need to glue.

Luckily, I did not need to use any glue.

 

[Zendo]

Nice!! Thanks!

BTW- a few weeks ago I read your signature. It was so vivid and intriguing that I ended up reading some of Stamets book on amazon, and I now have the book on order..Can't wait to get it.

That book and teaming with microbes will arrive at the same time..That'll be a tough pick!!

 

[Microbeman]

this is the design i was planning on making up. i have almost everything laying around except that damn 5 piece.

http://www.subtleenergies.com/ormus/tw/turbo-vortex.htm

i have another brewer im designing myself that is like no other but i am having a real hard time sourcing the right parts.

Yeah that is the one I meant linked on my webpage.

5 way - pvc.com, US Plastics, Aquatic Eco

 

[jaykush]

have you built one? how did you like it if so?

 

[Microbeman]

Yes, I've built almost every style brewer there is. It works great, especially because it allows full mixture and no 'dead zones'. I don't really believe in the vortex changing water structure stuff. I would have made my microbulator more similar to this but I wanted something which could be shipped without a tank to make it affordable. I am mulling over an 80 gallon design but it will be fairly expensive due to the tank cost (& shipping).

 

[localhero]

Damn man that bubbler looks high tech. So here is my home made low tech dirty ass tea maker.

It"s a 17 gallon bucket I got off craigs list from some guy way out in the desert with hundreds of food grade barrels .I've made so much shit out of this guys barrels, from a home made soil mixer to cutting them in half and drilling holes to make cheap 20 gallon pots to general water holding. Neighbors probably think i run a home made pickling factory. I use the 17 gal barrel for 5 gallon teas, the extra space sometimes contains the froth, mostly not though as you can see from how nasty it is. I used to use the queen size pantyhose but found that the seabird guano never really fully dissolves. Solved that with using a pump filter bag. Made the spigot out of 3/4 pvc parts. The real trick is making the ghetto bulkhead. Hole saw + 3/4" ELECTRICAL pvc male and female connectors (the normal type pvc has tapering threads that dont allow for a water tight connection) + regular garden hose rubber gasket (outside only). The bubble action comes from a 70 liter per hour aquarium pump. The air hose connects to a ring made of the same tubing via a t connector. i then poked holes in the bottom of the ring and put in 1/4 inch irrigation through connectors, roughly 15. All the bubbles made the damn thing float up and not work well, so i cut a bunch of 3/4 pvc into short pieces and placed them between the air spigots . that added enough weight to keep the damn thing basically sunk. Hope this makes sense.

 

[DARC MIND]

wow hero, that thing looks like it will take a minute to clean
im going to make a votex one day but intill then i work with the 5 gal bucket and few small air pumps.

i just stir every day just incase of dead spots, but this works well for me.
i tend to use a 1 gal milk jug more often then the 5 gal bucket

 

[localhero]

Yeah you caught me right after I used it, which is all the time every day almost. The outside is really nasty though and I should clean it. The veg room in general is dirty I Just moved out a bunch of big plants and potted a bunch of clones. Mostly I leave the bucket dirty because I found it shortens the brew time by a day. My guess is that the microbes stay alive in the remnants as long as I flush the bottom to remove the possibility of ammonia build up in aenarobic bacteria when theres no air circulating. Sometimes I'll toss in a gallon of ro water and some mollases while running the air to keep the good stuff alive between teas. Bottom line, when I used to clean it every time with h202 and scrubby - the tea would take longer to brew. However now if it goes over 24 hours, the foam goes way down and the mix starts to smell like ammonia. Whatever I know theres alot more science to this and I should get a microscope. But for now if it smells nice and earthy and the foam has passed its highest mark and is on its way down, I go with it.

 

[Trichgnomes]

Bump!

Bump!

It's been a while since I've brewed a tea, but the warm weather has definitely sped up castings development. Just finishing up a 5 gallon batch. It is comprised of 3/4 vermicast from my bin and 1/4 local thermophilic compost. For food stock I used 5 ml of molasses, and miniscule amounts of fish hydrolysate and liquid kelp.

 

[localhero]

whats up hemp farmers,

just thought id share my super simple tea brewer.

the link is in my signature.

 

[AOD2012]

wow, you guys are all awsome. i dont have a brewer, still learning the ropes using earth juice nutes, but i hope one day i can make teas like you guys. sweet work!

 

[OrganicOzarks]

View Image[/url] Nutrient Dynamics 30G CALL TO ORDER *&^%$%#@!+*
Compost Tea Brewer
Wholesale Price $PAM

MADE IN USA
▪ Create Organic Compost Tea for all plants and landscaping needs.
▪ Home made compost teas fight and eliminate soil born pest.
▪ Unlike other bag methods we use a Nutrient Bobber so the flow is not disturbed resulting in faster & more through brewing.
▪ Capable & Complete nutrients brewer for Indoor & Outdoor Needs.
▪ Easy & Low Cost. Replace All High Cost Nutrients.
▪ Create Custom Teas for all plant types & stages of growth.
▪ A Complete customizable Compost Tea System
▪ Uses Hydrodynamics to create Natural Motion & Nutrient Dynamics.
▪ Slim tank design allows the unit to be placed in small areas.
▪ Solid & Sturdy metal frame + Wheels for Portability or floor mount.
▪ FDA Food Grade Plastic Tank with UV Inhibitors.
▪ Truck bed mountable for on the go work.
▪ Works as an Extractor, Nutrient Mixer, Organic Brewer.
▪ Superior Air Infusion & Dissolved Oxygen creates Active Life.
▪ Convenient, Easier and Clean to use.
▪ Dilute or full strength mix + More Capable Microbes = Great Yields.
▪ Allows for Perpetual Brewing ...Have Compost Tea on Demand.
▪ Super Quite operation & Sealed tank design for smell containment.
▪ 30, 60 gallon units available.

* Warning Similar 30g Brewing models
Sell online anywhere from $1800.00 to $2400.00
Not including Tax or Local CA delivery cost $400.00 Protect the Earth buy local & Save your money

Holy fuck is that thing over priced! You can build a 55 gallon brewer for about $200. Does it come in solid gold?

 

[BugJar]

wow 1000% markup

 

[CT Guy]

They probably should have read a bit more before posting that brewer ad up in here....especially considering who's already in and contributing to this forum. I think it's funny that in all the advertising by these brewer manufacturers, none of them emphasize any level of testing or data or research to support their product.

 

[OrganicOzarks]

Not many companies that manufacture brewers even own a microscope. I find that ironic.

 

[OrganicBuds]

That is the world we live in. Worst part is people buying the brewers don't care. So really it's on us as the consumers. Glad I ran across MM when I did, or I could be one of those suckers.

 

[Granger2]

Decided to go for quick easy clean up [and assembly]. Need to brew 10 gal at a time, maybe 12 once in awhile.
This w/lid:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=25521&catid=835&clickid=searchresults
Next time I would go with a cheaper locally available container.
This:
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-AAP...18&sr=8-2&keywords=active+aqua+air+commercial
And this:
http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Water-In...ll&keywords=micro-pore+air+diffuserl+boss+hog
Oh yeah, and this because I don't use a bag:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37443&catid=685

 

[Granger2]

bump