The Compost Tumbler thread

[JackTheGrower]

So who among ya has a tumbler?

I have for a couple of years now.


I find it a very handy to make batches of premium top dressing.


I bought one http:
//www.outdoordecor.com/product_detail.asp?item=VCM10003&?ESRC=GOOGLEBASE%20zmam=24881136%20zmas=1%20zmac=2%20zmap=V%20CM%2010003

I like it. It's well made and I feel it will last years.

 

[jaykush]

i got one, someone gave it to me. and built my own. i still prefer piles though, with the quick return compost activator i get tons of top quality compost in no time. the tumbler is good though except for the fact they cost an arm and a leg when compost is supposed to be cheap and easy.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Yeah an arm and a leg but they are nice to look at and you can use them on a small porch of an apartment if that's all you have.

I think the "supposed to be cheep" is relative to the usefulness and the life of the tumbler don't you agree Jay?

The easy part is obvious.

So Jay do you have any recipes for your tumbler?

Jack

 

[JackTheGrower]

MY Pride and Joy for easy compost and top dressing.

MY Pride and Joy for easy compost and top dressing.

Hey if you have a tumbler bought or home made feel free to share your story.

Compost tumblers bought or home made are convenient and easy solution to a need for a personal supply of high grade soil amendment.

On that note I have some photos to share.



Empty tumbler



A fine myst type water tool called Fog-it nozzle


The roller bottom makes it easy to turn the tumbler and also collects liquid

 

[justanotherbozo]

how about something like this? i think they run around $300.00USD

NatureMill

 

[JackTheGrower]

Hey justanotherbozo, Nice Avi..


Do you own one of those?

 

[justanotherbozo]

Hey justanotherbozo, Nice Avi..


Do you own one of those?

lol, not yet. still savin' my pennies. i thought it looked interesting.

if i owned my house i'd get one of these too.

PacWind

 

[JackTheGrower]

Several of the then friends and I talked about this when it first came out or maybe it was when someone first posted about it on another website, that seems to have really small chairs these days and, most of us were put off on the heated process that allows meat and such.

I'm not sure oils and fat are good things for a soil amendment in this case.

I don't know. I have to learn more.

My own opinion is, it seems less useful and way more yuppie then is my style.
Since I don't know much at all about it I have to emphasize that it's an opinion and not experience with.

Does anyone have experience with this machine?

 

[jaykush]

300$ wow. i built mine for under 50. but really i dont use it that much and prefer piles with the quick return compost activator. i get compost just as fast, better product and a lot more of it.

as for the tumblers and recipes, just the same as normal compost, i add lots of nettles to the tumbler to get it heated up fast!

 

[JackTheGrower]

Jay,

That's a machine ment to fit in a cabinet or simular in the kitchen.

Itnteresting and if I was yuppie rich maybe I'd get one but it allows meat scraps.
I'd be tempted to just dump all the leftovers into it.

Anyway it's a fringe device imo.


Nettles? do you grow your own Jay or do you order them from some place?

 

[jaykush]

i grow almost all my own ferts now. as far as i know, no one sells them. except seeds.

im not bashing on tumblers or anything, just the insane prices they go for. tumblers work awesome.

meat scraps? thats a bit sketchy. the compost would be much better off without them.

 

[JackTheGrower]

i grow almost all my own ferts now. as far as i know, no one sells them. except seeds.

I'm not bashing on tumblers or anything, just the insane prices they go for. tumblers work awesome.

Meat scraps? That's a bit sketchy. The compost would be much better off without them.

Bashing tumblers? You have a cost issue LOL <---

I thought the price was high what with shipping and all; however, after I have owned it and used it I feel comfortable enough to recommend compost tumblers of some type.
I like the quality of mine. It looks good.

Jay , you have a home made one and a store bought one. Do you have any photos?

Perhaps we can cobble together some how-to on making one on the cheep.

About that unit: Yeah that unit is interesting so I hope we run into some poster who has one or has seen one working.
I would be very shy to buy one without some sort of reports on it.


Jack

 

[jaykush]

i do have a cost issue lol. blame the ofc and mother nature for that.

but yea tumblers are good for some people. people who are disabled and cant turn piles. it makes the job easier.

the homemade one is at my old house, and the commercial tumbler is here. i can take a pic of it later if you want. i dont think i will build a new homemade tumbler for here, as it works good but i like piles better. lots of compost in the return.

for people who are not disabled, i recommend a proper compost pile. and for those who are, a worm bin. tumbler would be last on my list personally, but they do work. i dont know about that electric one, the fact they say add meat makes me think about how they run their business. as i seen it on a tv show once, the lady said she added all the left overs from her meals ( including meat) and it stunk up her whole house. the size seems a bit small as well.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Sure share your photos.

I'm curious about the "Home Made" you mentioned

Might I point out that the Ladies will find the "ick" factor nicer to deal with when using a tumbler.

They also can "turn" the pile easy with a tumbler.

No need to shovel the compost to turn it.


True that those with physical limitations will find tumblers "The Cat's Meow"
Be it disability or simple aging.

So yeah Jay lets see your rigs.

I'll wait for you before I post more photos on my efforts and results using a tumbler but, not too long.

Jack

 

[Lollypop Man]

Might I point out that the Ladies will find the "ick" factor nicer to deal with when using a tumbler.

I'm surprised it took this long for the thread to arrive here

I bought one of these tumblers from Lee Valley this year. I can say pretty damn confidently that I would not be composting if it weren't for this device. So yes it cost ~$180 but I can justify that.

Couple notes on these:

1. Careful with the tea collector (aka the base of the unit). If you leave the drain closed in order to collect the tea, make sure you actually use it! Once it fills up it actually backs up into the tumbler itself, stopping it from draining properly.

2. If you hope to get the pile up to temp in cooler temperatures you better be careful about the mix you put into it. Because the pile is sitting in an uninsulated container, up in the air, it dissipates heat quickly in cold climates. Between now and April mine will barely even feel warm.

3. One of the neat things about these is that when it's time to incorporate the compost into your garden, you just roll it off the base and out into your yard. If you don't own a wheelbarrow this is sure handy!

 

[JackTheGrower]

Hey Lollypop Man.

Thanks for joining in.

I'm surprised it took this long for the thread to arrive here

I bought one of these tumblers from Lee Valley this year. I can say pretty damn confidently that I would not be composting if it weren't for this device. So yes it cost ~$180 but I can justify that.

Me too..I can't have a pile or piles where I'm living. The tumbler doesn't even raise an eyebrow.

Couple notes on these:

1. Careful with the tea collector (aka the base of the unit). If you leave the drain closed in order to collect the tea, make sure you actually use it! Once it fills up it actually backs up into the tumbler itself, stopping it from draining properly.

Mine too. Also I noticed the cap didn't get tight enough so it dripped a bit.
I have to check if it needs a washer.

I used my tea on a tree and the tree got bushier.

2. If you hope to get the pile up to temp in cooler temperatures you better be careful about the mix you put into it. Because the pile is sitting in an uninsulated container, up in the air, it dissipates heat quickly in cold climates. Between now and April mine will barely even feel warm.

I have discovered that we don't have to keep it hot. It will continue as a cold pile.
http://www.backhus.com/index.php?id=30&L=1&type=0&uid=170&cHash=0fbd1bbcc0

Actually it's been a warm pile this year.. Hot at times and mostly cold.

The great thing I find is I can add food trim and yard greens as I get them and they seem to get "processed" ad hock

I'm not trying to one up ya LollyPop Man just sharing.

3. One of the neat things about these is that when it's time to incorporate the compost into your garden, you just roll it off the base and out into your yard. If you don't own a wheelbarrow this is sure handy!

Good one! I hadn't thought to roll it around.


Do you have a recipe?


Jack

 

[Lollypop Man]

Hey Lollypop Man.

Thanks for joining in.

No problem, glad to see this thread isn't dead quite yet!

On the heat (or lack of it, esp. in fall/winter) - mine kept on chugging away over the winter last year but things really seemed to slow down to a crawl and the compost wasn't really usable until late Feb if I recall correctly. My main concern here with it not getting warm/hot is that it's not killing the various seeds/spores etc from yard waste. My composter takes kitchen scraps and yard waste throughout the year and especially in the fall a lot of stuff winds up in there that I don't want to see again.

As for recipes, I'm afraid it's pretty unscientific. I try to keep to the right ratio of green/brown but I'm not a coffee drinker and I'm too lazy to rip newspaper into strips all the time so getting enough carbon into the mix can be tough. I do use an OMRI listed accelerator and I throw as many worms as I can find in there. Give it a spin every few days.

Here's a question for anyone who might know - is it better to leave these tumblers out, exposed to rain/snow, or keep them under cover and dry?

Oh and a comment for those of you reading this thread wondering if it's worth investing in but are afraid of the smell - as long as you don't screw up the mix of stuff in there you shouldn't have to worry about smell. The only time I ever went "whoa" was after I dumped an entire Costco fruit platter into it AFTER it had fermented for a few days in the garage. Shit was smelling pretty nasty within 10 feet of the composter for a good 2 weeks.

 

[JackTheGrower]

i was tossing in peaches that fell his year as well. All good.

I see I can upload pictures today so I need to get it together and do a bit of thread building.

I was thinking of summarizing the points we have made from our posts so far. Anyone object?


Jack

 

[JackTheGrower]

summarizing the points so far.

summarizing the points so far.

summarizing the points.

The first major point was the cost of buying a compost tumbler.

While spending for a ready built unit can cost between $150 and $300, generally it provides a unit that has positive qualities such as long life , good looks, and ease of use.

A few commercial units I researched are below.










I wasn't able to provide photos of any homemade tumblers. I welcome any homemade photos.
I would assume any plastic barrel such as used plastic 55 gallon food grade drums would make a great start. Obviously a good choice for the handy hand type.

No mater if you buy one or make one we will be working with two types of composting at any given time.


from Wikipedia

"There are two major approaches to composting: active and passive. These terms are somewhat of a misnomer since both active and passive composts can attain high heating, which increases the rate of biochemical processes. But the terms active and passive are appropriate descriptions for the nature of human intervention used."

1. ) Hot composting or "Active" Again from Wikipedia:
"Active
An active compost heap, steaming on a cold winter morning. The heap is kept warm by the exothermic action of the bacteria as they decompose the organic matter.

Active (hot) composting is composting at close to ideal conditions, allowing aerobic bacteria to thrive. Aerobic bacteria break down material faster and produce less odor and fewer pathogens and destructive greenhouse gases than anaerobic bacteria."


2. ) Cold or Passive composting Again from Wikipedia :
"Passive

Passive composting is composting in which the level of physical intervention is kept to a minimum, and often as a result the temperatures never reach much above 30°C (86 °F). It is slower but is the more common type of composting in most domestic garden compost bins. "

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting

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In our tumblers we can manage both types and indeed we will experience both.

In a tumbler such as the one I use; I have "fired up" the materials by providing a rich mixture of carbons and proteins or greens and browns
http://www.compostinfo.com/tutorial/GreensAndBrowns.htm

This is Hot or Active composting where the microbiological activity surges because the conditions support huge populations of microorganisms.

This method turns the bulk of material in our tumblers in to compost faster and also requires daily attention and turning.

I'm delaying posting recipes as I hope to get member input


----------------------


Passive or cold composting

From wikipedia

"Passive

Passive composting is composting in which the level of physical intervention is kept to a minimum, and often as a result the temperatures never reach much above 30°C (86 °F). It is slower but is the more common type of composting in most domestic garden compost bins. Such composting systems may be either enclosed (home container composting, industrial in-vessel composting) or in exposed piles (industrial windrow composting). Kitchen scraps are put in the garden compost bin and left untended."


------------------

In a pure form this means as we get materials and kitchen scraps or garden waste we add it to our tumbler ad hock .
We let nature do it's thing over a longer time period.


What is true is that with a tumbler we will work with both hot and cold conditions.

With my latest batch I started off with a mix of materials that included everything I had leftover and wanted to use up.
Materials like feline pine cat litter, coffee grounds with the papers, kelp meal, black strap molasses, azomite, liquid kelp and possibly more things.
To that I added yard trimmings and oak leaves I gathered on a camping trip.

I added a handful of soil from a healthy looking spot in the yard and after a few days the compost thermometer reported activity.

After a time temperature dropped and I continued to add coffee grounds and kitchen scraps. At timed I pulled weeds and added peaches that had fallen. At one point I stripped mulberry leaves off sucker branches trimmed from my trees and added it to the tumbler.

While not hot anymore the material gets "processed" proving the cold pile method to me.








Above is the state of my compost today. I expect that I will add new materials and "fire" it up once more before use.


I hope this post brings us up to date on our posts so far.

Jack

 

[Smurf]

I made mine with a 44 gal drum (had food grade cooking oil in it from a bakery) , set the height for my wheelbarrow to fit under it, welded the stand, fabricated a door with hinges and lock,, then an agitator for inside the drum. It cost next to nothing to knock up, only had to buy some rollers,, I already had the scrap tubing.

But after all that I hardly use it, I enjoy my piles too much.