Composting is easy and fun. Kitchen scraps, leaves and lawn clippings are allowed to decompose naturally and they become a healthy, nutrient-rich and beneficial soil for the garden.
In this instructable, I will show how I made a spinning double drum composter to make soil for my garden.
In this instructable, I will show how I made a spinning double drum composter to make soil for my garden.
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Signing UpStep 1: Making the frame
I decided against documenting every step with building the frame, mainly because it's a simple enough design.
The frame consists of 3 pressure treated 4x4's and 1 pressure treated 1x4, all eight feet long. One 4x4 was cut exactly in half and the 1x4 was cut into quarters - they were to become the 2 beams and 4 stakes.
I drilled pilot holes through the posts and into the beam and held them together with galvanized lag bolts. Each of the corners where the beam meets the post got corner braces and the top got flat braces. The braces are meant for extra support, since the barrels may become heavy. The space between the top beam and bottom beam was 3 feet.
I used a 2 inch hole saw to cut holes into sides of the posts so they can hold the poles later on.
Then, I used some exterior screws to fasten the stakes to the bottom of the posts. The entire frame gets cemented into the ground later and the 4 stakes offer additional support to the frame.
At the bottom of the posts and stakes, I drilled some screws partially into the wood to hold them into the cement better.
The frame consists of 3 pressure treated 4x4's and 1 pressure treated 1x4, all eight feet long. One 4x4 was cut exactly in half and the 1x4 was cut into quarters - they were to become the 2 beams and 4 stakes.
I drilled pilot holes through the posts and into the beam and held them together with galvanized lag bolts. Each of the corners where the beam meets the post got corner braces and the top got flat braces. The braces are meant for extra support, since the barrels may become heavy. The space between the top beam and bottom beam was 3 feet.
I used a 2 inch hole saw to cut holes into sides of the posts so they can hold the poles later on.
Then, I used some exterior screws to fasten the stakes to the bottom of the posts. The entire frame gets cemented into the ground later and the 4 stakes offer additional support to the frame.
At the bottom of the posts and stakes, I drilled some screws partially into the wood to hold them into the cement better.
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When green waste burial in a pit in the ground decomposition is very fast and the result has always been good, but this is more work to turn a barrel. With this method I find it hard to find plant debris after a week.
With the rotating barrel took 15 days and I have only a mixture of herbs and plant something muddy, clarified that the mixture contains dried leaves, ground black oak, and ready-made compost.
The barrel has a strainer at the bottom to drain the leachate and in the lateral walls having holes for ventilation.
I think I did my best to build my barrel, I am satisfied with its mechanical operation. Only one thing I do not like is that the tube that operates as an axis, is tangled grass and some like banana peels. If I had to build it again would prevent him having an axis atravezara surely try a bearing mechanism that would stick in the side walls of the barrel.
If anyone interested can share their experience with a barrel swivel I appreciate it, just as I can share all the details of my case.
P.S. If my English seems strange, just tell them you do not master the language, but I do my best. My email is alftalavera@yahoo.com.mx
Half of them clog anyway.
Did you make compost in your system using only Grass Clippings and Shredded Leaves?
In how many days the compost is ready for using?
Francisco Bolivar
franciscobolivar@globo.com
if so. would it help adding a support plate inside and out (say 6-8 inches square) so that the axle passes through ... plate | barrel wall | plate .. to help redistribute the load?
55 gallon drums are really strong.
If you're really concerned with your barrels becoming too heavy and failing, you could always add some kind of plate as re-inforcement. If you have an extra drum, I bet you could cut out plastic reinforcement plates, or wood, metal, pvc... It's certainly not going to hurt the design.
Good luck!
I started with lots of air holes, which proved to be too many for our desert climate, so I filled most of them. The down side to that was that during our very wet winter (unusual) the compost batches got too wet and stopped cooking for a while. Now that it's dried out somewhat, everything seems to be working well again.
Sorry I don't have more. I didn't take photos as I went along, so in order to do a Instructable correctly, I'd have to build another one. That isn't feasible at the moment.
On the spinning issues, I've found that making sure all barrels are full, at some stage of compost, really helps when turning the whole thing.
About a 10 to 1 ratio maybe?
I got one of those second hand for $10. Was 1/2hp.
I have discovered that iPodGuy's original design for the doors is better than what I did. The plastic doors, at least one of mine, has warped a bit and I'll have to reposition one of the locks in order to get it to seal better. Not a big deal...
Maybe add slide screen locks at a couple of other points to spread the load to stop materials pressing outward too hard? What do you think?
Sorry its like a whole barrage of question :) great job!
It does get heavy, but the thick plastic on the industrial grade barrels does not rip or break. It will hold as long as you use strong pipe.
I would say that you would most likely need humongous fins to generate the centrifugal force needed to spin the heavy barrels.
I guess you could use a smaller turbine and a set of gears to try and rotate the barrels. I'm sure somebody could figure that out, unfortunately that somebody isn't me.
They did it but it's VERY SLOW!