Double-Decker Drum Composter

Step 8 Using the composter

Making compost in the barrels is easy. Simply throw all kitchen scraps, lawn clippings, leaves and other organic matter into it and it will decompose naturally and make healthy soil.

Once one barrel is full, the next one can be started on. Rotate the barrels every so often to mix and aerate the compost.

***Take care not to put things like meat and animal feces into the the compost - only vegetables and plants. However, one exception to this would be eggshells. If unsure, do an internet search on composting to find lists of acceptable materials.***

Comments

[crochetinggeek]

I love this design!!! - now if I just had time to figure out how to incorporate the "self turning mechanism" in this instructable: <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Wind-powered-Composter/">http://www.instructables.com/id/Wind-powered-Composter/</a> I'd be one happy camper - well, gardener, as the case may be.<br/>1 - darker colours are better, as the heat helps speed up the decomposition process, and makes a "better" compost, in much less time than it would take for a "traditional" compost pile...<br/>2 - do you have any problems with getting materials to move inside the drum? I have approx 2000 sq feet of grass to mow, and my compost (a cubic yard-sized box) gets filled pretty quickly, I am trying to figure out how to put vanes on the inside of it, to help move materials...<br/>3 - do you have "problems" with greenery growing around your composters? with all the holes you have in it, I would think there is a significant volume of "tea" being produced, and since it's not being collected, I was wondering...<br/>overall - a great design, now I just need to make time to build it..<br/>Thanks so much for sharing<br/>

[bassmasta1010]

3) just gravel under the composter and that would stop most plants/weeds from growing. All you need to "self-power" the composter is a few sprockets, some chain, and a motor something like a drill maybe, or a ceiling fan motor.....

[iPodGuy]

1- I agree. I painted the barrels flat black after I published the instructions. 2- No. A couple of good spins and I'm good to go. Hammer some aluminum spikes into the barrel to help mix your grass. 3- No probs. I mulched around the base and I've maybe pulled one or two weeds since. Thanks for the compliments.

[gaiatechnician]

I made a 2 storey compost bin (non spinning) and I found it to be pretty quick. I always add my fresh material to the top bin. I sometimes stand up on lid of the bottom bin and turn the top bin (but not very often). Usually it is enough turning when i just fork it down into the bottom bin. Could this composter be used in the same way? Always add fresh to the top bin and always take finished from the bottom bin? Half finished stuff from the top can be moved down once in a while? Works for me anyway. I think that would work better than treating them as independent bins. Brian

[iPodGuy]

Could it be used in the same way as yours? Yes and no. You could switch material between barrels as much as you want, but I wouldn't dare standing on it like you do with yours (spinning barrel and all). I switch stuff sometimes, too.

[gaiatechnician]

OK. It is easy standing on my bottom bin compared to standing on a spinning bin! The other thing, I watched a composting viideo a couple of days ago and it compared about 10 types. The ones that did best were black! Even when it showed slightly different composters, always the black ones won! I think you should paint your bins black to keep the compost hotter. And maybe someone will go one better and put bubblerap all round their compost bins! Brian

[tacamaral]

I'm not sure, but I guess it would depend on the weather where you live, wouldn't it? I mean, I live in Southeast Brazil, and it's hot most of the time. If I painted the drums black, wouldn't the compost be REALLY hot? : )

[iPodGuy]

That's a good point to consider.

[iPodGuy]

I agree. I painted mine black last year with that Krylon Fusion paint. Good stuff and I can tell the temperature difference. Can you link me to that video you mentioned?

[gaiatechnician]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXaOyYT0ORA is part 2 and it is in 3 or 4 parts.

[RaisedByRobots]

How do you know when it's "done" though? How long does it take you to fill it up? Do you ever fill it up before it's "done"? Being a city dweller, I've never encountered composting.

[peanutbutterancheese]

for fastest composting, rotate the barrel once a week, keep the contents damp but not wet, and throw some worms in, but even if you skip the worms and rotation, 3 to 4 weeks. I've heard as little as 10 days is possible, but that's by people who tune their composting like mad scientists. also, what he said (the author).

[phillij]

Won't the heat from the compost kill the worms? I hear that it can reache 140 plus degrees.

[peanutbutterancheese]

that's a good point, it probably could. I've got pretty much daily heavy rains where I live, but in any drier place, that could be a problem. I'd experiment, if the worms die you're only out the price of the worms, since the whole system will still compost, just a bit slower.

[iPodGuy]

Red wigglers (the type of worm typically associated with vermicomposting/worm composting) can be considered as an invasive species in areas that they are not native to. Take care not to release them or allow them to escape in an area where they do not naturally occur. They compete (and usually win) with the native earthworm/nightcrawler populations present already in the soil.

[peanutbutterancheese]

good point. keep in mind everyone, you're bound to have a few earthworms in your yard already, and if you can find 5 or 6, toss them in, and they'll happily turn your compost bin into a healthy booming earthworm colony. That's how my mom does it every time she starts a compost heap at a new house, and it's always had excellent results.

[iPodGuy]

It's done when it looks like dirt. Filling up the barrels (for me at least) is an ongoing thing. Every few days, I empty all of our kitchen scraps in. So, the stuff in the picture is most certainly composted by now, while the cucumber I threw in yesterday needs a little more time. Filling up the barrels takes a long time for me. Just kitchen scraps and handfuls of leaves go in. A larger family might fill it a little faster. No, I have never filled it up before it's done. But, I have taken finished compost from a barrel before everything is finished breaking down. I used a sieve to separate the dirt from the scraps.

[scienceguy8]

Just to clarify for those who are curious, you can put scrap meat in a composter. It will decompose just fine, but the smell will (a) be unbearable and (b) attract every domesticated and wild meat-eating animal for miles. Just don't do it. It's all fun and games until someone gets rabies.