Please dont give up on this , its awesome …. Im thinking of heating inside my garage with water lines thru a register of some sort This kind of stuff is so much fun to puts on!
The water line method seems to be preferred for industrial scale compost heating. Make sure your pile is big...REALLY big. I used 3x3x3 ft piles for my greenhouse heating, and it simply wasn't big enough. The pile tends to cool after 2 weeks. A pile 2x that size would stay warm throughout the winter, I think.
And thank YOU for watching! This is my third season of heating my greenhouse with compost, and I'm feeling good about this design iteration. It's been fun.
Very helpful video. Thank you. A couple of my ideas would be to use a high output fan and also a conduit attached to the fan inserted into the middle of the compost pile with holes drilled in it. If you get enough airflow through the compost then you may not need to turn the compost pile.
Thanks for the kind words! I actually tried this a couple years ago (circulating air directly into the compost). I think is could definitely work, but you'd have to engineer a good solution. I actually dried my pile out by circulating air into the center of the pile, so you'd have to have a pretty tight seal around the pile to keep in the moisture. My dream is to have a "self-turning" compost pile. That would be cool. I'm in the process of setting up the greenhouse for winter action. First snow forecast for this Thursday (October 10, 2019)!
@@goldenages7089 I bought a small auger that you can run with a drill. (www.amazon.com/Garden-Auger-Drill-Spiral-Planter/dp/B07T7YP6V4) I'm hoping to use this to aerate the pile without turning it. We'll see how it goes!
@@thepackfiller-morganbrown9297 In my experiment the compost was in a rollie bin placed directly in my bathroom, à large plate hanged under the lid (ceramic would be the best becaus metal rusts !) was hung under the lit so water condensed and drip back to the compost more or less evenly. So there was no problem of drying. I pushed air true with the help of an aquarium pump from under and inside true drilled pipes. Behind the plate was a hole where a 1cm ~pipe was connected, wich one was going inside the bathroom chemney to outside. This automn i will find a way to push in more air than last year because it was not enough and the fermentation went partially anaerobic with only 35°C Inside for one month Im searching in parallel for more low tech aeration than electrical system; maybe a trompe/ejector system or thermosyphon. I will also put a better "fuel" inside : freshly shredded woodships mixed with woodshave. If it doesnt work better i'll try a bigger size.
@@AutoNomades I like your idea to capture condensed water using a ceramic lid. The plastic lid of a trash can might also work for you. Personally I have had very little need for aeration or additional moisture. I keep the compost in a sealed container, and it stays moist for months. I've tried some aeration, and it doesn't really help to keep the compost hot. Going forward, I'm focused on automated methods for turning the compost. It's important to make your compost container large enough. Is your compost container at least 1 cubic meter in volume? If not, then it probably won't reach a high temperature. And even if it does get hot, it won't stay hot for very long. My compost container is just a bit larger than 1 cubic meter, and it only stays REALLY hot (140-160 deg F) for about a week. It stays FAIRLY hot (100-120 deg F) for about 2-3 weeks. My next compost container will be much larger. For my 2019-2020 greenhouse, I used a simple heat exchanger and it worked very well with no fan. Just natural convection. th-cam.com/video/eMHbHAKeMC0/w-d-xo.html
Oh yes! It's a shame that I am very space-constrained with my greenhouse and compost setup. I am probably stuck with the layout that I have. Hopefully the results give people the encouragement to try the method. You should check out my 2019/20 result. The new heat exchanger worked very well. th-cam.com/video/eMHbHAKeMC0/w-d-xo.html
Why the short duct hose inside the greenhouse ? A longer hose would get more heat exchange..... you could even cut it for an open loop instead of closed loop for even MORE exchange of heat/cold......with no humidity increase
I am also in Colorado and I’m looking for season extension two. Can you show pictures of your heat exchanger or small fan? I get the concept of the leaf coffee water compost warming your greenhouse but I’m wondering about that fan size.
Cold last night, wasn't it?! My outdoor thermometer said 4.5 deg F (20 deg inside the GH). The fan that circulates air within the greenhouse is just a tiny desk fan. All it does is keep the coldest air from collecting at the bottom of the greenhouse. I just set it on the floor of the greenhouse. The heat exchanger is shown at 3:05. It's just a 15-foot dryer vent attached to a 4-inch duct fan (e.g., goo.gl/fLs5Dm) and tied together with hose clamps. It literally just blows air in a circle. I then lay half the heat exchanger in the compost. I cut two circular holes in the plastic that separates my greenhouse from the compost chamber, and the dryer vent is run through those holes. Does that make sense?
Yes sir it was freezing!! I will definitely have to explain it a couple times to my husband before we can visualize your wonderful plans when he comes home from deployment. But I am very excited about it seeing as 80% of my garden was unharvested do too early frost this year
@@8o8latina yep, we lost our tomatoes late September. I kept 8 plants growing in the greenhouse last year until December, with the help of hot compost! th-cam.com/video/xNUlrwqNXa8/w-d-xo.html
Couple of thoughts... 1. Maybe add another tube heat exchanger lower in the compost pile and circulate the air from it into a ground loop under the green house floor to keep the soil temperatures up. 2. Possibly incorporate the compost loop into the GAHT system to store heat in the ground " heat bank" on warmer days. 3. On warmer days and in the summer months you should draw the air from the top of the greenhouse into the intake of the GAHT... again to store your heat. May need to add a diverter to exhaust the outlet of the GAHT system during the summer. You could... over the summer bank lots of heat to be used in the fall/ winter... effectively raising the overall temperature of the ground surrounding your GAHT loops .
First I want to thank you for taking the time to watch the video and provide a thoughtful response. I put this material up, but I don’t really get anything out of it until I get feedback. All interesting suggestions. Regarding 1), I specifically wanted heat exchanger to stay out of the way when I mess with the compost. These guys doing Jean Pain piles with poly pipe poke beaucoup holes in the pipe when they turn the compost! But your idea has merit. Maybe I could squeeze another heat exchanger near the bottom of the pile. Regarding 2), this is indirectly happening. I’m running the GAHT and have a small fan blowing 24/7, so warm air is definitely being banked in the GAHT. But it’s an interesting thought to kind of run the GAHT and compost in a closed loop. Regarding 3), I’m hoping that the circulation fan is moving the hot air at the apex of my roof into the GAHT for thermal banking.
@@MorganBrown I've watched all of your other videos, really great info, loved all of it. Regarding your GAHT, do you think it was integral to the results you achieved here? This video focuses on your compost system, so I'm not sure how much of a role the GAHT played here. The reason I'm asking is because I'm fortunate to have access to a "cold climate" greenhouse at my school, which is essentially just a heavily insulated greenhouse, however, I'm not able to dig. I want to build an insulated chamber like you did with a basic heat exchanger but I'm wondering if this will be enough. I live in a cold climate, but unfortunately, much colder (northern Canada) - but a dry climate at least. I do have the option of putting the compost inside the greenhouse, but I want to avoid the possibility of any buildup of NOx gasses, as well as avoid terrible smells as I'll be using food waste. Anyway, regardless if you have an insight, I've enjoyed your videos! Thanks!
@@TheMaximumCool Always great to hear from someone on the front lines, trying to implement a system! First of all, I'd say that the fact that the "heavily insulated" nature of your greenhouse is THE most important consideration in terms of passive heating. In Denver, I could get 2-season extension (on either end) with a very well constructed GH. My greenhouse has "OK" insulation, and I get 2-season extension with the compost and GAHT. In my particular implementation, I'd say that the GAHT was a second-order effect. However, hopefully I've been able to communicate that it DOES work, and that it's simply a matter of increasing the scale. In other words, I got ~1 deg F of heating with my 4-hole GAHT system, so I conclude that a 16-hole GAHT system would produce ~4 deg F. That said, I think an internal (to the greenhouse) compost system would be a good choice for you. I have done much experimenting with compost mixtures. In my greenhouse compost systems, I don't include any traditional "greens". This year, I only used leaves or shredded paper as the browns and coffee grounds as the greens. To minimize odor, I prefer the simple shredded paper + coffee mixture, though leaves & coffee don't smell that bad. None of the traditional "compost stink" from either of those mixtures. If you really want to use food waste, I'd highly recommend the bokashi method to "pre-treat" the food waste. It still stinks (in a different way), but once you throw bokashi'd food into a hot compost pile, it will disintegrate in a couple days (no joke!). I am a big advocate of covering compost piles with tarps. This goes against the "conventional wisdom" that "compost piles need aeration", but I simply haven't found any problem whatsoever with my covered compost piles. They stay at 140 deg F or better for a few weeks. As an added bonus, the moisture stays in the compost pile, where it's needed, rather than in the greenhouse, where it's not! If you have more questions, hit me up -- I love discussing this stuff with people!
youngin song I just returned from a seven day vacation. The compost is still fairly hot. If I add more leaves and coffee to the top of the compost, it will increase the heat. I probably will need to turn the compost once per month. I will add another video showing me turn the compost. Next week
Greenhouse faces due south...but, sadly, I have large trees to the southeast and the house blocks sun to the southwest. I realistically get only 3-4 hours of sunlight. I have a third of an acre, but no excellent greenhouse locations
you exactly what I have wanted. Compost heating and geothermal. you know also through the compost heating CO2 can be injected, too? Yet another advantage.
youngin song yes, co2 is an advantage of putting compost inside the greenhouse. It would also do a better job of heating. However, compost inside the greenhouse smells bad and makes the greenhouse too humid. This is why I separate compost and greenhouse
MaryElaine-Blinstrub Chambers ha, I guess that’s the subject of another video! I use the Bokashi method to compost my kitchen waste. I have a second compost pile in my yard and I bury the finished Bokashi in there.
Also, for the compost heating system, I am currently only using shredded paper and coffee. It gets real hot, and I don't want the smell of food inside the greenhouse.
Please dont give up on this , its awesome …. Im thinking of heating inside my garage with water lines thru a register of some sort
This kind of stuff is so much fun to puts on!
The water line method seems to be preferred for industrial scale compost heating. Make sure your pile is big...REALLY big. I used 3x3x3 ft piles for my greenhouse heating, and it simply wasn't big enough. The pile tends to cool after 2 weeks. A pile 2x that size would stay warm throughout the winter, I think.
Lots of details here. Thanks for taking the time to monitor and track all this and to take the time to share!
And thank YOU for watching! This is my third season of heating my greenhouse with compost, and I'm feeling good about this design iteration. It's been fun.
Very helpful video. Thank you.
A couple of my ideas would be to use a high output fan and also a conduit attached to the fan inserted into the middle of the compost pile with holes drilled in it.
If you get enough airflow through the compost then you may not need to turn the compost pile.
Thanks for the kind words! I actually tried this a couple years ago (circulating air directly into the compost). I think is could definitely work, but you'd have to engineer a good solution. I actually dried my pile out by circulating air into the center of the pile, so you'd have to have a pretty tight seal around the pile to keep in the moisture. My dream is to have a "self-turning" compost pile. That would be cool.
I'm in the process of setting up the greenhouse for winter action. First snow forecast for this Thursday (October 10, 2019)!
Awesome. I can't wait to see the next installment of this.
Good to know about the air drying out the pile. I will have to overcome that aspect.
@@goldenages7089 I bought a small auger that you can run with a drill. (www.amazon.com/Garden-Auger-Drill-Spiral-Planter/dp/B07T7YP6V4) I'm hoping to use this to aerate the pile without turning it. We'll see how it goes!
@@thepackfiller-morganbrown9297 In my experiment the compost was in a rollie bin placed directly in my bathroom, à large plate hanged under the lid (ceramic would be the best becaus metal rusts !) was hung under the lit so water condensed and drip back to the compost more or less evenly. So there was no problem of drying.
I pushed air true with the help of an aquarium pump from under and inside true drilled pipes.
Behind the plate was a hole where a 1cm ~pipe was connected, wich one was going inside the bathroom chemney to outside.
This automn i will find a way to push in more air than last year because it was not enough and the fermentation went partially anaerobic with only 35°C Inside for one month
Im searching in parallel for more low tech aeration than electrical system; maybe a trompe/ejector system or thermosyphon.
I will also put a better "fuel" inside : freshly shredded woodships mixed with woodshave.
If it doesnt work better i'll try a bigger size.
@@AutoNomades I like your idea to capture condensed water using a ceramic lid. The plastic lid of a trash can might also work for you.
Personally I have had very little need for aeration or additional moisture. I keep the compost in a sealed container, and it stays moist for months. I've tried some aeration, and it doesn't really help to keep the compost hot. Going forward, I'm focused on automated methods for turning the compost.
It's important to make your compost container large enough. Is your compost container at least 1 cubic meter in volume? If not, then it probably won't reach a high temperature. And even if it does get hot, it won't stay hot for very long. My compost container is just a bit larger than 1 cubic meter, and it only stays REALLY hot (140-160 deg F) for about a week. It stays FAIRLY hot (100-120 deg F) for about 2-3 weeks. My next compost container will be much larger.
For my 2019-2020 greenhouse, I used a simple heat exchanger and it worked very well with no fan. Just natural convection. th-cam.com/video/eMHbHAKeMC0/w-d-xo.html
Wouldnt it make sense that if a small compost pile made a difference, then a much larger pile could mean a HUGE difference?
Oh yes! It's a shame that I am very space-constrained with my greenhouse and compost setup. I am probably stuck with the layout that I have. Hopefully the results give people the encouragement to try the method. You should check out my 2019/20 result. The new heat exchanger worked very well. th-cam.com/video/eMHbHAKeMC0/w-d-xo.html
Very interesting design, thanks for the info
Glad you like it!
Why the short duct hose inside the greenhouse ? A longer hose would get more heat exchange..... you could even cut it for an open loop instead of closed loop for even MORE exchange of heat/cold......with no humidity increase
The third generation heat exchanger was really effective and essentially a closed system: th-cam.com/video/eMHbHAKeMC0/w-d-xo.html
I am also in Colorado and I’m looking for season extension two. Can you show pictures of your heat exchanger or small fan? I get the concept of the leaf coffee water compost warming your greenhouse but I’m wondering about that fan size.
Cold last night, wasn't it?! My outdoor thermometer said 4.5 deg F (20 deg inside the GH). The fan that circulates air within the greenhouse is just a tiny desk fan. All it does is keep the coldest air from collecting at the bottom of the greenhouse. I just set it on the floor of the greenhouse. The heat exchanger is shown at 3:05. It's just a 15-foot dryer vent attached to a 4-inch duct fan (e.g., goo.gl/fLs5Dm) and tied together with hose clamps. It literally just blows air in a circle. I then lay half the heat exchanger in the compost. I cut two circular holes in the plastic that separates my greenhouse from the compost chamber, and the dryer vent is run through those holes. Does that make sense?
Yes sir it was freezing!! I will definitely have to explain it a couple times to my husband before we can visualize your wonderful plans when he comes home from deployment. But I am very excited about it seeing as 80% of my garden was unharvested do too early frost this year
@@8o8latina yep, we lost our tomatoes late September. I kept 8 plants growing in the greenhouse last year until December, with the help of hot compost! th-cam.com/video/xNUlrwqNXa8/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for videos.
You can make greenhouse warmer using isulation in parts that is not necesary to be transparent.
You are welcome. Yes, insulation is very important. My greenhouse could definitely have better insulation.
Couple of thoughts...
1. Maybe add another tube heat exchanger lower in the compost pile and circulate the air from it into a ground loop under the green house floor to keep the soil temperatures up.
2. Possibly incorporate the compost loop into the GAHT system to store heat in the ground " heat bank" on warmer days.
3. On warmer days and in the summer months you should draw the air from the top of the greenhouse into the intake of the GAHT... again to store your heat. May need to add a diverter to exhaust the outlet of the GAHT system during the summer. You could... over the summer bank lots of heat to be used in the fall/ winter... effectively raising the overall temperature of the ground surrounding your GAHT loops .
First I want to thank you for taking the time to watch the video and provide a thoughtful response. I put this material up, but I don’t really get anything out of it until I get feedback. All interesting suggestions. Regarding 1), I specifically wanted heat exchanger to stay out of the way when I mess with the compost. These guys doing Jean Pain piles with poly pipe poke beaucoup holes in the pipe when they turn the compost! But your idea has merit. Maybe I could squeeze another heat exchanger near the bottom of the pile. Regarding 2), this is indirectly happening. I’m running the GAHT and have a small fan blowing 24/7, so warm air is definitely being banked in the GAHT. But it’s an interesting thought to kind of run the GAHT and compost in a closed loop. Regarding 3), I’m hoping that the circulation fan is moving the hot air at the apex of my roof into the GAHT for thermal banking.
@@MorganBrown I've watched all of your other videos, really great info, loved all of it. Regarding your GAHT, do you think it was integral to the results you achieved here? This video focuses on your compost system, so I'm not sure how much of a role the GAHT played here. The reason I'm asking is because I'm fortunate to have access to a "cold climate" greenhouse at my school, which is essentially just a heavily insulated greenhouse, however, I'm not able to dig. I want to build an insulated chamber like you did with a basic heat exchanger but I'm wondering if this will be enough. I live in a cold climate, but unfortunately, much colder (northern Canada) - but a dry climate at least. I do have the option of putting the compost inside the greenhouse, but I want to avoid the possibility of any buildup of NOx gasses, as well as avoid terrible smells as I'll be using food waste. Anyway, regardless if you have an insight, I've enjoyed your videos! Thanks!
@@TheMaximumCool Always great to hear from someone on the front lines, trying to implement a system! First of all, I'd say that the fact that the "heavily insulated" nature of your greenhouse is THE most important consideration in terms of passive heating. In Denver, I could get 2-season extension (on either end) with a very well constructed GH. My greenhouse has "OK" insulation, and I get 2-season extension with the compost and GAHT. In my particular implementation, I'd say that the GAHT was a second-order effect. However, hopefully I've been able to communicate that it DOES work, and that it's simply a matter of increasing the scale. In other words, I got ~1 deg F of heating with my 4-hole GAHT system, so I conclude that a 16-hole GAHT system would produce ~4 deg F. That said, I think an internal (to the greenhouse) compost system would be a good choice for you. I have done much experimenting with compost mixtures. In my greenhouse compost systems, I don't include any traditional "greens". This year, I only used leaves or shredded paper as the browns and coffee grounds as the greens. To minimize odor, I prefer the simple shredded paper + coffee mixture, though leaves & coffee don't smell that bad. None of the traditional "compost stink" from either of those mixtures. If you really want to use food waste, I'd highly recommend the bokashi method to "pre-treat" the food waste. It still stinks (in a different way), but once you throw bokashi'd food into a hot compost pile, it will disintegrate in a couple days (no joke!). I am a big advocate of covering compost piles with tarps. This goes against the "conventional wisdom" that "compost piles need aeration", but I simply haven't found any problem whatsoever with my covered compost piles. They stay at 140 deg F or better for a few weeks. As an added bonus, the moisture stays in the compost pile, where it's needed, rather than in the greenhouse, where it's not! If you have more questions, hit me up -- I love discussing this stuff with people!
@@MorganBrown www.gardenmyths.com/soil-factory-using-bokashi-ferment/
I suggest you take a gander at that for something purportedly even faster.
How often do we have to change the compost? Which amount of compost will last for how many days? The number will be the greatest of all.
youngin song I just returned from a seven day vacation. The compost is still fairly hot. If I add more leaves and coffee to the top of the compost, it will increase the heat. I probably will need to turn the compost once per month. I will add another video showing me turn the compost. Next week
first one perhaps insert the tube underneath of the compost so that the air can be down there?
youngin song it is difficult to turn the compost if the pipe is buried deep in the compost. But you are correct. It is warmer down there
Which direction is south from the greenhouse?
Greenhouse faces due south...but, sadly, I have large trees to the southeast and the house blocks sun to the southwest. I realistically get only 3-4 hours of sunlight. I have a third of an acre, but no excellent greenhouse locations
@@MorganBrown ☹
you exactly what I have wanted. Compost heating and geothermal. you know also through the compost heating CO2 can be injected, too? Yet another advantage.
youngin song yes, co2 is an advantage of putting compost inside the greenhouse. It would also do a better job of heating. However, compost inside the greenhouse smells bad and makes the greenhouse too humid. This is why I separate compost and greenhouse
Aerated static compost takes no mixing...
in this climate (cold and very dry) a small pile will tend to dry out quickly if aerated too much.
Really enjoy your posts but don’t you eat any vegetables? Why don’t you add any scraps to your composts? I’m puzzled.
MaryElaine-Blinstrub Chambers ha, I guess that’s the subject of another video! I use the Bokashi method to compost my kitchen waste. I have a second compost pile in my yard and I bury the finished Bokashi in there.
Also, for the compost heating system, I am currently only using shredded paper and coffee. It gets real hot, and I don't want the smell of food inside the greenhouse.
Please repost with a valid attempt at audio.
I had an issue with the "soundtrack" overlapping into the content but that is fixed now. Hit reload?
If reload doesn't work, let me know the problem(s) you're having with the audio and I'll look for a fix.