Compost heat

[foodchain]

I am very interested in this, however a workshop is out of the question due to distance. While we don't need heat year round down here in TX, a consistant temp through all 12 months would be desirable. I wonder if you can't use the coil method and then run through a thermostat of sorts to kick on only when needed and cycle X amount of gallons or minutes then shut down?

[keith_r]

you need a huge compost heap to heat water in any sizable amount.. the amount of water flowing through, if not balanced properly, could cool the compost down to much..a few folks have done some well documented experiments

[foodchain]

I am reading the Alchemy links/publications...and there is some valuable stuff here. You should be able to offset the heat loss by shear volume of the pile, or by not flowing water constantly. Interesting stuff. Eye opener to put it mildly.

[foodchain]

I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around how earthworms produce heat. Maybe someone can clarify. I understand they can in small amounts simply through the biological process...even trees put off heat just being alive. Ever try a thermal scope in the woods? BUT, in theory then for earthworms to move a 1,000 sq ft greenhouse even a couple of degrees would take a vast amount of worms. Far more than I believe can be contained in a compost pile or worm bin. Does anyone have any experience with this? Also, why does the above reffrenced poultry dust matter? You are washing your food/veggies before eating...just as you wash an egg before cracking it...otherwise you cross contaminate your food with salminila (SP) as the egg comes from the back end of chicken, and feces carry salminila. What am I missing?

[foodchain]

I think I am the only one reading this now...but I have news on this topic and I will post it now. So that IF I forget, it's written down now so I can come find it again.

So I have been doing a substantial amount of reading on the New Alchemy guys, and reading notes from some of the 'off paper' crowd...the deal with the above mentioned chickens are this: The purpose of the chicken is two fold, heat and simple protein. But there's concern with the 'chicken dust'. So, the solution is from the available data I have read is rabbits. They don't produce as much dander, dust, etc. Produce #2 in a nice, round pellet that is supposed NOT burn plants and is easily gathered for compost, and can produce more heat compared to a chicken of equal size. The meat is supposed to be so lean, that you can't live off a diet too high in rabbit. Now for all you techies out there, I haven't tested any of this, just what I read. There are also some folks testing dried rabbit pellet as an alternative fuel...like the old buffalo chips from the plains. Definetly not an inscense kind of thing I am sure. But they are burning these in a pellet stove kind of setup. Now for me, that's a bit extreme. I have found though, that my natural gas bill is nearly eliminated, $8/month now...by cutting the water main to house (copper) and replacing with PEX, then running through attic and back down the walls. The heat of TX heats the water prior to hitting the water heater. The Pex is insulated in the attic with 1 1/4 pipe insulation, and still in the heat of summer the water coming out the standard hose bib on the outside is so hot you can't put your hand in it. I don't have a temp on this, as it's so hot I am afraid it will break my therm. Just an interesting observation.