On 31/07/2017 12:48, Tim Watts wrote:
Hi,

It might seem like a silly question, but is there *any* likelihood of
one of these:

http://www.hotbincomposting.com/

catching fire of its own volition?

Possibly depending on just what you put in it. I have had my compost
heaps smouldering internally once or twice after adding about 10m^3 of
stuff in a single go. Usually it just gets to about 70C internally (too
hot to touch) and you get smells of volatile short chain fatty acids. It
doesn't smell all that unpleasant but you don't want it neat the house.

It only truly catches fire towards the end when it collapses in on
itself and air and outside surface dry material reaches the red hot
embers. The smoke is a hint that something is amiss. Steaming is normal.

My instinct is that it would probably smoulder internally and might if
you were very unlucky flame next time you took the lid off.

This affects whether I site it with my dalek bins under a low hanging
western red cedar tree whose foliage is likely flammable, or whether I
put it over by the fence (OK, the fence gets it, but fire won't spread
or get out of control).

Don't bet on it. Fire in bulk can get out of hand very quickly.

A friend had their big garden fence set alight by a neighbours bonfire
and it took 3 fire tenders to put it out. The fire threatened and set
light to garden sheds and nearby trees by thermal radiation. An apple
tree was totally destroyed along with their garden shed and tools.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown