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Hotbin composters - any fire risk
On Tue, 1 Aug 2017 14:13:31 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote: Re daleks - I have 2 but they are slooowww... And never get that warm, especially in winter. The insulation is the key, so it's either make one or buy one - hassle factor is significant here as I have a *lot* going on right now. Insulate the Daleks with something like loft insulation strapped around them. A couple of rolls will be much less cost than buying a Hot Bin. G,Harman |
Hotbin composters - any fire risk
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Hotbin composters - any fire risk
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Hotbin composters - any fire risk
On 02/08/2017 03:31, Andy Burns wrote:
wrote: You might even find a local tall building being stripped of some. Ouch! The OP was concerned about the bin not catching fire! -- mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk |
Hotbin composters - any fire risk
On Wed, 2 Aug 2017 12:56:11 +0100, alan_m
wrote: The insulation is the key, so it's either make one or buy one - hassle factor is significant here as I have a *lot* going on right now. Insulate the Daleks with something like loft insulation strapped around them. A couple of rolls will be much less cost than buying a Hot Bin. G,Harman Hot water tank blanket? Although the insulation is somewhat useless if it gets soaked with water and remains wet. I did wonder about that as an option, but the Dalek shaped composters are a large and uneven circumference bigger than most domestic hot water tanks, especially around the base. ISTR the blankets are not that thick either. The point about the insulation getting wet is a good one, Until I found that burying the compost bin in the middle of the grass heap worked well enough I was going to wrap it with an old roll of insulation we had and then use some large sheets of bubblewrap that we used as green house insulation one year but are now surplus , that would have given a degree of water resistance, some bin liners and sticky tape would do the same. Or the OP could just buy a wide screen telly and use the packaging to make a Hotbin G.Harman |
Hotbin composters - any fire risk
On Wed, 2 Aug 2017 13:10:57 +0100, alan_m
wrote: On 02/08/2017 03:31, Andy Burns wrote: wrote: You might even find a local tall building being stripped of some. Ouch! The OP was concerned about the bin not catching fire! Going from the state of my brothers that seems unlikely , the Hotbin as it comes is far more enclosed than than Daleks or a box made from pallets and if you are putting in fairly moist things like kitchen waste and leafy plants the top is a disgusting looking steamy morass of things turning into a sort of soup which is why to get reasonable compost you have to add the bulking agent , or in other words some dry material like twigs or cardboard. G.Harman |
Hotbin composters - any fire risk
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Hotbin composters - any fire risk
On 03/08/17 10:20, Roger Tonkin wrote:
In article , lid says... According to that web site they are 32 times faster than a dalek, and produce compost in 30-60 days. So a dalek takes 32-64 months to compost? I'm sure I've had stuff out in less than 2 1/2 years. Andy I can not understand why there is always a need for speed in everything these days. Surely a 2 or 3 year cycle for compose is all that is require. Why would you want compost every month? Volume of grass clippings and other materials - simple at that. It's not the speed so much as the max throughput. |
Hotbin composters - any fire risk
In article ,
says... On 03/08/17 10:20, Roger Tonkin wrote: In article , lid says... According to that web site they are 32 times faster than a dalek, and produce compost in 30-60 days. So a dalek takes 32-64 months to compost? I'm sure I've had stuff out in less than 2 1/2 years. Andy I can not understand why there is always a need for speed in everything these days. Surely a 2 or 3 year cycle for compose is all that is require. Why would you want compost every month? Volume of grass clippings and other materials - simple at that. It's not the speed so much as the max throughput. Yes, so you compost it quickly, then what are you going to do with it? -- Roger T 700 ft up in Mid-Wales |
Hotbin composters - any fire risk
On 03/08/17 19:32, Roger Tonkin wrote:
Yes, so you compost it quickly, then what are you going to do with it? Put it on the ground :) Under the hedges, trees, that sort of thing. And it should be 1/4 of the original volume or so. |
Hotbin composters - any fire risk
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Hotbin composters - any fire risk
On 04/08/17 12:31, Janet wrote:
In article , says... On 03/08/17 19:32, Roger Tonkin wrote: Yes, so you compost it quickly, then what are you going to do with it? Put it on the ground :) Under the hedges, trees, that sort of thing. I use large volumes of fresh grass cuttings (mine and several neighbours') exactly like that; they don't need to be composted in a bin first. I've been doing this for 15 years with no downsides yet. Lawnmowings under hedges trees shrubs etc act as a weed suppressing mulch and build soil fertility as they decompose. Birds fossick through it, continually turning it over and breaking it up as they hunt for worms etc. Janet. That's an idea - I'll try that. Never occurred to me... Thanks! |
Hotbin composters - any fire risk
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 |
Hotbin composters - any fire risk
On 31/07/2017 17:19, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 31 Jul 2017 17:12:47 +0100, Tim Watts wrote: On 31/07/17 17:03, Asha Santon wrote: I make no recommendation having never used it or anything like it, perhaps because our garden has granite walls. Thanks - I might use that on my workshop build :) I have found a location next to a path (convenient) down the crappy side of the garden fairly clear of overhanging trees etc. The main interest in a hot bin is can cannot get rid of law trimmings fast enough. My 2 daleks are slow, but do make nice compost. Clippings are going in an old pond right now, but I need that to rot clear in a couple of years to fill in, so ought to stop putting junk in it :) I also have a chipper (Bosch) which means I have a supply of wood chippings too to feed the compost, as well as grass and kitchen waste. I should be interested to hear if lawn clippings compost in this thing as well as they claim for other stuff. IME they are the most resistant of garden waste to compost, apart from twiggy stuff, and take many months in a cold open heap, only really disappearing when the heap is eventually turned from one bay to the next. I confess to being a little mystified that people have trouble getting lawn clippings to go. Mine go very quickly indeed provided that I don't compact them - peak temperature is reached in about three days. I'm adding about 1m^3 at a time and they are mostly gone within a fortnight. I think it is all a matter of scale. Once you have enough of them in one place the interior will get mad hot and off they go. Pongs a bit but it isn't an unpleasant smell. My recollection from my parents small garden was that grass cuttings on a cold heap often went slimy and anaerobic. I did originally seed my compost heaps with Garotta (sp?) which may have made a difference and might help get a smaller heap going well and hot. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
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