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?


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).

On 31/07/17 14:59, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 31 Jul 2017 12:48:03 +0100, 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?


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).

I guess it depends on how risk averse you are. Compost bins do catch
fire, apparently http://tinyurl.com/yao4xyrt


Very risk adverse *if* the outcome is *bad*


Yeah - I found those two as well...

Interestingly, one was a bin and one was more of a pile albeit with
cover. Only one actually trashed the house.


It seems to be a problem that afflicts the massive piles at council
recycling places - there's even UK Gov H&S guidance on that.


I read somewhere that the spontaneous fires start due to a 2 way process:

1) Biological activity takes the pile to 80C - this is self regulating
as any hotter and the agents die off.

2) Chemical oxidation takes over at 80C and can start a fire - not being
self regulating.


From what I can see, 2 requires as fairly specific set of conditions:
dry materials (which may have been dried by stage 1), the right sort of
materials, lack of air flow and uneven mixing.


As usual one of your links says something like:

Put away from fences, buildings and in the shade.

Which would be impossible in most gardens - who's going to put it in the
middle of the lawn?


And there are 2 stories of domestic piles going up in the UK as far as I
can see, from the 100,000s or more compost piles and bins there must be
in use.


OK - by the fence seems to be the best idea - it's near the front road
so if it does go up and I'm away, someone will notice and I cannot see a
wooden fence managing to burn down its length to the shed 10m away - if
nothing else, the fire would probably block at the concrete fence posts.

On 2017-07-31 14:49:41 +0000, Tim Watts said:

On 31/07/17 14:59, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 31 Jul 2017 12:48:03 +0100, 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?


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).

I guess it depends on how risk averse you are. Compost bins do catch
fire, apparently http://tinyurl.com/yao4xyrt


Very risk adverse *if* the outcome is *bad*


Yeah - I found those two as well...

Interestingly, one was a bin and one was more of a pile albeit with
cover. Only one actually trashed the house.


It seems to be a problem that afflicts the massive piles at council
recycling places - there's even UK Gov H&S guidance on that.


I read somewhere that the spontaneous fires start due to a 2 way process:

1) Biological activity takes the pile to 80C - this is self regulating
as any hotter and the agents die off.

2) Chemical oxidation takes over at 80C and can start a fire - not
being self regulating.


From what I can see, 2 requires as fairly specific set of conditions:
dry materials (which may have been dried by stage 1), the right sort of
materials, lack of air flow and uneven mixing.


As usual one of your links says something like:

Put away from fences, buildings and in the shade.

Which would be impossible in most gardens - who's going to put it in
the middle of the lawn?


And there are 2 stories of domestic piles going up in the UK as far as
I can see, from the 100,000s or more compost piles and bins there must
be in use.


OK - by the fence seems to be the best idea - it's near the front road
so if it does go up and I'm away, someone will notice and I cannot see
a wooden fence managing to burn down its length to the shed 10m away -
if nothing else, the fire would probably block at the concrete fence
posts.

http://www.fireproofspray.co.uk/flam...rdant-68-p.asp


I make no recommendation having never used it or anything like it,
perhaps because our garden has granite walls.

--
Asha
minnies.opcop.org.uk
nature.opcop.org.uk
pictures.opcop.org.uk

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.

On 31/07/2017 17:12, 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.

How big is your lawn? I fully filled/packed an empty dalek bin with 90%
grass clippings and 10% light weight woody stems last Friday and now on
Monday they have compressed to less than a third of the volume and in
this hottish weather are currently steaming. The clippings went in
fairly damp.

I suspect the claims for the hot bin may be only valid for a full load
of material put into the bin at the same time and not drip fed with
small amounts a bit at a time.


--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 31 Jul 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?


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).

Se made a hotbin with sheets of polystyrene and yes often the compost
was ash in the middle. So Personally I would be careful where I sited
one.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 31/07/17 21:21, Bob Hobden wrote:
On 31 Jul 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?


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).

Se made a hotbin with sheets of polystyrene and yes often the compost
was ash in the middle. So Personally I would be careful where I sited
one.


Wow...

Maybe I'll get more daleks... They haven't combusted yet.

On Mon, 31 Jul 2017 12:48:03 +0100, 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?

I have found black ash pockets in a pallet compost heap which must
have self combusted (as hayricks can) but had gone out of its own
accord. Mine do get hot, I remember the children trying to bake
potatoes and eggs in the bins (no luck).IME its the capacity of the CH
together with the mix of contents, that builds heat and speeds
decomposition. I add a 6" layer of fresh lawn clippings to mine every
time we mow (or the neighbours deliver theirs)

That's a very high price to pay for a rather small (IMO) insulated
container; and you'll still need to buy their "bulking agent" at huge
expense. I wouldn't waste my money one one where there are free
alternatives such as pallets, and (where I live) free daleks provided by
council.

Janet

On 01/08/17 13:38, Janet wrote:

On Mon, 31 Jul 2017 12:48:03 +0100, 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?

I have found black ash pockets in a pallet compost heap which must
have self combusted (as hayricks can) but had gone out of its own
accord. Mine do get hot, I remember the children trying to bake
potatoes and eggs in the bins (no luck).IME its the capacity of the CH
together with the mix of contents, that builds heat and speeds
decomposition. I add a 6" layer of fresh lawn clippings to mine every
time we mow (or the neighbours deliver theirs)

That's a very high price to pay for a rather small (IMO) insulated
container; and you'll still need to buy their "bulking agent" at huge
expense. I wouldn't waste my money one one where there are free
alternatives such as pallets, and (where I live) free daleks provided by
council.

Hi Janet,

Interesting you can found evidence of combustion...

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.

Bulking agent - I'd use my own shredded paper and chipped branches so
won't be needing that

On 01/08/2017 14:13, Tim Watts wrote:
Re daleks - I have 2 but they are slooowww... And never get that warm,
especially in winter.

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

On 01/08/17 20:58, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 01/08/2017 14:13, Tim Watts wrote:
Re daleks - I have 2 but they are slooowww... And never get that warm,
especially in winter.

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 reckon mine are taking over a year and nearer 2.

On Tue, 1 Aug 2017 21:15:09 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote:

I reckon mine are taking over a year and nearer 2.

If you're old enough, remember the Indore 2-week composting method?
It works, IF:
You have the right C:N ratio
Enough mass to heat up the interior
Enough areation, i.e. turn frequently
Ingredients well-shredded.

I'm old and lazy, I do the "Pile it up and let it rot" method.
Time to dig into the older of 2 biggish bins and see how it looks.


---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com

On 01/08/2017 21:24, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 1 Aug 2017 21:15:09 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote:

On 01/08/17 20:58, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 01/08/2017 14:13, Tim Watts wrote:
Re daleks - I have 2 but they are slooowww... And never get that warm,
especially in winter.

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 reckon mine are taking over a year and nearer 2.

Which makes them no faster than my cold pallet-sided heap, except
they're a lot smaller. I hate to think how many daleks it would take
to contain my yearly compost generation.



If your compost is charing in the centre then it's much to dry, it wont
compost compost if it's dry and it wont burn either.

On 01/08/2017 20:58, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 01/08/2017 14:13, Tim Watts wrote:
Re daleks - I have 2 but they are slooowww... And never get that warm,
especially in winter.

According to that web site they are 32 times faster than a dalek, and
produce compost in 30-60 days.


The youtube videos do suggest fast composting is with a fairly full load
carefully constructed from predetermined quantities of certain
materials. Lesser amounts take longer. This time of year the same full
load in a standard dalek would also compost fairly fast so the x32
figure may only be true with _full_ load during winter months. In the
winter getting rid of large amounts of compost material is possibly not
required.


--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Tue, 1 Aug 2017 13:38:00 +0100, Janet wrote:


On Mon, 31 Jul 2017 12:48:03 +0100, 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?


That's a very high price to pay for a rather small (IMO) insulated
container; and you'll still need to buy their "bulking agent" at huge
expense. I wouldn't waste my money one one where there are free
alternatives such as pallets, and (where I live) free daleks provided by
council.

My brother has got one of those hotbins and found it wasn't really
worth the money, maybe if you have lot of kitchen waste rather than
old garden material it could be ok for some.

As it isn't much more than an expanded Polystyrene or very similar
material box it would be easy to make one from one of the proprietary
insulation board materials used in the building industry, some found
in a skip or seconds being sold cheap would suffice.
You might even find a local tall building being stripped of some.

I use a Dalek type but it is buried in a heap of grass clippings
that insulate it and heat it up and the contents at the same time.


G.Harman

G.Harman