10 min $10 DIY aerated compost tea ACT brewer

[Highlighter]

NO GIMMICK!

NO GIMMICK!

Heady, I think it's a great design and very stable!
I've loved seeing the progressions and innovations in this thread, and your last one inspired me to get the saw out and make a downsized version for my 5 gal. bucket.

Too cool!

 

[vikinglace]

I've been trying to build one of these lifts, as per the design on MM site. Had a couple of goes, but i can't get the water to exit the top. seems to get about halfway. I've got a decent size oump, Boyu 25 litres a minute is says.

Do you need to get the depth of water pretty much need to even the tube length. I only need to brew up like 1 or 2 gallons at a time, so i think this may be my problem. Need a container that is taller and less wide? I've been trying in a bucket so far.

Any tips?

 

[vikinglace]

sorry, should read my posts before posting...should say
Do you need to get the depth of water pretty much level with the tube length.

I've been trying to build one of these lifts, as per the design on MM site. Had a couple of goes, but i can't get the water to exit the top. seems to get about halfway. I've got a decent size oump, Boyu 25 litres a minute is says.

Do you need to get the depth of water pretty much need to even the tube length. I only need to brew up like 1 or 2 gallons at a time, so i think this may be my problem. Need a container that is taller and less wide? I've been trying in a bucket so far.

Any tips?

 

[heady blunts]

yea a tall and narrow container is preferable especially with a smaller set up to avoid dead spots that aren't recirculating.

what diameter tubing are you using? too wide can reduce flow dramatically.

is your rise vertical and stable? if it leans a bit or wobbles violently that can reduce flow.

the flow works best IME when the water level comes up to an inch or two below where the spout exits.

what's the wattage rating of your pump? this can help determine if it is insufficient for the volume of water.

good luck!


highlighter---

looks great!

i have several pieces cut for the main upright and the lateral spans so that i can swap it between containers (or do half containers) depending on the volume of tea i need to produce.

glad it's working for you!

 

[vikinglace]

cheers Heady, my tubing is 36mm (1.4 inch). I was pretty stable if i remember. The pump is 16W ACQ-001 specs below.

Also wheres the best place for the air tube to terminate?

Right then off to have a search round the house for a better container....

VOLT： AC230/115V
FREQ: 50/60HZ
POWER： 16W
PRESSURE：0.02MPa
OUTPUT： 25L/min

 

[Microbeman]

I've been trying to build one of these lifts, as per the design on MM site. Had a couple of goes, but i can't get the water to exit the top. seems to get about halfway. I've got a decent size oump, Boyu 25 litres a minute is says.

Do you need to get the depth of water pretty much need to even the tube length. I only need to brew up like 1 or 2 gallons at a time, so i think this may be my problem. Need a container that is taller and less wide? I've been trying in a bucket so far.

Any tips?

Yes you need to keep the level of water to within 1 to 4 inches from the return at the top of the riser, variable with pump capacity. This is why the riser pipe must be lengthened or shortened to use in greater volumes/depths..as Heady mentioned.

Some vortex commercial machines put their airlifts on the diagonal for aesthetics. By doing this, they are sacrificing functionality.

Reducing diameter of the riser pipe too much also reduces flow. I have posted test results on the forum somewhere, which showed when using 2+ cfm pumps with 5 to 8 gallon airlifts, that using 0.75" or 1" reduced flow considerably. Using 1.25" PVC [thin walled 160 ASTM] pipe provided optimal flow. The actual inside diameter of this pipe is 1.5".

When we tried 1.5" to 2" the flow was reduced. These sizes are useful when getting into the 150+ gallon volumes.

 

[vikinglace]

Sure i must have some other fundamental flaw in my setup then. What would you recommend for a small scale brewer then, like 1-2 gallons in terms of pipe width and height?

Big respect for all your posts and work MM

 

[Microbeman]

Sure i must have some other fundamental flaw in my setup then. What would you recommend for a small scale brewer then, like 1-2 gallons in terms of pipe width and height?

Big respect for all your posts and work MM

Your pump produces around 0.8 CFM so is fine for 2+ gallons. Which design are you trying to follow? Like the mini microbulator or like the cone bottom design?

What size air tubing are you using?
Is there a way to increase the opening size where the airline connects to the pump? Do they use a screw in nipple?
Dimmensions of your bucket.

 

[vikinglace]

3rd time lucky for this post...posting pictures from ipad fail.

I've had two attempts. The second was based on your 3a Simple airlift vortex. I used 1.4inch tubing with a plaster bucket, about 30litres, 18inchs high. Lift was about 22 inch. That one gurgled and a tiny bit would come out every now and then. It also leaked a bit. Skills.

The first go was using 1/2 inch internal diameter tubing in a normal house bucket with a 12inch lift.

I'd rather have an internal design as i've got to use it indoors.

 

[Microbeman]

Did you answer all my questions? I'm a little confused but looking at the photo, you need to use simple PVC pipe and fittings. You do not need the unions which cause restrictions. You need no glue with the possible exception of the base for stability.

 

[vikinglace]

Ahh the nipple...yeah it has one.

 

[vikinglace]

so that 1/2 inch tubing is wide enough? I'll make it again, but just want to make sure i dont waste any more cash on tubing and joins! Garage looks like a plumbers yard.

 

[Microbeman]

so that 1/2 inch tubing is wide enough? I'll make it again, but just want to make sure i dont waste any more cash on tubing and joins! Garage looks like a plumbers yard.

Wording may become useful; I use the word tubing for airline and pipe for the structural PVC which carries the water.

I would not use less than 1 inch PVC pipe. Just use the fittings which are normally glued together but just push them together. These are the cheapest fittings and the whole assembly should be around $10.

If it were me, I'd consider 1.25" PVC pipe.

There are a few questions I believe you missed.

You want to avoid using the nipple as outlined on my webpage.

 

[vikinglace]

Ok, it's the mini microblator I was following. So from reading the above I've taken on board that it is the piping that is likely too small. I'll see if I can get something a bit wider.

So with the all in one bucket / container design you can just feed the tubing into the pipe. No special connection?

 

[Highlighter]

you can just feed the tubing into the pipe. No special connection?

vikinglace, you want to get the airhose at the base of the vertical piece.
You can see here how I drilled a hole in this T piece, where the hose fits in snugly.
Hope this helps.

 

[vikinglace]

vikinglace, you want to get the airhose at the base of the vertical piece.
You can see here how I drilled a hole in this T piece, where the hose fits in snugly

Yes thanks it helps. Will have another crack and see it I can get it working!

 

[Microbeman]

If you are doing or trying to do the mini, then you should contact me outside of the forum.

 

[kowhite]

big ballin 88

I'm answering your PM on this thread because perhaps others can benefit from the information.

Dyna-Gro Neem Seed Oil is a very fine product and is easily sourced around the country. Unfortunately when discussing neem oils the discussion almost always revolves around a single compound in this oil - Azadirachtin

This is pretty stupid since Azadirachtin is only 1 of 320 compounds found in neem and karanja seed oils. Specifically this compound is a terpenoid - fair enough.

Having said that, Azadirachtin is only one of 20 terpenoids found in neem and karanja trees. It would be like discussing the benefit of eating citrus fruits and simply focusing on Vitamin C - pretty stupid.

The Dyna-Gro Neem Seed Oil is a very fine product and one that I've used for several years. The level of Azadirachtin specifically is 1500 ppm as per the Dyna-Gro company. And it's a cold-pressed oil which retains much of the beneficial compounds vs. the chemical extraction process used on garbage like Azatrol and Azamax.

The neem tree products from The Ahimsa Foundation (NeemResource.com) is organic. The product comes out of Southeast India in the ancient neem groves going back to the 16th Century. The Azadirachtin levels in this specific product is 4500 ppm - i.e. 3x the levels in the Dyna-Gro Neem Seed Oil

It's human food-grade, fair trade and cheap, cheap, cheap. If you hit their web site look at the horizontal menu bar across the page and hit 'Sample Packs' of which there are 3 deals available. All of them a killer pricing.

Here's the mix that I use with their products to completely, totally, absolutely prevent mites, PM, thrips, etc.

1/2 tablespoon of organic neem oil
1/2 tablespoon of organic karanja oil
1 tablespoon of Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt (liquid silica and is the perfect emulsifier for these oils)

Mix in a 'rock glass' until you get an even solution. Add this in small amounts to 1 gallon of TEPID water (i.e. 65F - 75F) and slowly. Higher temps diminish the effectiveness of these oils. Once you get that done you now need to add a surfactant to make this mix 'stick' to the leaves and branches.

I recommend using liquid yucca extract (again you want to get organic human food-grade meaning no preservatives) - this is available at T & J Enterprises in Spokane, Washington.

Once you have the oils and liquid silica in the spray tank add 1 oz. (2 tablespoons) of the yucca extract. Close the tank and shake as hard as you can to activate the saponins in the yucca extract.

Hit each and every leaf on the top and bottom (especially) until it looks like you haven't watered your plants for a couple of weeks, i.e. leaves hanging down and generally looking pretty sh*tty. Shut down the lights and let them sit in the dark until the next 'on cycle'

Repeat every 4 or 5 days for at least 3 applications. This will break the adult-egg-larva cycle much like dealing with fleas on you dogs and cats perhaps.

If you want you can also use organic aloe vera juice and I add 1.5 ounces (3 tablespoons) to each gallon of the neem/karanja and water mix. George's is a good product and certainly inexpensive enough. It's organic and has NO preservatives. 90% of aloe vera products do use one of the following or all of them: sodium benzoate, citric acid and potassium sorbate. Cute, eh?

Both of these neem and karanja oils are the finest that I have been able to find. If there's anything better I would be happy to check it out, i.e. I'm not closed-minded on this deal.

I can't recommend these products enough and at the price in their sample packs vs. Dyna-Gro and ESPECIALLY the sh*t from a company called 'Einstein Oil' this product provides bottom-basement pricing. Einstein Oil is $65.00 for 1 pint or $520.00 per gallon.

The organic neem oil from The Ahimsa Foundation is around $75.00 per gallon. Heh.........

HTH

CC

.....I was just wondering what the shelf life of the neem mix mentioned above is...

 

[MedResearcher]

Never built a new brewer last year, hoping to get it done this Spring!


Currently using a 30g cone bottom air lift, based on MM's design. Works really great.


Planning to build a 300g cone bottom air lift, also based on MM's design.


Should be straight forward, but I was hoping to get a couple suggestions on it.

Anyone suggest a air pump for that size of a brewer?


Also, anyone suggest what size tubing I should use? I used 1.25" on the 30g, worked great. I am assuming, I might need to go larger with the bigger brewer.


Thanks a ton
Mr^^

 

[Microbeman]

Never built a new brewer last year, hoping to get it done this Spring!


Currently using a 30g cone bottom air lift, based on MM's design. Works really great.


Planning to build a 300g cone bottom air lift, also based on MM's design.


Should be straight forward, but I was hoping to get a couple suggestions on it.

Anyone suggest a air pump for that size of a brewer?


Also, anyone suggest what size tubing I should use? I used 1.25" on the 30g, worked great. I am assuming, I might need to go larger with the bigger brewer.


Thanks a ton
Mr^^

24 to 30 CFM regenerative air blower if noise is not an issue
Sweetwater or Gast

You could still use 1.25 and go to 2 airlifts or go up to 1.5 to 2 inch.

Good luck!