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Post your DIY Aerated Compost Tea Brewer (proprietary brewers will be tolerated)

Trichgnomes

Member
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Jay, that brewer looks awesome!

Edit: I scrolled down and saw this picture which was way cooler.
 

Zendo

Member
Yes! My experience at Home Depot was absolutely lovely. An associate basically built the whole thing for me!

Trich- would you mind showing a pic of how you have the air hose connected with the top of the pvc pipe?

It is really cool seeing a real world picture of the instructions on MM's page, thanks!

I was having a hard time picturing it..
 

Trichgnomes

Member
Trich- would you mind showing a pic of how you have the air hose connected with the top of the pvc pipe?

No Problem, Zendo.
This was a part I thought might be confusing, hence quoting MM in my initial post,

First of all, for your air input you need to match air tubing with your air pump and get a threaded barbed fitting that the tubing fits over and a slip X female threaded coupling to go over your long straight piece of PVC pipe which goes down and joins to your whateveragon. This, you may need to glue.

Luckily, I did not need to use any glue.


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Zendo

Member
Nice!! Thanks!

BTW- a few weeks ago I read your signature. It was so vivid and intriguing that I ended up reading some of Stamets book on amazon, and I now have the book on order..Can't wait to get it.

That book and teaming with microbes will arrive at the same time..That'll be a tough pick!!
 

Microbeman

The Logical Gardener
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Yes, I've built almost every style brewer there is. It works great, especially because it allows full mixture and no 'dead zones'. I don't really believe in the vortex changing water structure stuff. I would have made my microbulator more similar to this but I wanted something which could be shipped without a tank to make it affordable. I am mulling over an 80 gallon design but it will be fairly expensive due to the tank cost (& shipping).
 

localhero

Member
Damn man that bubbler looks high tech. So here is my home made low tech dirty ass tea maker.

It"s a 17 gallon bucket I got off craigs list from some guy way out in the desert with hundreds of food grade barrels .I've made so much shit out of this guys barrels, from a home made soil mixer to cutting them in half and drilling holes to make cheap 20 gallon pots to general water holding. Neighbors probably think i run a home made pickling factory. I use the 17 gal barrel for 5 gallon teas, the extra space sometimes contains the froth, mostly not though as you can see from how nasty it is. I used to use the queen size pantyhose but found that the seabird guano never really fully dissolves. Solved that with using a pump filter bag. Made the spigot out of 3/4 pvc parts. The real trick is making the ghetto bulkhead. Hole saw + 3/4" ELECTRICAL pvc male and female connectors (the normal type pvc has tapering threads that dont allow for a water tight connection) + regular garden hose rubber gasket (outside only). The bubble action comes from a 70 liter per hour aquarium pump. The air hose connects to a ring made of the same tubing via a t connector. i then poked holes in the bottom of the ring and put in 1/4 inch irrigation through connectors, roughly 15. All the bubbles made the damn thing float up and not work well, so i cut a bunch of 3/4 pvc into short pieces and placed them between the air spigots . that added enough weight to keep the damn thing basically sunk. Hope this makes sense.

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DARC MIND

Member
Veteran
wow hero, that thing looks like it will take a minute to clean:)
im going to make a votex one day but intill then i work with the 5 gal bucket and few small air pumps.

i just stir every day just incase of dead spots, but this works well for me.
i tend to use a 1 gal milk jug more often then the 5 gal bucket
 

localhero

Member
Yeah you caught me right after I used it, which is all the time every day almost. The outside is really nasty though and I should clean it. The veg room in general is dirty I Just moved out a bunch of big plants and potted a bunch of clones. Mostly I leave the bucket dirty because I found it shortens the brew time by a day. My guess is that the microbes stay alive in the remnants as long as I flush the bottom to remove the possibility of ammonia build up in aenarobic bacteria when theres no air circulating. Sometimes I'll toss in a gallon of ro water and some mollases while running the air to keep the good stuff alive between teas. Bottom line, when I used to clean it every time with h202 and scrubby - the tea would take longer to brew. However now if it goes over 24 hours, the foam goes way down and the mix starts to smell like ammonia. Whatever I know theres alot more science to this and I should get a microscope. But for now if it smells nice and earthy and the foam has passed its highest mark and is on its way down, I go with it.
 

Trichgnomes

Member
Bump!

Bump!

It's been a while since I've brewed a tea, but the warm weather has definitely sped up castings development. Just finishing up a 5 gallon batch. It is comprised of 3/4 vermicast from my bin and 1/4 local thermophilic compost. For food stock I used 5 ml of molasses, and miniscule amounts of fish hydrolysate and liquid kelp.

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AOD2012

I have the key, now i need to find the lock..
Veteran
wow, you guys are all awsome. i dont have a brewer, still learning the ropes using earth juice nutes, but i hope one day i can make teas like you guys. sweet work!
 
O

OrganicOzarks

View Image[/url] Nutrient Dynamics 30G CALL TO ORDER *&^%$%#@!+*
Compost Tea Brewer
Wholesale Price $PAM

MADE IN USA
▪ Create Organic Compost Tea for all plants and landscaping needs.
▪ Home made compost teas fight and eliminate soil born pest.
▪ Unlike other bag methods we use a Nutrient Bobber so the flow is not disturbed resulting in faster & more through brewing.
▪ Capable & Complete nutrients brewer for Indoor & Outdoor Needs.
▪ Easy & Low Cost. Replace All High Cost Nutrients.
▪ Create Custom Teas for all plant types & stages of growth.
▪ A Complete customizable Compost Tea System
▪ Uses Hydrodynamics to create Natural Motion & Nutrient Dynamics.
▪ Slim tank design allows the unit to be placed in small areas.
▪ Solid & Sturdy metal frame + Wheels for Portability or floor mount.
▪ FDA Food Grade Plastic Tank with UV Inhibitors.
▪ Truck bed mountable for on the go work.
▪ Works as an Extractor, Nutrient Mixer, Organic Brewer.
▪ Superior Air Infusion & Dissolved Oxygen creates Active Life.
▪ Convenient, Easier and Clean to use.
▪ Dilute or full strength mix + More Capable Microbes = Great Yields.
▪ Allows for Perpetual Brewing ...Have Compost Tea on Demand.
▪ Super Quite operation & Sealed tank design for smell containment.
▪ 30, 60 gallon units available.

* Warning Similar 30g Brewing models
Sell online anywhere from $1800.00 to $2400.00
Not including Tax or Local CA delivery cost $400.00 Protect the Earth buy local & Save your money

Holy fuck is that thing over priced! You can build a 55 gallon brewer for about $200. Does it come in solid gold?:)
 
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C

CT Guy

They probably should have read a bit more before posting that brewer ad up in here....especially considering who's already in and contributing to this forum. I think it's funny that in all the advertising by these brewer manufacturers, none of them emphasize any level of testing or data or research to support their product.
 
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OrganicOzarks

Not many companies that manufacture brewers even own a microscope. I find that ironic. :)
 

OrganicBuds

Active member
Veteran
That is the world we live in. Worst part is people buying the brewers don't care. So really it's on us as the consumers. Glad I ran across MM when I did, or I could be one of those suckers.
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
Decided to go for quick easy clean up [and assembly]. Need to brew 10 gal at a time, maybe 12 once in awhile.
This w/lid:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=25521&catid=835&clickid=searchresults
Next time I would go with a cheaper locally available container.
This:
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-AAP...18&sr=8-2&keywords=active+aqua+air+commercial
And this:
http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Water-In...ll&keywords=micro-pore+air+diffuserl+boss+hog
Oh yeah, and this because I don't use a bag:
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=37443&catid=685
 
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