Trichgnomes
Member
Jay, that brewer looks awesome!
Edit: I scrolled down and saw this picture which was way cooler.
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Post your DIY Aerated Compost Tea Brewer (proprietary brewers will be tolerated)
- Thread starter Trichgnomes
- Start date
Jay, that brewer looks awesome!
Edit: I scrolled down and saw this picture which was way cooler.
Zendo
Member
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
No Problem, Zendo.
This was a part I thought might be confusing, hence quoting MM in my initial post,
Luckily, I did not need to use any glue.
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!!
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!!
Yeah that is the one I meant linked on my webpage.
5 way - pvc.com, US Plastics, Aquatic Eco
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
O
OrganicOzarks
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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B
BugJar
wow 1000% markup
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.
O
OrganicOzarks
Not many companies that manufacture brewers even own a microscope. I find that ironic.
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.
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
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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