[maxvortex]

Hi to all .

I made one 1m3 compost pile heater before cca 2 weeks.
It is a mix of brown leaves , grass strow, manure and small branches.
The system is connected to radiator and till now it has worked perfect.
I am not quite sure what has happened but the compost heat has start to drop.
My first idea was the the environment temperature.

In the last few days, the environmental temperature was quite cold ( between 2 - 4 degrees Celsius ).
Can this affect in bacteria production and lifetime ?

When i dismantle the composter, i can see the steam and I can feel the heat but outer parts are totaly cold.

Any idea, whats going on. Is this just because of environmental temperature ?

MaxV

[Arkcon]

So you have a recirculating radiated heater, and its warmed by decomposing compost,presumably external to the coils, am I visualizing that correctly?

You may have removed too much heat from the core to properly maintain the bacteria warm enough to continue.  Or it may have cooled off because of the environment.  My best guesses for a solution would be a larger compost pile, and maybe trying to warm the pile with sun exposure.

[maxvortex]

So you have a recirculating radiated heater, and its warmed by decomposing compost,presumably external to the coils, am I visualizing that correctly?
** Yep. the pvc coils are winded in spiral and connected to radiator. Between radiator and compost, you have one pump that pumps the water every 2h. Basically, it pumps cca 30 seconds each 2h.

I have dismantled whole compost and there are two problems.
1.) Stuff in compost should be chopped in very small parts ( including leaves )
2.) Compost should be covered when the temperature is under 10 degrees Celsius.
-----------------------------
I rearrange the compost from the beginning and i cover it with blanks and nylon.
After two days, the result was as expected. Warm water again :-)

So i guess that this are two main thing, one should watch for.

There is one other thing that i dont get it...
On some forums, some guys are talking about different type of bacteria. The one that can boost up compost performance up to 70 degrees Celsius. The main thing is to create some internal compost environment that is capable of producing enough nitrogen and oxygen....

http://www.agrowingculture.org/2011/08/humanure-part-iii-thermophillic-bacteria-composting-stages-the-sanitization-of-compost-joe-jenkins/

MV

[maxvortex]

Title say's it all :-)
What gas will be produced when i mix ingredients from title subject ?
I was planning to use horse and pig manure.

Thnx in advance !

[Arkcon]

I'm not sure, but I suspect that the standard compost pile flora might not work well at all on cellulose and lingin.  Especially since you haven't selected manure from a ruminant.  So you may want to add some cow manure.  Still, cows can't metabolize wood, lingin just gets in the way.  I wonder, if you could find a termite nest, and toss it into the pile, can those bacteria help?  Or do they only work in symbiosis with termites?