The Compost-Powered Water Heater: How to heat your greenhouse, pool, or buildings with only compost! by Brown Gaelan

Author:Brown, Gaelan [Brown, Gaelan]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Countryman Press
Published: 2014-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

Diagram and schematic for a large-scale modified Jean Pain–style system that could theoretically provide 60,000 Btu/hr, using modular heat-exchange structures combined by a manifold. AGRILAB TECHNOLOGIES

Recommended Design Specifications and Elements

1. One large 200-cubic-yard round system approximately 24 feet in diameter and 10 feet tall; see the attached drawings and schematics.

2. Aeration tubing: 400 feet of 4-inch corrugated/perforated drainage pipe should be laid out in concentric circles on the ground with one end terminating in the center, the other beyond the footprint of the mound so outside air can enter.

3. Structural side walls: We recommend use of geotextile fabric held in place by metal stakes as shown in the CAD drawings. During the construction process, the outer 3 feet of the feedstock should be thoroughly packed down by human feet to increase density and insulating thermal mass. The inner material should not be overly compacted. This can achieve a vertical side wall that facilitates efficient heat exchange and the chimney effect.

4. Maximum height of a Jean Pain–style system is 18 feet, to avoid risk of spontaneous combustion from too much chimney effect. Our design has a height of 10 feet.

5. Heat-exchange zones in the compost power mound:

a. With a single large compost-heating system as described above, six in-compost heat-exchange zones are constructed on a wood-framed structure as pictured.

b. Each heat-exchange module zone would consist of this approximate configuration, pending revisions upon construction:

i. Three 20-foot 2x6 boards laid in a crisscross pattern.

ii. Eight 10-foot 2x6s used to reinforce/connect each of the above.

iii. 600 feet of 2-inch-diameter double-wall polyethylene tubing laid out in concentric circles with 10-inch spacing, affixed to lumber with zip ties, as shown; 3,600 feet total of tubing required.

6. Insulated utility box for pump(s), manifold, and monitoring equipment:

a. A small insulated (blue board/plywood) box, approximately 3 or 4 feet square and 8 feet tall, with a small door for entry, is constructed to encase the vertical manifold, pump(s), and monitoring equipment.

b. Supply/return lines to the spalting pad enter up from the floor of the insulated box.

c. Twelve 2.5-inch-diameter line-in holes are drilled in the side of the box that will face the compost mound, to allow each of the HE zones in the compost to enter the box, tied into the manifold to be built inside the box. Holes should be drilled in pairs, with the first pair located at 24 inches above the bottom, and each subsequent pair at 18 inches above the last to align with the zones that will come from the compost.

d. The box is held in place by zip ties attached to one of the stakes used to hold the geotextile fabric in place.

e. Power, Internet, and spalting-temperature sensor lines enter up through the floor of the insulated box.

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