While running the compressor to aerate the biomeiler pile, I noticed that the back pressure was unusually high; about 30 psi. Typically, the gauge reads about 5 psi. Yesterday, the reading was about 12 psi, but that wasn’t unusual enough to catch my attention. I looked for kinks in the hose, but found none. My […]
The temperatures in the biomeiler pile are measured with thermocouples buried in several locations. Nine of them are found at three heights (1’, 2’, and 3’ above the ground) in the inner core, outer core, and mantle of the pile. The graph shown in today’s post shows the temperatures measured by thermocouples at 3’ height.
January Experimental Results, Part 2 Read More »
The graph shows the temperature in the chicken coop, the temperature of the air in the vent pipe coming from the biomeiler, and the temperature of the outdoor air. On the same graph, I added the electrical energy usage for the days when I had to use the electric heater. The scale is the same,
Experimental Results for January, Part 1 Read More »
The temperature readings in the pile have been puzzling me. Today, I’ll describe how I have tried to improve matters. While doing the morning chores, I run the air compressor to aerate the biomeiler pile. I expected that the internal temperature would increase after the recent upgrade to the aeration system. There should now be
Biomeiler Rehydration and Reinoculation Read More »
After purchasing the parts to upgrade the aeration system, the temperatures have been high enough that the tire valve and clip-on chuck have functioned with no troubles. That temporarily removed my motivation to make the planned upgrade. This is the tire valve fitting I made for a soda-bottle-rocket launcher. It was repurposed to make the
Biomeiler Aeration Upgrade Read More »
Our luck ran out. The recent cold spell lasted long enough that I had to turn on the electric heater in the coop. The temperatures were in the -20s, with the coldest recorded temperature being -29F. The fresh air coming in through the pipe that coils inside the biomeiler is still reading 32-37F, but the
Electric Heat Needed Read More »
The tire valve on the aeration hose jammed again. I considered solving the problem, but it was -25F, which was too cold for my motivation level. So, I gave up. After being indoors long enough for my brain to thaw, an idea came to me. I will replace the tire valve on the aeration hose
Biomeiler Aeration Problems Read More »
This year begins with good news. The temperature readings in the biomeiler are, overall, rising. All but two of the thermocouples in the pile were reading 0.2 mV higher this evening than on 12/30/24. An increase of 0.2mV corresponds to approximately 9F degrees of temperature increase. Since the air temperatures dropped by 10F degrees
Biomeiler Temperatures Rising Read More »
This morning, I began the aeration of the biomeiler. The temperature readings in the pile indicate that the interior is beginning to compost. The goal of aeration is to switch the composting to an aerobic process, rather than have it be completely anaerobic. For our purposes, the important difference between the two is in
Biomeiler Aeration Begins Read More »
The latest temperature measurements of the biomeiler have had strange variations. The high temperatures were not so high that I couldn’t believe them, but they were higher than I expected. The rate of temperature change, however, was fast enough to trigger my suspicion. The thermocouple I was using for the reference junction had a plug
Thermocouple Troubles Read More »