The chart shows the temperatures measured in the biomeiler at a height of 4’ above the ground. This height marks the boundary between the pre-existing biomeiler and the recent extension. The data were collected by a thermocouple buried in the pile at that height at the very center of the inner core, another placed halfway between the inner and outer walls of the outer core, and a third similarly placed between the inner and outer walls of the mantle. The air temperature was measured on a thermometer in the open air.
The chart confirms my previously stated hypothesis that all significant composting in the pile has ended. The empty appearance of the chart is a consequence of there having been no aeration to show and the thermocouples in the inner and outer cores showing the same temperatures, leading to the lines covering each other.
Since my discovery of the seasonal ice layer formation, this is the first summer in which I have continued to monitor the internal temperatures of the pile after the hens have been moved to the outdoor pens. It is impressive to me that the inner and outer cores have resisted the summer heat so effectively.
I am sure that the ice in the upper portion of the biomeiler is absorbing the environmental heat as the latent heat of fusion. The water formed by the melted ice would then still be at 32F as it infiltrates the deeper levels of the pile. That is the only explanation that allows for the biomeiler cores to remain steadily at 32F even as the mantle temperature warms measurably.
It would be a marvelous discovery to find that the biomeiler automatically reignites in the fall after the cooling capacity of the ice layer is exhausted. Fingers crossed!
