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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

WAY, WAY OT--heating with compost pile

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OliverGuy

11-11-2007 14:09:27




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Sorry, way off topic. I asked this question a year or so ago and got some good starting points, but am wondering if any one has any other ideas. I get a very large pile of brush, debris, etc. ground up each fall to use for mulch the following year for our company. The end pile is typically 400-600 cubic yards. This pile will begin to breakdown and heat up to 120-130 degrees from two weeks after it is ground till I pull it apart in the spring. It doesn"t matter what temperature it is outside. In the past, it"s been zero out and 1-2" in the pile it"s over a 100 degrees already. Have any ideas on how to harness all this heat/energy to heat either the shop or home or ? I know it needs to be hot to get the wood to begin to break down and "color" so it looks better in the spring to sell, but it sure seems like there is a lot of heat there to use. Normally the pile is 300" from the shop and farther to the house. I can move it though to make it closer. Just wondering if any one could point me in the direction of some info or if you have any ideas. Thanks in advance.

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old

11-11-2007 18:26:56




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 Re: WAY, WAY OT--heating with compost pile in reply to OliverGuy, 11-11-2007 14:09:27  
Seen it done more then once. Big problem is labor it takes to do it. You need to put a coil of pipe in to it and then cover it up. Then you pump water through it to a radiator of some sort and you then get heat. But the big problem is how far you have to pump it and how hot the pile gets. Cool the pile down to much by pumping the water you have problems with it composting etc etc. Motor earth news had a number of articles about doing it years ago and how to set it up

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mjbrown

11-11-2007 17:12:32




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 Re: WAY, WAY OT--heating with compost pile in reply to OliverGuy, 11-11-2007 14:09:27  
A big pile of horse manure would work better.



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ErnieDD

11-11-2007 15:22:55




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 Re: WAY, WAY OT--heating with compost pile in reply to OliverGuy, 11-11-2007 14:09:27  
I believe you will run into power density problems. Your compost is mostly insulation, and it makes heat and it is trapped inside. Take it away with a water loop and it will cool quickly. You will need to jazz it up with something injectable food for the bugs or O2 come to mind to burn more "fuel" as you loop it away.



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phillip d

11-11-2007 14:55:05




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 Re: WAY, WAY OT--heating with compost pile in reply to OliverGuy, 11-11-2007 14:09:27  
Can you figure out some way to circulate water through lines that run in a coil formation in the center of the pile where all the heat is?It can then be run underground to radiators in your home or shop,not that much unlike an outdoor wood burning boiler furnace.The lines are usually placed at least 4' or more underground in those cases to prevent cooling of the water lines or freezing.Good luck and keep us posted,pd.

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workhorse

11-11-2007 14:52:22




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 Re: WAY, WAY OT--heating with compost pile in reply to OliverGuy, 11-11-2007 14:09:27  
Put the loops for a ground source heat pump under the pile, pipe them to the house and hook up to the heatpump unit. The most efficent electric heat out there.



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Bser

11-11-2007 14:40:59




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 Re: WAY, WAY OT--heating with compost pile in reply to OliverGuy, 11-11-2007 14:09:27  
Please keep us posted. I'm in Florida and we have talked about using a compost pile as a heat exchanger to operate air conditioning. The drawback is using ammonia doesn't excite me.Todays fuel costs will only continue to climb.



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