On Tue, 1 Aug 2017 14:13:31 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote:


Re daleks - I have 2 but they are slooowww... And never get that warm,
especially in winter.

The insulation is the key, so it's either make one or buy one - hassle
factor is significant here as I have a *lot* going on right now.

Insulate the Daleks with something like loft insulation strapped
around them. A couple of rolls will be much less cost than buying a
Hot Bin.

G,Harman

wrote:

You might even find a local tall building being stripped of some.

Ouch!

On 02/08/2017 01:38, wrote:
On Tue, 1 Aug 2017 14:13:31 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote:


Re daleks - I have 2 but they are slooowww... And never get that warm,
especially in winter.

The insulation is the key, so it's either make one or buy one - hassle
factor is significant here as I have a *lot* going on right now.

Insulate the Daleks with something like loft insulation strapped
around them. A couple of rolls will be much less cost than buying a
Hot Bin.

G,Harman


Hot water tank blanket? Although the insulation is somewhat useless if
it gets soaked with water and remains wet.


--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 02/08/2017 03:31, Andy Burns wrote:
wrote:

You might even find a local tall building being stripped of some.

Ouch!

The OP was concerned about the bin not catching fire!


--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Wed, 2 Aug 2017 12:56:11 +0100, alan_m
wrote:

The insulation is the key, so it's either make one or buy one - hassle
factor is significant here as I have a *lot* going on right now.

Insulate the Daleks with something like loft insulation strapped
around them. A couple of rolls will be much less cost than buying a
Hot Bin.

G,Harman


Hot water tank blanket? Although the insulation is somewhat useless if
it gets soaked with water and remains wet.

I did wonder about that as an option, but the Dalek shaped composters
are a large and uneven circumference bigger than most domestic hot
water tanks, especially around the base. ISTR the blankets are not
that thick either.
The point about the insulation getting wet is a good one,
Until I found that burying the compost bin in the middle of the grass
heap worked well enough I was going to wrap it with an old roll of
insulation we had and then use some large sheets of bubblewrap that we
used as green house insulation one year but are now surplus , that
would have given a degree of water resistance, some bin liners and
sticky tape would do the same.
Or the OP could just buy a wide screen telly and use the packaging to
make a Hotbin

G.Harman

On Wed, 2 Aug 2017 13:10:57 +0100, alan_m
wrote:

On 02/08/2017 03:31, Andy Burns wrote:
wrote:

You might even find a local tall building being stripped of some.

Ouch!

The OP was concerned about the bin not catching fire!

Going from the state of my brothers that seems unlikely ,
the Hotbin as it comes is far more enclosed than than Daleks or a box
made from pallets and if you are putting in fairly moist things like
kitchen waste and leafy plants the top is a disgusting looking
steamy morass of things turning into a sort of soup which is why to
get reasonable compost you have to add the bulking agent , or in other
words some dry material like twigs or cardboard.

G.Harman

On 02/08/2017 13:47, wrote:
On Wed, 2 Aug 2017 13:10:57 +0100, alan_m
wrote:

On 02/08/2017 03:31, Andy Burns wrote:
wrote:

You might even find a local tall building being stripped of some.

Ouch!

The OP was concerned about the bin not catching fire!

Going from the state of my brothers that seems unlikely

Isn't that what the experts who clad the tall buildings in
insulation/cladding said?



--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

In article ,
lid says...


According to that web site they are 32 times faster than a dalek, and
produce compost in 30-60 days.

So a dalek takes 32-64 months to compost? I'm sure I've had stuff out in
less than 2 1/2 years.

Andy


I can not understand why there is always a need for speed in
everything these days. Surely a 2 or 3 year cycle for compose
is all that is require. Why would you want compost every month?

--
Roger T

700 ft up in Mid-Wales

On 03/08/17 10:20, Roger Tonkin wrote:
In article ,
lid says...


According to that web site they are 32 times faster than a dalek, and
produce compost in 30-60 days.

So a dalek takes 32-64 months to compost? I'm sure I've had stuff out in
less than 2 1/2 years.

Andy


I can not understand why there is always a need for speed in
everything these days. Surely a 2 or 3 year cycle for compose
is all that is require. Why would you want compost every month?


Volume of grass clippings and other materials - simple at that.

It's not the speed so much as the max throughput.

In article ,
says...

On 03/08/17 10:20, Roger Tonkin wrote:
In article ,
lid says...


According to that web site they are 32 times faster than a dalek, and
produce compost in 30-60 days.

So a dalek takes 32-64 months to compost? I'm sure I've had stuff out in
less than 2 1/2 years.

Andy


I can not understand why there is always a need for speed in
everything these days. Surely a 2 or 3 year cycle for compose
is all that is require. Why would you want compost every month?


Volume of grass clippings and other materials - simple at that.

It's not the speed so much as the max throughput.


Yes, so you compost it quickly, then what are you going to do
with it?

--
Roger T

700 ft up in Mid-Wales

On 03/08/17 19:32, Roger Tonkin wrote:
Yes, so you compost it quickly, then what are you going to do
with it?

Put it on the ground Under the hedges, trees, that sort of thing.

And it should be 1/4 of the original volume or so.

In article ,
says...

On 03/08/17 19:32, Roger Tonkin wrote:
Yes, so you compost it quickly, then what are you going to do
with it?

Put it on the ground Under the hedges, trees, that sort of thing.

I use large volumes of fresh grass cuttings (mine and several
neighbours') exactly like that; they don't need to be composted in a bin
first. I've been doing this for 15 years with no downsides yet.

Lawnmowings under hedges trees shrubs etc act as a weed suppressing
mulch and build soil fertility as they decompose. Birds fossick through
it, continually turning it over and breaking it up as they hunt for
worms etc.

Janet.

On 04/08/17 12:31, Janet wrote:
In article ,
says...

On 03/08/17 19:32, Roger Tonkin wrote:
Yes, so you compost it quickly, then what are you going to do
with it?

Put it on the ground Under the hedges, trees, that sort of thing.

I use large volumes of fresh grass cuttings (mine and several
neighbours') exactly like that; they don't need to be composted in a bin
first. I've been doing this for 15 years with no downsides yet.

Lawnmowings under hedges trees shrubs etc act as a weed suppressing
mulch and build soil fertility as they decompose. Birds fossick through
it, continually turning it over and breaking it up as they hunt for
worms etc.

Janet.


That's an idea - I'll try that. Never occurred to me... Thanks!

On 31/07/2017 12:48, Tim Watts wrote:
Hi,

It might seem like a silly question, but is there *any* likelihood of
one of these:

http://www.hotbincomposting.com/

catching fire of its own volition?

Possibly depending on just what you put in it. I have had my compost
heaps smouldering internally once or twice after adding about 10m^3 of
stuff in a single go. Usually it just gets to about 70C internally (too
hot to touch) and you get smells of volatile short chain fatty acids. It
doesn't smell all that unpleasant but you don't want it neat the house.

It only truly catches fire towards the end when it collapses in on
itself and air and outside surface dry material reaches the red hot
embers. The smoke is a hint that something is amiss. Steaming is normal.

My instinct is that it would probably smoulder internally and might if
you were very unlucky flame next time you took the lid off.

This affects whether I site it with my dalek bins under a low hanging
western red cedar tree whose foliage is likely flammable, or whether I
put it over by the fence (OK, the fence gets it, but fire won't spread
or get out of control).

Don't bet on it. Fire in bulk can get out of hand very quickly.

A friend had their big garden fence set alight by a neighbours bonfire
and it took 3 fire tenders to put it out. The fire threatened and set
light to garden sheds and nearby trees by thermal radiation. An apple
tree was totally destroyed along with their garden shed and tools.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 31/07/2017 17:19, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 31 Jul 2017 17:12:47 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote:

On 31/07/17 17:03, Asha Santon wrote:

I make no recommendation having never used it or anything like it,
perhaps because our garden has granite walls.


Thanks - I might use that on my workshop build

I have found a location next to a path (convenient) down the crappy side
of the garden fairly clear of overhanging trees etc.

The main interest in a hot bin is can cannot get rid of law trimmings
fast enough. My 2 daleks are slow, but do make nice compost.

Clippings are going in an old pond right now, but I need that to rot
clear in a couple of years to fill in, so ought to stop putting junk in
it

I also have a chipper (Bosch) which means I have a supply of wood
chippings too to feed the compost, as well as grass and kitchen waste.

I should be interested to hear if lawn clippings compost in this thing
as well as they claim for other stuff. IME they are the most resistant
of garden waste to compost, apart from twiggy stuff, and take many
months in a cold open heap, only really disappearing when the heap is
eventually turned from one bay to the next.

I confess to being a little mystified that people have trouble getting
lawn clippings to go. Mine go very quickly indeed provided that I don't
compact them - peak temperature is reached in about three days. I'm
adding about 1m^3 at a time and they are mostly gone within a fortnight.

I think it is all a matter of scale. Once you have enough of them in one
place the interior will get mad hot and off they go. Pongs a bit but it
isn't an unpleasant smell. My recollection from my parents small garden
was that grass cuttings on a cold heap often went slimy and anaerobic.

I did originally seed my compost heaps with Garotta (sp?) which may have
made a difference and might help get a smaller heap going well and hot.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown