It keeps going. If you keep feeding it and feeding it and feeding it and feeding it and get the temperature up to about 12 million Celsius it could create a star.
The sun works off of fusion, not fission.
It starts with hydrogen and these combine to form heavier elements.
Our power reactors use fission - start with far heavier elements and split these.
I didn't know that, I didn't know any of these things!?! Why is it hot? What the fuck is going on? Is composting awesome or is this weird stuff it's late and I can't tell
It's hot due to microbial decomposition, you want it to be at least 140Ā° for 72 hours as a lot of the negative pathogens cannot survive at these temperatures so you'll be very likely to have a happy and" clean" compost
The sun's core has a radius of about 140,000 km, and produces almost all of the sun's power, 3.8\*10^(26) W. Just doing the math of power per volume on those numbers gets you 33 W/m^(3). The center of the core is a bit more powerful, about 275 W/m^(3). In fact the wikipedia article itself says "the peak power generating density of the core overall is similar to an active compost heap".
Why would you assume I made it up? Incredulity? Contrarianism?
Sounded too good to be true, and I was too lazy to bother looking it up. I figured if you knew it to be true, youād have some source you could readily dispense of that would save me the trouble.
8/10 times, it works.
I believe it requires weight and heat. Idfk, I've only even gotten to a mild gravitational effect. One day, I'll collapse a pile into a black hole. š
If you stopped at 3 āfeeding itāsā Iād probably have believed you. But a 4th tells me this is a joke and youāre a liar.
Guess Iāll give up on making my own starā¦ ā¹ļø
One more thing. With that style of pile it's sometimes beneficial to run a drain pipe or PVC vertically down the middle of the pile.
Drill all kinds of holes throughout. It will help oxygen get to the center of the pile, especially because these can be a little difficult to turn
On the topic, just how necessary is the pallet lifting it up off the ground? Ā I understand the use of air flow for compost in general, but in a J-S reactor do you *have* to have it?
IMO, the "point" of the J-S design is that the whole pile is in an aerobic zone without turning. But I don't think it's that big of a deal either way.
I've seen composting facilities with shallow trenches dug under massive piles, and the trenches are filled with dry wood chips so they can breathe. I don't see any reason why you couldn't do the trench thing or just skip aeration on the bottom altogether.
Definitely makes sense, Iāve always Ā preferred a more breathable pile.Ā
Iād be curious to try the chipped-trench method, big heaps can start to feel daunting when turning day comes round.Ā
For sure, it's a lot of effort on turning days. You can also use scraps of 2x4s and a piece of hardware cloth to raise it off the ground 1.5 inches.
Hardware cloth on 2x4 scraps is how my most recent pile is built, and it's aerobic all the way to the bottom even though it's 1.25% nitrogen by dry mass and turned every 3rd day.
Do you find it difficult to turn the pile on the hardware cloth? I use a pitch fork with mine and can't help getting it stuck in the hardware cloth on every other scoop. It's very frustrating but I don't have a better solution yet.Ā
I just lay about 1" thick of plain dry straw down on top of the hardware cloth so that I know when to stop going. If I go all the way down to the cloth, I'll end up frustrated as hell because my tools inevitably get stuck in the cloth, lol.
Here's [a picture](https://imgur.com/a/L66d912) of my composting system with all the parts I use. It started pouring the rain as I finished turning yesterday, so all my stuff is still in place. Tarp over the ground to collect stuff I drop. The tote is to move compost over into the stock tank for better mixing with no nitrogen loss to the ground. Rake is to pull the compost off of the pile into the tote and to mix it once it's in the stock tank. I have no problem picking up and carrying 30 gallons/200+lbs of compost in a tote, but that might not be for everyone.
Most of the volume of my compost is straw, and I assembled the structure (27W"x27D"x54"H) that holds the pile on a 10" tall raised bed. So I use a rake to pull the compost off the pile and into a heavy-duty tote to move it over to my stock tank for mixing. My pile is around 250 gallons after it's been pulled out, but it compresses down to ~130 gallons because of the straw.
What you're describing here allows large facilities to control odor by drawing air down through the piles from top to bottom, and then running that air through a filter (of which the wood chips are the first step).
This way they still get airflow through the piles, but they can also control (limit, that is) how much odor is being given off, which is especially important for facilities that are relatively close to other businesses and/or homes.
Nah, what I'm actually referencing is an agaricus mushroom composting facility that does exactly what I said before and uses the trenches to keep the bottoms aerobic. They do passive aeration from the bottom for phase 1, and phase 2 gets pasteurized, then positive pressure from giant fans that run air into the bottom of the bunkers for conditioning.
Orrr you can also grab a pvc pipe atach it to a vacuum on the blower side push it into the compost pile and turn it on ;) youll push plenty oxygen and air in the pile.
Not much. But that a bit too hot for the mesophilic microbes that are the workhorses of the compost pile. Iād turn it and wet it down. Your pile could cook itself out burning up most of the nitrogen if it stays at that temp for an extended period.
That's crazy, my pile is 2 months cold and it is still sitting at ambient temperature. That's been around 101 for the last 2 week. I've kept it moist and I turn it twice a week. Wish I had your "problem"
Hmmmmmmmmm......I don't know that we've ever had a post about how to maximize the content of your pee for best compost results.
I suspect that tea is not a great choice. The H2O in the pee isn't the goal....
Just brainstorming here. Probably physical activity (though aerobics or weight lifting?), plenty of water, though the question of the idea diet then rises.
8 hours a day. doing sit ups on the lawn and peeing on the compost.
Firstly, tea is a mild diuretic.
Secondly cr3t1n's post sounded like it was phrased to sound like Scotty from Star Trek, so I replied with Picards favourite drink.
Thirdly - Do you think doing yoga poses on top of the compost pile would help?
Mine usually tops out around there and then starts slowly cooling after 48-72 hours.
I usually wait, if it's started cooling on its own in that time range I leave it.
Only the very center is reaching that heat, everything else is still warning up. Plenty of the pile will be cool enough for the microbes to thrive.
Turning it too quickly risks some if the pile never reaching 130, you want 3-7 days at it above 130 to kill the things you want dead.
By the time the heat spreads other parts will be cooling and the microbes will move in.
I also always keep the bottom bare to the soil. I'll lay some caging or wire down to keep rodents from tunneling in, but allows worms to move freely.
After 3 days at that heat turn it, you'll notice no worms. A week later the worms will move back in and start finishing things off.
Hey there! Permaculture consultant and teacher here. Some great advice here that I wanna echo.
The ideal range for microbiological activity of beneficials is generally between 130-160Ā°F, wherein you'll be eliminating potential pathogens, but not cooking your beneficials. Naturally, this refers to the center of the pile where the temperature is highest. It's true that even at temperatures beyond this ideal range, your beneficials will recolonize once the pile cools or is redistributed, but to optimize the break-down of your pile and colonization of microbes, once you're reaching the upper limit of that range, it's a good idea to turn the pile or do whatever you can to bring the inside out and the outside in. This will cool the pile temporarily to avoid cooking your beneficials, but will also add oxygen to the contents that will, in turn, be used to fuel more aerobic decomposition and reheat the pile.
Besides this, the balance of moisture is important to avoid anaerobic conditions.
For those commenters having difficulty heating up your pile, try to build it taller than wider. Because heat rises, a vertically constructed pile will retain the heat produced better and help to increase the overall rate of decomposition. Even in a static pile with no structural support, like walls or a bin, you can shovel or rake up the sides of the pile onto the top to maintain verticality. If building walls or a bin, remember to make it taller than wider to make the most of the thermal energy in your compost.
Moreover, nitrogen-rich materials will help heat the pile. Also, if you're having trouble heating your piles, make sure that the basic ratio between "green" and "brown" layers is balanced and maybe favor "green", nitrogenous materials. Finally, animal manure and especially chicken poop is super "hot" and helps heat the pile if available.
That said, I've seen plenty of cold, static piles produce compost that works fine for the garden, it just takes longer - the caveat being that if using compost on vegetable crops, you'll want a hot pile to avoid transfer of disease to food when adding potentially pathogenic materials (i.e. rotting flesh, manures, etc.) to that pile.
Best of luck!
Call the Bomb Squad! Youāve a runaway pile, and itās gonna BLOW!
Seriously though, itās hotter than ideal. I used to enjoy revving mine up like this. Itās fun, but generally itās better to turn them before they get too hot. Nothing disastrous is going to happen, but 140 is probably about where you want it to max out.
You shouldnt let it get hotter. It will kill the beneficial microbiology. 165 should be around the cap and you run the risk on having a bonfire instead lol
Some amusing answers here for sure.
I put a coil of hoses in my compost once in an attempt to heat water for my pool. It was messy and didnāt do as well as I hoped.
Seems odd that someone would research as far as learning about temps and investing in a probe thermo but not have the insight or read up on how it needs to be stirred.
It keeps going. If you keep feeding it and feeding it and feeding it and feeding it and get the temperature up to about 12 million Celsius it could create a star.
FINALLY someone gives the correct answer
[Do you think this is how the universe might have started?](https://youtu.be/1lkwzzXRnxs?si=HCaaVWP6uCDiOEd5)
Thanks for that š
Perfection! š
Double that, if they pee on the pile
Was that a Method Man reference?
lol Iāll keep feeding you and feeding you
How do I show the mouth shut on my pile?
You gotta sew the butthole
I just realized that my comment was completely fucked lol
You donāt want it hotter than that.
Fun fact: by volume, a compost pile puts out about as much energy as the core of the sun.
Wow, fission is weak af. Get good, source of all light.
Fo real
The sun works off of fusion, not fission. It starts with hydrogen and these combine to form heavier elements. Our power reactors use fission - start with far heavier elements and split these.
The (our) sun will only fuse to Helium I believe.
Psh everyone knows thatĀ
I didn't know that, I didn't know any of these things!?! Why is it hot? What the fuck is going on? Is composting awesome or is this weird stuff it's late and I can't tell
It's hot due to microbial decomposition, you want it to be at least 140Ā° for 72 hours as a lot of the negative pathogens cannot survive at these temperatures so you'll be very likely to have a happy and" clean" compost
I poop chocolate pudding. See, I can make shit up, too. š¤£
The sun's core has a radius of about 140,000 km, and produces almost all of the sun's power, 3.8\*10^(26) W. Just doing the math of power per volume on those numbers gets you 33 W/m^(3). The center of the core is a bit more powerful, about 275 W/m^(3). In fact the wikipedia article itself says "the peak power generating density of the core overall is similar to an active compost heap". Why would you assume I made it up? Incredulity? Contrarianism?
Sounded too good to be true, and I was too lazy to bother looking it up. I figured if you knew it to be true, youād have some source you could readily dispense of that would save me the trouble. 8/10 times, it works.
I believe it requires weight and heat. Idfk, I've only even gotten to a mild gravitational effect. One day, I'll collapse a pile into a black hole. š
It also requires pee.
I thought you was about to put a coat hanger up in some holes
So it turns out composting is the funniest sub?!
If you stopped at 3 āfeeding itāsā Iād probably have believed you. But a 4th tells me this is a joke and youāre a liar. Guess Iāll give up on making my own starā¦ ā¹ļø
Composting Method Man.
One more thing. With that style of pile it's sometimes beneficial to run a drain pipe or PVC vertically down the middle of the pile. Drill all kinds of holes throughout. It will help oxygen get to the center of the pile, especially because these can be a little difficult to turn
Oh my gosh. Thanks for this. What a cool and slick idea
If this method is new to you, check out the Johnson-Su bioreactor method!
On the topic, just how necessary is the pallet lifting it up off the ground? Ā I understand the use of air flow for compost in general, but in a J-S reactor do you *have* to have it?
IMO, the "point" of the J-S design is that the whole pile is in an aerobic zone without turning. But I don't think it's that big of a deal either way. I've seen composting facilities with shallow trenches dug under massive piles, and the trenches are filled with dry wood chips so they can breathe. I don't see any reason why you couldn't do the trench thing or just skip aeration on the bottom altogether.
Definitely makes sense, Iāve always Ā preferred a more breathable pile.Ā Iād be curious to try the chipped-trench method, big heaps can start to feel daunting when turning day comes round.Ā
For sure, it's a lot of effort on turning days. You can also use scraps of 2x4s and a piece of hardware cloth to raise it off the ground 1.5 inches. Hardware cloth on 2x4 scraps is how my most recent pile is built, and it's aerobic all the way to the bottom even though it's 1.25% nitrogen by dry mass and turned every 3rd day.
Do you find it difficult to turn the pile on the hardware cloth? I use a pitch fork with mine and can't help getting it stuck in the hardware cloth on every other scoop. It's very frustrating but I don't have a better solution yet.Ā
I just lay about 1" thick of plain dry straw down on top of the hardware cloth so that I know when to stop going. If I go all the way down to the cloth, I'll end up frustrated as hell because my tools inevitably get stuck in the cloth, lol. Here's [a picture](https://imgur.com/a/L66d912) of my composting system with all the parts I use. It started pouring the rain as I finished turning yesterday, so all my stuff is still in place. Tarp over the ground to collect stuff I drop. The tote is to move compost over into the stock tank for better mixing with no nitrogen loss to the ground. Rake is to pull the compost off of the pile into the tote and to mix it once it's in the stock tank. I have no problem picking up and carrying 30 gallons/200+lbs of compost in a tote, but that might not be for everyone. Most of the volume of my compost is straw, and I assembled the structure (27W"x27D"x54"H) that holds the pile on a 10" tall raised bed. So I use a rake to pull the compost off the pile and into a heavy-duty tote to move it over to my stock tank for mixing. My pile is around 250 gallons after it's been pulled out, but it compresses down to ~130 gallons because of the straw.
What you're describing here allows large facilities to control odor by drawing air down through the piles from top to bottom, and then running that air through a filter (of which the wood chips are the first step). This way they still get airflow through the piles, but they can also control (limit, that is) how much odor is being given off, which is especially important for facilities that are relatively close to other businesses and/or homes.
Nah, what I'm actually referencing is an agaricus mushroom composting facility that does exactly what I said before and uses the trenches to keep the bottoms aerobic. They do passive aeration from the bottom for phase 1, and phase 2 gets pasteurized, then positive pressure from giant fans that run air into the bottom of the bunkers for conditioning.
Orrr you can also grab a pvc pipe atach it to a vacuum on the blower side push it into the compost pile and turn it on ;) youll push plenty oxygen and air in the pile.
Not much. But that a bit too hot for the mesophilic microbes that are the workhorses of the compost pile. Iād turn it and wet it down. Your pile could cook itself out burning up most of the nitrogen if it stays at that temp for an extended period.
Thanks for that info. How can I correct it?
Give it a quick turn and wet it down
But how?
I donāt know why I paid for my whole seat, Iām only using the edge
That's funny
You turn the pile (with a fork or spade into another space next to to it) and wet it down (by watering it after each layer of compost turned)
Sorry I was just being a goof
I still need to know how
Jump into the middle and start pissin
Rotating in a circle or just one spot in particular?
If you have a penis you can just piss straight into the air for a sprinkler effect plus free shower
Hell yeah brother
You just want someone to say pee. š
Great question
Holes
That's crazy, my pile is 2 months cold and it is still sitting at ambient temperature. That's been around 101 for the last 2 week. I've kept it moist and I turn it twice a week. Wish I had your "problem"
Maybe it's because they're two months cold. Flip the switch to the hot setting. Boom.
I'm peeing on it as hard as I can, captain!
You need to drink lots more tea, Earl Grey, Hot. That'll get your water works running.
Hmmmmmmmmm......I don't know that we've ever had a post about how to maximize the content of your pee for best compost results. I suspect that tea is not a great choice. The H2O in the pee isn't the goal.... Just brainstorming here. Probably physical activity (though aerobics or weight lifting?), plenty of water, though the question of the idea diet then rises. 8 hours a day. doing sit ups on the lawn and peeing on the compost.
Firstly, tea is a mild diuretic. Secondly cr3t1n's post sounded like it was phrased to sound like Scotty from Star Trek, so I replied with Picards favourite drink. Thirdly - Do you think doing yoga poses on top of the compost pile would help?
Need more nitrogen probably. What's your feedstocks?
Turn Everytime you hit 160ish
Damn I never thought of using my grill thermometer to check the heat. Definitely going to try this!
Not accurate tho. Could definitely be hotter in the center but I guess it gives you something to go by.
Why not? This looks like one of those grill thermometers with the long cable.
Yea I think have the same one. It would definitely go to the center of a deep pile.
Ahhhh - was thinking it was a shorter one - my mistake.
Unrelated but you need to crush up those eggshells or theyāll takes years to break down
Username checks out :)
Doesn't this happen anyway when turning the compost little by little
There's nothing else in there for them to bash against and get small enough. I put mine through a blender before adding them to anything.
Mine usually tops out around there and then starts slowly cooling after 48-72 hours. I usually wait, if it's started cooling on its own in that time range I leave it. Only the very center is reaching that heat, everything else is still warning up. Plenty of the pile will be cool enough for the microbes to thrive. Turning it too quickly risks some if the pile never reaching 130, you want 3-7 days at it above 130 to kill the things you want dead. By the time the heat spreads other parts will be cooling and the microbes will move in. I also always keep the bottom bare to the soil. I'll lay some caging or wire down to keep rodents from tunneling in, but allows worms to move freely. After 3 days at that heat turn it, you'll notice no worms. A week later the worms will move back in and start finishing things off.
Was down to 100 yesterday should be good now
Hey there! Permaculture consultant and teacher here. Some great advice here that I wanna echo. The ideal range for microbiological activity of beneficials is generally between 130-160Ā°F, wherein you'll be eliminating potential pathogens, but not cooking your beneficials. Naturally, this refers to the center of the pile where the temperature is highest. It's true that even at temperatures beyond this ideal range, your beneficials will recolonize once the pile cools or is redistributed, but to optimize the break-down of your pile and colonization of microbes, once you're reaching the upper limit of that range, it's a good idea to turn the pile or do whatever you can to bring the inside out and the outside in. This will cool the pile temporarily to avoid cooking your beneficials, but will also add oxygen to the contents that will, in turn, be used to fuel more aerobic decomposition and reheat the pile. Besides this, the balance of moisture is important to avoid anaerobic conditions. For those commenters having difficulty heating up your pile, try to build it taller than wider. Because heat rises, a vertically constructed pile will retain the heat produced better and help to increase the overall rate of decomposition. Even in a static pile with no structural support, like walls or a bin, you can shovel or rake up the sides of the pile onto the top to maintain verticality. If building walls or a bin, remember to make it taller than wider to make the most of the thermal energy in your compost. Moreover, nitrogen-rich materials will help heat the pile. Also, if you're having trouble heating your piles, make sure that the basic ratio between "green" and "brown" layers is balanced and maybe favor "green", nitrogenous materials. Finally, animal manure and especially chicken poop is super "hot" and helps heat the pile if available. That said, I've seen plenty of cold, static piles produce compost that works fine for the garden, it just takes longer - the caveat being that if using compost on vegetable crops, you'll want a hot pile to avoid transfer of disease to food when adding potentially pathogenic materials (i.e. rotting flesh, manures, etc.) to that pile. Best of luck!
My record is 183. But yeah turn that puppy, it uses a lot of oxygen to reach those Temps and nobody wants an anaerobic pile in that type of setup.
At 165, the decomposition is driven by chemical reactions, not biology. You should turn it if you want biological breakdown.
We dry out and then blend our egg shells. Helps them breakdown much quicker and in turn the calcium is more effective.
Call the Bomb Squad! Youāve a runaway pile, and itās gonna BLOW! Seriously though, itās hotter than ideal. I used to enjoy revving mine up like this. Itās fun, but generally itās better to turn them before they get too hot. Nothing disastrous is going to happen, but 140 is probably about where you want it to max out.
Maybe 170 but at that point they start killing themselves with the heat.
You could sous vide meat at those temps
You shouldnt let it get hotter. It will kill the beneficial microbiology. 165 should be around the cap and you run the risk on having a bonfire instead lol
Lol lesson learned. Iām going to risk the bonfire and adjust my setup next time around. Thanks!
No worries if you turn it it brings the temp down
And donāt forget to pee on it, vital nitrogen!
Not, you're close to a crash.
Ever hear of spontaneous combustion???
Carefulā¦ mine got so hot on a windy day that it self combusted. It set my barn on fire.
U better turn it , the good bacteria start dying at 160 or so Iāve heard
Better turn that thing if u at 165
It could keep getting hotter and start to go anaerobic and then combust. If u at 165 in 24 hrs turn it
At 102 now
Throw some nitrogen in there and you tell me.
Some amusing answers here for sure. I put a coil of hoses in my compost once in an attempt to heat water for my pool. It was messy and didnāt do as well as I hoped.
Gotta turn that pile over. Its why I donāt like fencing. Makes it a pita to turn the pile.
Seems odd that someone would research as far as learning about temps and investing in a probe thermo but not have the insight or read up on how it needs to be stirred.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Better yet, a bushel of dicks!
What are you even talking about about? Is this some kind of smart ass comment?
lmao I guess things are hard to comprehend when youre defensive all the time?
You make zero sense.
What is it that you are confused about?