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+--- Thread: Hotbins (/showthread.php?tid=148)
RE: Hotbins - Veggie - 10-12-2020
Whilst youtubing Hotbins I came across this man who has made his own hotcomposter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6okYEbqY8k
If you can source the insulation panels it may be worth a try. The 3rd video he's made is a comparison between his homemade one and the real thing.
I'm now imagining having a couple more bins, dotted around the garden wherever the most waste material is created so that I don't have to move it far.
RE: Hotbins - Spec - 10-12-2020
(10-12-2020, 03:16 PM)Veggie Wrote: Thanks SpecHow about Mr./Mrs. Gutsy, or of course you could go for Compo
I will, of course, bore you all senseless with my Hotbin experiences. First, I need to give it a personality and a name. Any suggestions? At the moment, he's Mr Greedy. https://www.mrmen.com/mr-greedy/
RE: Hotbins - Broadway - 10-12-2020
(10-12-2020, 04:27 PM)Veggie Wrote: Whilst youtubing Hotbins I came across this man who has made his own hotcomposter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6okYEbqY8kGood video although it's a shame he didn't show the plans for making it.
If you can source the insulation panels it may be worth a try. The 3rd video he's made is a comparison between his homemade one and the real thing.
I'm now imagining having a couple more bins, dotted around the garden wherever the most waste material is created so that I don't have to move it far.
Must admit I thought I was watching "David Tennant's" love child
RE: Hotbins - Veggie - 10-12-2020
You don't need plans to make a cube!!!
4 panels of equal size - say 4' x2' or whatever size panels are made in. A 2x2 square for the base and the lid. A grid or grill or another square of insulation with holes drilled in it to fit inside, just above the base for drainage. A water butt tap at the bottom for the leachate.
Cut the front panel into 2 pieces, about 2' above ground to make a removal panel to take the compost out.
Some glue to stick it all together.
A couple of straps around the base to stop the removable panel from popping out.
A couple of holes in the lid for ventilation.
A thermometer if you're curious about the heat.
It may not have the refinements of the real one but its worth a try, especially if you can get some cheap insulation panels.
RE: Hotbins - Veggie - 11-12-2020
(10-12-2020, 03:16 PM)Veggie Wrote: Thanks SpecUpdate
I will, of course, bore you all senseless with my Hotbin experiences. First, I need to give it a personality and a name. Any suggestions? At the moment, he's Mr Greedy. https://www.mrmen.com/mr-greedy/
Meanwhile, I've spent a few hours feeding it today - some oak twigs and leaves from a fallen branch in the base, a builder's bucket of chicken run floor (wood shavings, shredded paper and droppings), an MFB of comfrey leaves, half an MFB of nettles and a builder's bucket of chopped mint and a load of shredded bills. Please note - no kitchen waste whatsoever as all I could find was an apple core!!
I didn't use any of the woodchips that came with the bin or the kick-start bottle (a plastic bottle that you fill with boiling water and bury in the compost material to start heating it up).
Its full to the minimum level - the top of the hatch - a long way to go before it is full!
Starting temperature is 10C. Watch this space.
Mr Greedy was still 10C this morning so I gave him his hot water bottle and, within an hour he was 20C. He's now nearly 30C/80F and the lid is warm.
I've read that an HB gives off the heat equivalent of a 30w light bulb - not enough to heat a GH but maybe enough to keep the frost at bay. That's why I've put it in the GH, and its nicer to play with in the dry.
RE: Hotbins - Spec - 11-12-2020
Here is another name suggestion Veggie, how about Hungry Horice
RE: Hotbins - Veggie - 11-12-2020
Thanks Spec but he's grown into Mr Greedy of Greenhouse No 1. Its nice to have someone living there as its been empty for a while, ever since the Tomatoes moved out a few weeks ago.
RE: Hotbins - Spec - 14-12-2020
Hello Veggie, I would be grateful if you could give me the internal dimensions and hight of your hot bin, I was at a local building supplier, but unfortunately they don't stock polystyrene boards but do have 8 x 4 insulation board with a silver outer coating which I might try using
RE: Hotbins - Veggie - 14-12-2020
You can make it any size, Spec, depending on what boards you can get. The internal dimensions are the same as the external minus the thickness of the insulation.
Its about 4' high with 200ltr capacity but they make a smaller one too ?100ltrs.
Off the top pf my head, an, 8X4 boards could make 4, 4x2 panels to make the bin. You'd need another board to make 3, 2x2 panels for the lid, base and internal drainage plate.
RE: Hotbins - Spec - 14-12-2020
Thanks Veggie I think I would need 2 boards so will need to start saving up, I had been thinking of making it 4ft high by 2.5ft X 2.5 but possibly bigger is not necessarily better so might just stick to 2X2 and try and sell what's left to OH
