From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Logan Utah

I am interested in some tea brewers that i can make at home does any one have any ideas? plans etc. thanks

12/30/2008 9:23:07 PM

Upstate S.C.

The Lone Kunz, I made one from home and it works great. The plain is for a 32 gal. Which is what I made. However you can down size if you want. And it works like a charm. Let me know if you wanna see pics or a step by step, of the whole process.

12/31/2008 12:20:30 AM

Billerica,Massachusetts

made one a few years back 55 gal drum, large fish bubbler and air stones.

12/31/2008 7:57:29 AM

Logan Utah

sure i would like to see what it looks like

12/31/2008 7:59:58 AM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

Kunz, use Thad starr's design, proven to work.
http://www.fisher5.org/brewer.htm

12/31/2008 8:18:04 AM

Logan Utah

tom what is the soaker hose for and the air pump tubing?

12/31/2008 8:37:14 AM

to get air into the tea.

12/31/2008 9:38:24 AM

Sparta, NC

I use the Thad Starr design it works great.

12/31/2008 10:52:27 AM

Santa Rosa, CA

Kunz,

Please email me at veader@sonic.net.

Chuck

12/31/2008 11:07:41 AM

Logan Utah

email sent farmer chuck

1/1/2009 9:56:04 AM

Okla

Tad12 or Thad can you help with these questions I have? I have been searching for info on making your own tea brewer because the price seems high on some of the kits you can get. Here are a couple websites that I am wanting to find out if the brewers they have are good enough to use. The question I have is about the air supply good enough and the bubblers they have in the brewer the right type to supply the right type of air bubbles or are the bubbles they put out to small? I think a 5 gallon brewer will be enough to start out to learn with for us.
http://www.norganics.com/TeaBrewers.pdf

http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/articles/brewing-compost-tea.aspx

http://dchall.home.texas.net/organic/teamaker/PDFs/brewer.pdf

Thank You for any help you can give.
Thomas

1/1/2009 8:59:02 PM

Seattle, WA

Thomas,

I would probably go with the Deuley's example if trying to make your own 5 gal. brewer. My only modification would be to add another small pump to the lineup and run air directly into the mesh bag, which you could suspend in the the water. This will allow for even more agitation of the compost and also increase dissolved oxygen levels.

Get good compost, from more than one source if possible. Go light on the foods in your recipe, and good luck!

Send me an email and I'll send over an article I just wrote that has a few more pointers in it. tadhussey@yahoo.com

~Tad

1/1/2009 9:45:58 PM

Seattle, WA

Oh, and really soak those airstones and clean them thoroughly. I'd plan on replacing them fairly regularly and you can get biofilm buildup over time that will reduce the quality of your tea.

1/1/2009 9:46:56 PM

Hot West Tennessee

The dueley method works for small batches, 5 gallon.
Check deuleysown.com go to bottom of page to links.
How to make, Hope this helps.

1/1/2009 11:09:02 PM

Pleasant Hill, Or

Hey Thomas, I have a question for you about you plans for a brewer. You state "I think a 5 gallon brewer will be enough to start out to learn with for us". How many plants do you plant and do you plan to plant more in the future? Sounds like you intend to expand.

I started with a 5 gallon brewer, but quickly outgrew it. I found I could put the tea on everything in my yard, and the more you gave it to the pumpkin plants, the better they did. It is my belief that if you follow some basic principles of brewing, you will be very successful. Why limit yourself to just a 5 gallon brewer, when you will more than likely want to increase your volume in the near future?

The price difference of brewing 5 gallons or 55 is nominal, especially since it sounds like you will be running 2 pumps to insure adequate oxygen saturation.

Also, my experience with air stones hasn't been very favorable. They work fine for only a few brews before the become hopelessly clogged. That is why I went to the soaker hose design. The soaker hose is very cheap, easier to clean and easy to purchase at any box store.

Feel free to email if you have any other questions. Starr954atMSN.com

Thad

1/2/2009 2:13:20 AM

Gold Hill, Oregon

i just checked out the fisher brewer. it looks pretty simple to build. this is the way i'm going.

1/2/2009 3:06:39 AM

Logan Utah

so with the soaker hose do you pump air into it or what?

1/2/2009 7:08:09 AM

Ontario, Canada.

Thadd who many plants do you grow? I switched to a plastic tube with about 20 gallons in it. I find it is more than enough for four plants a couple of LG's and several tomato plants.

1/2/2009 10:53:30 AM

Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

Thad Starr's design is great (modified from the OSU design). Very simple, easy to take apart and clean. Cheap to build.

Thanks Thad

1/2/2009 11:22:31 AM

Ontario, Canada.

oops. how many?
sorry

1/2/2009 11:22:42 AM

Pleasant Hill, Or

Hey Russ, I have 6 plants. I apply 5 gals/plant every other week. 5 gallons go on each of 2 long gourds, then the rest gets put on either the field pumpkins or veggy garden.

1/2/2009 11:40:34 AM