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Bloomington, IN

About how many gallons of compost tea can I make using an air pump with a 950 gallon/hour capacity?

6/22/2009 12:59:36 AM

Denver, CO

I think the rule of thumb is 2 liters of air per gallon of compost tea. So, if there are 3.78 liters to a gallon that would be 3591 total liters of air for your pump. Divide that by 2 and you get 1795 gallons of tea.

That's one hell of a airpump! What was it used for normally?

6/22/2009 12:06:27 PM

Seattle, WA

The rule I've heard is .08 cfm/gallon. In our 5 gallon, it pushes 51 liters/min.

6/22/2009 1:08:56 PM

Bloomington, IN

Well I bought it thinkin it was about the right size for a five gallon pail set up. Let me check my math...

I googled 'liters in a gallon' and found theres actually about 3.79 liters to a gallon so 950x3.79=3600.5, 3600.5÷60 minutes=60 liters/min

I guess my question should be since the pail is only going to be filled to 3-4 gallons, would 60 liters/min be too strong? Thanks for the help!

6/22/2009 2:32:22 PM

Seattle, WA

Nope, not too strong, sounds about right. How are you diffusing the air at the bottom of the bucket? Can you describe your design a bit more?

If you do use air stones, you'll want to get glass bonded ones, and will need to clean them periodically with a strong acid.

If you plan on using a bag to hold the compost, you'll want to run air into there as well to agitate the compost.

Good luck!

6/22/2009 10:40:14 PM

Bloomington, IN

Thanks Tad! Actually the pump is the only part I have at the moment, the rest coming later. About the acid though, what would be a good acid to use?

6/22/2009 11:27:22 PM

Bloomington, IN

Oh, another question just came to mind. I had planned on buying a whole new pail for the compost tea, but I have three outside that I've been using to water the garden with for over a year, and it shows on them. Could they be made clean enough for tea? Or would I be better off getting a new one?

6/22/2009 11:35:44 PM

Seattle, WA

I don't use air stones. Check the site: www.microbeorganics.com, Tim Wilson has info. on there on how to make a brewer that he's tested. I'm guess the info. on the acid for the air stones is on there as well, but if not you can email him. If you have any trouble, go ahead and send me a message and I'll track it down.

I think it would be fine to clean the ones you already have. Just don't use any bucket that has been used with chemicals for extended periods as there has been some data to show that it will get stored in the plastic and effect your microbial counts in your tea.

6/23/2009 3:06:50 AM

Bloomington, IN

Thanks Tad!

6/23/2009 3:27:28 PM