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Successful Manure & Waste Management
Question about Heat Transfer
July 6th, 2009 by peter
Laura Lemco, who has been operating an O2Compost system in Colorado since 2008, recently sent us this email:
“People used to joke with me that I should use the heat generated by that huge compost pile to heat my house. By why couldn’t a bin heat a greenhouse?”
Your question about extracting heat from the compost pile is very timely. I am currently constructing a heat collector using 50 feet of 1/2″ diameter copper tubing. Using an 80-gallon per hour fountain pump, I will circulate water through the copper tubing, heating it as it goes around the loops. Based on my calculations, water should cycle 200 times per hour thorugh the system.
My plan is to lay it horizontally about 18 inches from the top of the bin so that it is free to settle along with the compost. When the batch is batch is done, I will scalp the compost off the top and lift the collector off to use in another pile. I plan on heating water but it could also be used to heat a radiant floor. We are talking with a group in Alaska about heating their greenhouses in February and March. I also have a client in New York who has been experimenting with heat extraction to warm the seed trays in his greenhouse.
I will post updates on my findings as I move forward with my own heat transfer experimentations.
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