Tumble dryer compost bin???

[krazynoklahoma]

I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried making a tumble type compost bin out of an old clothes dryer. Im thinking about trying to make one out of our old dryer but i'm not relly sure how to even start. Any suggestions????

Melissa

 

[vfem]

Wow... good luck! That sounds like a huge undertaking.

Maybe BoggyBottom can help... I do believe he created a greenhouse out of a old fridge!

 

[boggybranch]

Wow... good luck! That sounds like a huge undertaking.

Maybe BoggyBottom can help... I do believe he created a greenhouse out of a old fridge!

Hahahahaha....yep, sure did. But there ain't no current going to it.

It's a good idea, tho. I'll have to ponder on it awhile.

 

[boggybranch]

Ok.....don't see how you can do it using the motor because of having to wet the compost down, from time to time........BUT, you could take all the "guts" out of the bottom, take the back off the dryer and remove the drum. Drill holes all over and around the drum and reinstall. Weld a handle on the back of the drum so you can, manually, turn the drum. Set the whole thing up on a frame just high enough for it to be comfortable to turn the drum and let the fine compost collect at the bottom of the frame.
Not too hard of a conversion.

 

[vfem]

You are my garden tech hero!

 

[boggybranch]

I'd sure give it a go....if I could get my hands on a REALLY big dryer.(I make a LOT of compost)

I think 'crazy' may be onto something, here.

 

[patandchickens]

Tumble dryer baskets already have holes in them -- possibly too many, you might actually have to duct-tape over a bunch of them to keep the compost from drying out too much!

It shouldn't be terribly difficult to make a lid out of 3/4" ply with a groove routed into it to fit the lip of the dryer basket, with a hole in the center of that and in the center of the dryer basket bottom to accept an axle. The harder part (though quite easy if you are a welder) would be to rig up some kind of axle assembly that would still let you lower the thing, or tip it upright, to take off the lid to deal with. I think that would be a lot easier and stronger than trying to cut a hatch in the side of the basket though.

I have no clue how well it would work, since I have no clue how well the commercial compost tumblers work *either* , I can't imagine they make very MUCH compost even when/if they are at top performance, and a dryer basket being smaller would make less.

Still, if you like projects it would be an interesting one and I'd sure like to hear how it comes out

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[boggybranch]

Tumble dryer baskets already have holes in them -- possibly too many, you might actually have to duct-tape over a bunch of them to keep the compost from drying out too much!

It shouldn't be terribly difficult to make a lid out of 3/4" ply with a groove routed into it to fit the lip of the dryer basket, with a hole in the center of that and in the center of the dryer basket bottom to accept an axle. The harder part (though quite easy if you are a welder) would be to rig up some kind of axle assembly that would still let you lower the thing, or tip it upright, to take off the lid to deal with. I think that would be a lot easier and stronger than trying to cut a hatch in the side of the basket though.

I have no clue how well it would work, since I have no clue how well the commercial compost tumblers work *either* , I can't imagine they make very MUCH compost even when/if they are at top performance, and a dryer basket being smaller would make less.

Still, if you like projects it would be an interesting one and I'd sure like to hear how it comes out

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

My dryer doesn't have holes around the drum......has a few holes on the back of the drum.

 

[Black River]

Hello, i'm Mr. Newbie here...i saw your post and thought i'd answer. I just had this idea too and put it to use about two weeks ago. I'm trying to make use of anything around the place that might hold a few plants or aid in composting. All i did was take the top panel off the dryer (it's a front loading kind), disconnect a few wires, and took as many of the pieces/parts out of the back as possible. The drum part of the dryer has a small belt that goes all the way around, and we just grab this belt and pull to spin the drum. Like you said, the drum only has some holes in the back, and i've had no problem with it staying moist inside. I sat the dryer in back of the house between our air conditioning units, up against the wall underneath the eaves as far as i could get it to keep out as much rain as possible (didn't want it too wet, although i don't think much water could get in anyway). It's too early yet to tell how it's going to work, but it's worth a try for 20 minutes of labor. The only drawback is i may have to put some red wigglers or some worms in there for castings.

 

[hoodat]

My problem with the tumble dryers (I've only used to types sold for composting) is that they don't get enough air so you usually end up with anaerobic compost. That's fine for the garden but can be dangerous for you to handle. Don't let any bare skin come in contact with it. Anaerobic compost can harbor germs like E coli that can get you quite sick. Tetanus is another anaerobic bacteria that is often found in anaerobic compost and can be very serious indeed. Germs of this type are seldom, if ever, present in a normal compost pile because oxygen kills them.