Composting to Create Hot Water

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Grassyknoll

Good points OpenD and to be honest, I haven't priced either system. It is something I'll have to look into further though.
As far as reinventing the wheel, it's true nothing good comes of that, well other than maybe things like Apple, or maybe Tesla, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks....

Well. that really wasn't exactly what i wanted to say. so I'll try it again...

There are a lot of things that get done differently in Hawai'i than anywhere else, and some things that are done elsewhere that just aren't done in Hawai'i. It turns out that in most cases... maybe not all, but most... the way things get done in Hawai'i is pretty much the best way to do those things in Hawai'i.

There, does that clear things up for ya?

I've heard of people heating water with compost before, but never in Hawai'i. Seemed to me I'd heard of it in reference to keeping a koi pond from freezing up over winter. So I went looking, and look what I found... using a wheelie bin to make compost water heater. Probably not big enough for a household, but it seems a lot more practical concept to me than burying a couple hundred feet of tubing under a big pile of steaming... ummm.... compost, where a stray pitchfork tine while turning the compost could ruin your whole day.

Compost Wheelie Bin Hot Water | Ecofilms

[Grassyknoll]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Well. that really wasn't exactly what i wanted to say. so I'll try it again...

There are a lot of things that get done differently in Hawai'i than anywhere else, and some things that are done elsewhere that just aren't done in Hawai'i. It turns out that in most cases... maybe not all, but most... the way things get done in Hawai'i is pretty much the best way to do those things in Hawai'i.

There, does that clear things up for ya?

I've heard of people heating water with compost before, but never in Hawai'i. Seemed to me I'd heard of it in reference to keeping a koi pond from freezing up over winter. So I went looking, and look what I found... using a wheelie bin to make compost water heater. Probably not big enough for a household, but it seems a lot more practical concept to me than burying a couple hundred feet of tubing under a big pile of steaming... ummm.... compost, where a stray pitchfork tine while turning the compost could ruin your whole day.

Compost Wheelie Bin Hot Water | Ecofilms

Thanks for the reply OpenD, and I knew what you meant (but I also knew what you typed and couldn't resist), no slight intended.

I realize a great many things are done differently here, some of which seems to be based on an ingrained resistance to outside influence. But it also seems that there is a lot of innovative thinking and folks experimenting. IE, I see folks experimenting with hydroponic beds above Tilapia tanks, which is reinventing the wheel from separate fish ponds and ag fields.

Again, thank you for the informative reply and good sense of humor.
Mahalo.

[smarino]

As mentioned, the main problem is probably going to be the loss of heat w/ the necessarily long piping to your faucets. When I lived in Kea'au someone had installed a Paloma propane water heater (great units!) to my humble abode (old converted goat shed), and those units have to be located as close to the sinks as possible to reduce heat loss. I would not recommend locating a compost pile right next to the home, although some people do.

[Mark.ca]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Well. that really wasn't exactly what i wanted to say. so I'll try it again...

There are a lot of things that get done differently in Hawai'i than anywhere else, and some things that are done elsewhere that just aren't done in Hawai'i. It turns out that in most cases... maybe not all, but most... the way things get done in Hawai'i is pretty much the best way to do those things in Hawai'i.

There, does that clear things up for ya?

I've heard of people heating water with compost before, but never in Hawai'i. Seemed to me I'd heard of it in reference to keeping a koi pond from freezing up over winter. So I went looking, and look what I found... using a wheelie bin to make compost water heater. Probably not big enough for a household, but it seems a lot more practical concept to me than burying a couple hundred feet of tubing under a big pile of steaming... ummm.... compost, where a stray pitchfork tine while turning the compost could ruin your whole day.

Compost Wheelie Bin Hot Water | Ecofilms

Very interesting concept. The heat loss may be reduced by insulating the pipes (and bin) as they exit the bin all the way to the faucet. Is there a danger for this to ignite? Do they have to be kept a certan distance away from the house?