tutorial Beginner's guide to AACT/Compost Tea

I got the feeling you try to design a system around a free pump (scenarios like those have failure written all over it) - been there done that...

My guess would be that the pressure for watering is way higher than the pressure 4 the mesh bag, etc..

I if you, would air bubble - it works - and then evacuate into a different container (to allow 4 different mix Ratios) and then pump from there to water the garden .
 
I hear you Al. The design wasn't really around a free pump to begin with, but I did want to skip the air pump since a water pump is necessary to the equation. My dad just happened to have a pump laying around.

Luckily I am no stranger to failure so if it doesn't work with this setup I will go back to the drawing board.
 
So I started mocking this sucker up tonight. I only managed to get one side outlet put together. Who knew a 45 elbow + a 90 elbow does not add up to a 180 degree turn? Oh well, just need to grab a couple more tomorrow.
 

Untitled by GhostPepperStore.com, on Flickr
 
I went ahead and just put together a top outlet real quick to get an idea of how fast this pump was going to mix the barrel. I actually think the rate is about right. The vortex was pretty strong to begin with and was causing the vortex to suck all the way down to the pump. When I put my hand where the compost tea bag would sit, it breaks it up enough to fix it. I also was able to adjust the angle of the jet to get a slower spin.
Thoughts?
 
donno - it is very different from the "bubbling action" we all get in our AACTs ...
 
again, I would shell out the moneys for an air-pump and use the "V8-big-block-.44-magnum-pump" :D just to forward the AACT to where you need it in the garden ... I doubt it will be the same as the other method ...
 
I am no expert in flow dynamics, but I have a hump that microbes dont multiply in high speed liquids the same way they do in a mostly stationary bucket ...
 
but while you are already there, give it a shot :-D
 
cheers
al
 
Al-from-Chile said:
donno - it is very different from the "bubbling action" we all get in our AACTs ...
 
again, I would shell out the moneys for an air-pump and use the "V8-big-block-.44-magnum-pump" :D just to forward the AACT to where you need it in the garden ... I doubt it will be the same as the other method ...
 
I am no expert in flow dynamics, but I have a hump that microbes dont multiply in high speed liquids the same way they do in a mostly stationary bucket ...
 
but while you are already there, give it a shot :-D
 
cheers
al
Click to expand...
Thanks Al, I am definitely keeping the air pump in mind. In this version, I do not have the venturi aerator in place, so I *should* see more bubbling when I get that together tonight. I also can slow down the liquid by adjusting the angle of the side outlets, I just need to remember not to glue them down.
 
 
Cayennemist said:
the vortex.. yeah thats the unit i was talking about. Should work well imo. Do those pumps get hot?
Click to expand...
 
I only ran this pump for about 10 minutes as the whole thing was leaking like crazy, which is expected since nothing was sealed yet. It is a standard pool pump, so it is meant to be run constantly, so I don't think it will get hot.
 
The flow rate on the pump is vastly over-rated though, there is no way it is running anywhere near 40gpm, more like 20. I never thought I would be thankful for cheap, underpowered Chinese made motors.
 
the optimistic gpm rating is normally achieved with nil lift involved. I did quite some experimenting with solar pumping solutions for our garden ... and every 2 or 3 ft. of lift basically halves the gpm rating of your pump (same is true for every elbow in the piping).
 
being it a pool pump, i think "lift" was not a relevant design parameter for the pump either...
 
You can use this to your favor if need be :)
 
cheers - and keep us updated
al
 
found this over at the grass city forums, I think it's true...my compost tea doesn't smell (probably because of Strapped) but the compost itself smells horrible when I pull it out

5/ One can make good ACT with an aquarium pump in 5 gallons of water.

We did almost a year straight of research (at a cost of thousands of dollars) building almost every conceivable compost tea brewer design and size, ranging from 1 to 1200 gallons. These included every type itemized on my webpage in the design section and more. We measured the dissolved oxygen (DO2) religiously at all hours of day and night, eliminating configurations which failed to maintain the DO2 at or above 6 PPM. This is close to the minimum level required to support aerobic organisms. 

The outcome of this research was, the estimation, that the minimum flow required from an air pump to make compost tea while maintaining the DO2 at 6 PPM, is 0.05 CFM per gallon while the optimum flow is 0.08 CFM per gallon or greater. (the only exception was when utilizing airlifts)

This means that most aquarium pumps will not work with a 5 gallon ACT maker, no matter what a couple of guys from Texas say. Two gallons, perhaps.
 
So here is my big brewer running with both side outlets and the tube on top that will ultimately run straight into the tea bag to help push the microbes out into the mix.
I still don't have the carburetor figured out. I made a couple attempts at it, but it seemed to really stress the motor and didn't seem to create a significant amount of additional bubbling. 
 
Another test that didn't go well was testing the outflow that will be connected to the irrigation system. I capped off all three outlets in the barrel, then opened the drain valve. The PVC reduces from 1.5" to 3/4" then to a copper hose thread adapter. Since everything is still just a "mock up" none of the PVC is glued at the moment. The increased pressure, along with the unsecured PVC caused one of the outlet arms to blow off, smacking me in the face at a rather high velocity. Dumb mistake, for sure, thankfully I am not very pretty to begin with, so no real damage done.
 
The pressure at the hose end is WAY too high with the outlets capped, but if I leave them open, it is just about right. I think that will have to be the method, though I think I will not be able to drain completely since at some point so much air will enter the pump that it will cease to stay primed and stop pumping altogether.
 
I guess I really need to see if I can find a meter for DO2 so that I can see if I am getting enough oxygen in the water. The last thing I want on my hands is 50 gallons of anaerobic tea to get rid of.
 
You can use an air pump for recirculation, and aeration, a cheap wal mart air pump was my first design, with just an air hose going into a 3/8id hose I can recalculate my 7 bucket hydro set up at the rate of 50gph


If you insit on the electrical pump, I would look into a rheostat





(Please excuse me if it has been discussed, I didnt read the entire 24 pages of this thread yet, I just saw it and scanned through)
 
pepperdan said:
You can use an air pump for recirculation, and aeration, a cheap wal mart air pump was my first design, with just an air hose going into a 3/8id hose I can recalculate my 7 bucket hydro set up at the rate of 50gph

If you insit on the electrical pump, I would look into a rheostat


(Please excuse me if it has been discussed, I didnt read the entire 24 pages of this thread yet, I just saw it and scanned through)
Click to expand...
Dan, the air pump has been discussed and I realize it is the better solution. The water pump was free, and needed in order to pump the water into my irrigation system. I also have another thread about the whole topic over in "Grow Tech".
 
I was thinking about putting a fan motor dimmer on it, if I truly need to slow the pump down when I pump out to the garden.
 
I am going to get everything glued together today or tomorrow and start my first batch this weekend. You will have to stop by and check it out soon.
 
Couple questions on this AACT stuff.
 
I built me a 15 Gal Brewer and so far so good, but still have a few more questions.
 
1. Should I be adding my liquids (Molasses and Seaweed Extract) directly to the water rather than into the tea bag? When putting it in the Tea Bag it leaches out quite fast before I can get it hung. Not sure if there would be any difference, and it would save me from spilling molasses all over the patio.  
 
2. Should I put the Mycos in the tea bag or directly into the water, and should it be added at the beginning or at the end of the process? Heard some of you won't add it at all.
 
3. I have three pumps for a 15 gallon container. Would it be best to have one airline going directly into the tea bag?
 
SL3 said:
Couple questions on this AACT stuff.
 
I built me a 15 Gal Brewer and so far so good, but still have a few more questions.
 
1. Should I be adding my liquids (Molasses and Seaweed Extract) directly to the water rather than into the tea bag? When putting it in the Tea Bag it leaches out quite fast before I can get it hung. Not sure if there would be any difference, and it would save me from spilling molasses all over the patio.  
 
2. Should I put the Mycos in the tea bag or directly into the water, and should it be added at the beginning or at the end of the process? Heard some of you won't add it at all.
 
3. I have three pumps for a 15 gallon container. Would it be best to have one airline going directly into the tea bag?
Click to expand...
Dr. Elaine Ingham recommends that you put in all the extra things other than compost and molasses after brewing but that's up to you.
I put one airstone in the bag and one in the bottom of the bucket.
 
endomycorrhizal spores do not sprout and grow in compost tea
 
also "kelp meal initially delays all microbial development in a liquid but does feed fungi and bacteria/archaea following 24 hours. If too much is used the effects are suppressive. From this I garnered that it should be used very sparingly and one must be prepared to brew a little longer if using this foodstock. Again, this does not mean that kelp meal is not a good thing to use in/on soil. It definitely is!"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top