Gettin' this comp. tumbler for soil mixing!

ComposTumbler² - Dual Chamber Compost Tumbler

getting this bad boy for mixing all my soil and also cooking the soil in it.

What do you all think?!

I think you should get a kiss with the purchase because you are sure getting bent over.

$493 for a plastic barrel on a tubular steel (?) frame? IDK, you might want to think this through a bit more.

Are you handy at all? I do know a lady, a granny lady at that, that made one from a 55 gal drum that rotates and all for $50-$75. Not as pretty, but $400+ cheaper.

Just saying.

Wet

Wet, I dont think just a kiss would cut it for me. For 500 it better get down like a Dyson on my manhood and make me a ham sammich' when its done. And Lord help me if that bitch forgets the mayo....

Veener-- Even if your "ballin'" and the money isnt an issue, you should still build your own for the sheer purpose of not supporting the assholes that make their living off the naivety of others.

VOO

Gear driven, appx 200 gallons, two separate chambers..... to get that by making 4 55 gallon ones for even 50 bucks a piece thats half the price and 4 times the space and without the quality of an industrial built product. I dunno....... if you have some ideas that would achieve the same results and do the job and cheaper.... Im ALL ears. I just dont know how else to mix up large amounts of soil without taking up an entire room in kiddie pools, etc.

Veneer, do you mix alot of soil then? It certainly looks like it would do a good job. Ive even seen people rent the big cement mixers - whatever it takes to get the job done.

Good luck.

j

edit - check out Weedroids old thread Urban Soil Crafting - he used one of these type of units.

Edited by jerry111165, 09 September 2012 - 09:52 AM.

Jerry

For me, the most telling thing about that whole "Urban Soil Crafting" deal was a very short admission in the Vermiculture thread, That, 'the worms don't like my compost'.

That spoke volumes to me, although I doubt if it had anything to do at all with the tumbler he was using. But something sure wasn't right if the worms couldn't abide it.

Wet

Gear driven, appx 200 gallons, two separate chambers..... to get that by making 4 55 gallon ones for even 50 bucks a piece thats half the price and 4 times the space and without the quality of an industrial built product. I dunno....... if you have some ideas that would achieve the same results and do the job and cheaper.... Im ALL ears. I just dont know how else to mix up large amounts of soil without taking up an entire room in kiddie pools, etc.

Then get it.

I can tell by your response that nothing else is going to be satisfactory in your eyes, so the only thing left to do is to spend the $$$$ and see how it works out.

Keep us posted though.

Wet

Actually, Wet, I did say that I was open to any ideas that would make this easy as this, and also NOT take up a whole room with kiddie pools.... and Im serious, if there are better ways or methods I just am not thinking of or have not ran into, I want to hear them! Thats why I come on here, to get ideas from others!

Seems like a great tool to have, BUT is it really necessary for your needs. Have to put everything into perspective. Are you gonna reseed your property and need a good supply of compost, OR, are ya just gonna use a bit of it in a few planter pots. OR, perhaps you hit the lotto and are dying to spend some of your prize money. Perspective... There's ways to make your own small scale compost that won't cost you a dime. I make enough for my raised bed veggie gardens and flower beds every year and it cost me $0.00. Nevertheless, it is a pretty gadget. Fits right in with the green lawn and the squirls will have fun playing around it.

Well, fitting my needs would require appx 200 gallons of soil processed every 2 months!

Seriously- Im ALL ears for other ideas that would achieve the same results as this without spending the money.....

Regardless, I think it looks friggin sweet- as in, it will do the job well, and with so many less man hours than a shovel and your arms. Nothing against hard work- I do that every day, but whatever you can do to make some parts easier!

I just wonder if the capacity of ~207 gallons would ACTUALLY hold said amount......

I just wonder if the capacity of ~207 gallons would ACTUALLY hold said amount

Veener, I am sure it will hold 207 gallons, but will it thoroughly mix 207 gallons?

I tend to think not , because as we all know, if you are mixing something in a gallon jug, you never fill it as it just doesn't mix as well. It needs that extra 'sloshing' room.

Even using as the intended purpose-compost tumbling- you would want to leave a significant amount of air space for aeration and to allow it to move and mix in the container.

So, I am sure it will mix soil quite well, just not 200 gallons all at once.

Hope this made some sort of sense.

Sam

yes, makes total sense, its along the lines of my thinking as well. What would a safe guess be? 170 gallons with enough air to allow aeration and mixing?

Veener, like I told you if "money aint a thang" like Jermaine Dupri stated in his 1998 hit feat Jay-z--- Then buy 2! Sounds like your needs suggest the paper which means blow money.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu9B4D7QQ-0]Jermaine Dupri -- Money Ain't a Thang [f. Jay-Z] - YouTube[/ame]

Wet- My thoughts almost exactly on "urban soil crafting". We would be brothers if we really knew each other. We must share a similar gene pool. LOL. That dude "wee" was such an LD suck ass only a leech could of out done him. LD imparted a lot of great knowledge. Almost 0% of that info was original. "Dont mistake vomit for a prophet". (copyright)Please dont get me wrong. LD is/was a great man for spreading that knowledge. Even taught me a few things. The terms Urban and soil crafting are an oxymoron to me to say the least.

Biggots in the making.....

Its sad how many of us are just dipshits and douche bags.

These are the few that ruin it for many.....

VOO

Thanks for the feedback, guys
but is there ANY feedback in the form of constructive in that a comment that would address my original questions of if there are cheaper and space saving alternatives? Im just hearing- if you have themoney to waste- do it. OR Its a waste.. there are other ways, but I wont list them.

Anything, guys? Im not a 'baller' but I spend money on my craft to make quality..... ya know, "you get what you put in' AND 'you get what you pay for" is what my Dutch dad always said!

Veener

LD imparted a lot of great knowledge. Almost 0% of that info was original. "Dont mistake vomit for a prophet". (copyright)Please dont get me wrong. LD is/was a great man for spreading that knowledge. Even taught me a few things.

Almost 0% of that info was original. "Dont mistake vomit for a prophet"


I really don't even know what to say to this. I could be called a suck ass too I guess. I'll continue to suck up that unoriginal knowledge, like his neem/aloe/silica foliar and anything else I can read that he posted. I consider him a friend and mentor and I guess I don't care what anyone else thinks about that. "Don't mistake vomit for a prophet"? What the hell does that mean?

J

Thanks for the feedback, guys
but is there ANY feedback in the form of constructive in that a comment that would address my original questions of if there are cheaper and space saving alternatives? Im just hearing- if you have themoney to waste- do it. OR Its a waste.. there are other ways, but I wont list them.

Anything, guys? Im not a 'baller' but I spend money on my craft to make quality..... ya know, "you get what you put in' AND 'you get what you pay for" is what my Dutch dad always said!

Veener

G'mornin' Veneer.

I actually mix outside in my big green John Deere garden cart. I do mix by hand with shovels, etc., and when it's full I dump it into a big pile and then mix more if I need it. I let it all nutrient cycle outside in the wide open, just keeping it moist with the garden hose.

Outside is definetly the way to go if you can.

I've seen others mix on a 12'X12 tarp, too, which works well. If you have 2 people you can put all your mix onto the tarp, and then by lifting on one end of the tarp it "folds" it all over, and between doing that and a shovel it works pretty well. When you're done mixing, you could store it outside (at least until freezing weather) on another tarp - just be sure to keep it moist.

We should discuss the no till method. There's no reason you should have to keep mixing new soil every few months - I've been re-using mine for years now.

J

Agreed, Jerry.... for the amount of time I have been lurking and learning on here LD has INSANELY informative posts. And did anyone expect him to be a professor that would ONLY post research he did himself?! thats crazy..... its like implying we shouldnt listen to passed down knowledge. He took knowledge that took TIME and then processed it and reiterated it for many in ways that one could say it was HIS sage advice.
I think Jerrys ~4,000 posts and activity speak largely to his knowledge and appreciaton of what hes learned from this site and the many people who have contributed.
I have used LDs advice if not solely for for the fact that he TOOK A LOT of time to get to know that knowledge, his original or not. And it has contributed to building on my OWN knowledge... its evolution, its beautiful.

Ok, what are the differences in final product with your no till method? I need consistent results- quality, quantity, and consistent structure/density etc etc.... I know you do this, and have yet to dig through to see if I can find a journal or blog of yours that documents the results!

My journal does discuss it, but is rather big to look through.

The no till method takes advantage of the fact that your soil life - bacteria, fungus, et al, is already established. When we amend a soil, depending on the amendment, they often take much, much longer than one marijuana plants life cycle to properly break down to a usable form that the plants are able to use as nutrition - sometimes a year, or even longer. No till takes advantage of this by continuing to grow in the same pot of soil for literally years - with absolutely no loss in yield, flavor, aroma - whatever.

The same day I would/will take a plant down (I use 12 gallon pots) I will take a healthy large clone in a 1 gallon pot and drop it into a hole dug out of the middle of the freshly harvested pot - dig a he to fit the new 1 gallon pot, drop in some ewc's into the hole, top dress with some kelp meal or whatever's handy, and I'm done. Takes all of 2 minutes to do.

Water with botanical plant based teas and top dress with whatever and you can continue us to do this for literally years.

J

LD imparted a lot of great knowledge. Almost 0% of that info was original. "Dont mistake vomit for a prophet". (copyright)Please dont get me wrong. LD is/was a great man for spreading that knowledge. Even taught me a few things.

Almost 0% of that info was original. "Dont mistake vomit for a prophet"


I really don't even know what to say to this. I could be called a suck ass too I guess. I'll continue to suck up that unoriginal knowledge, like his neem/aloe/silica foliar and anything else I can read that he posted. I consider him a friend and mentor and I guess I don't care what anyone else thinks about that. "Don't mistake vomit for a prophet"? What the hell does that mean?

J

J- No I dont consider you a suck ass. There is a definitive difference between someone happy to learn and the slurping sound associated with a good rim job. Relax bro the walls are not caving in on you. To better explain myself. "Vomit" is a reference to the ingestion and the regurgitation of knowledge. (Learning and Sharing) When I said "prophet" I was referring to the individuals that do make huge discoveries/breakthroughs.

Nothing wrong with "vomiting" your knowledge on here. I Do. But almost 0% of what I can tell you is original as well. I have no desire to be idolized by others. When I see people worshiping a golden calf I will announce it. The difference is how you apply what you have learned. How you discern the BS from the GS(good shit).

Hope that clears up some confusion Jerry and doesnt add to it.

Sorry for thread Jackin'

VOO