Nearly silent compost tea brewer

[Compost]

I need a fairly quite compost tea brewer, right now the one I ordered the simplicitea is really friggin loud. No way I can use it in my location. So I need to buy or build something that will be a bit more low-profile in terms of decibels. Any thoughts?

 

[SmokeyPipes]

Just brew your own with some air stones and a bucket!!

 

[bigrippen]

is this too loud?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SQrF8RGreg

 

[leadsled]

I m curious about the pump in your brewer, all the pics on the website show it super small so it hard to determine the brand.

Can you take a pic of the pump pr share any info on it? Is there a brand listed on the pump? I want to build a similar brewer and been trying to source that pump.

Did you get the extended life pump? My understanding that that one make less noise but then takes 24 hours to brew rather than 12.

Maybe the extended life pump will do it for you.

Big rippen, been thinking about making that brewer. You using one?

 

[bigrippen]

naw not yet. was just using an air stone and 55 gallon drum when i lived in norcal. thought there had to be a better way and found the vortex. i plan on making that small 5 gallon one in the vid i posted for my veggie garden this year. theres some good videos on youtube of it working. my only concern is it could clog irrigation lines unless strained. i might be wrong on that though. anybody have experience with that?

 

[leadsled]

naw not yet. was just using an air stone and 55 gallon drum when i lived in norcal. thought there had to be a better way and found the vortex. i plan on making that small 5 gallon one in the vid i posted for my veggie garden this year. theres some good videos on youtube of it working. my only concern is it could clog irrigation lines unless strained. i might be wrong on that though. anybody have experience with that?

thanks for sharing. yes I have seen the videos. I found the video makers website yesterday. Let me know if you want the links, I been gathering info on how to build one.
Been debating on making the vortex model.

I have not used the vortex, but a normal tea vermicompost work fine for me. Can put the pump in filter bag if you got a more "chunky tea" Like if using humisoil in the tea without a strainer. Then I pour the remains on the plants by hand.

I wonder about how hard it is to clean the vortex brewer.

On the other hand to follow the KISS method.

Like how the keep it simple brewer is simple, I do want to fork out the $$ for the complete kit. so really want to know what pump it is do I can build my own.

Was also thinking of using a leaf blower as the pump. The kit brewwr appears to be setup that way/ Air blowes into a large soaker hose that emits bubbles.

 

[CT Guy]

Check out the extended life motor from Keep It Simple. All you hear is the water bubbling, it's virtually silent. If you already have the original system, they'll upgrade your for a good price if you call or email them.

Their design is not a soaker hose, but rather it's pvc piping. This allows it to fit snugly on the bottom of the bucket and also makes cleaning easy. With a soaker hose, it would be quite difficult to remove all the biofilm between brews.

My issue with the vortex brewers is that while they do work, they tend to not have much data to support them. Most manufacturers rely on statements relating to how their changing the molecular quality of the water, rather than actual biological data (and they're typically pretty expensive!)

 

[CT Guy]

naw not yet. was just using an air stone and 55 gallon drum when i lived in norcal. thought there had to be a better way and found the vortex. i plan on making that small 5 gallon one in the vid i posted for my veggie garden this year. theres some good videos on youtube of it working. my only concern is it could clog irrigation lines unless strained. i might be wrong on that though. anybody have experience with that?

You're probably not going to want to send any biology through irrigation lines anyway, because you can get bio-film buildup that could hurt your plant over time. It is possible to do, but requires good flushing and maintenance techniques, and may not be worth the hassle.

 

[leadsled]

Check out the extended life motor from Keep It Simple. All you hear is the water bubbling, it's virtually silent. If you already have the original system, they'll upgrade your for a good price if you call or email them.

Their design is not a soaker hose, but rather it's pvc piping. This allows it to fit snugly on the bottom of the bucket and also makes cleaning easy. With a soaker hose, it would be quite difficult to remove all the biofilm between brews.

My issue with the vortex brewers is that while they do work, they tend to not have much data to support them. Most manufacturers rely on statements relating to how their changing the molecular quality of the water, rather than actual biological data (and they're typically pretty expensive!)

Thanks for sharing, do you think the tea brewer s worth it? That extended motor pump alone is kind a pricey. $200.00 upgrade..

I know the hydro industry overcharges for same product that can be purchased elsewhere. SO I tend to check into diy first before spending the extra $$.

feel /think that is the case here? Or you feel this is a fairly priced product.

As far as the standard model, I can see if the pump costs 100 alone, then the price is not too bad. But then the long term use they report is not that great.

 

[Buddy Flowers]

i got the Boutea brew kit from a buddy that owns a hydro shop up here. You can make one for 25$. Works fucking awesome and my ladies love the brews

 

[CT Guy]

Thanks for sharing, do you think the tea brewer s worth it? That extended motor pump alone is kind a pricey. $200.00 upgrade..

I know the hydro industry overcharges for same product that can be purchased elsewhere. SO I tend to check into diy first before spending the extra $$.

feel /think that is the case here? Or you feel this is a fairly priced product.

As far as the standard model, I can see if the pump costs 100 alone, then the price is not too bad. But then the long term use they report is not that great.

The standard pump that comes with the original kit is $65. The extended life pump is $200. The original system was manufactured in China and dates back to when the company was first founded in 2002. For growers like you guys, it wouldn't work/last very long, and yes it is noisy.

The extended life motor is very nice. It's quiet and is rated for 10,000 hours (over 200 brews). Like I mentioned before, if you call or email them, and already have the old system, I'm positive they will give you a significant discount on the upgrade.

You could do-it-yourself, but keep in mind that what you're paying for when you buy a commercial tea brewing system is that they've done the testing for you. If you were try to and do proper testing on your DIY system it would cost hundreds if not thousands more. If you want to get a microscope and dissolved oxygen meter, you could qualitatively test your own system (keep in mind that it just looks like brown water).

Of course, many people don't care if their system is properly tested and are happy to just see how their plants respond. Companies like Keep It Simple, Inc. are looking to maximize and consistently produce biological results that go beyond the average DIY system. Again, you may not need/care about that.

I agree that the hydro industry has some shady practices. I would never buy AN or Humboldt nutrient products for this very reason.

Oh, and the KIS kits that go in the brewer run $8.25/brew, which I think is quite reasonable when compared to what some of the other companies are charging. I think these guys charge something like $80 for their "cartridge!"

 

[Blaze]

My issue with the vortex brewers is that while they do work, they tend to not have much data to support them. Most manufacturers rely on statements relating to how their changing the molecular quality of the water, rather than actual biological data (and they're typically pretty expensive!)

I think the statement about them changing the molecular quality of the water is total BS, but the Vortex brewers can work well if built properly. I know someone who built a 35 gal vortex brewer last year and it works great. They've had it tested and the dissolved oxygen level and biological activity were all very good. It cost them around $1200-$1500 or so to built it if I recall correctly. This does not include the extra time and money invested in testing and tweaking it. The total cost when you account for all that was more like $3000. When you factor in the time and cost of building a good brewer and getting it tested, simply buying one from a company is a good route to go, especially if that company has already done the testing for you.

 

[leadsled]

TO the OP, Sorry Did not mean to hi-jack your thread.

The standard pump that comes with the original kit is $65. The extended life pump is $200. The original system was manufactured in China and dates back to when the company was first founded in 2002. For growers like you guys, it wouldn't work/last very long, and yes it is noisy.

The extended life motor is very nice. It's quiet and is rated for 10,000 hours (over 200 brews). Like I mentioned before, if you call or email them, and already have the old system, I'm positive they will give you a significant discount on the upgrade.

You could do-it-yourself, but keep in mind that what you're paying for when you buy a commercial tea brewing system is that they've done the testing for you. If you were try to and do proper testing on your DIY system it would cost hundreds if not thousands more. If you want to get a microscope and dissolved oxygen meter, you could qualitatively test your own system (keep in mind that it just looks like brown water).

Of course, many people don't care if their system is properly tested and are happy to just see how their plants respond. Companies like Keep It Simple, Inc. are looking to maximize and consistently produce biological results that go beyond the average DIY system. Again, you may not need/care about that.

I agree that the hydro industry has some shady practices. I would never buy AN or Humboldt nutrient products for this very reason.

Oh, and the KIS kits that go in the brewer run $8.25/brew, which I think is quite reasonable when compared to what some of the other companies are charging. I think these guys charge something like $80 for their "cartridge!"

Thanks for the feedback and confirmation. Very aware of shady practices. Has made me doubt and double check what I read.

fyi, To make a fairer comparison: (Agree about the vermi-t cost!)
vermi-t retails for $12.00 1/2 gallon of brewed packaged tea, so the KIS brews is still much more cost effective @ $8.25 (Also when you factor in volume. 5 gallon vs 1/2 gallon)

One of the most appealing part to me, aside from the recommendations and testing, It looks easy to clean.
Can see how much easier it would be to clean over a vortex brewer.

Thanks for sharing.

I think the statement about them changing the molecular quality of the water is total BS, but the Vortex brewers can work well if built properly. I know someone who built a 35 gal vortex brewer last year and it works great. They've had it tested and the dissolved oxygen level and biological activity were all very good. It cost them around $1000 or so to built it if I recall correctly. When you factor in the time and cost of building a good brewer, simply buying one from a company is a good route to go, especially if that company has already done the testing for you.

Thanks, also not looking to spend 1k.

 

[Blaze]

Hehe yeah 1K is a bit much unless you are doing large amounts. There are plans online for 5 gallon vortex brewers that would be MUCH cheaper to make but I have no idea how well they work. However paying $24 a gallon for pre-made tea can add up fast. If you start brewing it yourself you should be able to make it for much, much less. I figure my current recipe costs about $0.50 per gallon to brew up, pretty darn cheap IMO. I've been using a Growing Solution 10 gallon brewer which cost about $500, but the are pretty loud. A home built one would have been cheaper for sure but I just did not have the time - it was well worth it for me to just spend the extra $$ and have a well made brewer ready to go. Also easy cleaning is important - which is one feature the vortex brewers fail on.

 

[Blaze]

W/O a test of dissolved oxygen levels and of the biological activity you can't really say - your trash can and bubblers might work just as well as the more expensive brewers. There are a lot of different ways to brew ACT, so it's hard to say if one method is "better" than the other w/o some sort of testing or data to go by. However, the method of agitation and oxygen levels are very important though so some brewers definitely work better than others and your standard aquarium type air stone is generally too weak to get high DO levels. I know my 10 gal works well and I know the vortex brewers can work well but other methods I don't have first hand experience with so I can't comment.

 

[Buddy Flowers]

"Someone give me one. "

"Plants aint complaining,"

that's your reason. i just cut my veg time down by a week with my ACT

 

[CT Guy]

Foam is NOT a good indicator of the quality of your compost tea. I've seen batches under the microscope that never foamed that were excellent and ones that foamed that were horrible. Better to use you nose to see if you get an earthy smell and your original ingredients no longer can be detected (eg. sweet smell from molasses or fishy smell from fish).

 

[Blaze]

Yeah I remember reading someplace that the foam has something to do with proteins breaking down and is not an indicator of biological activity....

 

[CT Guy]

well I smelt it and it was earthy, But cutting veg time, Im all ears Buddy talk to me.

CT, whats the Brewer do a Bucket and bubbler doesnt?, Gotta be something?

Essentially that's all a compost tea brewing system is...a container and an air pump. The issue is figuring out the variables involved and this is where the testing comes in. Now keep in mind that not all the commercial tea brewers on the market have been tested thoroughly. Only a few that I know of, and I work in that industry.

Look at it this way though...you're trying to maximize your microbial growth while maintaining dissolved oxygen above 6 mg/l in order to select for beneficial aerobic microbes. To do this, you have to know the biology of your compost so you know how much to use, what amounts of "foods" for the microbes (molasses, alfalfa meal, fish hydrolysate, humic acid, kelp, etc...), how long to brew for (this will vary considerably based on your water temp, compost quality, elevation, etc...). If you're paying hundreds for a brewer, then the company you buy from should have spent thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, to ensure they can get good tea every time. They should be able to tell you how long to brew with their ingredients based on your water quality, ambient temperature, and elevation. That's a lot of what you're paying for in my opinion.

Don't listen to claims by sales people or testimonials. Look for biological tests and evidence they have more than just one on their website. See if their company has a microscope and actually knows how to use it and is looking at brews on a regular basis. These are questions I would want answered when deciding on a commercial system.

In addition to testing, I would want to know what kind of customer support they have, how much replacement materials cost (compost and foods), how easy it is to use, and how easy it is to clean (few parts, nothing hidden that can get bio-film buildup).

Again, this is to MAXIMIZE the quality of our tea. If you want to use a few small aquarium pumps and only make 1 gallon at a time, you could probably do that for cheaper. You just won't know exactly what you've got in your mix or the quality of it.

 

[CT Guy]

My foam doesnt show up for at least a day. My veg batch consisted of R/O water, Roots "Organic Trinity" which is a "rhizosphere catalyst" , Some Mollases, And 2 cups of EWC in a net sack. I dont use a ph pen cause it useless with this mx. After a day I add some greatwhite and about 2-4hrs later all hell breaks loose and if Im not around the top will blow off!! I use a large paddle to mix it all up a few times, let it bubble some more, drop a pump and hose in and then I feed my girls.

How big is your brewer? You want a minimum of .05 cfm per gal as your pump, with .08 being optimal. That means you need a minimum of a .25 cfm/gal pump for a 5 gallon system. I typically recommend closer to a cup of to a cup and a half of total compost.

Isn't the Great White a myco product? If so, you only want to make 1 application of it at the beginning of the plant's life. Applying more frequently will have little to no benefit, and gets very costly.

I've heard a lot of reasons for foaming, mostly relating to the breakdown of proteins like Blaze eluded to. It may also be that you're getting a bacterial bloom from your Great White product. If so, you could be dropping dissolved oxygen levels below recommended amounts, at which point you'll lose beneficials.

Try a brew without the Great White and see if that stops the foaming. It should smell earthy after 24 hours. It shouldn't stink and you shouldn't be able to smell the molasses. If you can, you're probably adding too much.