Jean Pain - Compost Based Bio-Energy System

Found this video over on Google+. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=a4jrskze_UU

Has anyone on this forum done any work on this type of system? What types of problems did you run into setting it up, using, and maintaining it?

I made a pile of wood chips with some polyethylene tube coiled through it for water heat, but skipped the much more complicated biogas part. my pile wasn't as big as Jean Pain's, but I got 140 Fahrenheit water for several months, though it's gradually cooling off now. the things probably five months old and I would guess the water coming out is about 120 Fahrenheit.

the only real problem I ran into was finding enough material to build the pile.

To clarify, I do not want to go in and cut a bunch of trees, and brush to make a compost pile, but to add water heating and gas collection of the compost piles already being used.

Thanks, Tel. I'l have to keep in mind the amount of material needed.

Perhaps check out mb-soft.com there is some detailed info on the use of biomass for heating the house and water using fallen leaves and grass more than wood as you have to chip the wood so small. He has a bunch of other idea's on the site some interesting and some out there.

Gregor? Are you trying to bio-gasification - as in an anaerobic process? Like chicken shit and cow manure? or just humanure? Cows do about 55kg, chickens about 0.17kg per day per head of manure...

How are you going to 'collect gas'??

Paul, Caleb, and Krista talk about hot water in this podcast: hot water podcast

They talk about the Jean Pain Method.

tel jetson wrote:I made a pile of wood chips with some polyethylene tube coiled through it for water heat, but skipped the much more complicated biogas part. my pile wasn't as big as Jean Pain's, but I got 140 Fahrenheit water for several months, though it's gradually cooling off now. the things probably five months old and I would guess the water coming out is about 120 Fahrenheit.

the only real problem I ran into was finding enough material to build the pile.

could you share more about your system, are you still using it?

ann sterling wrote:
could you share more about your system, are you still using it?

I am not still using it. it was pretty simple to build, though. layer of wood chips, spiral of poly pipe, layer of wood chips, spiral of poly pipe. I sprayed water on and stomped each layer.

we used it to heat bath water, which I don't think is the best use for something like that. because it is constantly producing heat, it would be much better for something that also needs constant heat. running the hot water through a radiator to heat a living space, for example.

tel jetson wrote:

ann sterling wrote:
could you share more about your system, are you still using it?

I am not still using it. it was pretty simple to build, though. layer of wood chips, spiral of poly pipe, layer of wood chips, spiral of poly pipe. I sprayed water on and stomped each layer.

we used it to heat bath water, which I don't think is the best use for something like that. because it is constantly producing heat, it would be much better for something that also needs constant heat. running the hot water through a radiator to heat a living space, for example.

Thanks for that! Was it plumbed into a pressurized supply?

ann sterling wrote:
Thanks for that! Was it plumbed into a pressurized supply?

the supply was gravity fed from a tank up a hill. never measured it, but based on my best guess at the altitude change, it was probably in the vicinity of 15 psi or so.

tel jetson wrote:

ann sterling wrote:
Thanks for that! Was it plumbed into a pressurized supply?

the supply was gravity fed from a tank up a hill. never measured it, but based on my best guess at the altitude change, it was probably in the vicinity of 15 psi or so.

Perfect, thanks very much!