tony uljee

just finishing off my version of the wendy howard  system , just bought a large bag of bark chippings  and wait for delivery , also in ireland , so it was a good read about your system ,i have been a longtime convert but only recently built up something---part of my slow progression to off grid and taking responsibility for my output and lessen the pollution of groundwater. Did you have to insulate your IBC  ---i have sourced the worms from an old dung heap out in the elements ---they dont seem to be effected by the colder ===although milder ----winters we have mostly ===,,and did your system recover and start up again ,cheers ,tony

i think people have been working out solutions for sometime now judging on this concept from awhile back

like the heavy duty plastic parts , much better and sure to last---my worm composter  system ---still under final construction ---is a wavin pipe ---lengthways  -----i will  adding in a lacto solution to the bedding material every now and then --as per the terra preta sanitation method---the outflow is into a "forest floor" of sorts but i am collecting materials  for an under cover modular pond to make use of a further treatment by using the azolla weed pond/trench . ---heres a modular reed bed system

i use the grey colouredpaste they sell at hardware store in small tubs ---linseed oil based ---safe for drinking water ---and the "hair" i use is hemp or flax soft rope /twine they sell ---its the old standby for all coarse threaded joins ---beats the use of those tapes

i think his blue rendered barrel is like a giant pot on top of a stove ---the red rendering part of the drawing ---so hot water is going to generated from the bottom ---which should in some part heat his copper coil --the well water in would just be topping evaporating losses ---with a ballcock fitted---perhaps there should be another hot outlet to the system

theres a lot more info on this at SuSana .org   , and pics of actual working examples of the kit that has been developed ---all injection moulded ---there must have been some further advancements made---my latest thinking of this system ----treat the deposited material with lacto solution ----as done with terra preta sanitation---when collection barrel is full --- tip contents into a wendy worm system . This combo of treatment seems to be capable of up to 99 % pathogen removal---good news for high water table /hardpan /clay  ground types

yes the belt convey system is nice ,that one shown is a lot better than the types i found 4 tears ago ----but the method of use is not the same as an auger type ---which rotates and turns the waste and cover material into the compost material ---a bed of shavings/pine needle/leaves/chopped miscanthus --and rotation moves the whole lot a stage further along to the exit pipe ---dropping down into a composting barrel----- a big problem for me ---the belt type would be a lot harder to make and all the fiddley bits getting coated with poo bits over time---the auger self cleans as it turns into the compost material bed ---mostly ---any thing left thats too visible ---throw in more scoops of cover mix stuff------this was a problem for my system ----it worked but ----to well ---i used a double blade ---should be a single ----and my kids were younger ---so it was great fun to throw lots of paper and mix into it---keep pulling the lever---i went through bags of miscanthus chopped grass----also a few toys ---small teddy bear ---small transformer----passed through the system ---into and onto a far distant galaxy---never to be seen again ----well i fished them out after a few months and into the burn barrel.

yes it does work and t /paper can be used in it ,copes well with moderate use--- but has n t been  for awhile /lately  as its in a separate outdoor hut and i built a wendy howard style system with a water flush loo ---indoors ---the auger style toilet is commercially made ---but i have no idea where it could be purchased from or parts for it ---theres a lot of them in use in south america somewhere---made mine up from scrounged piping ---which is all standard sizes available from farm co op stores or building  hardware supply yards----the racheting mechanism ---which allows the back and forth movement of my flush lever ---is from a bicycle rear sprocket

yes we have lots of "clever trevors" --(thanks Ian Dury ) who keep coming out with hand lever press to hydraulic powered devises to make briquettes from shredded wet paper , dry them out and burn in your stove ---but its the stuff of urban legend almost----complete waste of time----the only processing routine i follow with cardboard or newsprint ---is to make rough parcels of twigs --wrapped up ---and placed into the burn chamber---no glossy paper---its full of chalk---makes abundant ash

the concept of the heated flow of gas out the riser and into bell and benchs , then up out the flue has been explained by Matt Remine of Walker Stove s ----and others ----check out his youtube clips ----as to why it works ----its not really just that hot air rises  ----its flow or movement of the hot gas from high to low pressure and how this is happening as the hot gas gives up its heat into the masonry ---as far as i can make out. My biggest motivation for building my stove was safety---- no night time smouldering fire inside my cottage ---no carbon monoxide---no creosote chimney fire---its a relief now to go to bed  with out this on my mind ---as i have done for decades---its a huge plus for me---all the rest of the stoves positives are a bonus on top of this