Is it Possible to Make a Hot Water Heater with Compost? [Amazingly Innovative Guide]

Who would not like to have a heating system installed in a home that does not cost you over electricity? Using a compost water heater could save up a lot of energy bills and daily running costs. We always know that having a compost pile will allow a substantial amount of heat. If you know the right procedure, you can even use this mechanism to create a natural hot water system in your home.

The benefit… It's all-natural and does not require a continuous electricity supply. So, if you are on the verge of using a compost heater for your home, this guide will help you to get complete steps about the compost water heater. It all came from the Frenchman Jean Pain.

What is a Compost Water Heater?

A compost water heater is a simplified form of water heater that will generate heat and will help you to receive hot water for your daily utility. It is a giant pile of compost that is constructed with tubing and has specialized could. The coils are wrapped around the compost pile which is filled with water. This compost pile also has sand wood and chips filled within it. This results in the chemical formation of carbon and nitrogen inside the compost pile. As a result of this formation, the compost starts to generate heat and then it transfers the heat to the entire tubing.

When you can calculate the temperatures, the compost is effective enough to increase the regular water temperatures to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. It will help you to get higher temperatures of water at the shortest time and if you have enough water present in the pipe, it will continuously keep heating the product.

Who is Jean Pain?

When it comes to innovation of compost hot water, the only name that comes up is Jean Pain. Jean was a Frenchman who lived in southern France from 1930 and then it continued till 1981. He was able to create the compost-based energy which transmits heat energy. Jean Pain was the innovator of compost-based heat energy development. While preparing the experiment, Jean was able to raise the water temperatures to 140-degrees Fahrenheit with the help of simple compost. He could use this water for completing multiple daily utilities like cooking, washing and even taking a bath. However, what impressed everyone was the mechanism that allowed heating at least 1 gallon per minute of water.

Apart from this impressive technology and innovation, Jean was able to complete notable work on distilling methane which helped to run generators and others. However, the reason why everyone loves him is that she shared all his innovations in a French novel known as 'Another Kind of Garden'. It is still helping young aspirants to know more about his work and bring up innovations in daily utilities.

How does it Work?

If you understand the compositions of compost, it has the simplest levels of anaerobic bacteria. Multiple types of research from all over the work have already confirmed that they have properties to heat the water. Infact, the temperature could be so high that it scolds the skin. This mechanism is not hard to build and it can be easily created at home if you just have the right idea behind it. There are several instructions available all over the internet which will help you to gain a fair knowledge about the entire procedure.

Compost has levels of carbon formation. When it is piled up with wood or with chips will help the formation of nitrogen. When the two gaseous chemicals form a reaction, the temperature instantly rises and this is the reason why heating the water would be easy. It takes up a few steps that will help you to create compose and will give you a complete supply of hot water.

The Ecological Cost of Heating Water with Fossil Fuels

The costs of fossil fuels are rising every day. According to the research, the rate of energy use today in 2020 is double that of 2000 in the United States. Water heaters with the use of fossil fuel come with a simple device and compact process. However, they always involve the extreme use of energy. This is the reason why efficiency becomes a big factor. Most of the modern homes have a massive tank-style heater which stores up hot water. Heating it can always take up a long time. Moreover, this procedure will also involve a lot of energy loss and will also create greenhouse gasses in the surroundings.

Wood Chips versus Other Compostable Materials

There are a lot of compostable materials available. Having one that serves you the most is always important. There are a lot of traditional manures which can act as a garden compost pile. However, they start to decompose after a certain time. If you need efficient heating, you must choose a material that will have quicker compost. This is why having wood chips is a great way to get a faster heating procedure. It allows you to gain fungus which acts as a catalyst in increasing the temperature vividly.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions or Fertile Topsoil

Another big thing that you need to consider is the greenhouse gas emissions or the fertile topsoil. When you want a friendly environment compost, make sure that the materials that you are using are free from any type of greenhouse emissions. When you are choosing the compost, you need to make sure that it is free from any type of harmful emissions and not creating any greenhouse. If they do not, it will be better to enjoy the hot water without any interruption.

How Do I Get Hot Water From Compost?

To build a compost water heater, you need to go through several steps. Creating a pain mound is the first big step that you need to take before preparing a compost heater. You can easily follow the steps that are mentioned below to complete the entire compost water heater system.

Step 1: Mound Layout

To start the compost layout, you need to mark out an area where you will be creating the complete mound. The preferable size would be a volume of 12-feet while creating the diameter. To get started, you can take the help of hay bales, branches and fallen trees. Using a chipper will make things go much easier. Coming to the procedure, you need to take sawdust that will allow you to deliver for a nominal fee.

Step 2: Create a Backstop with Hay Bale

The next thing that you will need to do is to create a backstop. Once you are done with the layout, go to the bottom and then you can start the configuration. For this, you can place an aeration pipe at the base and then cover it up with wooden chips. If you have a chipper along with you, the procedure will be much faster. But make sure that you can attain a minimal height for installing the chipper which is 1-inch from the base.

Step 3: Hydraulic Loop

To conduct energy, it requires the presence of a hydraulic loop. You can simply lay it float on top of the chip. You can take the help of a few clippers that will help you to stable the loop on a preferable position. Try to prepare the pipe with a plastic material at the bottom of the mound.

Step 4: Chips with Sawdust

Once you are done with these steps, it's now time to pile up the mound with chip wood. Start placing the chips and the sawdust into the mound. It should be piled so that there is not much space left inside the mount. This chipping wood will serve as a fuel for compost. The high amount of carbon present in both these materials will help you from the heat while decomposing.

Step 5: Water Pipe

If you are done with chipping, you will not have to prepare out the complete piping which will allow the flow of water. But for this, you need to build up the mound completely. This will take up to 1-2 days and will help you to log the water pipe. You can now build the perimeter with the woodchips and the sawdust. Once you are done, you can pour in manure from any animal to let it sit. However, it is not mandatory to do so.

Step 6: Water Filling

The next step is to consider the water filling inside the mount. Remember that to do this, you need to keep out of greenhouse effects. The complete water filling sensor will involve a lot of steps like using an HDPE pipe to a pex pipe. You will also need a mount temperature sensor connected with an output water temperature sensor. Install a data logger box that will help you to know about the temperature relay. To draw out the water, you must install a pump that will help you to take out the air temperature sensors from the compost.

Step 7: Heat Output

The complete mound procedure is not finished and the only thing that remains is to track the heat output. You can deploy additional sensors for it and then seal the piping. The compost will continuously prepare the heat and with the presence of the pump, you can flow out the water. Keep a track of the heat generated, because it may start to decrease after a certain point. Once it does so, you will have to replace the old sand wood and chips with new ones.

How to Turn Your Compost into a Shower System?

Turning your compost to the shower system is a bit of a mix of nature to a utility. Almost every one of us would love to take a shower with hot water and if you have the compost powered shower system, it will go gaga. However, you can easily follow the steps mentioned below which will help you to complete the setup.

Step 1:

To get started, you need to create a hot compost system first. To get this done you can take the help of the guide mentioned above. However, if you want it in a brief, you can layout the carbon and nitrogen materials and then make a pile of it. This will allow the compost system to generate heat. You can set up an internal pipe system that will have a complete outflow of pipe. Try to pile up as much volume as possible and then bind it with a wire that will help the pie to be intact. Once you are done with this, you need to taper off the top of the pile so that it does not lose out the energy that is created. You are now ready with the mould and can go to the next step.

Step 2:

The next thing that you need to do is to install the shower stalls on the property. Try to place the stalls closer to the pile that will help you to get the hot water at a short distance. This is important when you are willing to get hot water in your shower. Coming to the shower stalls, you can take the help of blocks of timber pallets to cover them in the sheets. Since there would be no external heater installed into the pipe, the flow of the hot water should be directed to the shower stalls. It will allow you to receive maximum temperature. To keep the temperature stagnant, you can take the help of the hot water pipes at the showerhead to get better options. Still, if you want a water heater for your shower then you can check a few in-depth reviews at TanklessWaterHeaterExpress.

Conclusion

If you are looking to take up a new project to use your garden, installing a compost-based water heater can be an excellent option. However, the procedure takes time to understand and will always require you to perform various steps. There are some installation guides available all over the internet, but without taking help from a professional tutorial, the whole experiment may go wrong. If you have completed the setup procedure, do let us know about who the compost water heater is working.