Dual purpose composter

[Willonthewall]

My newly built combined rotary composter and sieve is now complete.
I salvaged a butter churn frame, some tubing from an old swing seat, and some scrap timber and plastic tubing from the recycling centre. I had to buy the recycled barrel, which I think I already posted. Some nuts and bolts from the local hardware and a Sankey bowl sieve, £2.99 from the garden centre and some matt black paint. I already have a quantity of green farm oxide paint which I find invaluable.
The cross braces and projecting bolts will help break up the compost and stop it from simply sliding from one end to the other when the barrel is rotated.
When it's ready, it's simply a case of swapping lids and hey presto! The compost can be sieved without having to remove it. A plastic sheet under the frame will collect the sieved compost, but I'll keep my eyes open at the recycling centre and will probably make a wooden tray to fit the frame to make collection easier.
The matt black will absorb the sun's rays and help heat up the mixture.
I've also drilled lots of 2mm holes around the barrel to assist ventilation and allow oxygen in - a lot easier than my original "tube" plan, and I've also drilled holes in the base for drainage.
The pipe between the barrel and frame is covered with a small sleeve of plastic tubing to act as spacer washers. The pipe is simply held in position in the bearing holes by a couple of split pins so it will easy to dismantle. I'll probably make a couple of plywood bearing plates to bolt on each side of the barrel where the pipe fits through as it will eventually wear there, but it will be a simple job to replace those as and when needed.
The leaves are starting to fall now so I'll start it off this week and keep a photo diary of how it progresses. In theory it should compost in weeks rather than months - but we'll see how that theory pans out.
I'll keep the forum posted on progress, and if it works, I might just make a few more and run them in tandem with one long central axle.

[timbrenn]

Excellent work!

Thanks for sharing your design. One thing sprung to my mind - did you use PVC for the plastic tubing? Will this leach chemicals into the compost?

Just a thought.

Can't wait to see your progress. Keep up the good work.

[Willonthewall]

Cheers timbrenn.
If you look at the first pic the spindle pipe is actually cut from one of the steel uprights from an old garden swingseat and you can just see the split pin on the outside of the frame. On the second pic you'll see the white painted steel tube through the middle with the short length of the plastic on the outside of it.
The barrel would have just moved from side to side without spacers so the gap between the barrel and the wooden frame has a 3" or so length of plastic pipe slipped over the metal tube just to keep it central when it rotates. The pipe inside the barrel is just painted steel so should be OK.
You've just jogged my memory to take some pics tomorrow to see what's happening inside.