concrete slab for compost

[charlz]

The 3 bins with pallets worked fairly well. Not exactly pretty The material in the corners would dry out and not compost so when you turn from bin to bin you have to make sure to move that material to the middle of the next pile and wet it down. Sometimes if the first pile didn't look like it was doing to good I would dig it all out with the backhoe, wet it down and put it back in the bin

I tied the pallets together so that the front pallet on the first two bins could be opened like doors. The third bin doesn't really need it as the pile is pretty small by the time it gets there.

 

[theboman]

...I missed some.

At the old place I just piled grass clippings and leafs on one corner of the garden. When I added more "fresh grass or leafs" I turn it over. Mom Nature would take care of adding moisture to the mix too. All this was right on top of thy dirt! Critters, as in bugs, got into the action too. Want a fishing worm? Get around a compost pile.

At the new place I hope to get some scrap as I erect the Iron Hill Shed to build me a compost bin...hey, I got some nice slabs out there that will do the trick! I got me a few million leaves up here that needs to get in my yard! It'll be on dirt too. Ya know, it may look pretty cool, a log (slab) compost bin! I got enough slab to make a BIG ONE!

I plan on mine being big enough to let me 'Bota to do the turning. I may use tarp or rig up some type of roof too...depends on time and my creative building skills.

Sawdust is great for manure too. You may have it in the mix if you keep it in your stalls.

When it comes right down to it...I really can't see how you can build a compost bin that won't work!

 

[thavil]

Attached are plans on how to make a cinder block compost bin. It shows how to easily make 1, 2 or 3 bins. Works well for my horse manure. The bins with this plan are only 4' wide, so I spaced the blocks out more than the recommended 1/2" to make room for my 4' FEL.

 

[DJ54]

Here are some pictures of a manure storage bin I built, about 2 years ago. Got tired of boring in the mud loading out manure. Just tough to beat loading off a concrete slab..!!

I mixed the concrete myself, with my trusty old Chreokee mixer. Ended up being like a 9 bag mix. I used old fence for reinforcement, and placed 3/8" pins to tie the slabs together.

I used concrete wash out for fill. Great stuff if you have a concrete plant nearby. Ours here shoots remaining loads in a pit of water, then piles it when the pit gets full, for fill material. $10.00 for a single axle load, $20.00 for a tandem load. They gave me a break with my ton truck @ $5.00 per load.

I used old telephone pole butts my girfriends dad gave me, when we rebuilt her fence. The backer across the back to push against, is a telephone pole that Dad had halved for one of his projects. I got the other half for this... I overextended it on the ends, and tied it into the slab, with steel rod. I got new 18" bolts from our electric co-op for like 75 cents ea.

Sides are made of 2"X8" pine Dad had sawed out on his mill. I lagged it to the posts with5"X3/8" galvenized lag bolts. The bottom 2"X6" board is an old creosote treated bridge deck board. Hopefully it will last a good while... I left it about 3/8" up off the slab, to let the water out.

I put a 2% slope from front, and side, to drain to the back inside corner where the boards meet. On the outside, I mixed somewhat of a slurry mix, to keep the groundhogs from burrowing underneath. The sweet part is, in the corner where it drains, there is a large groudhog hole. I formed a trough with the slurry mix, right to the hole, killing two birds with one stone. Controls runoff, and the groundhog doesn't care for horse poo juice running in his hole..!!

2 years now, and no cracks, other than at the construction joint, between slabs.

I just took the picture of the bin holding manure this morning. That is about 2 months worth. I add about 10 of the large 2 wheeled wheelbarrows, per week, so the pile melts down pretty quick.

I bed with straw, as my neighbor lets me spread on his 110 acre field right across the road. A warning if you bed with sawdust... You may need to add amonium nitrate to the pile, as sawdust will deplete Nitrogen in the ground, until the sawdust is decomposed...

I know you're wanting to build a multiple bin storage unit, but thought this may help...

 

[par246]

30' x 40' Insulated concrete slab will do, same idea as radiant heated floor but in reverse, I would say ~ 75% heat lost from compost pile are due to direct contact with the cold ground, the rest ~ 25 by the air, 1000sq/f of insulated concrete slab (with ~R20-R25 styrofoam boards or similar),
placed under the big compost pile will heat and provide hot water for free(just need electricity to run circulator pumps), the returning water will be between 115-140 depending of a time of the year, the compost pile is easy and convenient to maintain with a front loader tractor/backhoe,
will try to do this project next year to heat 1200sq/f barn and garage