04:41
Sep 30, 2021
2
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'Having brought back a 2000 W transformer (220 V to 110 V) from Boston (online shop for 59.95 + 30 dollars for two day shipping from Chicago = $ 89.95) , we now are using the insinkerator we bought in New York after the National Geographic Emerging Explorers Symposium (from Home Depot, about 80 dollars) to grind up our kitchen waste and put it in the biogas digester. I tried plumbing the insinkerator directly to the reactor but it didn\'t create enough pressure to pump it up high enough to go in. I then bought a dirty-water sump pump that could accomodate 35 mm particles but it needed a starting standing depth of 5cm so it wasn\'t practical for pumping the slurry to the digester. It is easier to simply fill a watering can. In future we would want to mount the digester below the insinkerator so it could gravity feed the digester. Also, the insinkerator would be inside the kitchen sink. Since we don\'t want to replumb the house, we are using this porch unit (sink cost 20 Euro, stands 20 Euro). Don\'t let ANYBODY tell you that the waste disposal units use too much energy. We are only using approximately 30 to 50 Watts each time we use it -- easily supplied by solar panels (yes, it draws 750 Watts, but it is only on for a few minutes). Since 1 cubic meter of biogas = approximately 2 KwH equivalent of energy, and we are producing 1/5 of that in our digestor each day (200 liters = 400 watts worth of energy equivalent) the loss of 30 to 50 Watts for the convenience of creating the slurry is worth it. In India they let the food waste ferment for a day or two and grind by hand. This is easier and the sun, using PV, is supplying the electricity anyway.'
Tags: Renewable energy , Insinkerator , Waste Disposal Unit , ARTI urban biogas , home power
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