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Vortex/Air lift compost tea brewing


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I have been looking at this one for this years outdoor season .jamiesgardenshop.co.za/shop/40l-vortx-brewer-actively-aerated-compost-tea-brewing-system-r3100/

Would also like to know about anybody's experiences, is it worth the mula or should we go the DIY route?

I am keen to support this industry, already did so many DIY's, I will most likely bite the bullet and buy one in Spring, unless there are some horror stories?

 

Edited by Dank
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I have a mate who got one of those. If you can lay down the dollar for that by all means go for it. It's an awesome piece of kit.

I'm gonna go the DIY route though. I just ordered a 45L/min air pump and I'm not sure whether its strong enough for a vortex system 

It should be fine for this airlift brewer but ideally I wanna do a vortex

 

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I have not attempted my own AACT yet, although when researching I read that the Vortex  style mixers (or whatever they are called) are very nice but not needed.

So you probably can't go wrong with it, curious to hear the views of those who have tried it and have first hand experience though.

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I dono hey... Sounds like you're tryna squeeze the highest quality out... 

I agree, if you have the Tom to get it, go for it... But a couple of airstones and a nice air pump gives me a great tea every time. 

If your DIY skills are up to scratch, you could make your own one for a few hundred at most... Just don't skimp on the waterproofing lol

Edited by CreX
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42 minutes ago, 420SA said:

I have a mate who got one of those. If you can lay down the dollar for that by all means go for it. It's an awesome piece of kit.

I'm gonna go the DIY route though. I just ordered a 45L/min air pump and I'm not sure whether its strong enough for a vortex system 

It should be fine for this airlift brewer but ideally I wanna do a vortex

 

Why can't i like your posts bru? There's no option.

 

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I'd make a DIY movement, Riaan het ons goed geleer. Honestly not that difficult getting a lekker strong pump, some clear tubing and a couple of Y sections to have like 3/4 tubes on the side of the bucket to just move it that way. Don't even know if that would work but could always do it the way that oke did it

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I was running just the airpump with an air stone previously. After some research it seemed that more agitation is recommended. This thread prompted some tinkering.

I built two versions,
1st one out of some 50mm pvc
2nd one from some 20mm clear silicone
(I used what I had laying around)

The 50mm required much more air than what could be delivered. 40mm would be better. You need a lot of air.
The 20mm diameter worked well but did not agitate the water near enough.

What I eventually settled on was the airpump and air stone running together with an old fountain pump and some garden hose.
Not exactly a ''vortex'' as mentioned, but the water is being aerated well and the fountain pump is circulating the water well and adding more aeration.



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4 minutes ago, CreX said:

Would you say that is better than airstones? 

According to Microbe Organics yes. According to him the dissolved oxygen is almost 10 times that of what you get from airstones. The constant circulation of the water does seem to support that I reckon. Plus you have to consider the gunk that forms on airstones during the brewing process which I'm sure reduces their efficiency as you progress through the brew

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I had a look online and really like that vortex system... Seems like a medium level DIY project 😁

I need to research more, do you just keep the tea brewing indefinitely and just keep adding new microbe stock and food.. Or what? 

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I had a look online and really like that vortex system... Seems like a medium level DIY project
I need to research more, do you just keep the tea brewing indefinitely and just keep adding new microbe stock and food.. Or what? 
I read you must not do this as the food can become depleted and you end up with a monoculture and just adding more food doesn't yield the desired results.

So best to mix a new batch of tea before you need to use it.
I think most people do 24-36 hours of brew time.

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Agree 100%... That is my usual method... Small batch brews as I need it.. 

The vortex systems iv seen are generally way more than I would typically use at a time, which is why I asked my question 😋

Edit - I brew for 48 hours, no more and no less... 

Depending on what kind of tea you are meking, fungi dominant or bacteria dominant depends on the length of time you brew for, at the right temp(iv found 25° is good for me) 

Fungi teas don't need a long brew time, but the bacteria need a 48 brew to fully chow the food you gave them, and multiply. 

Edit 2 - if there is too much food still in the tea when you are finished brewing it, the microbes will be more inclined to eat the easy to eat food you give them, over the problems in your root zone that you are trying to fix... They will eat the problems... But will favour the food you give them until they are forced to eat the problems to survive... 

So your tea might take a couple of extra days before you see the results you want to see. 

It has never taken more than 3 days for my teas to work and see healthy new root growth

 

 

Edited by CreX
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  • 1 month later...

Well what do you know! Medium level project complete!! 

Built a functional vortex brewer with one pipe that makes an actual vortex! 

It was not hard to build... At all... 

But these things seem to go for a lot of freaken money!!!  

Check out my brewer yo's!! 

Aaah man! I can't add vids!! You guys only get to see screenshots lol!! 

The humic acid vortex is so sick to watch.. 

Here's to awesome teas and a healthier garden 😁😁👌

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On 8/3/2019 at 10:35 PM, CreX said:

Well what do you know! Medium level project complete!! 

Built a functional vortex brewer with one pipe that makes an actual vortex! 

It was not hard to build... At all... 

But these things seem to go for a lot of freaken money!!!  

Check out my brewer yo's!! 

Aaah man! I can't add vids!! You guys only get to see screenshots lol!! 

The humic acid vortex is so sick to watch.. 

Here's to awesome teas and a healthier garden 😁😁👌

Nice man! :-clap Great idea on using the water dispenser bottle. Saves a lot of energy drilling holes into the bottom of a bucket which has till now put me off building my own vortex brewer. Don't have the tools for that.

I'm sorry but I'm definitely stealing your idea 😁 what size air pump are you using?

I'm afraid I had to disable video uploads due to their high storage use. Once we get this forum onto some solid hosting with unlimited storage we'll start allowing video uploads again. In the mean time you could upload videos to Youtube and then embed the video here. Very easy to do.

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4 hours ago, 420SA said:

Nice man! :-clap Great idea on using the water dispenser bottle. Saves a lot of energy drilling holes into the bottom of a bucket which has till now put me off building my own vortex brewer. Don't have the tools for that.

I'm sorry but I'm definitely stealing your idea 😁 what size air pump are you using?

I'm afraid I had to disable video uploads due to their high storage use. Once we get this forum onto some solid hosting with unlimited storage we'll start allowing video uploads again. In the mean time you could upload videos to Youtube and then embed the video here. Very easy to do.

Im using 2 dolphin 8500 pumps... That gets a good vortex going. 

The bottom of the water bottle is rediculously thicker than you would imagine... Nice new hacksaw blade is a must

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  • 7 months later...

@Daniel-J, those vortex brewers look proper, and are proper, but are pretty pricy...

I wouldn't pay for any of the ones that are not vortex, as they are all much over much... And you can make them at home... 20l bucket, airstone... Bam! Tea brewer 😛

Let me know what way you are leaning... DIY, or a professional touch. 

 

 

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