HomeBiogas 2.0 Toilet and Digester Winter Review

[@lux5579]

I just built a 1,320 gallon biogas digester for power generation. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zoiopnpmf62Epcksi=pqf5FMyQJz--9FQw

[@mickireland2421]

If you built a compost box with a plastic lined box inside it to put your biogas unit in to keep it separate from compost. You could then fill the outer box with grass clippings, then cover the compost box with youre greenhouse. Add green grass clippings it will get hot enough to steam. This will be in keeping with your green way instead using power to keep it warm 👍

[@RASDB7]

Thank you for this winter operations.....

[@douglaswindsor120]

I watched one biogas vidio where he was thinking of digging a pit under and using some of the gas to have a fire underneath my thinking would be to safety and I thought of something that is scraped a lot leaking hot water tanks while they won't hold water anymore in most cases the burner and controls work fine cut the top off all you need is between 2 & 3 foot of the tank put that in a pit and fill it with sand move the controls up near the top that way the sand will heat up creating thermal mass the controls will keep the sand at an ideal temperature and that will keep the digester at an ideal temperature and the increase in gas production will more than offset any gas the heater uses since I'm planning on having 2 digesters and a second stage to get more production from both I'll have my scrubber down in the pit as well

[@davidoutdoors74]

Hello great few videos on your homebiogas. Will there be more updates on this. Love watching free energy being made.

[@lux5579]

Yes I'm going to be doing one on generating electricity but I'm sort of waiting for it to be a little warmer for that

[@colleen.m.flaherty]

Fellow NC-ian here! Were you still able to use the toilet regularly without it overflowing in the winter because the bacteria isn’t digesting as fast, thus not producing as much gas, with the green house set up? I asked BioGas but they didn’t give me a clear answer. I’m looking to use this for our business in a remote spot and want to keep it off grid as much as possible. Your real life experience will give me a better answer than their customer service! Thank you!!

[@lux5579]

The bacteria comes to almost to stand still in the winter time but as soon as the summer hits it goes to work and digest everything over the winter months. I haven’t had any issues

[@michelleoverby5738]

@@lux5579 so does that bag fill up during the winter moths?

[@rowanshole]

May I suggest that using plastic for your north wall is not efficient. Try making that a solid structure and insulating it with a rockwool/ fiberglass batting with a reflective aluminium surface facing the digestor. Keep the thin plastic film to the top and the southern exposure (reverse this in the southern hemisphere) . Better still, use a multiwall polycarbonate sheeting on the sun side. Insulating down even 10 to 20 cm below the ground all the way around is also a cheap way to lift up thermal retention. You will be happily suprised at the heat gains. Thanks for your video.

[@Nafo-Radio]

Hoop house in a hoop house will increase the insulation and hold the heat longer.

[@devonmerrick1111]

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[@micahira6306]

@Devon Merrick instablaster :)

[@devonmerrick1111]

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[@devonmerrick1111]

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[@micahira6306]

@Devon Merrick you are welcome :D

[@medina3420]

Solar panel heater inside. For very cold times.

[@Geoff9001]

Could you use the methane to heat the greenhouse enough to keep it at 70* all year round?

[@OldSchoolPrepper]

love to hear an update when you have time. thanks

[@GeorgiaWoodsHomesteading]

Can you give another update on the biogas digester? I'm curious about how it is going 3 years later.

[@paulaudioslave]

Have you considered using mylar coated emergency blankets, and or the mylar coated bubble wrap used for housing insulation. It reflects heat really well!

[@lux5579]

In the winter I may try this. I generally just accept the fact that there will be 3 ish months in the winter that I won't be able to receive any gas from the system.

[@d.thomasmeduri9105]

I was thinking that since you disconnected your stove and are not cooking with it currently why couldn’t you use the gas production to heat the greenhouse at night or whenever it’s below optimum temperature? It may be that you could keep gas production up enough to use some for cooking too.

[@infocat13]

Maybe cost out a small solar voltaic system to a heater?

[@jonbishop1385]

Using Gray water troubles me, we have a septic tank and was told, under no circumstances use Gray water and never let storm water enter the septic tank as Gray water has soaps detergents and other chemicals in it which will kill your bacteria and storm water will flush heathy bacteria out, maybe Biogas system is completely different? But we have Never had our septic tank emptied and its never let us down in 19 + years

[@lux5579]

I talk about this a little bit in my videos. I don’t use anything harsh. If you’re using tons of bleach and heavy antibacterial soap then of course you shouldn’t be flushing it into your bio gas system. I don’t use a lot of that most of my stuff is pretty eco-friendly. You also got to consider a lot of these chemicals, especially if they’re not the harsh kind, start breaking down and dissolving by the time they hit your gray water tank. They’re being mixed and diluted with all kinds of other things and for the most part they’ve already done their cleaning action. By the time you further dilute it with more sewer waste and flush it again, there’s not a lot left especially if you’re not using bleach and harsher chemicals like I mentioned in the videos

[@etruchet]

Thank you so much for your videos. It helps a lot to take a decision ! Do you throw toilet paper in the toilet ? Have you got any trouble because of that ?

[@lux5579]

I have no problem putting toilet paper in the toilet. I treated like a normal toilet. I just use less toilet paper due to the bidet. It gets dissolved and eaten up with everything else

[@jeffsteinmetz7188]

The normal composting/breakdown process produces heat, so I am curious if you enclosed and insulated in late summer if you could maintain the temperature at a level that could continue methane production all winter long. Perhaps a good question for Biogas. Also, your long “poop” pipe if not a few feet underground will be adding cold/close to freezing fluids with every flush. Based on the temperatures you stated this would be disruptive to the methane gas production.

[@lux5579]

Yes, the winter time does not produce any methane for me. A better system would probably be to put it underground as the ground maintains a more even kilter temperature. I refuse to spend additional money to produce methane as I bought the system so that I would have free returns. I have just settled for the fact unless I want to design a new one or put it underground that the winter time just won't produce anything for me. It doesn't seem to disrupt any gas production for the next summer. I supplement with other gases so this is fine in my case

[@Sune-p9n]

Have you tried heating the biogas tent using a heater that uses biogas? Burn the biogas inside the tent to warm the tent. Warm tent means it produces gas again - probably way more than was used up heating the tent. Does that work?

[@Sune-p9n]

Also, painting the plastic tent black will trap more heat.

[@jnlong1]

wondering if you have another update this year. Did you end up getting the additional gas tanks? I'm curious if you would still purchase the 2.0 or one of the larger models? You mentioned it limits you as for mobility, do you think this could set up onto a trailer, which then could be moved? I've known about these for years but I just couldn't commit to it without having land, now that we own some... i'm wanting to get one. I would love to see more content on this... I want to know things like what it's like if you're gone for a week, the activation process, can the activation process be "hacked" by storing your own mesophiles... thanks!

[@jordanhunt6386]

I have always wanted to do this but my winters here in the UK drop to 20°F but was thinking of using a old greenhouse to house the disaster and building a compost heater in the greenhouse to keep everything warm.

[@lux5579]

If you can keep it warm in the winter time then it should work fine. I settled for the fact that I just don't get gas back for 3 months out of the year due to the winters here. I don't want to spend money in energy to get energy back. I just use it when it's warm out

[@Tiersmoke92555]

What disinfectant can you use that will not wreck the bacterial colony?

[@tallperson117]

This is really cool, I'm considering doing a bus conversion in the next year and I'm thinking of using the Homebiogas and toilet.

[@lux5579]

The biggest question you have to answer is what your needs are going to be. If you're going to be moving it a lot, then you have to take that into consideration but if you're going to be stationary for quite some time then it is a little easier

[@randomnamehererandoname1727]

Hello from NC! Raleigh here...moving soon though to a MUCH colder area and was also about to buy one. You read my mind! Was thinkin about throwing it in a large tube greenhouse so the venting would warm that as well. Have you also thought about using black tarps? I see the video was done over a year ago, any updates? Thanks again man. Or if you can find the materials, you could lay out a concrete base and then put a lot of glass panels around it (like from coffee tables) and frame them into a hot house of sorts. Should keep the inside geat during the winter but you might have to change the setup during the summer.

[@davidoutdoors74]

Any videos coming up soon thanks

[@lux5579]

Yep! In the next day

[@Lumbeelegend]

Could you use a solar panel with a heating element? I do that, live in NC, and my outdoor water heater (washing cars, filling up tubs for my kids, ect.) maintains 70° and up, even in the dead of winter. I have 5x 245w solar panel and a 40 gallon tank if that is important.

[@walkerleiser]

Thanks for the vid. I’ve got one coming this summer barring corona delays. I’m on a separette toilet now and want to install rain water and grey water collection. So the biogas toilet with bidet is exactly the set up I’ve been contemplating. Did you capture any video of the install of the toilet? Checking to see what I would need to convert from non flush to flush and then connecting it to the system (distance, height considerations etc). Thanks in advance.

[@lux5579]

I did not record the toilet install. It sounds like you have a workable plan. The toilet is a little different as it is a hand flush but not much different then others. I built the box under it to bring it up the a level I liked. You will need the piping for the waste. You can get it from Lowes. Just be sure the toilet is above the highest point the waste must go over when traveling into the digester.

[@walkerleiser]

Lucidus Lux yhank you for the height tip. That makes a huge difference. Gotta jack up the tiny!

[@03bohemia]

Hello, I am wondering if it would be okay to use in a really cold climate, We do get snow during the winter months and my idea is to build a green house like the one you built, but with insulation and within a much sturdier structure. Any issues that you know about in terms of ventilation or needed venting piping? Please let me know. Many thanks

[@lux5579]

I’ll be building a new one at some point and burying it in the ground where it’s a little warmer

[@Blackwindzero]

Have you considered using Top Lit Up Draft Stove for when its winter and you need to cook stuff? Can cook with leaves and sticks and it makes "biochar" which can be used for a billion things.

[@limitlesschoices]

Is the total cost $720? Are there any customs and import taxes?

[@12vLife]

Would Florida's health dept ever permit this in place of a septic system?

[@MommaHo888]

Is this your first year using? I just watched another video with an interveiw with the owner/engineer that designed it. He had said after the first year, if the system is healthy, it will start producing as normal in the winters following the first year. I'll see if I can find the link.

[@lux5579]

it's been a couple years at this point and the system has stabilized. I don't have to reactivate it every spring as I use no heat with it throughout the winter. I choose not to add any heat as an extra cost. With time, it has been maintaining itself better

[@rowanshole]

@@lux5579 great to hear it is going well. Im about to order one and thankyou for your reviews.

[@kennethvogt9379]

How much output is your aquarium heater? Could it be bigger?

[@lux5579]

I got the one they recommended. It wasn't bad but it did raise my electric bill a little bit. I finally decided to not turn it on during the winter time. I've settled for not getting gas production during the winter as I'm in North Carolina and it's pretty warm most of the year. There's only about three to four months that I actually don't get any gas production. I supplement other gases during this time. I refuse to spend money to get free gas. I tried it the first year and in my opinion it wasn't worth the electricity it took to heat it up to get the gas back

[@mrspoonhead]

howdy. Thanks for vid. How often do you have to clean the digester out, and what do you do with it?

[@lux5579]

I haven't had to yet clean it out. If you keep it maintained, you shouldn't have to.

[@mrspoonhead]

Lucidus Lux cheers. Thanks for the reply. They never mention that side of it

[@daviddavid9837]

I don't think I've ever seen it before in a video, but... You aren't first to build a plastic "greenhouse" structure over your biogas production set-up to insulate it from the cold. Perhaps you might consider purchasing bales of straw to stack closely around the perimeter to wall it in with a great, thick layer of wind and weather protection, and then cover the whole business with plastic. You'll be sealing it off for winter, but how often do you really need to access it if your primary fuel is piped-in toilet waste? You might even decide to keep the straw bales around longer than just winter for insulation and protection. Of course, purchasing the straw does introduce an additional cost.

[@Wagohowardhanahou]

How about sun? I live in Hawaii. I got everything. 2.0 unit, toilet, and plan on putting under my deck-- little indirect sun light almost all day. Doesn’t get below 40 degrees and gets to 95 degrees.... so....... in your opinion .? I’d have enough methane for a thirty minute burn...?

[@Wagohowardhanahou]

This is happening today , btw...

[@lux5579]

Hey! It mainly needs heat. If it is staying plunty warm under there, you should be fine! Not being in the direct sun will extend its life

[@Wagohowardhanahou]

Lucidus Lux I decided to move it to other side of cabin and level the area wrong so I feel fucked.. gonna redo

[@Schoolforson]

What about a compost heating system? Also did u buy the bidet from homebiogas or just any bidet?

[@lux5579]

I bought the bidet from Amazon

[@annaedwards932]

So has your area gotten cold enough where you are to not able to use the toilet? We live in the mountains of North Georgia, which, I assume isn't much different in temp from NC.

[@lux5579]

It has. In the winter time gas production slows down and actually comes to a halt. I have just settled for the fact that it only produces for me during the spring fall and summer. During the winter time I supplement other gases. I am looking at getting several huge tank so that I can store gas all summer long and then use it during the winter

[@annatennyson4327]

@@lux5579 what do you mean supplement with other games? Does the toilet work connected to other gases somehow?

[@mayamachine]

Good information thank you.

[@dannyreyes01]

Hi any updates on how it’s working so far?

[@lux5579]

It's been working well. I had to replace the pump for the toilet and they sent me the replacement parts for it. I don't really use it much in the winter time because it's a little cold here and I just settle for the fact there will be 3 months out of the year I won't get any gas production

[@oooltra]

My bag stopped in cold weather I let gas into the hole where you put table scraps that did not help then both me and my wife (350 lbs) gassed into the hole and that was enough to jump start my gas bag and it kept making gas all winter long

[@whobee8868]

You two Shit and farted into the bag to re start?? That’s hilarious

[@jeremiahshine]

Pile leaves and wood chips around your "tent" next Autumn and heat by compost bacteria fart.

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

little specks of stuff....

[@Wagohowardhanahou]

Llama taboot taboot!