New improved IBC bio digester design and build

After building the first IBC digester and having it running for over 6 months ive noticed that improvements could be made, so in this build i have implemented them, not quite a step by step instructional but a guide if anyone wants to try the same, i will be updating about the design to see if it is actually indeed more practical and solves some issues - i think it will and am excited to see how it preforms, stay tuned

[@keesverhagen9227]

Hello Sir, I have more then 45 years with Bio-digesters. Also with capturing and storing Methane gas from an old ditch. That had leaves falling in it for hundreds of years. When i was around 7 or 8 years old i always saw big bubbles coming up from the water. Somebody told me that it was gas. Next winter when it was al frozen up under the ice there were large pockets of gas. So curious as i was as a kid i drilled a small hole. Had a long stick wrapped in cotton and petrol. Sometimes from such a hole the gas burned for more then an hour. I was living next to a company that was doing all kinds of Dredging. They had several ships called Cutter Suction Dredge. My old man had a job there. I was living on a ship so always surrounded by water. That company had a lot of stuff laying around. Also several very large stainless steel round washbasins. One had atleast a diameter of little more then 2 meter. I took one and used a rope to pull it to my fathers shed where he had a lot of tools. In the middle there was a large hole and some connection points. I sealed that hole with a piece of Concrete Plywood. Made a little hole in the middle and used a piece of cupper tube to fit in that hole. On opposite sides i fixed some tubes that i bended. So it had a cap around 20 cm's. Used a small rowing boat to get in the middle of that ditch. Managed to get that heavy washbasin upside down on the back of the little boat. Pushed two round poles in the mud and used my dads large steel hammer to sledge them way deeper. After a long time struggling i managed to have that washbasin upside down in the water. And the rubber hose tubes around the wooden poles. Made with a large bolt a lever construction attached to the washbasin. Around the copper tube fixed a long piece of gardenhose. And on the end of the gardenhose i fixed a petroltap from my brothers moped. Later i got a beating from him for using that. 😢 I had the washbasin fully underwater. Just under the surface. With a piece of wood i was sticking into the mud. Large bubble of gas floated up and into the washbasin. So much that after 10 or 15 minutes that washbasin came floating up almost entirely above the water. With my mums lighter ( back in the days Belinda costs not more then 0.39 Dutch cents. 😬 A beautifill flame it gave. And if i pushed slightly on the washbasin the flame became larger. Much larger. It was was very dangerous because the flame could easily gone back. It would have exploded. It was amazing how long a complete filled washbasin could burn. Weeks later my dad helped me to weld two round bended piece of stanless strips of metal onto it. For the poles in the water. We changed the gardenhose hose for Tyleen. And a different valve with a better nozzle. In his workplace we set up a gas cooker with four burners. The injectors already were changed from eartgas to propane. It burned perfectly. All the four burners. Sometimes not always blue. Some coloring. From that time on as a kid of not even ten years old i was hooked on gas. We made a water filter for the gas. And that was pretty much it. Through a few years several hundreds of liter of water was boiled with that gas. When i was 14 a build my own Bio digester. I was lucky to have all kinds of stuff that i could use. More then enough tools and so on. And i never got in trouble with my dads boss for using a lot of equipment. I progressed with trial and error. Later on in life you get to circumstances that take away that little kid inside you. I enjoyed watching your video Sir. 👍

[@g.eeducation251]

Great information. That must have been a lot of fun.

[@savagegfry]

How would you go using a mutration pump to feed the IBC, from the dunny? Would it eliminate the need for a stirrer?

[@uneektalent]

Use soapy water instead of vaseline so you don't destroy the rubber.

[@justadumbfarmer4744]

Why not use valve at bottom of tank for your exit pipe. Water sinks to bottom in a regular septic system and sludge floats to top, just like you suggested.

[@raymondbalidio8237]

What is the effect of inserting a mixer. Is it necessary or just an optional? Thnx

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

Hi Raymond, the thought behind it was to stop build up of food waste near the inlet pipe, if food started to accumulate near there the mixer could push/spread it around clearing the way for more, plus it releases any trapped gases that may be around the bottom.

[@MrJFoster1984]

Short, fat, thick or thin, vaseline will get it in!

[@markpennella]

Im missing you newest updates. Im planning 7 years as the bible talk about.

[@mikefiatx19]

You could have fitted the pipes into the top rather than the sides and had the same end result without any possibility of leaks.

[@chariddawn6663]

A 5 gal bucket of waste weighs more than water which is 40 pounds. and that's a high lift plus you have to lean into it to make sure you over it and not having spills. I imagine that's why he did it. Plus if the seals work as designed it shouldn't be a problem.

[@mikefiatx19]

@@chariddawn6663 OK, then he could have made all of the holes at the height that the liquid levels would be and greatly reduced the amount of pressure on each seal making the whole unit more resilient to leaks. Either way it would be more reliable than putting holes and seals at the bottom of a tank full of liquid.

[@nonyabusiness9747]

lol I'm thinking of starting a yt channel. Going to call it HorribleAtEverything

[@UshanWijesekara]

Hi im from sri lanka and im gonna buit a bio gas unit , one ibc tank as the digester so im gonna put caster wheels for the ibc tank please help me to do that

[@ChenehShunjwe]

Do you have active digesters that are producing currently?

[@RavMky]

impressive work . what sort of production per day in Liters would this do when fully operational?

[@brighambaker3381]

I've read that 1 kilo of waste produces about 1 cubic meter of methane, once it's up and running.

[@satori_mountian_station]

"In, Out, Digest, Rock and Roll."

[@5aueriohannes512]

Hello Daniel! First of all I have to thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. A very commendable act in these crazy times. I decided to make an IBC bio digester myself according to your plans. But I have one question. In the new improved design you moved the feeding tube lower, which I understand, but does the tube swallow the waste when the IBC is already full? Thank you and best regards, Janez

[@thelightami]

Hello Daniel, First of all thank you so very much for your biogas videos. I really enjoy them, they are very informative and have inspired me to build my own digester. I was wondering if you have ever thought of using your T stir stick filled with water as a heating element so that you won’t get that sludge build up on the heater? Congratulations on your move and I’m sorry to hear your having trouble getting your digester up and producing gas. Good luck, from the US.

[@Solaboder]

Hi Daniel, I've been watching and learning from you for a couple of years now and love your videos, work and your style mate! Have shared your site with others too. I like your improved design and agree with the 100Ø input pipe but wonder why the outlet pipe needs to be 100Ø also. I have looked through all the comments; others ask the same question but I didn't find an answer. I understand everything else except that and am about to make my first IBC digester. I've had a successful Homebiogas 2 unit operating since last spring, their stoves are great for biogas. Thanks!

[@MiscMitz]

New here. Thank you

[@kanddfamilyfarm]

Hey Daniel, as you may recall I asked about using human manure in a design like this. I'm curious if your stirrer design would be up to the potential forces involved.

[@douglaswindsor120]

Should have used it smaller pipe for the out also the gas outlet could also be a 1.5 inch cleanout you can then use a reducing bushing also I like your design idea to have an gas gap at the top and the stirstick I can see a problem with gas pressure pushing the liquid up the outer tube

[@davidoutdoors74]

How has the new design digester working? does the stir stick that you made work . thanks

[@turamagmz5118]

Great video👍 Thank you so much for sharing all these details.

[@manchesterdiamond6832]

Please I need your help on my newly installed one

[@jinaoneill328]

thanks for you video to bad the sound is so low

[@phoenix450f]

Hey man, great vid. Really keen to hear how this build worked out as i'm keen to build one like this.

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

phoenix450f editing the new vid now, should be up soon

[@RobertBraf]

Hi Daniel, thank you very much for all this valuable input around biogas digestion at home! I am almost through all your biogas vids and currently building a small biogas reactor in order to practice and get things running before scaling up. I have to say that you provide content with many details so that it is very easy to follow, for me, your series is the best biogas related production on KZbin. Please let us know how things are going in 2021. Stay healthy and 1000 greetings from Germany! Robert.

[@Mi-MremboHomesteading]

Love the vid...new to your channel....do you get electricity from the system as well also how many times a week do you feed the digester and whats the life span of the container?

[@sonmubarok]

Is it fine, air still release, especially from mixing

[@benmelnichuk2053]

Is it still working?

[@bdbirendrasah9612]

Hi, I am watch your vedio make me very impressive . I am doing my project on Biogas Plant in cubic meter . Please guide me for giving More information about design of Biogas Plant.

[@markpennella]

Hi. You do a great job! Thank you. This video is 4 years old. Have you made a better system? I what to make this with my Science students in Virginia, USA

[@Homestead_Ireland]

Looks like you've had previous experience lubing up with the vaso! 😂

[@Solaboder]

Hi Daniel, I have followed your design, will try to load picture, but am having trouble sealing the 100mm Uniseals into the side of the tank, between the seal and the tank hole. Have used different sealants with the Uniseals, MS sealant still leaked and am trialing structural sealant now, waiting for curing before water testing. My research suggests that the thin tank wall on an IBC (2-3mm) is not thick enough for the Uniseal to contact enough edge surface; like it would do easily in a large 6mm thick HDPE water tank. Any suggestions welcome, thanks.

[@comperejohnson5810]

Hello Daniel Please, is this size can work 6hours minimum by day please?

[@pranjalgarg3106]

How you made the tank main inlet completely sealed. Don’t it has leakages.

[@davidoutdoors74]

How’s the digester doing

[@smainebelhadi1193]

Very informative video. Thank you very much. Have questions. Is there bad odors ( septic/barn) coming to the kitchen?. Do we need a regulator like the one used between a gas tank and the burner? The mixture in the tank, is it from toilet, plus the laundry/shower, plus the kitchen blender? Thanks.

[@gjebox]

Question how offend to remove solids from your tank... how do you remove solids please explain

[@markgeurts258]

I have another question about the stiring pipe you use. Is it realy nesserary. I mean you have another IBC tank without this standing next to it. How is this working out for the gas production? Do you notice a big different? Best regards, Mark

[@superliegebeest544]

Where u store the gas? U use.a tiretube? Or u go all the way and compress it into.a tank?

[@dalleshayes550]

I'm enjoying this information, is anyone using these instead of a septic, or is this design only suitable for plant wastes and the like?

[@snappymax3134]

Great video(s)! Did you ever get this 4" model completed and producing gas. interested to see how the 4" pipes and design compare to the original as i'm think of biilding one. Any changes/modifications you would still make? Thanks for this!

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

Yes mate all up and running, winter here with snow so slow going, and I don’t get much scraps of time now to feed both tanks, but the heaters on and it’s making gas, the new design means no blockages at the top gas lines 👍

[@nelsonpingo7160]

@@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing very educative i am putting this into practice in my country and going to help people around

[@alistairwylie6730]

Hi Daniel Would you have any links to where you got the uni seals? Thanks

[@edkwesicharman2761]

after inoculating the biodigestor, must it be left to sit idle for a period to produce gas before u start feeding it with kitchen waste or u must continuously feed it till first gas production

[@1924ab]

Has anyone used their existing septic tank to collect gas from?

[@radoslawjocz2976]

instead of cutting the wall of the IBC container it would be better to use existing inlet and outlet

[@RogueOntheRoad]

You need to have a second tank which when the water level gets to the top it can overflow into the second tank. Your first tank is the primary digester the second tank is the secondary digester. Apparently there needs to be a path for the grease to be channeled out into a special grease digester.

[@perfectionprofitable6811]

please explain to better thanks

[@srjagroindustry5813]

Sir after Building Please Maintain the sequence after this video what is the next video process to follow it will be very helpful Sir. Thanking You for sharing your valuable ideas

[@PrateekS701]

Thank you for an instructive video. Tell me how do you clean the residual solids that remain at the bottom (assuming ofcourse that you do clean that).... Also how often do the tank need to be so cleaned?

[@KOA_GOBstopper]

Does it matter what was previously in the ibc?

[@miguelulrich5473]

We set up the "classic" solar cities IBC system and I appreciate your suggestions on how to improve it. We use the gas holding tank made from two IBC tanks with bottom and top parts cut off respectively and then telescoped. The solar cities people suggest only to make a hole in the side of the top tank for the water to enter, but the guys who helped me installing it were cutting off the whole bottom part. Do you have any experience with that storage system?

[@AliMohammed-b8r]

Thanks very much for your teachers

[@AliMohammed-b8r]

Thanks very much for your teachers

[@gnasty9044]

What are the black ring clips called?

[@AliMohammed-b8r]

Thanks very much for your teachers

[@AliMohammed-b8r]

The 2" pipe u put in what is the use for

[@homefusionslimited4069]

can you send me the full video on my mail

[@alicia217]

An on the market digester I've seen says that it should be emptied once a year, do you need to do this? If so how on this ibc design? Thanks

[@carlfowler3333]

Good question. I'm interested in doing this ;but I'd like to know the actual maintenance.

[@Brian-ausie]

Hello been looking at biogas, I have a septic tank that I am sure will be good for methane, its a 2 compartment system, solids on first liquid on second, I don't know if you know if use a septic tank, can gas's be pushed up Into the toilet While filling the gas storage? I can't find any info on septic biogas regarding the toilet

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

I actually plan on looking into septic gases, but I would imagine if you are putting a collection bag/system on the tank, and that collection system fills and creates back pressure into the toilet lines, I would imagine you would certainly get nasty stinky gas, if you are knowledgeable, you could install a pressure valve that vents after collection reaches maximum, just a thought.

[@Brian-ausie]

@@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing thats exactly my first thought. There are people doing it, but don't know how the toilet issue is overcome, I did think of putting a 90 deg fitting on my existing pipe into the water but this can change with soak away and if you drain or clean out, I guess I could have a floating pipe that goes up and down with the water level with a 90 deg fitting at the end, my thought if using your septic this could give 90% of your needs or even more, with possibly only a small external bio plant needed

[@wyattnixonlloyd8570]

Hey mate, I'm toying with building an IBC digester that I'll be leaving outside in the sun in perth (no shed space for me). I was going to build the solar cities design but I see you've modded it to have a lower height, for less gas blockages, which i thinks v sensible so I think I'll copy my build off yours. Now that you've had this design for 2 years, anything else you'd change? I am going to grind the food waste like you do, do you think a stirrer will still be necessary?

[@wyattnixonlloyd8570]

do you have to ever push your scraps through? The Homebiogas commercial design has a plunger type attachment to the feed lid that seems to push the new scraps out the bottom of the feeding tube.

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

Hi Wyatt sorry for the delay, go to hear about you getting into biogas, the only think I would change is putting the heater in it’s own little pvc sleeve, after a bit it gets a build up of crud on it and needs to be cleaned, I like the stirrer in case there is a build up near the bottom of the feed pipe. As far as a plunger, I don’t have much problem due to grinding, but sometimes between feeds, the food on top in the feed pipe will dry out and may not go down so easy, could use a paint mixer or potato masher on a stick to push down.

[@santiagocresci3539]

Great improvement.

[@rastarockstevie]

Hy there, Great video! I was wondering, Is it possible to put the inlet and the outlet on the same side but put a longer piece of pipe on one of them? Or do you think it would interfere with something? It would make it easier to only have to acces one side. Just thinking out loud! :-)

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

Quite possibly, I would put the longer pipe on the outlet going in further toward the other side if that makes sense, I wouldn’t put more pipe on the feed in as it has more room for blockages. You also want your outlet pipe a bit higher from the bottom of the tank.

[@rastarockstevie]

@@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing Thanks for the tip! :-) I want to build on in April. Will be think about that. I want to fit it in a tight spot and want to insulate on all side.

[@BrytTrades]

hi bro, how much cooking gas can u get a day?

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

With ideal tank temps and regular feeding, I was getting at least 40mins to an hour of cooking from a single burner

[@dianatyson2733]

Hi! Question please...Our son and I built a 55 gallon drum bio-digester. There are 2, 2"x4' scrubbers filled with steel wool. It's hot summer here and Bio-digester is outside. Put in the fresh cow manure and water slurry. Waited 2 days and began feeding it raw produce scraps. Gas production is slow and smells like isopropyl alcohol. Should that be the smell of the gas?

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

First off, it’s good to hear you are doing this project with your son, a good family project. You should not feed the digester any food scraps for 3 weeks or there abouts or it will turn sour, it needs to produce flammable gas before you do, it will produce carbon dioxide initially, wait and check the gas, then you can feed.

[@dianatyson2733]

Thank you so much for your reply! What are the signs of being sour? How is this remedied?

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

Very strong odour, and check the pH level, it will be very acidic, you can try and add bi carb (kilos of it) but I found best just to start again. Even ideal conditions you won’t get methane until around to 2-3 week mark

[@dianatyson2733]

@@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing Thank you! BTW, I enjoy watching your other projects also. Take care!

[@uramalakia]

You're amazing.

[@ockyoz]

Hi. Will it be dark enough in the shed for a good reaction?

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

OCKY OZ In my shed it is, but both are covered in insulation to block light and keep heat in, my original tank is painted black also.

[@craigglewis]

Good design. Yet lots of extra 4" components. I'm going to try 4" for the input and 2" or 3" for the output. I will just add a gas line fitting to the top of the tank, eliminating some parts. Great Vid Tks :)

[@boorayin2773]

As Solar CITIES provides their design to anyone whom wants to try this, am curious if you had any communication with them about your improvements so that they can potentially improve their design? I haven't built one of these, but I did immediately wonder about those tiny feeding pipes and food getting stuck in there (on their design). At risk of asking a silly newbie question: how do you not lose gas through that open pipe in the center where your stirrer is? Cheers for the video.

[@randalmoroski1184]

Don't know if you got an answer..? But me thinks the larger pipe that surrounds the stir pipe , is actually below the gas level and unable to go down through the slurry to go back up to the opening...?

[@ciaranbrennan8496]

Those fittings will eventually fail an leave you with an hazmat disaster!

[@craigglewis]

LOL How? it's bio material

[@kellydixon3068]

Hi, I love your videos. I'm making my own biogas digester at the moment and being able to use your improved design has put me one step ahead so thanks for sharing! I have a question for you....what size tubing/barb fitting do you use for the gas outlet?

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

Thanks for the positive feedback, I think I opted for 10mm, only thing I’d change is to braided hose, mine kinks over , not that it really impedes the gas flow but just irks me, otherwise size doesn’t really matter

[@robertosanon1019]

Kelly Dixon you have to reduce the outlet for the gas at 1" that can improve your gas pressure

[@shamanderegy1213]

Hello, dear brother- Could you please tell me about the function of each of the slots? Should the tank be emptied of all litter every specific time period? And how to get rid of the percentage of water vapor entering the gas bottle so that it does not enter the bottle while being compressed it with gas through the compressor? Greetings and appreciation for your efforts in this vital field, hoping to meet you one day - hopefully

[@apinhmi]

Nice video. Great work man. Question:. What is better, 1 big system like 10tonner bio digester or 10 smaller system of 1 tonner container? Appreciate you very well thought of response. Thank you! GBU! Farm produces 15 tonner chicken dung.

[@madawawijesundara447]

I like this digester.what is the size of feeding pipe ?

[@justanumber427]

What is your average outside temp? Do you track amount/type of feedstock to the digester and amount of output biogas? If no, would you mind logging this info? Data is a critical part of process improvement and there is a lack of available data. Great videos!

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

Thanks for the kind words, the area I’m in can go from 40c in summer to -7c in winter, the insulation around the tank is a good idea if you can get your hands on some, as far as data goes, I’m limited due to ever changing feedstock, feeding times due to work commitments, yes I would love to keep track of it all, in commercial biogas plants they would monitor all this, Australia has a limited number of commercial plants but I would love to visit some and document what they do compared to backyard plants.

[@jaeybeeinvestments597]

Hi, You are doing a great job. Where do you get the seals?

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

Www.aussieglobe.com

[@nicholasdworcowyi5735]

I think maybe you should have your feed pipe higher than nutrient out. This gives more pressure to push out nutrients? Saw that on another post. Otherwise very impressive. The mixer is a great idea!

[@OkAtEverything-ProAtNothing]

Could be an idea!

[@hisseinaliahmat9888]

Do you give me the link that you saw the post. Thank you

[@jeffreyliddicoat1364]

good design ... you talked about heating the tank, I live in a colder climate and had thoughts of pex pipe and solar hot water interested on your method of heating

[@bobolivier3809]

Thank you so much for sharing this. I live in a northern climate, north of montreal in Canada. For temperature of the enclosure of the implacement, what are the minimum requirements for efficient use. Thank you so much.... where are you?

[@bobolivier3809]

In another answer, I see you are down under and talk about +40 to _7.... will freezing affect it during the winter if it is getting little use? thanx once again