Homemade rotary soil / compost screen

[potteryworks]

Did you make the drum? Or did you buy? Where can I get one?

[johnandtheresa2459]

Well Done!! I would have never thought of it. Thanks for the inspiration.

[kheroot]

This pretty cool.

[crazyaboutcompost]

Beautifully done, well-thought design. I envy the crap out of this! If only my yard was bigger than 10'x6'...

[winkdogg]

this thing is awesome , great job! I have been brainstorming different uses! Magnets to seperate metals , heat or cold to thermo sort , sorting mixed hardware , tons of uses!

great job a build tutorial or plan set should be for sale to recoupe all your trials, tests , and material cost out of pocket ! this also looks like you could sell a kit version , lots of people without your mechanical skill and knowledge would love to put one of these to work in their yards! Fantastic Job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[RithFrank]

the idea is good... however, the videography is giving me headaches as i watch it. ... you move your video camera so violently, it is not a pleasure to watch your good ideas!

[MrMooseheadbeer]

Why did i watch this video... and how did i get here.

[MrAnthonyRizzo]

I am such a big fan of homemade gardening doodads.

[BigHeadFarm]

great idea and nice design - thanks!

[jjsjeffjjsjeff]

I work in the seed treating industry and the drum (just like your trammel drum) has a C channel that is rolled into a ring and welded to a sheet metal drum. The drum is placed on two rollers at the front and two rollers at the back. The rollers also cause the drum to rotate.

Check out video "/watch?v=_hkM6QuHb7g" at 0:43 and you'll see what I'm talking about.

[gettingahandle]

Well thought through "just get in and build it" prototype! Works well obviously. Someone's gona use this idea and run with it.

[Msrockinrobin03]

That's a great idea I love it!! Going to have to give it a try.

[snoodygroove]

I'm Making one now will post a video when done, I used roller blade wheels inside the bike rims instead of the 8 black wheels you used. they fit into the rims perfect. i also used 6mm galvanised aviary mesh as it filters the soil finer. INSPIRATION IS FROM THIS VIDEO!!! THANKS ;o)

[rickr6]

Thanks, I've been considering how to make an item to sift compost and soil. Nice feasible design. Hope I can follow the basis of your concept. Thanks

[stylus880]

M8 I wish you were my neighbour. Great stuff. Good Luck

[wardomon]

Fifty years ago, a driveway's worth of aggregate was piled in the back corner of my yard, right where I'd like to put a shed. It's subsided to several inches below the surface and I fear that it will keep sinking, taking my little building with it. If only there was some way to easily sift the gravel from the soil so that it could be placed on top of a layer of landscape fabric and used as a base for a concrete pad...

Video of my machine to follow.

[Coden11]

this is so AWESOME. started my first garden this year, now you've got me dreaming BIG! Thank you!

[dwwaltman]

I hadn't looked at this in a while, and didn't realize there were so many questions. 1) I would recommend a 1725 RPM AC induction motor. This one is only 1/2 hp, which is plenty. These are everywhere; often in blowers and fans. This one is borrowed from my metal buffer. 2) weave wire through the spoke holes to attach the mesh 3) these are 26 in rims, but it doesnt matter what you use. They just need to be the same. 4) yes, my wife was shoveling so I could make the video :).

[MrChrisTowerton]

I like it... Thanks for sharing

[onionman113]

I like, make it so it can easily be mounted to the cart, and make a cheap belt system that moves the good dirt INTO the garden bed. And let the clumps and stuff do the same as in here maybe a 80 degree piece of removable sheet metal the make the clumps fall under the trommel.

[MFATubed]

You form the hardware cloth into a cylinder and fasten it to the rims. I used #8 pan head screws, washers, and stop nuts. Some thread the mesh onto the rims using wire through the spoke holes -- Google "instructable compost trommel". My screw method created a bumpy rim (screw heads), so my wheels had to ride on the outer diameter. FH screws might work better. Mine passed the dirt test today, so I'm happy!

[64marine]

No idea what and how on the barrel construction methods, where/how?

[MFATubed]

I more-or-less copied your design. Belts and pulleys came from a local supply house, which also had a 1/3 HP motor lying around (returned/used) for $30. I found a baby stroller with 4 pairs of double wheels for $5 at a thrift shop, so there were my 8 wheels, which were big enough to ride smoothly on the outside of the rims. A couple of caster wheels on each end of the thing ride on the rims and keep the cage aligned on the wheels.

[zareckymr]

How long is the screen barrel?

[zareckymr]

What size bike rims did you use? How wide?

[Athosiphyr]

I also copied your design to make my own, it works quite well. I found a 2 HP motor at a pawn shop that has plenty of power. For people who are going to build one and aren't savvy about such things, you can find sheaves, belts, axles and bearings at bearing shops, although getting used parts will definitely be cheaper if you can find them. The significant difference in mine is small fixed casters which ride inside the bike wheels to prevent the drum from drifting, instead of large wheels.

[r44flyer]

@Athosiphyr I'm doing this with the wheels as well. Was tricky to find some narrow enough to run inside the rims. With 26" bike wheels it's going to need a whopper of a drive belt! Where do I get one that's over 2m long?!

[Athosiphyr]

@r44flyer Not really, but perhaps I got lucky. I simply took my rim, which is only 22.5", to the hardware store (Big R in this case) and tested wheels until I found some that fit with a bit of play. They are very small, only about 1.5" in diameter.  I can take a pic or vid if you would like visual reference. McGuire Bearing had the belts I needed in stock, but if you know your stuff you can order them online. Search for "Belt No. BX72" on Amazon.com to start. I'm sure there are longer ones too

[gladtidings4all]

Great idea!

[36theghost]

COOL!

[Thomoco]

Hello, I used your design to make one of my own. Just uploaded a video for you to see, search for... "Goodbye SID hello TREVOR the soil or compost rotary trommel sieve thing"

[r44flyer]

Hi, what kind of motor did you use, please? I was thinking about a washing machine motor, but something that was already wired for 240v would be easier to just 'plug in' with the right pulleys.

[davetileguy]

Can I use this device to launder money?

[DCVU2]

I built the drum part as you have, but now I'm at a stand still. My main concern now is to find a motor and a big drive belt, any suggestions?

[deasttn]

@DCVU2

I'd say you can find electrical motors that would work in lots of household appliances (sewing machine, washing machines, dishwashers, power tools, etc.) Ought to be able to find em cheap on Craigslist and then simply disassemble them. Might even be able to use a drill or box fan.

For the belt, you might try the auto parts store or the lawn n garden section.

[Bluezman01]

Excellent use of common materials. And I agree about the staging. Mine is the same thing (conceptually) and I'm getting ready to add wheels to one end and adjustable legs with lift handles on the other, so it can be moved like a wheel barrow.

[Silentganjaman]

i realy lik this design its just what i need for my garden in fact if you dont mind i mite try and copy it if thats ok. il make a video of mine when i get to make it thanks

[IdahoViewing]

I am trying to get my head wrapped around how this could be adapted to a bicycle (human powered) mode for remote and off grid operation.

[61520a]

Hey why are you out of breath? it looked like the little woman was doing all the work..

[bakcompat]

looks pretty slick to me. Good job there! Keep gardening.

[telemarker77]

nice job. clever.

[abesermenji]

Awesome,simple but very efficient!!!! Good job!!!!

[finallytricked]

to attach the hardware cloth to the bike rims, use metal wire that is weaved in and out of the spoke holes. If you search the n e t for c o m p o s t trommel, there is a instructable that shows how people did this.

[tribalwind]

very nice !

is there a reason you dont use unsifted material in the bottom of the beds and just sift the top 6" or so? most veggies are only using top few inches to grow in,aside from taproots like carrots etc.

[DeRochaJ]

That is very SWEET!... The Basic setup you have definitely proves the concept.  Like the others that have posted I am very interested to know how you made the screen. Please let us know how you attached the wire cloth to the bicycle rims). :)

[aboston1980]

great Idea. Could you explain how the screen is attached to the rims?

Thanks

[valllhalla]

Thanks a lot!! inspiring thank you. This.. is life!

[jgvicke]

Where did you get your pulleys and belts?

[SpookyRain]

How did you attach the wire to the rims? I have one now but the screws I used make it hard for the belt to turn the drum. and what is your motor rpm and pulley wheel sizes? I'm trying to figure how to slow mine down my motor is 3450rpm

[DeRochaJ]

@SpookyRain You need to operate the motor at its speed (3450rpm) and use pulleys to reduce the final RPM of the drum. If you try and slow the motor down you will move it out of its operational range and prematurely burn it out. In the above example he is using a 1725rpm motor with a 2" pulley going to a 10" pulley. This 1st reduction is 1725 rpm / (10" / 2") = 345 rpm. The 2nd reduction is the 2" pulley connected to the 25" drum which is 345 rpm / (25" / 2") = 27.6 rpm.

[cmassey1999]

Nice Idea, I would like to see a video on making the wire drum if you have one. Is that an AC or DC Motor?

[WiresAnSteel]

Oh right, that makes sense. A big amount of untreated dirt would have to travel alongside the machine I guess and have some way to feed it as well as collecting the waste. Hmmm, lots of snags with my idea..

Thx for the reply. ATB.

[TheGathumpus]

@WiresAnSteel If you put wheels (like train wheels perhaps) on it you can roll it down the bed as you sift and have the debris go down a side shoot into the trailer. That way you can fill the bed then sift it or with a bit of lateral thinking use it to harvest a root crop by chucking it through the sifter with a wider spaced mesh barrel

[WiresAnSteel]

could the whole thing be turned at right angles to the raised bed and move along as the bed is filled to save shovelling?

[dwwaltman]

@WiresAnSteel Actually it turns out it's easier to stage the whole thing elsewhere, then dump the processed dirt into the bed with the tractor.

[ThePangeafarm]

I like the simplicity of your trommel, how did you make the drum? An idea for you stopper is to use a roller skate wheel mounted to that "L" bracket. Thanks

[dwwaltman]

@ThePangeafarm It's made out of bike rims and 1/2 wire mesh. I have a roller for it, I was just in a hurry to get it going :)

[pyromohanzed]

Can you use a washing/drying machine chamber instead?

[TheChumpwood86]

@pyromohanzed not really, because the holes would be too small and too few.