Thursday, September 16, 2010

Loving our new Insinkerator

Loving our new Insinkerator Evolution 200 (.75 HP) which was a gift from the company to connect with our porch biogas system. I installed in yesterday in time for the cold weather (our previous .45 HP Badger was on the porch). I ran pipes from the greywater pump that is under our bathtub to the digestor so now all ou...r kitchen waste immedately and automatically goes out as a slurry to make biogas and fertilizer. This unit grinds EVERYTHING so finally all those avocado pits and bones simply go down the drain and out to our renewable energy system. We now have NO organic waste to take out, no trash can, no fruit flies or garbage flies, no smells, no effort. Best of all, Sybille loves it too!

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October 16 at 2:28pm · · · Share
  • Azza Abdel Aziz likes this.
    • Thomas Henry Culhane
      I'm seriously wondering why anybody who has any means at all doesn't have a food scrap grinder. In Abu Dhabi, talking to one of the heads of Abu Dhabi Media company he said, "we used to be made to feel guilty about using food waste dispose...rs, as if it was a bourgeois luxury that somehow wasn't environmentally friendly. As if everybody in the city in apartments could compost. But now we are learning that these simple and mundane technologies are not only convenient but can be used to help fight pollution and climate change, and produce a superior compost and biogas."See More
      October 16 at 2:32pm ·
    • Simon Mulholland Is there an off grid version, pony powered perhaps? Seriously, is there a hand powered version?
      October 16 at 2:53pm ·
    • Thomas Henry Culhane
      I've written to the company and asked about this. I will be discussing it with their engineers in the near future. There isn't one available but I'm thinking like you are that one could and should be made. Still, the amount of electricity ...is negligible all things considered -- it pulls about 350 watts for about 3 minutes a day. From 1000 liters of biogas (the daily average in warm climates for a family) we can run our generator for about 45 minutes. Given how much easier the Insinkerator makes creating the biogas the loss of even 5 minutes of that gas is well worth the investment. Nonetheless, I am with you -- any time I see rotation as the mechanical principle I'm thinking hand power, pedal power (or pony power?). Electricity is a high value fuel that is better used for applications for which there are few substitutes.See More
      October 16 at 3:25pm ·
    • Thomas Henry Culhane That's awesome Todd, I'd read the concept but not seen this particular photo and article. I'll share it with my network too! Thanks for connecting with me!
      October 16 at 3:26pm ·
    • Simon Mulholland
      I work with horses, and have noticed that very occasionally, a small pile appears behind horse. Why aren't we using this?
      Re the hand powered, or as an aero engineer I used to drink with insisted "mandraulic" sytems, I feel that the more you... can use the gas to produce heat, either for cooking or water, or as in the fridge for cooling, the more effective the system will be. But I totally accept your point, that using some power to generate much more is totally valid.See More
      October 16 at 3:33pm ·

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