This weekend, I will be installing a 55-gallon biodigester at a community garden in New York City. Specifically, we’ll be in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, at the community orchard of Mujeres en Movimiento. This will be my first time presenting a workshop in Spanish – I’m a little nervous, so wish me luck! It’s also my first time leading a workshop with the 55-gallon digester model, rather than our standard larger 264-gallon (1 cubic meter or 1,000 Liter) IBC “cube” style.
Here are all the materials I’m bringing to the workshop, including the 55-gallon barrel, plenty of PVC pipes (all pre-cut to the correct lengths), 3/8″ vinyl tube and connectors, and a 0.5 cubic meter (132 gallon) Puxin brand gas bag. If you’re curious about the complete materials list, check out our book which gives the full instructions! (Note: the book only describes the sizes and materials for the 1,000-L model, not the 55-gallon style shown here.) We are also seeking translators to make this book more accessible to communities all over the world, so please let us know if you have language skills and time to share.
Materials for 55-gallon barrel digester, including PVC pipes and fittings, vinyl tube, rubber seals, and Puxin 0.5 m3 (132-gallon) biogas storage bag
In order to “seed” (or inoculate) this new digester, we usually use cow or horse manure. However, since this workshop will be in New York City, our hosts weren’t able to find a local source of manure. So instead, I’ll be bringing about 8 gallons of digestate liquid from my own biodigester, which contains plenty of methanogenic microbes to start their reaction. Here’s a video of me using the IBC tank valve to release some digestate from the bottom of my digester and transfer it into a 5-gallon bucket for transport. Stay tuned for an update next week on how the workshop went!