Using my hand-powered rotary sifter to get some good stuff out of a halfway-done pile. Got 20 gallons. Yeah there’s a lot of cardboard shreds in there, it hasn’t been wet enough to compost super well.
People ask every time I post pics of this sifter, so here’s the basic construction.
– Cut up a 5gal bucket to make a bottom cylinder and a top cylinder
– Cut some 1/2” hardware cloth and bend into a cylinder that fits inside the bottom / outlet end of the cut bucket. Should be bigger than the inlet end of the bucket. Two layers makes a rounder, stronger cylinder and takes about 75” long. The cylinder should be about as long as your wheelbarrow is wide. You don’t need to fasten the cylinder/roll into a fixed diameter until after it’s attached to the bucket sections.
– Use fender washers, bolts, and nuts to attach the cylinder of hardware cloth to the bucket sections.
– Build a wood frame to go on top of the wheelbarrow. Deck rail post 2x2s are pretty cheap and easy.
– Put two caster wheels on both sides of the frame so the bucket can roll on something. One set of wheels should ride in a groove on the bucket so the whole thing stays put. One set of wheels should be taller so the bucket has some tilt, around 1” per foot between the sides is good.
– I added some paddles to help turn it, they’re optional
Don’t hassle me about cardboard contaminants, I’m a chemical engineer who is well-informed on the issue, and I only use certain specific cardboard sources that I’m comfortable with
POEManiac99
You are not allowed to post porn pics here.
PM_meyourGradyWhite
Is the bucket end (left in the photo) open, so that the big pieces fall out?
CoffeePieAndHobbits
That’s a great looking sifter. Thanks for sharing the details!
4 Comments
People ask every time I post pics of this sifter, so here’s the basic construction.
– Cut up a 5gal bucket to make a bottom cylinder and a top cylinder
– Cut some 1/2” hardware cloth and bend into a cylinder that fits inside the bottom / outlet end of the cut bucket. Should be bigger than the inlet end of the bucket. Two layers makes a rounder, stronger cylinder and takes about 75” long. The cylinder should be about as long as your wheelbarrow is wide. You don’t need to fasten the cylinder/roll into a fixed diameter until after it’s attached to the bucket sections.
– Use fender washers, bolts, and nuts to attach the cylinder of hardware cloth to the bucket sections.
– Build a wood frame to go on top of the wheelbarrow. Deck rail post 2x2s are pretty cheap and easy.
– Put two caster wheels on both sides of the frame so the bucket can roll on something. One set of wheels should ride in a groove on the bucket so the whole thing stays put. One set of wheels should be taller so the bucket has some tilt, around 1” per foot between the sides is good.
– I added some paddles to help turn it, they’re optional
Don’t hassle me about cardboard contaminants, I’m a chemical engineer who is well-informed on the issue, and I only use certain specific cardboard sources that I’m comfortable with
You are not allowed to post porn pics here.
Is the bucket end (left in the photo) open, so that the big pieces fall out?
That’s a great looking sifter. Thanks for sharing the details!