Composting Equipment For Sale

Four things: enough turning width and drum diameter to aerate the whole pile, a slow rotating drum that lifts and mixes rather than smearing the material, a chassis strong enough for the daily duty cycle, and hydraulic control so the drum height follows the pile. A turner that only throws material from the top leaves the core anaerobic.

For most manure a windrow of 1.5–2 m height and 3–4 m base width is ideal, giving a core that stays above 55 °C without becoming anaerobic. Very wide piles need more turning capacity; very narrow piles lose heat and take longer.

Yes, but not in an open windrow at high volume. Food waste and sludge are wetter and more odorous, so they are normally processed in in-vessel fermentation tanks or in grooved channels with aeration and a bulking agent, then finished in windrows.

A self-propelled turner is faster to reposition and needs only one operator, which suits contractors, multiple piles and changing layouts. A towed or crawler turner pulled by a tractor costs less and works well when the piles stay in a fixed line.