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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> The P-Trap goes after the disposal. And if the line will drain like  
> a normal
> waste line it will work fine. I'd definitely want the p-trap to  
> keep all
> sorts of "crap" from coming up through the drain. I could see a  
> draft effect
> taking place, where your sink would draw the aroma of your compost  
> pile,
> chicken house, and waste line directly into your kitchen.

What homesteader does not love all those aromas? Seriously, I use a  
different design. A P-trap takes up room under a sink and is a  
potential drain obstruction and leak source. My design is a screened  
vent riser outside, as near the exit wall as possible. Any odors  
traveling up the pipe toward the house go up and out the four-inch  
riser pipe. Mind you, I am working with an old shack that never had  
plumbing until I arrived. So, typical up-through-the-wall vents would  
be very hard to build and would provide potential roof leak sources.
> 1/4" per foot is the standard fall for waste lines- steeper and the  
> water
> runs off leaving the solids, less and it won't drain properly. I might
> "flatten" the pipe a little as it passes by the birds to give them  
> a better
> chance at catching a bite.

That is my thought, also. Happy to find agreement. I may also provide  
low roosts on either side of the pipe or run a stretch of eight-inch  
pipe so hens would more likely make poop deposits into the pipe. That  
will make for a very happy compost heap.
> All in all, if logistically feasible it sounds like a great idea.

Thanks. An issue that will likely only be resolved with  
experimentation is the exit design at/above the compost heap. A soggy  
heap does not compost well, so a pipe that dumps all nutrient-rich  
waste water in one spot would make a nasty, rotten center area with  
dry outer area.  I seek a design that does not demand moving the  
outlet pipe. Maybe a pipe ring or square, with drilled holes large  
enough that food particles do not clog. I seek a fast-composting  
pile, which is what led me to thinking of using a garbage grinder to  
make food particles small.

One more step toward low-maintenance permaculture.