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  • From: "Chuck & Linda" <clearned@bminet.com>
  • To: <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] worm troubles
  • Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 14:17:32 -0600

I am doing some serious head scratching and could sure use any thoughts folks might have: I am  preparing my wastewater submission plan to  the state of WI. My concern is with venting what I call the "Vermiculture Based Unsaturated Aerobic Bio Filter"  I will be flushing my toilets through this VBUABF. This filter has a biomix of semi composted leaves and woodchips and the worms, the glorious worms make it work by consuming the "bio solids" all the while turning and aerating the mix creating thousands of pasage ways for the effluent to flow through and be aerobically cleansed by beneficial organisms and bacteria. The effluent will drain on to my leachfield.
 
My problem is I live in brrrrrr Wisconsin. The VBUABF is going to hang out in the greenhouse in an insulated container, this is good as worms like to be in a temp range of 68F to 80F(just like us!)  However all toilets need to be vented as the air is displaced when the waste enters the filter basin. Venting indoors requires me to run a vent stack to the sky. So here lies my problem 0 degree temperatures dropping down ontop of the worms. They head south to the bottom of the box and take a nap because their house is cold. I need my worms to be happy and comfy and still have ventilation taking place.
 
I thought of having an inline ventilation fan that force the air through some kind of an air valve in the vent stack however I don't really want a fan continuously running. Any suggestions? I know the www.biolytix.com folks in Australia appear to just vent with an open vent but heh there not in Wisconsin.
Chuck



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