compost drying

[heikediguoren]

I'm thinking about designs for a compost dehydrator. Usually we just use a big burlap sack, with a bucket underneath to catch the liquid, and if the food scraps dry out enough then we burn them.

But I'd like to make the compost dry out faster so we can burn more of it. I was thinking about having a hardware cloth cage with a hinged lid, sitting on top of a big box lined with plastic sheeting to catch the liquid. The idea is that when you have food scraps, you open the lid and scrape the scraps out onto the cage. Having the compost spread out wide like this should maximize surface area for drying.

+--------------------+ <-Hinged top, 8' long x 2' wide, 1/8" hardware cloth bordered by 2" wood beams
|+++++++++++++| <-Compost box, 8' long x 2' wide x 1' tall, 1/8" hardware cloth walls
+--------------------+ <-bottom of compost box, 1/8" hardware cloth layered with screen door mesh, bordered by 2" wood beams
||||||||||||||| <- liquid catch box, 8' long x 2' wide x 2' tall, wood walls
+----|--------|-----+
rebar at base to secure,
1' deep, 1' out of playa
2 on each side

Is 1/8" hardware cloth fine enough to keep the wind from blowing garlic skins out but wide enough to let good airflow through? Maybe I should also include a layer of screen door mesh on the sides.

Is all this worth the effort? Or is there an easier solution to compost dehydrating that I'm blindly overlooking?

[lemur]

just spread it out over a larger area.. i.e. i think you need a bigger bag.

[unjonharley]

Net bags picked up at the dollar store..