Bowling balls, engine parts, cement blocks, chunks of 6 by 6 posts and even 55-gal. drums are just some of the "extra's" Carl Belohlavek's compost turner sometimes runs into. When he took over the job of composting his town's yard waste, he had no idea he'd be dealing with that kind of junk. Fortunately, he built a compost turner that's heavy enough to handle it all.
"I started composting with a tractor and loader but it couldn't mix in enough oxygen so I decided to build a machine," says Belohlavek.
His prototype turner was built from a 715 IH combine. After taking on another job composting wood waste for a paper plant 50 miles away, he knew he needed something bigger.
"I took the engine, cab, transmission, hydraulics and wheels from a 1460 International combine," says Belohlavek. "The turbo-powered 175 hp engine is big enough to turn the 14-ft. long beater through a windrow 12 to 14 ft. wide and 6 to 7 ft. high. It'll go through 1,250 cubic yards per hour."
The 42-in. dia. beater is key to the machine's success. Belohlavek fabricated it from Schedule 1080 heavy pipe. A local machine shop cut steel plate for the ends with exactly centered holes for a 1 15/16-in. steel shaft. Everything from shaft to bearings is overbuilt to handle the torque.
"When that beater is spinning at 300 rpm's, you have to have pretty substantial spherical bearings to hold under the stress and load," he says.
Tines measuring 3/4 by 4-in. are bolted to 4-in. channel iron that's welded to the pipe. It's easy to replace a tine should one break. Belohlavek used a jig to ensure that each tine was placed exactly as needed. The 60 tines are set in three spirals that go from the edges of the beater to the center. The spirals keep the beater in balance as they lift material and toss it to the center of the turned windrow.
Heavy rubber belting hangs down both in front of the beater and to its rear. "It keeps heavy debris from flying out and hitting someone," says Belohlavek.
To ensure adequate power, Belohlavek designed two separate closed loop hydraulic circuits. One is dedicated to turning the beater and the other to the hydrostatic drive system, steering, raising and lowering the beater, and moving the cab in and out.
"When turning compost, I want the cab sticking out in front of the frame for maximum visibility," says Belohlavek. "When I'm transporting it between home and the paper plant, it sits sideways on a lowboy trailer. Then I want the cab back in line with the frame."
To accomplish both, he mounted the cab on a track with a hydraulic cylinder to move it back and forth. He can adjust it from inside the cab as needed.
Like the beater, Belohlavek made sure the frame was built extra sturdy. It needed to handle the beater plus the stress of turning large windrows on uneven ground. The entire frame, including braces, is fabricated from 6 by 8-in. steel tubing. Steel decking makes it easy for Belohlavek to service the engine and other components. A railing and ladders makes it easy and safe to climb up and over the compost turner.
"The machine is 21 ft. wide from the outsides of the tires, and it stands 13 ft., 6 in. high," says Belohlavek.
Finished compost is used in his wife's perennial nursery. He also screens and bags it or stockpiles it for bulk orders.
Belohlavek maintains a complete metal shop where he built the composter and also fabricates custom trailers. He would consider building compost turners for others, but price would depend on the combine used and the price of steel at the time.