Extremely informative article. Great use of natural resources and the composted manure can be used as fertilizer in the garden the following year. Win-win all around. Thank you!
And I thought I was the only person that did this.
Here it gets quite warm and I have to remember to wet the composting soil once in a while but otherwise the system works fine.
I have been using this method for over 20 years. At temperatures down to 0°F, there is no ice that forms in the bucket. At temperatures down to -20°F, an ice layer up to 3/8" can form overnight. I remove the ice layer the first thing in the morning and the water stays open for the remainder of the day. At temperatures down to -30°F, the ice layer can get as thick as 3/4" to 1" thick overnight. Again, removing the ice layer in the morning allows the water to stay open for the rest of the day.