Re: [compost_tea] Flow forms

From: Robert Norsen <bnbrew_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 12:52:00 -0800 (PST)

Tim, I expected a book length ridicule byTom of my answer to you, quoting all the poetic literature on flow forms, all about shapes and lovely swirls and sounds that mysteriouly affects the plants, bacterial and fungi. I guess some will believe what they want to believe without respect for test data. I don't have time to debate mystic stuff that "worked wonderfully". We watered a brown lawn once with chlorine treated water and it turned green!!! Was it the chlorine?
  Was my answer an ad? Not intended to be an ad. It was an explanation of every brewer on the market. They do in a compact way what a flow form does in an area that is not available to most, at a cost much lower, and in a controlled predictable repeatable pattern out of the sun.
Which is better? Doesn't matter. Those who believe poetic proof will do so. Good luck to all Bob
Tim Livingstone <tlivingstone_at_jollyfarmer.com> wrote:

Hi Bob and Tom J.

Thanks Tom for looking up in the archives. I didn't realize there
were previous posts on this.

Bob, Your math is very interesting indeed! I was never planning to
do away with our Bob O, don't worry. Are you suggesting that if I
run a bubbler in my water glass and aerate the water, it will taste just
like stream water? A lot of the links kindly posted show that there
may be other factors affecting the process than simply air and
water. I was hoping someone might have done some trials on this...

Best wishes to all,
Tim


On 16 Dec 2004 at 10:35, Robert Norsen wrote:

> Hi Tim - A brook is a lovely thing to enjoy. If you have one nearby
> and can get the water I certainly would use the water. A little hard
> to get the water warm and warming it will reduce the sparkling O2 that
> makes it so fresh. That is what a brook or flow form does, adds O2.
> It would take a flow form many feet high and hundreds of feet long to
> add as much O2 per hour as your BobO. Then to get the water, ACT, up
> there to flow down you would need to pump it up thru a bug eating
> pump, via a pipe and recirculate the ACT that way. A flow form sounds
> very romantic but as a means to grow bacteria and fungi, your BobO has
> a flow form beat many ways. Think of your BobO as being a tumbling
> water flow formt that is 3 feet long X one half the the number of
> seconds you run a brew
>
> Lets see how that computes . 3' x 20 hours/ 2 X 60X 60 = 3x10 x 60x60
> = 108,000 feet long. and the flow form has to be steep enough to cause
> bubbling rushing water all the way. I would estimate that the slope
> would have to be 1 in 10 to give it that kind of action. That would
> make the top of the flow form need to be 10,800 feet high. Or you
> could have a flow form 1,080 feet high and pump the ACT back up to
> the top 10 times during the 20 hour brew.
>
> There are many romantic concepts from times and places when electric
> power and air pumps were not known. And ACT testing was not done.
> Many stories of special water treatments or conditions that are based
> on romantic thinking. Seldom includes facts as we currently insist on
> facts.
>
> At another extreme there are brewers made that included a lot of pumps
> and pipe and vortices and hidden mystry that were desigend to look
> like a lot of money so they could sell for a lot of money. A good
> business plan. I tried to keep it simple. Not so good a business
> plan but I feel honest. Bob Tim Livingstone
> wrote:
>
> The recent discussion about flow forms has gotten my interest up. As
> we all know from hiking in the wilderness, truly there is something
> special about water from a good clean stream that is unlike well water
> or treated water. Is there anyone that would know more about flow
> forms used to brew tea and care to respond either to me personally or
> to the group? Here are a few questions:
>
> Q: Does anyone use water after it has flowed through a flow form as
> the water source for brewing tea?
>
> Q: Has anyone compared this type of water with regular water or a
> normal brewer type design to see if it increases the microbial
> activity or biomass?
>
> Q: Does anyone actually "brew" tea by running it over a flow form and
> is this better than a normal aeration system?
>
> Thank you kindly to anyone who wishes to respond.
>
> Tim Livingstone
>
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> Yahoo! Groups Links
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Received on Thu Dec 16 2004 - 17:21:51 EST

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