Compost Turner

Compost turners are used to mix and stir compost material in commercial composting operations.  Compost turners, sometimes called windrow turners, are designed to traverse trapezoidal windrows and mix and stir the material as they proceed.  There are front loader mounted turners where the operator simply drives close alongside the pile and the turner picks the material up and aerates and mixes it to then deposit it behind the machine.

Straddle machines work just as their name implies by passing over the compost rows with the compost underneath the machine.  Here again the compost is stirred and aerated but the operation takes place under the machine with processed material behind the compost turner.

Pull behind turners are designed to be pulled by a tractor or loader and may be self powered or may take their power from a PTO on the tractor pulling them.  The operator typically drives alongside the pile and the turner aerates and stirs the compost leaving it behind the machine as the operation proceeds.

The smaller pull behind turners may cost as little as a few tens of thousands of dollars.  A twenty foot straddle machine may cost in excess of $300,000 for a wheeled machine, or more for a track machine.  Most operator’s go with rubber tires, but on soft ground or otherwise marginal conditions, a tracked machine can operate under more severe ground conditions.

Depending on the horsepower of the machine, the material being composted, and the condition of the compost and the ground, production from these machines can vary from a few hundred tons per hour to several thousand tons per hour.  A 20 foot machine may straddle a row that is 18-20 feet wide and 7 feet high or higher and might be powered in excess of 500 HP.

Unlimited Resources Corporation has a variety of machines to fit your needs.  Call us about your next compost (windrow) turner.