Reuse lots of coco, concrete mixer?

I'm using just coco in 10 and 15 gallon pots with just jacks hydro mix as feed. I've ripped trunks out but the coco is still locked in root balls. I have heard you can reuse the coco, does that work well? I was thinking about buying a concrete mixer and tossing them in there but the volume they hold isn't great in most of the ones I have looked at so far. Is there a better way to de-rootball and reuse coco in my situation? I searched around here and on the web a bit but everything I found was either for small amounts of coco or for organics.

Trash can and paint mixer? That sounds like more work....I am looking for good ergonomics here.

I reuse coco but I mix it in with fresh coco. I don't grow on a scale where I need an industrial strength solution to recycle it.

You'd have better results just letting the root ball dry out and then tossing it on a concrete surface, kicking it around, and sweeping up what you separate. As you said, those mixers are not that big. They're good for mixing small batches of soil but not for breaking down the leftovers from a grow.

But if you irrigate coco effectively there is never any need for more than just a 5 gallon container. I think you're using more coco than you need to and if you're trying to reduce the amount of coco you're using just use smaller containers.

Just my 2¢

xtsho said:

You'd have better results just letting the root ball dry out and then tossing it on a concrete surface, kicking it around, and sweeping up what you separate. As you said, those mixers are not that big. They're good for mixing small batches of soil but not for breaking down the leftovers from a grow.

But if you irrigate coco effectively there is never any need for more than just a 5 gallon container. I think you're using more coco than you need to and if you're trying to reduce the amount of coco you're using just use smaller containers.

Just my 2¢

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I probably should just have a brawl with it on the front porch like you say and see who wins, but I was hoping to get a machine to do it for me. I am already pretty much to the point where I don't fill the 15 gallons pots with but 8-10 gallons worth of coco when I do new ones. Mostly because I don't want to rehydrate more coco than I need to. Also last time the Blumats seemed to work better in 10 gallons worth of coco as opposed to 15 for 4x4' plants, less salt buildup and more even moisture throughout the pot. It seems like I saw someone, maybe @Renfro, was growing wider root balls by under filling oversize pots. I do not recall what the reasoning was there though, I don't think he was only trying to limit his coco use though.

Does a wider flatter root ball have drawbacks/benefits? Seems like it would dry out a bit quicker with more surface area but otherwise I don't know?

i was thinking of making one from an old clothes dryer. the old commercial gas dryers would work awesome as the tumbler is extra large. disconnect everything except the motor. it could run on 110 volt then. seal up all the holes in the tumbler and good to go.