Troubleshooting · 2 of 30
Ammonia smell
A sharp, cleaning-product smell at the vent or when the lid is opened, often strongest in the first week.
01Symptom
A sharp, cleaning-product smell at the vent or when the lid is opened, often strongest in the first week.
02Why it happens
Too much nitrogen relative to carbon. The pile is releasing nitrogen as ammonia gas instead of fixing it into microbial biomass — common with blood meal, poultry litter, fresh manure and large amounts of kitchen waste.
03What to do
- 01 Add 3-5 kg of dry carbon (cardboard, shredded paper, sawdust) and mix it through the core.
- 02 Turn so the ammonia-rich material is distributed rather than concentrated.
- 03 Stop adding nitrogen until the smell clears, usually within 48 hours.
- 04 Do not add wood ash to a pile that smells of ammonia; it raises pH and makes it worse.
04Where this has come up in the logs
- batch logOak leaf and coffee chaff in a 190 L tumbler
- methodThe 18-day hot method, and why the size rule is not negotiable
- batch logHorse manure and straw bedding, two pallet bins
- methodWorking out C:N and moisture before the pile is built
- referenceNitrogen greens: the materials that start the pile and cause the smells
- methodRunning a tumbler properly: two charges, not one
- batch logPoultry litter and sawdust through a January cold snap
05Related logs
Every published log that touches this fault is already listed in section 04.