The soil mixer now does double duty as a perlite trommel......works perfectly.  That is 1/8 screen in it and I will order a roll of 3/8 screen.  Did an entire 4 CF bag of perlite in 5 mins.  Zero dust made it in to the box.  

Great idea. Best system I've seen for screening perlite !

I like that.

I understand screening when mixing for soil used for rooting.
Why will it need screening when the mix is used for big pots outside? What is the disadvantage of having smaller perlite particle there?

The way I understand it the dust and fine particles block up the air space and allow the mix to compress.  

Where there's a will there's a way. A great idea Wills, beautifully executed.

"gene"

Sweet !  :)

That is what the manufacturer calls "coarse" perlite but still a full quarter of it passes through a 1/8 screen as waste.  I don't mind as a 4 cf bag is only $13.  I asked the store if they can get me 3x coarse but have not heard back yet.  The 1/4 waste isn't really wasted as the chickens and ducks love the stuff......must have something in it they want and it is safe for them to eat.  

Okay Now you have thinking what else I can use mine for. I already tried gold mining, maybe a monster batch of Margaretta

Strudle lol:)  Perhaps a bif batch of ice cream or better yet fig gelato?  Gold mining shows is how I know the word trommel. 

Yes the show "Gold Rush" introduced me as well to the word trommel. I think might copy yours with a larger screen remove rocks from raw diggings and retain the fine stuff just like they do. What I tried prior was the actual panning to work the gold to the bottom. I was not thinking logically the Fins in the drum that toss things around defeated my idea realized it would not work well while loading in the raw material. There is a gold streak that runs through this area of GA. I have had very limited luck, but one day....  small amounts can be found in some local creeks and rivers

I have always wanted to do the gold thing but have never lived anywhere where gold was found.  I have a friend here that has mined for gold all over, out west and in your neck of the woods included.  He has found quite a lot of gold.  Here is one of his cases I took a picture of.  He has a bunch of these exhibition boxes, don't know if he ever sold any of his gold.   He still has buckets and buckets of concentrates that have been sitting for years just waiting to have the gold sluiced out of them with one of those black sewer pipe contraptions.  

Vivian,

Looked it up online.   Backyard chickens has several threads on it.  My chickens and ducks love the stuff for reasons only known to them I guess:)