Neighbor's leaf blower ruined my compost thermometer reading

I got a cheap wireless temp sensor for my pile, 2 weeks into a hot batch it hit 145F. My neighbor started blowing leaves right against the bin and the sensor shot to 175F for 20 minutes. I ran out thinking it was overheating and turned the whole pile, which killed the heat. Next time I'm moving the probe deeper and ignoring anything during yard work. Has anyone else had outside noise mess with their readings like that?

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evanpalmer2d ago

You mention the sensor hitting 175F for 20 minutes as if that's proof of outside noise, but I see it differently. I've had my pile spike from direct sun hitting a dark probe in the afternoon, and a leaf blower pushing air through the bin can actually create a draft that changes readings near the surface. Moving the probe deeper is smart, but turning the whole pile over just because of one reading is the real mistake here, not the neighbor. You were two weeks into a hot batch, that pile had good heat and biology going, and you ruined it on a guess. A cheap sensor is going to give you noisy data sometimes, so you have to watch trends over hours, not panic at one number. Next time, maybe just take a manual core sample with a regular thermometer before you go digging up everything.