got a hotbin composter today

[alldigging]

I suspect it's the price that puts most people off.

[chris]

I'm sure the same could be made, though awkward to turn with a what, 230L and 330L - the 330L ontop of the 230 (or whatever size it is), then stuffed with straw to insulate?

*shrug*

[bazzaboy]

I suspect it's the price that puts most people off.

Well it certainly puts me off, AD, I'm getting more like Victor Meldrew each passing day... if it was Twenty Pounds I might have a go (it's only polystyrene isn't it, probably quite fragile) but it's over £120 and that's reduced from £150.....

I'm sure the same could be made, though awkward to turn with a what, 230L and 330L - the 330L ontop of the 230 (or whatever size it is), then stuffed with straw to insulate?

*shrug*

Yes I can't quite think how to imitate the principle of keeping the heat in - which makes good sense - but the quirky notion of adding a hot-water bottle to start it off is easily imitated with a 4 litre milk carton....

But has anyone got one and willing to sing its praises?

[ShandyAndy]

I bought one of the Hotbin composters in September. Mine is placed in a sunny position on the patio close to the back door to encourage my wife (and myself) to put the kitchen scraps into it. There is absolutely no smell with the lid closed. It took me a few weeks to get it going and it currently reaches about 35 degrees when topped up and then drops down to around 20 degrees before I get chance to re-top it. For me it's been much easier to get the temperature "hot" than using conventional bins which to be honest I've pretty much failed with. The acid test will be the quality of the compost and I've not checked how things re looking at the bottom yet - I was going to wait until at least 2 months (which is round about now). I'll report back once I have some actual compost to report upon

[Two_Sheds]

it's been much easier to get the temperature "hot" than using conventional bins which ... I've pretty much failed with.

Compost doesn't need to get hot to work.

There are loads of different organisms that turn your waste into humus: some of them (worms, slugs, woodlice etc) will only work in cool heaps, not hot heaps.

[rhonsal]

Have to admit i was thinking about putting this on my christmas list due to the price - but was waiting for some reviews to see if it was worth the money.

I was keen to get one as it said even cooked food could be put in, so less going to landfill!

I'll keep an eye on this thread qand see how others get on!

[Guykp57]

Just read item about using polystyrene boxes as hotbox compost maker..certainly can't afford an expensive one..hows yours doing?

[Urban]

It's been ok, had a few lots of compost out of it, and it's handy to have around just for getting rid of garden/kitchen waste

Not sure it's worth the price though, but it seems to be lasting alright, so maybe I'll get a few years out of it

[Penellype]

My local council have decided in their infinite wisdom that they will take 1 green wheelie bin load per year free, and if we want any more they will charge use £35 for the year. I only fill about 4 bins a year (with leylandii prunings, weeds that have gone to seed etc) so that would be upwards of £10 a bin for me! I don't have room in my traditional compost bin for the leylandii and I like the idea of being able to compost food waste and things that have gone to seed.

Has anyone tried composting things like chicken bones, meat scraps and woody hedge trimmings in one of these bins?

[Bill HH]

I am distinctly unimpressd by these devices. I can think of a lot better uses for £120.

[Penellype]

Well, I've had the hotbin for 4 months now, so how is it doing?

It certainly rots things down fast, at least in the summer. When there is plenty of soft green waste, keeping it hot is not hard - it particularly likes grass cuttings. However I found that once the supply of grass ran down in the autumn, keeping it hot was much harder. I contacted the company that makes them and they sent me an aeration pipe, saying that a compacted layer could be stopping the air flow. I had to dig out the base layer to fit this pipe, and it was certainly compacted. However, it has been hard to get the temperature to stay at 40 degrees despite regular additions of carefully chopped up and mixed waste.

On the plus side I now have a decent amount of pretty well rotted compost, instead of a huge heap of dead plant remains that I don't know where to put. Most of the compost has gone on the soil, but I have put some in the garage, spread out on a sheet to dry as it is very wet and sticky, the intention being to sieve it and use it in pots. There is a good deal of coarse, part rotted stuff, particularly the more woody material, and the chicken bones which I added haven't rotted, although they are "clean" and don't smell.

I started an experiment today as I had a few pea seeds leftover from last year. I planted 4 seeds in a pot of Westland multipurpose compost (which I usually use, and had tested a couple of weeks ago with good results from the same pack of peas). I planted another 4 seeds in a similar pot of the hotbin compost and put both pots in the propagator. I will report on the results later.

[Penellype]

Well, the peas have germinated and we have:

4 of 4 peas from the Westland compost pot germinated, one of them rather biggeer than the other 3.
2 of 4 of the peas from the hotbin compost germinated, of comparable size to the 3 smaller seedlings in the Westland compost.

I don't think this is a very scientific experiment as the sample is very small. The same variety of peas were sown on 28th December in Westland compost in 4 pots (16 peas) and 12 of them germinated, some of these very small. Therefore the 4 from 4 may simply have been pot luck.

I think I have proved that things will grow in the hotbin compost, but I wouldn't want to rely on it for seed sowing, although it will be fine for adding to the soil or for planting out bigger plants.