Good Ideas Composters Price: $79.99 - 114.99 Shipping Options: $5 Standard Shipping Estimates: Ships in 3-5 business days (Wednesday, May 28 to Monday, Jun 02) + transit Condition: New
I have a similar [Envirocycle] composter on the deck of my condo and am getting one of these for a summer cottage. You can put this kind of composter as close to your house as you like- there’s no odor. The little amount of odor you will notice if you basically stick your head into the composter will smell like dirt, not rot.
With that said, the one at my condo is regularly attacked by squirrels who either want whatever I’m tossing in there or want to bury their nuts in it. I’ve suggested neutering as an alternative, but they don’t seem interested.
It works better in the sun because heat speeds up the composting process.
Finally, it is not Mac compatible; I threw an old Mac Mini in mine ages ago and it still looks pretty much the same.
We have a ‘bin’ style composter. It has served us well for nearly 20 years, but it’s in bad shape since the tree fell on it! The ‘bin’ style would be loaded and mixed from the top and unloaded through a large ‘door’ at the bottom. I can see this style composter would be much easier for mixing, but what about unloading? Are they unloaded through that small twist off or is there another, larger opening to get a shovel into? Like does an end come off?
We’ve had two Juniors for a year now. Here’s what we know:
As noted earlier, having two allows you to let a full one ferment to completion, while fresh input goes into the second bin.
If you live in a hot place (Texas), you’ll probably want partial shade. If you live in a cool place, the sun is your friend.
We live in the woods, with wild hogs, coyotes, squirrels, armadillos, opossums, foxes, deer, raccoons, mice, etc. Our bins have been unmolested by wildlife.
The base tends to collect rainwater, so take 5 minutes to drill a hole at each end of the valley in the base top, and then a hole near the ground at all four corners of the base bottom. This allows water to escape.
You shovel the compost out through the screw-on opening. The lids, by the way, operate easily and are not cranky.
There is no objectionable odor.
These are super easy to set up and operate. And they work.
Had mine for about 1.5 years now. Works great, easy to turn/spin, no smell and easy to open/close.
As others have said, put a couple holes in the base before hand.
My only small complaint is that apparently, at least mine, the plastic is multi colored and the bin itself is painted black. It’s mostly showing on the inside, but in 2-3 more years I will probably have to paint the outside. Not a big deal, but thought it was strange when I started seeing multi colored splotches appear on the inside at first.
Here to begin. I bought a junior almost a year ago. I tossed in up shredded leaves and kitchen scape. When it was roughly 1/2 to 3/4 full I stopped adding. You DO NOT want to fill these up completely, otherwise you won’t be able to turn it (the entire point of the system). It takes longer than you think, even with the turning. Even with turning it almost every day, it still took about 8 months for my first batch and honestly could have sat longer. It is in direct sun and I make sure to water it along with my plants (1x per week at least). It might benefit if I pit some more air holes in it to increase airflow.
I shoveled my loads in and out with no problem. And nothing has attacked it yet, but I strictly follow the composting rules (no meat, dairy, dead animals, etc.).
While I am disappointed it still takes a long time to compost, I would still buy one.
Yes, you empty the composter from the same place that you put compost material in. I roll the composter to the area where I want to put the compost and start shaking the compost out. It’s a 2 person job to get the compost out this way.
I have a different small model than the ones here but the “twist off” is easily large enough for a full sized garden shovel. I set mine on blocks to make it easier to access.
I live in South Texas and full sun is the way to go. The heat collected by the black plastic speeds up the process considerably.
Absolutely drill holes in the base as described in an earlier post. Mine is supposed to collect compost “tea”, a great idea but a poor application with the placement of the drain opening too high to be of any use. The darn thing sat mired in mud after a number of days of good old, coastal T-storms.
Several have commented on a lack of smell. I can tell you that is not strictly true. I don’t have this model (I built a similar one). If you don’t get your carbon and nitrogen in balance it will stink… a lot. I don’t have much grass or trees so mine tends to fill with mostly food waste left overs. This has led to too much nitrogen, and thus stinkiness. I suspect the same would be true if it was too loaded down with grass.
Another thing is that I wouldn’t put it too close to the house. Mine has lots of flies (and maggots), especially black soldier flies in it. You are pretty much asking for some of these to come in the house if you put it next to your house. The maggots also go crawling away looking for a place to pupate. It’s kind of icky to most people.
Bottom line, I wouldn’t put it next to your house unless you’re ok with bugs and possibly stench.
So how long does this take to compost? The video says 14 days…which seems kinda really short. I live in New Mexico, so full sunlight isn’t a problem.
Is there or is there not an odor? I live in the city, so neighbors’ are a factor.
I picked one up last time they came up (about 3 months ago or more) and started filling it up. It definitely takes more than 14 days. I’m still working on my first thing of compost. A lot of it breaks down pretty quickly, but not all of it.
A lot will depend on temperature, but I checked it this week (it’s been about 70-80 the past month) and there are still chunks of matter and there are some seeds sprouting.
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