Rotating compost bins

Pauline starts with ...
Hello. Has anyone used one of the rotating compost bins? They look pretty good for someone who doesn't have a huge amount of green waste, but they are pretty pricey. Any feedback?
Thanks. :-)

Pauline says...
The only ones I have been able to find are the type they have at bunnings. I think tumbleweed?? They are a couple of hundred bucks for I think 220l.
My garden waste does tend to be in batches (lawn mowing etc) so should be good. I would probably add worm castings to mix in too as I find they are a bit sloppy sometimes. :-)
Here in sa we get 50% back on compost bins, so just trying to work out if the only one I can find would be money well spent.

Pauline says...
Ohhhhh yes. I have managed to get a good mix previously, and am a bit obsessive about making sure I have the right mix. Lol. I am impatient too which is why this one looks good as it let's me fiddle and get compost quicker. Lol.

Pauline says...
Thanks very much. I ended up getting a tumbleweed one. I couldn't find the other type anywhere (until two weeks after buying mine!)

My first lot of compost took seven weeks and is great. I started my second lot this weekend and it is happily steaming away as I type. :-)

Julie says...
If you have worms in your compost pile, it is either finished, or didn't heat up in the first place.

I have never used a rotating bin, but I guess it is supposed to mimic the turning process, which adds air and helps speed up the process. The pile heats up again after turning.

Can't do it anymore due to back problems, but I used to make a LOT of compost.

Pauline says...
Wow, this post was a fair while back. Anyway, I loved my rotating compost bin so much I bought a second (I also have a worm farm).

Worms are not supposed to live in a correctly working compost bin of any type as this means that it is not hot composting. If it is not hot composting then seeds etc are not killed off. Have a google. Properly working compost bins can actually set light!
I have had stationary compost bins before, and always found it very hard to turn the pile. They are fine if you just want to leave them to be giant worm farms, but then they don't kill off seeds.

I am lucky though in that I can get large amounts of green waste all in one go, or they might not work as well (just like any compost bin). I have the tumbleweed one and another squatter one (made in isreal!). That one was less than half the price of the tumbleweed one and much better in my opinion.

So all in all, if you have the green waste amounts to hot compost then they are great. The shorter, rounder ones easier to turn. Compost made far quicker than any compost bin I have ever had before. My next compost bin will be another rotating one. :-)

Pauline says...
That is pretty pricey. You can get them from about $90. I don't really like the design of that one, although I'm sure it might be easier to turn for less able people.
Funnily enough I have never seen that one in any nurseries (and I spend a lot of time in nurseries all over SA). Would be good to actually see one set up.

Pauline says...
Is this your site you are advertising?

Easy Composter says...
Hi We manufacture a rotating style compost bin. We are one of only a few left manufacturing in Australia. They are very user friendly and you can keep your back nice and straight and you don't get all the nasties that you do with the ones on the ground. But they of course are both good just different.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
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CathieC says...
@Pauline. I'm pretty sure getting too much heat in your compost kills off a lot of beneficial bacteria & nutrients too though. At least that is what the organic farmers I have worked for have told me over the years.