Does anyone have experience with those super pricey hot bins? yes it’s pricey but is it worth the money? I have loads of perennial weed at my plot so the idea of being able to compost anything and everything is most tempting.. not to mention not having to really sort out diseased bits and that I could also chuck in kitchen scraps..
I've read about gardeners who have them. They work on the principles already discussed in this thread, key elements to success: A lot of waste put in all at once so it's full. The addition of wood mulch to keep the oxygen flowing, this is the key ingredient most people don't know about. Air goes in at the bottom vent and out of the top vent. As said earlier too a smaller bin doesn't create enough heat on it's own, this is why these small Hot bins are insulated to make them work. The compost is hot through and through, it doesn't have a cool outer layer which doesn't compost until turned inwards.
So if you can meet that criteria they will work well for you. You could make your own by using those principles, I've made one as a test before with: 3 pallets to form an enclosure against a wall Lined with some sheet insulation A coil of perforated land drainage pipe in the bottom with a square of 2" square stiff mesh over it as a base. Filled with hoss muck.
I've got some pics of it somewhere and it was only partially successful. The reason is it was all 'green', lacking in brown and that vital ingredient - wood mulch. I wasn't aware of this back then, it was in my early years! I'd done no research at all and just did what I thought with a pile of free materials I had to hand. It got up to the usual 65 pretty quick, but then cooled off. I eventually pulled it all out, mixed it with brown and set it off again. It did the same again, so I just kept turning it until it became very good compost.
Our allotment has an area where the tree gangs deposit wood chip. If you search around at the back if these heaps you can find barrow loads of material that has been there for years and is well composted. Like peat.
If they do wood mulch too i'd be in there like a rat up a pipe asking how much for a barrow full or so. Or (with their permission of course) taking what you mention and putting it into your compost heap.
I have an area where I put composting materials, three bays made of pallets and although I use the results I haven't been assiduous in their maintenance. This thread and another one has given me incentive to do better and turn the care of them into a hobby and a challenge. Thanks to all concerned.
I see, thanks Lyn. I've always thought that leaving gaps allowed air in. If I'm going to do this properly then I have a lot to learn. I have to say that your compost heaps sound fantastic.
Turning or even just forking about will incorporate air, as will news papers, junk mail, envelopes with the plastic stripped off rolled into balls, not shredded.
Keeping the heap hot is the key. Also the optimal (optimum?) size is important, needs to be a good metre cube. Less than that doesn’t heat up so well. compost making is a full time job here. Fortunately, it’s not me that does it, I have a brilliant Under-gardener. That does it all, I just collect it.😉
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Does anyone have experience with those super pricey hot bins? yes it’s pricey but is it worth the money? I have loads of perennial weed at my plot so the idea of being able to compost anything and everything is most tempting.. not to mention not having to really sort out diseased bits and that I could also chuck in kitchen scraps..
I have two Hotbins, one secondhand. They are good, but they are, I think, mis-sold as "hotbins". They are not necessary at all hot unless you work hard at keeping the temps up. The mix has to be just right and constantly tended. They advertise as a bin you can put anything in - pet poo, weeds, meat - because the temps are so high - but the temps aren't high unless you work hard at it. There is nothing magical about them.
You add as you go, a little at a time, so it's good for kitchen waste. I like mine because their shape suits my small space well and it's sealed so rats and mice don't get in. Or at least if they tried I would see clear gnaw marks and know I had a problem.
I've learnt a lot from Youtuber Beanie Composter. He has an odd delivery, but has done a lot of research just on Hot Bins and how to get them to work best.
I see, thanks Lyn. I've always thought that leaving gaps allowed air in. If I'm going to do this properly then I have a lot to learn. I have to say that your compost heaps sound fantastic.
The air gaps for flow is a myth. Solid sides for a bin work best. I agree that keeping moisture in is a big part of the process too. The easiest ways to compost en masse seems to be with those people who have regular grass to add. It's a good way to adjust the nitrogen levels and get quick bulk, as long as you have the browns to match.
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A lot of waste put in all at once so it's full.
The addition of wood mulch to keep the oxygen flowing, this is the key ingredient most people don't know about.
Air goes in at the bottom vent and out of the top vent.
As said earlier too a smaller bin doesn't create enough heat on it's own, this is why these small Hot bins are insulated to make them work. The compost is hot through and through, it doesn't have a cool outer layer which doesn't compost until turned inwards.
So if you can meet that criteria they will work well for you.
You could make your own by using those principles, I've made one as a test before with:
3 pallets to form an enclosure against a wall
Lined with some sheet insulation
A coil of perforated land drainage pipe in the bottom with a square of 2" square stiff mesh over it as a base.
Filled with hoss muck.
I've got some pics of it somewhere and it was only partially successful. The reason is it was all 'green', lacking in brown and that vital ingredient - wood mulch. I wasn't aware of this back then, it was in my early years! I'd done no research at all and just did what I thought with a pile of free materials I had to hand.
It got up to the usual 65 pretty quick, but then cooled off. I eventually pulled it all out, mixed it with brown and set it off again. It did the same again, so I just kept turning it until it became very good compost.
Keeping the heap hot is the key. Also the optimal (optimum?) size is important, needs to be a good metre cube. Less than that doesn’t heat up so well.
compost making is a full time job here. Fortunately, it’s not me that does it, I have a brilliant Under-gardener. That does it all, I just collect it.😉
The air gaps for flow is a myth. Solid sides for a bin work best. I agree that keeping moisture in is a big part of the process too. The easiest ways to compost en masse seems to be with those people who have regular grass to add. It's a good way to adjust the nitrogen levels and get quick bulk, as long as you have the browns to match.