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Any Recommendations for a Hot Composter Manufacturer?

EmmaP2EmmaP2 Posts: 35
in Tools and techniques
We are thinking of investing in a hotbin for composting - we need to fit quite a bit of plant material/kitchen veg waste into a small area so thought a hotbin might be the ticket - we need to make the material compost faster so that we don't end up with a huge heap just waiting to rot down and nowhere else to put new stuff....but which one to go for? - does anyone have any experiences with the various makes?  Which ones are worth the money?

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  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited November 2023
    I have a large and gifted small Hotbin. If you want one, they do turn up second hand on Ebay etc. I don't like the small bin very much and don't think the functionality is great. The bigger Hotbin is good. Newer models have a tap for releasing the liquids that come from composting. It is a good way to compost if you have small space to put a box (like me). Good that it's completely sealed so more protected from rats etc. - quite tall and thin and light. People complain that they are hard to empty, I haven't found it too bad but easier if you set it on a stand of some kind. 

    The unique points the Hotbin offers is polystyrene encasement and air flow valves all around. You don't have to buy anything to add or supplement. The really do need cleaning out annually (lifting the base grid to get out the silt).

    I would say that I think the HotBin name is a bit of a con as it isn't a hot bin. It offers potentiality only. One has to work pretty hard and constantly to get temps to stay anywhere near those advertised 60-70oC. There is nothing passive about it. They say - yeay - put pet poo, fats, meats, anything you want as it will be dealt with fast. It's false advertising to suggest that the bin does this somehow magically on its own. I would say that most people get one without having a clue how it works or what is involved to get high heat.

    -----
    Beany Composter has a channel more or less dedicated to best use of Hot Bins and it is useful to see his conclusions.

    I haven't used any other insulated bins, but I do recommend using regular dustbins in small spaces - with a lid and lid locks and added drainage holes. They work just as well for me as any other bin I have had, and have the virtue of costing a tenner. Great for small spaces and storing all kinds of things and pretty rat-proof. Worth checking the base regularly for rat gnaw marks, if you have rat pressure where you are. Ingress should be pretty obvious.



  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    I saw Hotbins for the first time a few days ago and was shocked at the price.  Just the optional plinth was around £45.  The whole thing didn't look very substantial, or large for over £250 including plinth.
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Hot bins in a temperate climate, unless heated by artificial means and/or used indoors are simply compost bins - some more insulated than others.
    Are you after an indoor or outdoor ?  If indoor, then you are presumably limited as to size ?  If outdoor, in a warm and sunny spot will obviously heat up more quickly.
    Whatever you choose, the decomposing activity will depend on what you put in the bin and whether it is finely chopped which would help decomposition.
    Cooked food waste in an outside bin is not really a good idea - there are other ways to deal with that. 
    Don't be misled by the advertising hype :)  
  • EmmaP2EmmaP2 Posts: 35
    Thanks for the advice - I had already decided that cooked food waste was not really a good idea!  The bin is for outside, and I have a shredder so was thinking that I would use the two in combination!  I have a medium sized garden but not much room for large compost bins, so that was what prompted me to think of hot bins....
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    philippasmith2 said:
    Hot bins in a temperate climate, unless heated by artificial means and/or used indoors are simply compost bins 

    Hot Bins are carefully designed to process compost quickly and high heat, which they do, but you need to follow a careful recipe and keep on it.


    Are you after an indoor or outdoor ?

    I have not heard of full indoor composting. Something like bokashi is pretty small scale and not hot.

    Cooked food waste in an outside bin is not really a good idea
    I think it's fine if you really are getting the high temps and sustaining them. The unique selling point of the HotBin brand is that you can put anything in them, including meat and pet waste. I just don't think they make it clear enough how much constant work it will take to keep temps high.


  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited November 2023
    KT53 said:
    I saw Hotbins for the first time a few days ago and was shocked at the price. 
    As I mentioned, there is a fair flow of second hand HotBins around. People discover they take work - like all composting - and give up. I picked one up for £30.

    It's easy to pooh-pooh them - but they do have virtue, esp if used properly. Beechgrove did a trial a few years ago and rated them highly. HotBin mini won Chelsea product of the year when it came out. I would say they are probably more for "serious gardeners" (like at Beechgrove) with little space rather than people just starting out.







  • WaterbutWaterbut Posts: 344
    Depends where you live. Read reviews and people complained that when food waste was put in them foxes etc tried to eat their way in. So I went for black plastic compost bins and put them in the sunniest spot I could find and no food waste.
  • silkhouse17124silkhouse17124 Posts: 2
    We have a hot bin as one of our several composting methods.  In our experience it is essential to put them on a stand such as two breeze blocks, or they are a real pain to empty.  They do work - though nowhere near as fast as the sellers claim - but is essential to get a good mix of brown and green material in them and not have the mix too dry. We drain off the liquid and mix it with seaweed juice for a "hot" feed.  

    They are ludicrously expensive for what is a polystyrene bin really.  And rats do like to chew them....If I wanted another I would get a wheelie bin and insulate it with polystyrene.  Rotate 2 wheelie bins and fully empty once have full and rotted.  
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Waterbut said:
    People complained that when food waste was put in them foxes etc tried to eat their way in.

    I can imagine that more from rats rather than foxes. In cities there is far too much food around for them to be bothered with trying to eat through a compost bin.

      In our experience it is essential to put them on a stand such as two breeze blocks, or they are a real pain to empty.  They do work - though nowhere near as fast as the sellers claim.

    I think they can compost fast if the pieces are small and the instructions are closely followed. I had a load this year that turned to 'earth; in about two months, when I added a load of fresh green garden waste to the mix. Blocks do make life much easier.

    There are many other types of hot composters out there now. HotBin is only one brand. The others will need work too.

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited December 2023
    Waterbut said:
    people complained that when food waste was put in them foxes etc tried to eat their way in.

    Looking online I don't see people complaining about fox activity.



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