Comments on: Envirocycle Backyard Composter

By: Thom

Thom — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:24:13 +0000

I have been using the Envirocycler a little over 6 months now and I have found a few issues with it. (1) The door/hatch will let some compost leak out when I am rotating it. I don’t know if it is due to the way it connects to the drum or the fact that it is a single point attachment and a single point hook. I would like to see a better hinge design. (2) If I do over fill it the compost becomes hard to keep centered when tumbling, likes to drift to one side or the other and then the rollers get a little clogged with the compost that leaks out from the door. (3) The final issue I have is with the compost tea part of the build. The cap for the tank is very poorly fitted. The cap is very loose and the thread that are supposed to hold the cap are not very precise. This in conjunction with the way the tank is formed makes it a little hard to empty the tank without having a lot of the compost tea sloshing around when I try to pour it out. With all of these faults that I have pointed out ( and I have to admit that these are just issues that I have encountered) I would still say that the Envirocycler is a very good product.

One additional comment… I wanted to see if adding red wiggles would help with the composting. I bought a box of worms at the local bait shop and now my composter is teaming with worms. I just have a hard time “SAVING” them when it is time to remove compost.

By: JeffDavis

JeffDavis — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:04:27 +0000

As long as the temperature stays within a favorable range for the little beasties, it should be ok!

By: Marsha

Marsha — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:06:17 +0000

This composter looks great, but I have worms in my BioOrb composter, and I don’t want them to die in a solid drum with little aeration. I would like to catch the compost “tea” though. I need a 2nd or even 3rd composter in order to deal with our fall leaves and compost that I collect at work every day and from our own garden and household. But I do not want to kill my worms-they’re my helpers. Would they survive in your EnviroCycle Backyard composter, in a shaded location over the summer?

By: Eric G.

Eric G. — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:14:36 +0000

As the description asserts : “Compact, sturdy and user-friendly” – and that about sums it up.

I will not truly imagine paying an identical quantity for fundamentally a plastic ( or wooden ) box that needs additional work to keep things stirred up. Just fill it and spin it, if it loaded itself it might be perfect. The “tea” catcher is also a massive perk in my book. About the single thing I want would be to have it a little bigger ( not everybody would need that though ).

By: B. Eckelmann

B. Eckelmann — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:16:07 +0000

We like this very convenient composter. It keeps rodents, skunks and snakes from access to the compost and is easy to use. The preparation of compost takes a bit longer than advertised (8-10 weeks is about right).