I’ve had this composter for several years and hate it! It seems like it should be a good idea, but if you think about it, you realize that, once it gets half-full, all the weight is on the bottom. So, now you have 40-50 lb of wet compost and the top half is empty. Just try to turn that over — there are no handles, no foot-holds to help you — you are at risk of having the barrel spring back and break your jaw.

In addition, the lid freezes in place in the winter, so you can’t continue to add to it year-round. The compost “tea” drips out of the equator seam and the bottom, so it is wasted. I’m in the market for a replacement, and I’ll use this one just for leaf storage so I have some on hand to stir into my REAL compost.

I am also interested in collecting the “Compost Tea” that develops during the process. Does anyone here know if this unit has that feature? I’m also considering the Spinning Composter from Envirocycle. Thanks.

Just started my first crop of compost — it’s not prepared yet.

I’m just happy to have this to keep lots of food scraps out of the rubbish heap. Can’t wait to use the compost on my garden — hopefully, I can be in a position to stop using chemical based manure.