Aerobin® Composter

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

This is my very first composter. I gave into the $300+/- price tag becaue the description made it seem as if it would be the best option for me as I am disabled (back problems). I did not think that I would be able to crank the weight of a traditional composter or shovel to stir with other models. The Aerobin claims to self-aerate. This DOES NOT happen. I am a novice, but have been very careful to add materials in the correct and reccommended ratios and used starter. That said, my Aerobin does not work as described. The items along the outside edges remain moist and break down effectively. The items against the aeration core are dry and not breaking down at all. I am 5'-3". The Aerobin is 47" tall. I must literally dangle over the side of the bin inside my composter to physically stir the compost by hand. The aeration core in the middle would make it impossible to toss with a pitchfork even if I were standing on something which would allow me the height to do so. This has been a learning process. I had one period of time where I added shredded paper to the bin and the moisture made it all clump together and seemed to invite an influx of maggots. I had to empty the bin, remove the paper and start over. After my recent injury, my husaband has adding kitchen scraps, but not balancing it with other items. Now, I have a bin full of cockroaches. These are the only two times that the bin has ever smelled. I am surprised as I live in Florida. The Florida heat definitely helps to make the compost break down quickly and extends our composting season. I've had this for a year and have created quite a bit of compost. There are some items that do not break down well- oak leaves, sticks. If you are patient enough to put these items in, break them apart in a few months, then put them back in the top, you can ultimately compost them. I have found that the oak leaves do break apart fairly easily in my hands after a coupe of months in the bin, but it is alot of work to break apart EVERY single handful of compost. What does work GREAT are any leaves/ stems (broken up of course) from plants that have a more succulant core- such as banana trees or elephant ears; the "mulch" from cabbage palm trees; spanish moss; cofee grounds (be careful not to add to much and change the pH!); kitchen scraps; corrugated cardboard. What does NOT compost well= egg shells (even when smashed into tiny pieces); paper (including newspaper, papertowels or toilet paper rolls, even when torn apart); and the aforementioned oak leaves and sticks. Also, you need to know that the bin has doors on two sides of the bottom. They pull off to allow you to get the compost. If the compost is falling down from upper levels, it can at times be difficult to get back on. If you don't get it on correctly, your compost will dry out. If you position your composter in a corner (as I did) you cannot get to both doors. It is nearly impossible to pull the compost from one side of the bin to the other. Again, I end up dangling over the edge of the bin and stirring it by hand. I have never had any problems with the lid unless I over-stuffed the bin. There are many things I like a great deal about this composter- It is huge; it seems to generate a lot of heat; it is attractive; it does not seem to be smelly if managed properly (and an amateur can do that); in Florida, it creates a large volume of compost in approximately 8 weeks (if you use items that break down well); and i love that it harvests compost tea. I don't know if there is anything better, easier, or faster producing- this is my first and only experience. I would recommend this to a friend......I would just make sure they knew EXACTLY what they were getting for the price, not just the great sales pitch.

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

This composter certainly was easy to set up and does have a large capacity. Does it make compost? It's January...I don't know yet.

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

I thought a LONG time before buying this product because of the cost. It is well worth the cost. Follow the instructions of ratio of wet to dry and it works great. No wild animals getting into the compost, no smell, very little to no turning make this composter better than any other I have tried. It is not a batch composter so you can just keep adding kitchen scrapes, dry leaves, and newspapers. i had no problems setting this up by myself. Only negative thing is that it may be alittle tall for a very short person to use.

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

This is just a great product. I bought one a year ago and liked it so much I have added two more for a total of three. It's the easiest composter I have ever used and, over the years I have had several different kinds. I still have a barrel style but it does not compare with the amount of compost produced, the ease of use, or the odorless, professional look of the Aerobin.

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

The two reasons we purchased this composter: 1) it had high reviews, and 2) it claimed to be varmint-proof.

Unfortunately, we've had the same experience as Garden Girl, with the additional pain-in-the-neck fact that the wind blows the cover off. We have to keep a concrete block on top, which makes it a pain in the back, too. We've followed directions to the letter, and it takes forEVER for things to break down. And it stinks. The only really good thing is that we got it cheap(er) because it was the display model at the store. And [knock on wood], so far we haven't had a skunk or other varmint get into it.

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

Easy to assemble and to use. Very durable.

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

I bought this composter in November 2009. It was easy to assemble and looked very nice. I was really excited about making compost all year round from my kitchen scraps and shredded office paper! The unit was VERY expensive, but it really looked good and the promise of self-aerating bin sounded really good. I followed instructions to the letter, we jump-started it with a bunch of good mature compost from my 2-year old outdoor compost pile, also we were always layering "green" kitchen scraps with shredded paper as was recommended in the instructions. We never added anything to the bin that was not supposed to go there, only "green" scraps and shredded paper, never glossy one only regular paper and newsprint.
Anyway, the composting process is painfully slow, in fact I finally tried to get some compost out of the bin 1.5 years later (!) and there is this half-composted dripping wet mess at the bottom, full of not composted sticks and packed full of earth worms. ( I like earth worms, but where is the long-awaited beautiful compost???) Meanwhile, the composter smells really bad, and the stink is actually very strong, I think that there is just not enough air circulation and without physically mixing it it just sits there and rots, just like a regular garbage can. Yesterday I saw a roach in it, and it didn't make me happy.
I have my doubts about the "self-venting" system, because it doesn't seem to work very well.
The lid design is not great, IMO. The lid doesn't stay open and you have to take a it off completely every time you put stuff in it and it's pretty large and bulky. They should have designed it so it stays half-open when you use a composter.
Anyway, I would not recommend this composter to my gardening and composting friends, because i think it just doesn't work so good. The amount of money I paid for it, I should be able to get some dirt out of it in 1.5 years! The looks of the unit are great though, and the construction is pretty solid, it is by far the most handsome one out there. I wish it worked.

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

We don't know yet how long it would take to compost since we made the purchase recently. The bin is really well made and looks great; it comes with clear directions and any questions about composting can be emailed to the manufacturer who replies within a day.

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

This composter was super easy to assemble. I put it on blocks as recommended, so I could fit a container under the valve where the compost tea is supposed to come out. It does, but also, unfortunately, it leaks from all over the bottom and has stained the concrete. My husband was not happy about that! It's my first composter so I don't know how it compares to others. It's easy--all I do is throw stuff in the top and it breaks down by itself.

Comments about Aerobin® Composter:

I bough this after couple of failures to compost. Simple pile in my garden smelled and turn bin composter did not work for my constant adding garden stuff and kitchen scraps. This composter is very nice looking, sturdy, easy to assemble, make of great quality plastic. It did not smell bad, except few times when I loaded it with grass load (albeit mixed with shredded paper) - in that time I just aerated (turned) the top layer few times and smell was gone the next day. One time garden stuff fell down the aerator pole (the top become loose) and the smell was really bad, but was gone in a day after I vacuumed the grass from the aerated pole. The biggest downside for me is that it doesn't compost as quickly as I was hoping for. I had is for 6 months and to make room for the scraps, I got some of the compost out. But the compost is really very partially made. It is all dark, but there is lot of wigs plus you can see occasional grass. It is not soil yet. I just piled it in my garden and I will let it finish its process. I am not sure how much longer it would need to really make it into a nice, ready to use compost. For me though, this is the only way how to process my garden cuttings/ leaves and grass and some kitchen scraps. I just wish the composting would be done faster.