Hi just got my hot bin thank goodness av found you as panic has set in as how to use it will keep watching you till I understand I’m an elderly lady and think I’m losing the plot but help comes from your advice thank you
Thank you! So helpful, clear and practical. Have been experiencing the same problems with cold composting that you mention for 10 years now!I just heard about hot composting and Hotbin and so now am assured that it will be right for me.
My name is Liam too! Great video my man. That took you used to turn the compost looks incredibly helpful! I've been using a big stick haha. I need to get me one of those!
Thanks for your advice. I started using a Hotbin about 8 months ago and have really struggled to get it to temperature, never mind keep it there. A friend suggested using torn up cardboard. I wreaked our shredder putting it through that initially. The cardboard has made a complete difference and the bin is now keeping to temperature as long as I add waste frequently enough. I haven't mixed the new waste with the top of the old so I shall try that
I've been dabbling with composting over the last 18 months and considering getting a hotbin composter. I have a cold composting bin, aka the ones shaped like a dalek as in your video. I've drilled holes in the side and lid to create airflow, and precompost the food using the bokashi process. This costs maybe 50p a week for the innoculated bran, but it can be home made for less. I'm nowhere near 65C, best I've managed is 27C (air temp was 9C). I've not thrown any food out to landfill since I started with bokashi, one can compost meat also
Excellent presentation and very informative. I had a couple of the old black compost bins in two different sizes so put one inside the other and filled the gap between them with insulation. A little slower than a hotbin but considerably faster than a single bin would compost. The insulation could be polystyrene or loft rock wall.
Nice one. I just picked up an aerobin but the insulation looks pretty pathetic. I've already got plans to build a box around it and insulate it with some leftover Rockwool
Great information thank you. Very helpful as I have made myself a hot composter but I am not getting the heat, it only runs at about 20c. I will try putting grass cuttings in to see if that helps. Once again thank you
Let me know how you get on. It took me three goes with the kickstart bottle to really get it going plus a single addition of some urine. The first start attempt was when the outside temperature was 24F (-9C) so I was not surprised that it did not work. It is going great guns now.
Excellent introduction. Mine is only just getting up to temperature after a week or two currently just over 80F in the active layer and 70F in the lid with and air temperature of about 50 outside. It's heating up more quickly over the last two days.
sounds like a good start! mine really accelerates with regular addition of the right mix, but right now I don’t have much green stuff to add apart from food caddies
@@AllotmentBook I’ve started raking the moss out of the lawn, hoping that will serve as the green stuff. Mine is runner quite cold at the moment so I’m trying to work out how to heat it up a bit.
An excellent video thank you, I am thinking of buying a hot bin although my home made cold bin does produce excellent compost it is of course much slower.
Can you use a traditional compost bin as a hot bin .... if it's in Thailand with very warm days and a lot of direct sun?...... Or... Will cooler night temps affect the process?
To help oxygenate through your whole compost you can take one or two depending on what you want to do PVC pipes and have them go all the way to the bottom and all the way to the top of your Bin still have enough room to put the lid on drill holes the hole length and all the way around the PVC pipe and then wrap the PVC pipe with some small diameter squared chicken wire to act as a screen to help protect the holes from clogging but that will put oxygen the whole length of your compost you only really need one PVC pipe tube just put it directly in the middle and I would use a 3 inch diameter PVC pipe you could use smaller and put multiple tubes and I find it easier and Beth just one decent one directly in the middle try this out let me know what you think should notice a great difference and it will help process the compost faster
is it not possible to use your daleks to store materials( one for brown and one for green) to say at least 50%. then transfer all of this in a mixed form( aerated, watered etc) into the hot bin. once the hot bin has reduced and cooled, then repeat the process. one of the issues with cold compost is that there is not enough material to build a big compost that can heat up sufficiently.
Hi. I have a similar compost bin that you are showing and the bottom opening to remove compost is not opening. It seems jammed shut. Any suggestions in how to open it without putting too much force on it that it could break the plastic handle? This is the first time that I will be removing the compost since putting it all together and filling it. Has this ever happened to you or anyone reading this? How to open? Suggestions? Thank you.
Hi Liam, great video. I think getting started with a Hotbin, one needs as many tips as possible from hotbin veterans like yourself. What make is the shredder that you used for the cardboard? I'm gonna get repetitive strain injury soon enough tearing up cardboard😂
Over the last year of so I've started to use wood chips instead of ripping up cardboard. There's a free local supply here, and it works well. I also use horse bedding (straw). Both complement the kitchen waste and grass clippings that otherwise make the compost quite soggy.
Being candid, it looks awful. I thought compost was dark, soil like. The bin looks great. I'd love to have the same idea but long instead of tall. Many thanks for your experineced Tips. Many thanks.
Yes, it was wet! I use my compost to mulch my beds, and for this use it’s fine. For a finer, shop like compost, I’d change the ingredients. More brown ingredients (for example wood chips) and less grass and kitchen waste. But I try to make the most of what I have!
If you are getting those types of temperatures don't worry about the vermin being attracted to meat or fish. The filters should remove any tempting smells. It breaks down, quickly and gives a good temperature boost. Don't put half a cow in, but any leftovers - it'll cope no problem
Liam, thanks for a very useful presentation. I have a couple of questions. 1) So the main difference between the cold composting and the hot composting bin is just that the latter has holes for air to pass through and the former does not? Is there any other difference? 2) So if I have to create a DIY hot composting bin, is it just a matter of taking a large bin and drilling holes into them? Thank you, in anticipation.
Hello! Insulation is a key part of a hot compost bin. The heat is trapped inside the bin, speeds up the composting process, which generates more heat. Good air flow helps keep the process going. It’s almost like a slow cooker! I hope that helps.
@@AllotmentBook Thanks Liam, I have a follow-up question if you don't mind. You say "heat is trapped inside" and you also say "good air flow" is required. Isn't that opposites? How can heat be trapped inside when there is good air flow? Thanks for your time!
Hello! Good question! It is about balance. The majority of heat is trapped inside to keep the compost hot, but air flow is required to stop anaerobic composting, a different chemical process and quite smelly.
Thanks for the video. But you are wrong about the possibility of smells if you add meat waste. I have 2 Hotbins & have been using them for 2 years now. I add cooked chicken carcasses & also the occasional fish skin. I’ve never had a problem with smells, vermin or flies. Although the manufacturer does not guarantee that the bin is vermin proof, I cannot see how they could get in, & they never have in mine.
No way does regular composting take a year, 6-9 months depending on weather weather is cold or hot. I use regular bins and hot bins, hot bins quicker but not as fast as you said. Conclusion, I am happy to use both
In my experience it takes at least a year. And there are lots of bits that look like leaves only thicker. I've realised that they are kitchen roll paper - that probably needs two years.
Do you ever dry and sieve your compost to use as potting soil? I find my hotbincompost is really wet and sticky when it's fresh. Fine for digging into beds etc but not idea for potting up.
Hello! No, I don’t use it as a potting compost, a similar experience to yours. I use it as a mulch, mixed into compost as a soil conditioner, in potato trenches etc. For potting and germination, I’ll use shop bought compost or even coco bricks.
I dispute that there is any nutrient value to the compost you make. It's a good organic matter to add to soil and a good mulch but you have to add fertiliser if you want to "feed plants".
That's not true. Plants themselves contain nutrients, including nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous which are the primary ingredients in artificial fertiliser (and natural fertiliser, in fact). The composting process is concentrating these nutrients, in a way similar to the gut of a cow or horse. The digestible stuff is eaten by the animal/bacteria and what's left is the remaining nutrients in concentrated form. When some commercial compost is made, it uses a different - woodier - mix of ingredients for a finer and looser texture and this will often have artificial fertiliser added because it's less nutrient-rich to start with.
Hi just got my hot bin thank goodness av found you as panic has set in as how to use it will keep watching you till I understand I’m an elderly lady and think I’m losing the plot but help comes from your advice thank you
thank you - and good luck with your hot bin!
Thank you! So helpful, clear and practical. Have been experiencing the same problems with cold composting that you mention for 10 years now!I just heard about hot composting and Hotbin and so now am assured that it will be right for me.
Great idea using the old bins for storage. I ordered my Hotbin today so this clear info was really helpful, thanks 😀
👍thank you. It's good information about how to make compost.
Really helpful, Thank you. I was planning to get a hot bin. This video has confirmed that it’s what I want to get.
Thank you very much for your comment.
Great helpful videos like this are what is so wonderful about TH-cam. Thanks for uploading.
My name is Liam too! Great video my man. That took you used to turn the compost looks incredibly helpful! I've been using a big stick haha. I need to get me one of those!
Thanks for your advice. I started using a Hotbin about 8 months ago and have really struggled to get it to temperature, never mind keep it there. A friend suggested using torn up cardboard. I wreaked our shredder putting it through that initially. The cardboard has made a complete difference and the bin is now keeping to temperature as long as I add waste frequently enough. I haven't mixed the new waste with the top of the old so I shall try that
Thank you very much for your comment and sharing your experience!
Can you use a traditional compost bin as a hot bin .... if it's in Thailand with very warm days and a lot of direct sun?......
I've been dabbling with composting over the last 18 months and considering getting a hotbin composter. I have a cold composting bin, aka the ones shaped like a dalek as in your video. I've drilled holes in the side and lid to create airflow, and precompost the food using the bokashi process. This costs maybe 50p a week for the innoculated bran, but it can be home made for less. I'm nowhere near 65C, best I've managed is 27C (air temp was 9C). I've not thrown any food out to landfill since I started with bokashi, one can compost meat also
I manage to hot compost in the Daleks. Simply get bags full of used coffee grounds from coffee shops and mix it through every week or two.
Excellent presentation and very informative.
I had a couple of the old black compost bins in two different sizes so put one inside the other and filled the gap between them with insulation. A little slower than a hotbin but considerably faster than a single bin would compost.
The insulation could be polystyrene or loft rock wall.
Nice one. I just picked up an aerobin but the insulation looks pretty pathetic. I've already got plans to build a box around it and insulate it with some leftover Rockwool
We are just about to get a Hotbin 2nd hand from my step-daughter so this was an excellent video, well presented & easy to understand. Thank you Liam.
Thank you very much for your comment, and good luck with your hotbin!
Good idea adding the straw. I use shredded paper too but found I must only use white paper and definitely v well shredded and not shiny paper!
thank you for your comment
Great information thank you. Very helpful as I have made myself a hot composter but I am not getting the heat, it only runs at about 20c. I will try putting grass cuttings in to see if that helps. Once again thank you
Thank you so much - my hotbin is on order and I stumbled upon your video. Really helpful tips.
thank you very much for your comment, much appreciated
Mine too , did you site on bricks, slabs or what?
Very practical, clear and thorough. Thank you for a good video :-)
Thank you - I really appreciate your comment.
Thank you for your useful insight. We are looking at buying one of these to replace our two cold bins.
Thank you very much for your comment. Much appreciated.
Great, you have just inspired me to give hot composting a go!
Let me know how you get on. It took me three goes with the kickstart bottle to really get it going plus a single addition of some urine. The first start attempt was when the outside temperature was 24F (-9C) so I was not surprised that it did not work. It is going great guns now.
I enjoyed your video. Thank you for posting it. I've avoided adding egg shells to my hotbin, but use them as a slug deterent.
Thank you very much for your comment, and the best of luck with your hotbin!
I have a coffee bean grinder dedicated to reducing my eggshells to powder. The worms love it and it adds calcium to the compost.
Thank you for your comment. I never thought of that, so I shall try it. @@franceswatts4001
I like the turning tool made out of a paint roller handle.
That is actually made for the purpose and supplied with the Hotbin composter when you buy one
Thank you. Very informative. I’d better get saving up!
Great video thank you 😊
Very informative and will follow your tips. Thank you.
Very helpful video. Thanks!🌻
Thank you very much for your comment!
Very helpful video, thanks. I feel a DIY project coming on 😊😊
thank you!
Great video. I'm making a hotbin at the moment. Will adopt your advice and feedback on results. Thanks for the upload. very well presented. Subbed.
Very informative, thanks!
Thank you very much for your comment!
Excellent introduction. Mine is only just getting up to temperature after a week or two currently just over 80F in the active layer and 70F in the lid with and air temperature of about 50 outside. It's heating up more quickly over the last two days.
sounds like a good start! mine really accelerates with regular addition of the right mix, but right now I don’t have much green stuff to add apart from food caddies
@@AllotmentBook I’ve started raking the moss out of the lawn, hoping that will serve as the green stuff. Mine is runner quite cold at the moment so I’m trying to work out how to heat it up a bit.
An excellent video thank you, I am thinking of buying a hot bin although my home made cold bin does produce excellent compost it is of course much slower.
Thanks, very useful
Can you use a traditional compost bin as a hot bin .... if it's in Thailand with very warm days and a lot of direct sun?...... Or...
Will cooler night temps affect the process?
Looks like it's a great idea. Many thanks for explaining in detail.
Thank you very much for your comment!
To help oxygenate through your whole compost you can take one or two depending on what you want to do PVC pipes and have them go all the way to the bottom and all the way to the top of your Bin still have enough room to put the lid on drill holes the hole length and all the way around the PVC pipe and then wrap the PVC pipe with some small diameter squared chicken wire to act as a screen to help protect the holes from clogging but that will put oxygen the whole length of your compost you only really need one PVC pipe tube just put it directly in the middle and I would use a 3 inch diameter PVC pipe you could use smaller and put multiple tubes and I find it easier and Beth just one decent one directly in the middle try this out let me know what you think should notice a great difference and it will help process the compost faster
is it not possible to use your daleks to store materials( one for brown and one for green) to say at least 50%. then transfer all of this in a mixed form( aerated, watered etc) into the hot bin. once the hot bin has reduced and cooled, then repeat the process.
one of the issues with cold compost is that there is not enough material to build a big compost that can heat up sufficiently.
Thank you, great video, do you have to add water to the mix ?
I've turned my green bin i to a compost bin. But haven't got the time to turn it etc.
Should I drill some Holes in it?
Hi. I have a similar compost bin that you are showing and the bottom opening to remove compost is not opening. It seems jammed shut. Any suggestions in how to open it without putting too much force on it that it could break the plastic handle? This is the first time that I will be removing the compost since putting it all together and filling it. Has this ever happened to you or anyone reading this? How to open? Suggestions? Thank you.
Do the 4-6 weeks also hold in the winter -2 - 7 Celsius?
very useful. thank you for the detailed video. :)
thank you very much for your comment!
Excellent video, thanks!
Thank you very much for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated!
Really useful THANKYOU
thank you very much for leaving a comment
Hi Liam, great video. I think getting started with a Hotbin, one needs as many tips as possible from hotbin veterans like yourself. What make is the shredder that you used for the cardboard? I'm gonna get repetitive strain injury soon enough tearing up cardboard😂
Over the last year of so I've started to use wood chips instead of ripping up cardboard. There's a free local supply here, and it works well. I also use horse bedding (straw). Both complement the kitchen waste and grass clippings that otherwise make the compost quite soggy.
Hello there, this is great. Wondering if I could use normal potatoes (sprouts) will that work?
It's likely to work but not recommended... seed potatoes are stored specifically for sowing and are checked to be disease free.
Great video. Will you consider do another video about Aerobin?
Thanks for the idea! Looks interesting!
Just moved from a neighbours garden this afternoon a dumpy bag of chipped willow they shredded 10 days ago, steaming hot in the centre
Could be a good ingredient for a compost!
Nice,,vidio👍👍👍👍👍
Being candid, it looks awful. I thought compost was dark, soil like. The bin looks great. I'd love to have the same idea but long instead of tall. Many thanks for your experineced Tips. Many thanks.
Yes, it was wet! I use my compost to mulch my beds, and for this use it’s fine. For a finer, shop like compost, I’d change the ingredients. More brown ingredients (for example wood chips) and less grass and kitchen waste. But I try to make the most of what I have!
If you are getting those types of temperatures don't worry about the vermin being attracted to meat or fish. The filters should remove any tempting smells. It breaks down, quickly and gives a good temperature boost. Don't put half a cow in, but any leftovers - it'll cope no problem
Thank you for your comment.
So raw and cooked food all can go in?
@@jingyun4323 raw food pretty easy to digest, cooked food need to make sure it's a high enough temp, I think 40c plus
Cool thx
@@jingyun4323 Once the bin is up to temperature 140F (60C) you are safe to add meat, fish, cooked food and weeds with seeds or perennial roots.
Where did you get your compost bin from thanks
Definitely online, if I remember correctly from the manufacturer direct (but I'm not sure about that).
Your composh Ben is close no need air ?
Liam, thanks for a very useful presentation. I have a couple of questions.
1) So the main difference between the cold composting and the hot composting bin is just that the latter has holes for air to pass through and the former does not? Is there any other difference?
2) So if I have to create a DIY hot composting bin, is it just a matter of taking a large bin and drilling holes into them?
Thank you, in anticipation.
Hello! Insulation is a key part of a hot compost bin. The heat is trapped inside the bin, speeds up the composting process, which generates more heat. Good air flow helps keep the process going. It’s almost like a slow cooker! I hope that helps.
@@AllotmentBook Thanks Liam, I have a follow-up question if you don't mind. You say "heat is trapped inside" and you also say "good air flow" is required. Isn't that opposites? How can heat be trapped inside when there is good air flow? Thanks for your time!
Hello! Good question! It is about balance. The majority of heat is trapped inside to keep the compost hot, but air flow is required to stop anaerobic composting, a different chemical process and quite smelly.
@@AllotmentBook Thank you Liam, appreciate your explanation
Thanks for the video. But you are wrong about the possibility of smells if you add meat waste. I have 2 Hotbins & have been using them for 2 years now. I add cooked chicken carcasses & also the occasional fish skin. I’ve never had a problem with smells, vermin or flies. Although the manufacturer does not guarantee that the bin is vermin proof, I cannot see how they could get in, & they never have in mine.
PS. anyone recommend a brand of hot compost bin they are happy with ?
I hope you replay my question thank you
No way does regular composting take a year, 6-9 months depending on weather weather is cold or hot. I use regular bins and hot bins, hot bins quicker but not as fast as you said. Conclusion, I am happy to use both
In my experience it takes at least a year. And there are lots of bits that look like leaves only thicker. I've realised that they are kitchen roll paper - that probably needs two years.
Several hot composting videos this is probably the best. I am interested in killing the weeds. Like you annoyed by weeding new seedlings.
thank you very much for your comment.
You add soil and water in composh
Do you ever dry and sieve your compost to use as potting soil? I find my hotbincompost is really wet and sticky when it's fresh. Fine for digging into beds etc but not idea for potting up.
Hello! No, I don’t use it as a potting compost, a similar experience to yours. I use it as a mulch, mixed into compost as a soil conditioner, in potato trenches etc. For potting and germination, I’ll use shop bought compost or even coco bricks.
I love your British accent and how you say methane it's more like meethan for phonetics.
are you finding maggots in yours too?
perhaps i've been lucky, but no maggots so far!
A warning of aminopyralid weedkiller from the horse bedding
thank you
I think you said "compost" about 54,674 times
No, only 34 times. Don't exaggerate.
I dispute that there is any nutrient value to the compost you make. It's a good organic matter to add to soil and a good mulch but you have to add fertiliser if you want to "feed plants".
That's not true. Plants themselves contain nutrients, including nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous which are the primary ingredients in artificial fertiliser (and natural fertiliser, in fact). The composting process is concentrating these nutrients, in a way similar to the gut of a cow or horse. The digestible stuff is eaten by the animal/bacteria and what's left is the remaining nutrients in concentrated form. When some commercial compost is made, it uses a different - woodier - mix of ingredients for a finer and looser texture and this will often have artificial fertiliser added because it's less nutrient-rich to start with.
You add animal manure
Wtf
Thank you.......Subscribed.