This may not be a popular comment, because being a keeper of stuff 'just in case it might be useful', I have made my own hot composter with a wheelie bin (my mum bought it for clinical waste, but no longer needed). I covered it with three layers of insulation (Celotex, Thermowrap, expanded rubber workshop flooring) left over from a building project. I put in a suspended floor of strong stainless mesh (long story, but it was free, too) and a water butt tap draining the space below it. I use the tap as my air valve. My main problem has been keeping the temperature down, and am on my second batch of compost since May 2020. I noted the comments about wetness, and find that by being able to drain the liquid, I not only keep an air space below the batch, but have averaged about 8 litres of rich liquid feed from each batch, and I don't have to put in so much paper. Just a thought as an adaptation to the design? I will say that unless one has all the materials to hand, it is a lot of time and work and a fair bit of money to make your own, so not trying to undermine your business, and many thanks for a brilliant idea. Emulation is the highest form of flattery...
Had my HotBin since November 2020. Added loads of different ‘stuff’: paper, card, kitchen waste, grass, weeds, coffee, teabags (ripped open), shredded hedge clippings, anything and everything that I could get hold of. Has produced very good ‘compost’ for either top-dressing or incorporating. Steady 50 to 70 C throughout winter. Magic! Very, very pleased. I wish I had two of them!
Excellent guide. I stuck in 2 mower bins of grass, about 15l of kitchen waste (shoved through my Bosch garden shredder but pre chopping at to roughly 1" lumps before binning would work as well), a handful of leaves, mouldy wood chippings from a pile, a shredder load of paper shreddings and some cardboard, also run through the Bosch, a few fresh branches, chipped to clean the shredder and some of my old fully plus semi rotted compost from a Dalek bin that never worked very well. I did add a starter bottle of hot water and it was a warm-hot few days this week. 24 hours, later, I had a top thermometer temperature of 31C and a core temp of 48C. 12 hours later, top temp 54C and core about 65C. 24 hours after that, I filled it with 2-3 hoppers of fresh grass clippings, bag of fresh kitchen waste chopped, a couple of bags (5l bags) or mouldy kitchen waste from the dalek, pampass shreddings and more shredded cardboard. About a day later, it's hit over 60C top and 72C core. 72C seems to be the limit. The pile had dropped about 4" in that time. Very very impressive - the proof of the pudding will be how well this sustains and whether it will accept my average grass clipping output.
Sounds great! The key with grass is to make sure extra paper goes in because it's so wet. In terms of sustaining temperature it is all a matter of making sure that bacteria have always got waste to feed on (and produce heat as a by-product). The higher temperature limit you noticed is when bacteria start to die off because it is too hot, this means the HOTBIN's temperature is in a way self-regulating. Sounds like you are off to a flying start though!
Hi, i am about to start setting up my hotbin again after a very failed attempt. As its winter, grass clippings aren’t available. Is there something i can substitute it with?
I calculated the cn ratio of the inputs and it seems to be about 90:1. Does that sound right? It’s interesting because we’ve always been taught that the right ratio should be 30:1!
I've just received my hot bin. Your vids are really useful, so thanks. My initial problem is that I don't have any grass. I dug up the grass some time ago for raised veg beds. I do have a large compost heap in a pallet, which consists mainly of spent veg stuff and shredded paper and cardboard. Would this be regarded as a suitable substitute for getting me started?
Great to here you are finding the videos helpful! By no means do you have to have grass to get up to temperature, in fact spent veg stuff does sound like a good addition to the mix. However you will always get a better increase in heat and more energy from fresh waste, partially composted material is fine to add to the HOTBIN mix (plus it will give the bin an initial injection of bacteria), just be mindful of dosing it in with fresh waste that the composting bacteria will really love.
Hi. When I started my new hotbin off, I feel that I have done it wrong. I filled up the bottom section, with all twiggy bits, up to the prescribed level, then I started to put the wàste in. But, I noticed in this video, there was only a few twiggy bits in the bottom. Can I pull a lot out, and put it in the top. Also I have shredded a lot of conifer twiggs and branches, will this suffice as bulking agent, or, do you think that there would be too much greenery. My bin gets HOT and very steamy, which is great, but starting it off like I did, it's now full to the top, with no more room. Best regards Geoff Maddison
Just got my Hotbin today (07/05/2022) I saw it at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show I liked what I saw, so bought a mini and thing to put it on Its now loaded up with about a 1/4 of the bag of wood chips they gave me, then lots of weeds, dead plants and a small amount of grass cuttings, then a bag of shredded paper, more weeds, dead things, then card board ripped up and sellotape removed I dont know if there will be much food waste though, but there will be plenty of coffee grounds Now I guess its a case of hurry up and standstill I guess I'll just see what videos pop up (Just one question- How do the worms and bugs get in there ? Its a sealed unit, plus would worms stand the heat of the Hot Bin ?) I'm not expecting replies
can anyone help me with my hotbin? the bin is approx half full of waste which has been there over the winter. do i need to empty bin and start again? also with the current situation do not have any bulking material - how do i get it going again?
My first attempt was a failure - scraping that all out to start again. Is the bulking agent just bark chips? Also what do you do if you haven't got a paper shredder? I tore strips of newspaper first time round.. but don't fancy having to buy a paper shredder. Advice please.. I want to make this work.
My friend has the 200L and has problems with squirrels attracted to the smell and trying to gnaw their way in any advice as I want to get a mini and have squirrels and cats in the area
Typically animals are not attracted to the HOTBIN thanks to the charcoal filter in the lid, minimising odours. Best way to avoid vermin is to keep the area clean and tidy, ensure lid is shut firmly and hatch seals are secured with straps provided. Locate your HOTBIN in a high traffic area near the house on a hard, level surface. If you have had problems with small animals in the past do not add any cooked food waste, meat, fish, bones, for the first year. Always when adding cooked food waste try to stir it in and cover with other waste.
When saving kitchen waste, sometimes it grows blue mould - which I know is not good. Normally I would dig this somewhere away from my vegetables. Can this mouldy food waste be put into a Hotbin composter?
Yes but in limitation, hay and straw are quite woody so take a full 90 cycle from when you are up to temperature to breakdown. Saw dust is a goo addition in small doses, however be careful not to add too much in the way of fine particles as they can restrict air circulation in the bin. Don't forget the bacteria need oxygen to work efficiently!
Great video, thank you. The only thing we don't have is shredded paper. It seems to be quite a significant ingredient. Do you have any alternative suggestions? I would rather not buy a paper shredder just for this job. Thanks!
Anybody having trouble with Earth mites? I think that’s what they are, small orangey brown dots that seem to congregate around the rim and in the top filter. I keep blasting them with the hose but they seem to come back.
I borrowed a friend's Bosch shredder. This was disappointing as it kept jamming. Luckily I had a brilliant service on my rotary lawn mower so it now works very efficiently. I place all the waste twigs leaves hedge clippings etc on to a hard surface( terrace). Then I run the mower over a few times gradually lowering the setting. This chops everything up to a satisfyingly small size and amazingly reduced volume. Best when everything is relatively dry. Recommend wearing ear covering and safety glasses !
I literally put everything in - meat, fish, bones, and its excellent. It’s the cardboard and egg shells take the longest to break down. I’d avoid sea shells
I've had my Hotbin for 8 months and it was properly hot leading up to winter. Unfortunately, the cold months stopped it working. I wanted to remove the bottom layer to make some space to find that all the leaves and peelings are still intact and no compost at all. I probably don't give it enough cardboard and paper as required but that's just too much work to be tearing paper all the time. Very disappointed!
This may not be a popular comment, because being a keeper of stuff 'just in case it might be useful', I have made my own hot composter with a wheelie bin (my mum bought it for clinical waste, but no longer needed). I covered it with three layers of insulation (Celotex, Thermowrap, expanded rubber workshop flooring) left over from a building project. I put in a suspended floor of strong stainless mesh (long story, but it was free, too) and a water butt tap draining the space below it. I use the tap as my air valve. My main problem has been keeping the temperature down, and am on my second batch of compost since May 2020. I noted the comments about wetness, and find that by being able to drain the liquid, I not only keep an air space below the batch, but have averaged about 8 litres of rich liquid feed from each batch, and I don't have to put in so much paper. Just a thought as an adaptation to the design? I will say that unless one has all the materials to hand, it is a lot of time and work and a fair bit of money to make your own, so not trying to undermine your business, and many thanks for a brilliant idea. Emulation is the highest form of flattery...
Had my HotBin since November 2020. Added loads of different ‘stuff’: paper, card, kitchen waste, grass, weeds, coffee, teabags (ripped open), shredded hedge clippings, anything and everything that I could get hold of. Has produced very good ‘compost’ for either top-dressing or incorporating. Steady 50 to 70 C throughout winter. Magic! Very, very pleased. I wish I had two of them!
Can the paper be printed or be replaced by cardboard? And is grass necessary? I don’t have grass in my small garden.
Excellent guide. I stuck in 2 mower bins of grass, about 15l of kitchen waste (shoved through my Bosch garden shredder but pre chopping at to roughly 1" lumps before binning would work as well), a handful of leaves, mouldy wood chippings from a pile, a shredder load of paper shreddings and some cardboard, also run through the Bosch, a few fresh branches, chipped to clean the shredder and some of my old fully plus semi rotted compost from a Dalek bin that never worked very well. I did add a starter bottle of hot water and it was a warm-hot few days this week.
24 hours, later, I had a top thermometer temperature of 31C and a core temp of 48C.
12 hours later, top temp 54C and core about 65C.
24 hours after that, I filled it with 2-3 hoppers of fresh grass clippings, bag of fresh kitchen waste chopped, a couple of bags (5l bags) or mouldy kitchen waste from the dalek, pampass shreddings and more shredded cardboard.
About a day later, it's hit over 60C top and 72C core. 72C seems to be the limit. The pile had dropped about 4" in that time.
Very very impressive - the proof of the pudding will be how well this sustains and whether it will accept my average grass clipping output.
Sounds great! The key with grass is to make sure extra paper goes in because it's so wet. In terms of sustaining temperature it is all a matter of making sure that bacteria have always got waste to feed on (and produce heat as a by-product). The higher temperature limit you noticed is when bacteria start to die off because it is too hot, this means the HOTBIN's temperature is in a way self-regulating. Sounds like you are off to a flying start though!
Sooo a year on... what’s the verdict?
@@HotbincompostingUK what about if we dry out the grass clippings first? Can you skip the paper?
Ecellent directions. Thankyou.
Hi, i am about to start setting up my hotbin again after a very failed attempt. As its winter, grass clippings aren’t available. Is there something i can substitute it with?
I calculated the cn ratio of the inputs and it seems to be about 90:1. Does that sound right? It’s interesting because we’ve always been taught that the right ratio should be 30:1!
Thanks for the advice. After two days it’s at 47°c.
I've just received my hot bin. Your vids are really useful, so thanks. My initial problem is that I don't have any grass. I dug up the grass some time ago for raised veg beds. I do have a large compost heap in a pallet, which consists mainly of spent veg stuff and shredded paper and cardboard. Would this be regarded as a suitable substitute for getting me started?
Great to here you are finding the videos helpful! By no means do you have to have grass to get up to temperature, in fact spent veg stuff does sound like a good addition to the mix. However you will always get a better increase in heat and more energy from fresh waste, partially composted material is fine to add to the HOTBIN mix (plus it will give the bin an initial injection of bacteria), just be mindful of dosing it in with fresh waste that the composting bacteria will really love.
Thanks
Do you have distributor in New Zealand?
Why do I have liquid coming out of the air intake at the bottom of my bin?
You said you can add. Stale old and leftovers which could encompass pretty much any leftover cooked food - is that right? Meat etc?
Yes that is correct, however the internal temperature needs to read 40°C or hotter prior to adding cooked food waste like meat etc.
Keep it the green house in the winter to keep it warm
Hi. When I started my new hotbin off, I feel that I have done it wrong. I filled up the bottom section, with all twiggy bits, up to the prescribed level, then I started to put the wàste in. But, I noticed in this video, there was only a few twiggy bits in the bottom. Can I pull a lot out, and put it in the top. Also I have shredded a lot of conifer twiggs and branches, will this suffice as bulking agent, or, do you think that there would be too much greenery. My bin gets HOT and very steamy, which is great, but starting it off like I did, it's now full to the top, with no more room.
Best regards Geoff Maddison
Just got my Hotbin today (07/05/2022)
I saw it at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
I liked what I saw, so bought a mini and thing to put it on
Its now loaded up with about a 1/4 of the bag of wood chips they gave me, then lots of weeds, dead plants and a small amount of grass cuttings, then a bag of shredded paper, more weeds, dead things, then card board ripped up and sellotape removed
I dont know if there will be much food waste though, but there will be plenty of coffee grounds
Now I guess its a case of hurry up and standstill
I guess I'll just see what videos pop up
(Just one question- How do the worms and bugs get in there ? Its a sealed unit, plus would worms stand the heat of the Hot Bin ?)
I'm not expecting replies
Really helpful
can anyone help me with my hotbin? the bin is approx half full of waste which has been there over the winter. do i need to empty bin and start again? also with the current situation do not have any bulking material - how do i get it going again?
My Hotbin unbelievably had worms in the base part and dozens of them! I couldn't believe it!!
My first attempt was a failure - scraping that all out to start again. Is the bulking agent just bark chips? Also what do you do if you haven't got a paper shredder? I tore strips of newspaper first time round.. but don't fancy having to buy a paper shredder. Advice please.. I want to make this work.
They don't respond
Can you not add to the bin everyday? Does it have to be every few days?
It is fine to add to the HOTBIN every day, just try to limit how long the lid is open for to prevent too much heat loss.
can i just put leaves and grass clippings only in the bin ?
My friend has the 200L and has problems with squirrels attracted to the smell and trying to gnaw their way in any advice as I want to get a mini and have squirrels and cats in the area
Typically animals are not attracted to the HOTBIN thanks to the charcoal filter in the lid, minimising odours. Best way to avoid vermin is to keep the area clean and tidy, ensure lid is shut firmly and hatch seals are secured with straps provided. Locate your HOTBIN in a high traffic area near the house on a hard, level surface. If you have had problems with small animals in the past do not add any cooked food waste, meat, fish, bones, for the first year. Always when adding cooked food waste try to stir it in and cover with other waste.
@@HotbincompostingUK thank you
Too much nitrogen
When saving kitchen waste, sometimes it grows blue mould - which I know is not good. Normally I would dig this somewhere away from my vegetables.
Can this mouldy food waste be put into a Hotbin composter?
Yep
Can you use hay and saw dust in this as well?
Yes but in limitation, hay and straw are quite woody so take a full 90 cycle from when you are up to temperature to breakdown. Saw dust is a goo addition in small doses, however be careful not to add too much in the way of fine particles as they can restrict air circulation in the bin. Don't forget the bacteria need oxygen to work efficiently!
Great video, thank you. The only thing we don't have is shredded paper. It seems to be quite a significant ingredient. Do you have any alternative suggestions? I would rather not buy a paper shredder just for this job. Thanks!
Cardboard
Great video. Thanks. Really clear.
Anybody having trouble with Earth mites? I think that’s what they are, small orangey brown dots that seem to congregate around the rim and in the top filter. I keep blasting them with the hose but they seem to come back.
Also it seems as though you also need a garden shredder too.. what do you do with stems of plants of you have no shredder?
Secateurs
I borrowed a friend's Bosch shredder. This was disappointing as it kept jamming. Luckily I had a brilliant service on my rotary lawn mower so it now works very efficiently. I place all the waste twigs leaves hedge clippings etc on to a hard surface( terrace). Then I run the mower over a few times gradually lowering the setting. This chops everything up to a satisfyingly small size and amazingly reduced volume. Best when everything is relatively dry. Recommend wearing ear covering and safety glasses !
Can you put meat or fish in the hot bin or cooked food?
Only when it's hot.
Avoid all meats and diary in a hot bin.
I literally put everything in - meat, fish, bones, and its excellent. It’s the cardboard and egg shells take the longest to break down. I’d avoid sea shells
I notice that you keep your tea bags and coffee waste in a separate caddy. Is there a reason for that or just how you do it!?
I've had my Hotbin for 8 months and it was properly hot leading up to winter. Unfortunately, the cold months stopped it working. I wanted to remove the bottom layer to make some space to find that all the leaves and peelings are still intact and no compost at all. I probably don't give it enough cardboard and paper as required but that's just too much work to be tearing paper all the time. Very disappointed!
I was the thousandth like!
Doesn't show how to empty it.
No water? Surprising!
your sound track seems to be broken it keeps repeating over itself
Woodglut scripts contain most of the woodworking plans you can find.