Just curious, how is it going to get any air without vents?

Also, you can use a laundry basket, a tomato cage (upside down) and plastic sheeting and a pie tin with a rock on it for a lid(or something better, use your imagination). You can build the same thing for less than $20. I do not understand why people spend so much money on simple devices. Send me $100 and I will build you one to your exact specifications.

On the website they have the entire instruction manual on PDF. It shows you how to assemble it and basically make it yourself.

http://www.peoplepoweredmachines.com/greencone/_docs/all-about-your-gr eencone.pdf

It seems that $139 is alot of money regardless of how much you could have spent on another system.

With the above link I posted use that as a reference. Buy a laundry basket and bury it leaving the inside open as in the photos. Buy a large tomato cage and put it on top of the basket. If it is too small buy two and cut them and bend to fit together. Buy glassine or green house plastic and wrap the cone. Seems to be almost like the system. Find a bowl or something similar for a lid. If you want to get detailed buy another tomato cage and wrap it first them fit it on top of the other one to make an area for air flow. If you can assemble the green cone you can build your own. I believe in you!! :)

I have made alot of money in my life and I used to live like I was the only person alive. I consumed until I was sick. One day I woke up and hated myself. Now I live alot slower and use my money for good. It makes me angry that companies sell products for such a large mark up. Its not you that I was judging more along the line of me being angry at companies selling plastic barrels that cost $10, labeling them "compost bins" and knocking the price up to over $100.

Either way I think your a cool person :)

I remember about 6 years ago I had an old 1988 accord. I went to the shop to have them fix a small leak behind the distributor. They wanted $200! I went home and bought a book and found out all the car needed was a .15 cent rubber grommit and 3 bolts to remove the distributor. I told myself I would never let anyone work on my cars again. Now to this day, with many cuts and bruises and sweat and tears later I have a large tool collection and well running cars...lol Same thing about gardening. I keep telling myself, "You can do it" and if I fail, I try again. It makes me mad to see such expensive items that are nothing but plastic!

Sooner or later you should try to build something yourself and if you fail, keep trying! I failed many times but I try again. The only problem is the pain in my knees and hands from arthritis. And Im only 33 years old :(

Keep us posted on how the cone turns out! Im sure you can make it work for what you need and dont be afraid do experiment! Good luck

I have a lot of pain in my knees and my shoulder also, but I am older then you. That is the thing about composting you really have to pace yourself and try to do everything in one day. But, someday I will be too old for composting I guess, even with pacing. I don't know what the future is. I just know that doing something in moderation is a good activity to persevering ones ability to continue to do things. I knew this lady who was getting osteoporosis but she was not that old. So, I suggested yoga to her but what she said shocked me. She said, if I get down on the matt then I won't be able to get back up. As children we can all get down on the matt, but as we become adults we do things like that less and less until one day we can't do them anymore. So, I do some yoga everyday or every other day.

I didnt say anything about people not being able to do one thing or another. Everyone is busy at one point in their lives or another. I am a busy person. If we can find time to garden than we can find the time to DIY. I have found that EXCUSES are the main reason why people dont DIY. I used to say the same things. Im too busy, I dont know how, I have other things to do...etc. Thank one day I said " Ill find the time, ILL learn how, I can do this if I try."

I have no problem with people making or NOT making things for themselves. But Im not going to pay a %500 markup for a plastic tub. If you want to, go ahead.

I know a gal who got a trash bin from her local trash people and she cut a square out of the bottom of it and used a bunji cord to hold the square in place. She would add stuff tho the top and remove from the bottom. It was an ugly trash can though but the good thing about it was it had wheels!

I understand about wanting a nice compost bin to make the garden look nice. I was thinking about using the same "trash can" method but maybe painting it to resemble a nice flower garden.hehehe

Now in the cone, it is different from composting. It is really an outside trash compactor that is not supposed to be used with grass clippings or yard waste but just scraps of old food and bones and meat and dog poop. So heat from the sun would be beneficial in that process to help break down everything into evaporated moisture. I think...hehehe

Im wondering what your trying to accomplish with this setup that cannot be done with a regular pile or barrel??

The other point was to not be so dependent on the whim of Starbucks having coffee ground for me. I can't get heat at all without the coffee grounds. Lately I have had a bad run of trying get the grounds. But, now I don't really have to get them as this bin is making heat without coffee grounds. I don't have waste time driving over to Starbucks when I don't have any reason to go to Starbucks. Gas is very expensive.

Heat is very positive as it speeds up the compost and makes better compost. Cold composting takes a long time. If you cold compost you need more bins because you have to store that stuff for six months instead of using it right away and clearing out the bin space and moving on and making more compost. The more compost you make at a faster rate the better the improvement to the soil. I can now dump food scraps in there and forgot about them without having to bury the food and check the pile to make sure it's hot. Compost is very time consuming if you get into it seriously. Composting is an addiction as one always tries to improve. I do add the bagged browns Kelloggs Amend also when I add the food. If the food just sits in void, it become a sort of slime and fails to turn into good compost. I could put in the food scraps greens and throw in a hand full of browns Amend to balance them. So far it works yesterday, I have to take the temp today as it will be sunny to see how hot I can get it.

Lloyd

Hey what do you say to Starbucks when you want to ask them for coffee grounds? I know they have a program so the manager should be aware right? I want to go to my local Starbucks for some grounds but I want to know what to say to avoid confusion.

Keep us updated on your cone!

It was not sunny today, after all, but I can feel little warmth in there if I reach it. So, it is breaking down slowly, but on a sunny day, it really works better. Unfortunately San Francisco has few sunny days and lots of cloudy or foggy days.

Lloyd

I have now decided this bin would have been better. Since I can't get the screws to stay in the bottom of the green cone. It can be knocked over by animals unless it it so full that the compost weights it down. It is too hard to mix the compost because the entry port is so narrow.

This other bin does not dig into the ground, but would be better over all, since the benefit of this one going into the ground is off set since the cone can easily fall off. It cost a little more, but is probably worth the cost. It is not double walled and is kind of ugly looking like a closed mine portal. But would be easy to mix with a big entry port.