Hi Robert, off the top of my head, I get the impression you don't like tumblers.

As far as comparing them, apples to oranges in some cases. Volume; most tumblers are no where near the volume of wire bins, not intended to be, from what I gather.

Appearance is totally subjective as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Assembly time is also subjective, some people might be more mechanically inclined than others. Ditto stress on back, ability and age are two factors that come to mind.

Time to acheive compost; 3.5 years and never got a batch?

Smell; have no clue as to how to quantify this, too many variables.

Temperature; a plastic bag of leaves and grass can get 165, IMO the container is irrelevant, contents and moisture is more critical.

Ingredients; depends on mixture, 100% grass sucks in anything, 100% leaves doesn't work all that well either, composting is about balance.

I have bins, tumblers, piles and windrows, they are all different, no doubt about it, is one better? Depends on the circumstances and how people rate all the variables.

Lloyd

Not really a question of like or dislike, I found the mesh bins easier, cheaper, held more, were less noticeable in back yard, etc. So my tumbler sits rusting in the back yard, a symbol of my faults as much as the tumbler. By that I mean my impatience and buying something expensive before reading up on the subject. True, I could have returned it shortly after purchase, although the $50 shipping charge would have been lost, and fitting it back in the box would have have taken far longer than the three assembly hours.

Some people might say how can a large ground bin be easier on your back than a tumbler (obviously they read some advertising). I had to bend over to crank the handle, and by the way when the advertising says turn it just five times, be aware that you crank the handle 30 times since one crank does not equal one rotation of the tumbler. At least on my mesh bin I could keep my back straight when using the fork to turn the pile.

Actually, while I said the tumbler was broke, it could probably be used for a while. The center bar did rust and break as previously mentioned, but the tumbler could be used for a bit until the loss of the center led to some kind of failure. I only used the tumbler for a year and a half. After that period I switched to mesh bin. Sure would have been nice if the center bar was made of brass, alum or stainless instead of light steel.

Bob

Re-read the thread and thought a few more thoughts were in order.

I am not suggesting that folks not use tumblers or anything else they find useful.

My point would be that folks new to composting often START with reading advertising and considering rather expensive products. This is what I did. I was in a hurry and did not know about Gardenweb and other internet gardening and composting resources. Truth be told (blush), the tumbler was not not my first composter. I first bought a plastic $65 bin from Jerry Baker. SHAME ON YOU JERRY, the thing was less than 36" by 36"!! It NEVER heated up, or rather it never heated up for me. If I had spend half the time with it that I later did weighting all the tumbler ingredients, it probably would have; although the heat would have dissopated quicker.

$350 versus $17, hummmm. All things being equal (and they are not), try the $17 gadget first.

One thing we might also mention is what type of tumbler we are talking about. Some people are probably scratching their heads and thinking, "My tumbler doesn't have a crank, what the heck are they talking about?".

One of my tumblers has a crank and one turn of the crank equals one revolution of the drum, some days this isn't easy if I've let the contents settle to the bottom too long. Robert mentions several turns of the crank for 1 revolution of the drum so his is geared down.

My 45 gallon tumbler is just turned by hand by grabbing the barrel and rolling it. Some tumblers have end over end action and must be swung back and forth to get the first over the top rotation. Some roll on the ground or on a wheeled stand.

I wonder if some people are hesitant to admit they bought/use a tumbler for fear of being ridiculed for spending money on composting. I do not concern with myself too much with the cost, it's a hobby for me. OTOH, when I think of all the $$ wasted chasing that little white ball around with a big stick, I have to scratch my head in wonderment! :)

Lloyd

While I gave some specifics as to my tumbler, Lloyd correctly notes the manufacturer and model were not noted. This was done for a very good reason, which I will not mention for the same very good reason.

It took me three hours to assemble the tumbler, the instructions gave two hours as the assembly time. While my tools include a table saw, joiner, biscuit joiner, bandsaw, six cordless drills, three work tables, metric and english socket sets, metric and english combo wrench sets, regular letter and number drill sets, none of these are necessary for assembly. A cheap set of screwdrivers, and some nut drivers might be all that is necessary. The assembly instructions were in a different manual than the user manual.

A further explanation of my comment about completion time for the tumbler. After two months, I took the loads out of the tumbler and put them in a regular pile. So I never had a number for the tumbler.

Last year I got a used tumble. It is a RO-Si made by Lescha#260. Does anyone here know anything about this unit? I took some pictures of it, but have not figured out how to post them yet. I understand from the topic composters have its pro's and con's. I went online to see what I could about this unit and did not find anything usefull. Thank for any help. Cj

Hi CJ

All I could find so far was this:

Ro-Si 260 Compost Tumbler
Lescha North America
Box 266
Bolton, Ontario L0P1AO

Them Canadians, what's up with that?

LOL

Lloyd

bottom of the page

Is the one you have in good shape CJ?

Lloyd

Lloyd that is the exact one I have. Yes it is good shape in fact the picture that is posted looks just like one I took yesterday. I am just not sure how to use this one as it is so different from the other ones. Cj PS thanks for sending me the info above.

I have a ComposTwin; paid $500 for it earlier this year, and it never fails to amaze me how rapidly things break down in it. Right now, I'm using my plastic bin as backup because I had too much stuff to put in the tumbler!

I have noticed some corrosion on the unit; would it be a good idea to empty it totally in a few weeks (and spread the contents on my garden, of course) and then hose it out and put it in the garage for the winter?

I have had a Compost Twin for about 4 years now. It is outside 365 days a year, and I use it all year. Two weeks ago, I emptied the contents onto my veg garden, put another layer of ground brown leaves from last fall on top of that, and a light layer of green grass clippings, then tilled everything in with my Mantis tiller. My garden is set for the spring. I then put ground leaves into both sides just to absorb any moisture within the units. I use one side from now until about June, then switch to the other side until October. I rotate the unit once a day when I walk the dog past it. I don't see much corrosion for something that is going everyday, all year long, for 4 years! I don't get compost in the time frame that the advertisments show, but I like it, and it works for me! Paul

I like my CompostTwin too. Never have had any problems with it and it's in use outside year-round.

By "corrosion", I don't mean so much rust although there's a little bit on the latches, as some discoloration on the outside of the disk that separates the two chambers. Is that anything to worry about?

I bought this composter this spring. I wanted to use it primarily for kitchen scraps because it seemed like we generated a lot them. And while we had a cold compost pile for the grass and the little bit of leaves we get, I knew adding kitchen scraps to it would accomplish nothing more then creating a buffet for various critters that live in our backyard.

{{gwi:277970}}

I fill one side then move on to filling the next side. By the time that second side is filled, the first side is done.

{{gwi:277971}}

I started using filling it in early May. I've already gotten three loads out of it and should get the fourth in another two weeks.

{{gwi:277973}}

It's strictly kitchen scraps, for browns because we have limited leaves (all our trees are cedars) I've been using 100 percent pine cat litter.

I've been thrilled with how well it's been working. It's incredibly easy to turn, and fairly easy to empty. The volume isn't huge. But it's not an issue for me because I'm not using it for lawn/garden waste and because the finished product is ready so quickly.

Thanks for the advice, everybody!

I have had a homemade wire type compost maker for over 20 years. I still use it for leaves, cuttings and garden clean up. I just got a tumbler last spring and use it mainly for kitchen and food scraps. I didn't use to recycle that because of animal problems. This has helped to break it down before adding it to the other compost pile. And it is a lot easier to turn. I have had a bad back for several years and I just can't turn compost like I use to do.
Clare

bump

I just filled up my new tumbler today woohoo!!! No idea if I did it right but my son and I had fun filling it up.

Next weekend I will have my raised beds finished and will do that Lasagna thing.

And I only need two more pallets for my nonfood scrap bin.

Now if I could actually grow something besides children, I will be amazed!!!

I have the Matis Twin composter. I just bought it this spring. I have yet to get a batch out of it. I think I have read everything on this forum about tumblers and I am still unclear about a few things so I am hoping someone can give me a hand.

I used grass clippings (freash - no more than a week old) and pine sawdust from the local mill. I used an online calculator to figure out my ratios and put in. It measures in cubic ft and I don't really have a good way to measure that so I put in about 12 pitchforks of grass and 9 of saw dust.

So I never really noticed it heat up and it looked like it was done doing its think but it still looked like saw dust. After reading some of the posts here I filled it up again with fresh grass and streaded up radishes from the garden that went to seed while I was gone for 2 weeks.

It heated up right away to about 120 - 130 and then cooled right back off. Now I can find pockets that are still hot maybe 100 or so but those tend to be clumpped together. When I open it and dig around I see some steam.

I think this will work if I can get the mix right however, I am finding that it is hard to find the right mix unless I am willing to weigh or measure everything out exactly.

Any suggestions how I can get things to move a bit faster. It has been 2 weeks since I added the grass and I didn't think it should have cooled off so quickly. I could add more grass but I would think that might make things too moist.

Here is a link that might be useful: Online Compost Calculator

GWill:

I use fresh cut grass The DAY it is cut. In one day sitting on the lawn, grass has lost a lot of nitrogen and moisture.

"I used grass clippings (freash - no more than a week old)"

I, too had problems with clumping when using a tumbler. Never found a good solution, until I switched to mesh bins.

I only got core temps of 160F when I measured my ingredients with the bathroom scale. My ratio was 1.5 pounds of fresh-cut grass clippings to 1 pounds of dry finely shredded leaves. This mix had proper moisture content in the spring; during the warmer months I sprinkled a little water on it when making the pile.

Of course for best results (highest temps) the tumbler and
mesh bin are filled in one day. More material can be added when shrinkage starts in three days or so.

I'm leary about using sawdust as the major C component. Airflow in a hot composting system is critical and I'm not convinced sawdust will allow for that. Having said that, I've never tried sawdust in any of my tumblers.

I've used wheat straw and that didn't work so well for me due to what I suspect was a lack of density of the materials. I've never had any difficulty getting 150+ temperatures in the tumblers when using leaves (I loves leaves!).

Clumping has been an issue but if I add the leaves/grass and tumble/mix before I add the water, it seemed to be better.

I don't measure out the ingredients all that accurately, I go for two bags of shredded leaves (3 unshredded) per bag of grass and I try to use fresher, short grass clippings versus long stuff. It mixes so much better and doesn't clump up.

I refill after a couple of days due to settling but usually only once.

Monitor temperatures, add water as necessary and tumble daily (if I remember) once temperature gets to 140ish (usually 24 hours). After anywhere from 20 to 40 days (depends on which tumbler) the temperatures gradually subside and I empty them and start all over again.

This past winter as an experiment, I added kitchen wastes in those plastic bio-degradable bags to the multi-tumblers to see how well the plastic composted. Didn't seem to get the heat but so far they are decomposing. I am allowing for a longer "time in tumbler" for this stuff so final results aren't in yet.

Lloyd

I have the mantis twin for a year. Hubby wanted so I got. Have not had it heat up. One side has finally starting to become compost after all this time. It is eatting up banana skins well but regular grass clippings and weed pieces not. This one you also have to turn many times to get one rotation. The liquid from the decomposition which I would have liked to have kept in the compost for nutrients leaks out on the ground. I have a hard time turning every day as suggested. My pile of leaves from last fall has decomposed more than the material I have in the composter. I do continuous feed one side with material and am waiting for the other side to either do it's thing or be scraped out.

pt03, what tumblers are you using that you get 150°.

I made a tumbler from a 55 gallon drum but I'm not sure if I made it correctly, mainly how many/size holes to put in it. I have looked at many homemade tumblers on the web, but it is never clear if they actually got it to work. Would dryer regions need less holes than humid areas?

My issue is trying to get consent high heat. It fluctuates from 100° to ice cold. It seems soggy works better than wringed out sponge moisture.

Home built tumblers.

Single about one CY. This one will get 160 in the summer easy. In the winter, not so much.

Multi about two CY per unit. These only get into the 150 range, maybe not enough air? Not sure.

My 45 gallon one doesn't get very hot but I use it mostly as continuous feed as opposed to batch. I didn't build this one, someone threw it out at the dump.

Lloyd

Can I assume these only have the same size/amount of holes mirrored on the other side? Your getting finished batches in six weeks?

"Can I assume these only have the same size/amount of holes mirrored on the other side?"

Yes, more or less.

"Your getting finished batches in six weeks?"

Absolutely not. At least not by my definition of "finished". It has completed the high heat cycle but it has to be cured for a much longer period IMO. I do not allow my compost off site in the year that it was made and the batches done in the latter part of the fall don't go out til the next fall.

I also don't do manures, just the way I do things.

Lloyd

I h ave the mantis twin tumber and I so love this thing. I can turn out a batch every few weeks. I fill a side as tight as I can with leaves then I put in my kitchen waste till I find it starts to heat up. About the time the side I am adding to starts to heat up the other side is ready to dump. I currantly have two dogs that will eat anything so this works out great for me. I also have just enough woods behind me to get wildlife up in the yard. This keeps the compost items in the composter. For photos of my bin go to:

Here is a link that might be useful: old thread of the tumblers

Thanks everyone for the input. This was fantastic information. I guess I just need to play with the mix a bit. I added some shredded paper from the office. Hoping it would help take up some of the extra moisture. I'll let you know how it goes.

I had put rods in as suggested in another forum. I took them out thinking they might be holding my mix apart giving air pockets. My clumps are pretty big in some cases.

I just got a tumbler about 5 weeks ago and got it started immediately. I added all sorts of things, including oak leaves, what remained of a regular compost pile, kitchen scraps, shredded newspaper and weeds. I've been tumbling every day, but nothing seems to be happening. It isn't hot at all. I've got access to chicken droppings and sheep litter. Do you think this would help it heat up? Thanks for any help
Candy

I got a used Mantis ComposT-Twin and have run one batch of compost thru it. Now have started a second batch and am measuring temperatures daily to see how it's going. The subject of turning daily, which my instructions says, vs turning only when it cools down has got me scratching my head.

I'd like to get as many batches as possible processed thru my tumbler this fall/winter for my several flower and vegetable beds. I'm trying for more like 14 days per batch instead of 14 weeks!

One thought I had reading thru this long thread is that then the compost in process shrinks down to half the initial volume, that I could move the compost from one side to the other and start a new batch in the now-empty side.

Jim