Compost Wizard Jr. Tumbler, 7 Cubic Foot Capacity

I purchased this product at the end of January and today was the end of my first cycle of composting so I feel that I'm at a good place to review this product. Overall I give this very high marks for it's durability and value for its money. The composter arrives in a single, large box. It's bulky but can be picked up by a single person. The composter comes fully assembled with three pieces: the base and the container with lid. Following the instructions, I placed the base on a firm piece of ground near my garden and the container fits right on the base. It's all as simple as you would expect it to be. I filled the composter with a mixture of "brown" and "green" materials until it was pretty packed and full. I then watered it until water started coming out of the holes that were drilled into the sides (which are perfectly spaced and sufficient). Every other day or so, I rolled the composter on the base. Even full, it was quite easy to roll; many times I was able to do it with just one hand, or even one foot (hey, I'm lazy). Depending on the environment, you may need to add water throughout the cycle. I added water maybe two or three times. The lid fits quite securely and I never had any problems that some of the other people had with material getting stuck in it. Something else that I noticed was that as the material was decomposing, any smell was kept in the composter, and you couldn't smell anything decomposing while it was sealed. Flies also were kept to a minimum. When the time came to empty it, I rolled it off of the base and to my garden. Emptying it is super easy. I really have nothing to complain about with this product. If you're looking for an entry level composter or something for a small garden. I'm considering purchasing a second one.

The first composter I bought has now survived two Pennsylvania winters with no more problem than a small hole which doesn't affect function. No problems with smells or bugs. Note that the base holds water, so when it freezes you won't be able to roll it without breaking the coating of ice off the bottom of the barrel. But I don't think much decomposition takes place at those temperatures anyhow! I have just ordered a second identical composter so that I can add scraps to one while the other finishes composting. Only problem of note is that the wheel assemblies on the base of the first one are a little rusty; everything still works fine but at some point I'm sure they'll give out. (Since the barrel can be rolled around on the ground to mix, that won't render the unit worthless anyhow.) For the price, it's worth buying. A trick I finally figured out: Standing in front of the barrel and reaching over the top, it's hard to roll because there are only two sets of hand-holds (and the raised bars on the lid.) Standing at the end of the barrel to roll it works much better! From this position it's not hard to turn, even when full. Why did it take me over a year to realize this?!?

It has just arrived. Easy to set up. No assembly required. Instructions were on a decal on the lid so I keyed them into a Word file as I figured the decal will soon fade. First impression - way too small for the amount of compost I generate, but if it works as fast as advertized it ought to be sufficient. Only time will tell. Easy to load through the large port. Tough to turn when at the recommended load of half full. There are handles moulded into the barrel but I felt it needs handles on the ends. I will probably add them if it turns out to be an issue. I plan to build a stand to lift it up to a comfortable working height. Edit: After several months of use I have found that it is nowhere near as speedy as the ad says. It takes several weeks before a mixed load of kitchen vegetable scraps, weeds, leaves and small twigs turns into gold. What I took out was a small pile of soggy, muddy compost. It was very difficult to remove the stuff from the bin due to the small opening. Maybe I should build that stand - and build it higher, at least waist height. Then, maybe, I can scrape the compost into a wheel barrow. As other reviewers have pointed out, it is hard to turn when heavily loaded. Maybe I should add the handles on the ends, also. Seems a lot of extra work for a bucket of compost.

Great quality, EASY to use

I compost all the organic matter produced in my household, including tissues and paper towels. I've now ordered 3 of these in the last four years and they work except for some flaws. Also, in the Pacific NW, they won't produce compost anywhere near as fast as claimed by the manufacturer. The biggest issue is that the rivets holding the frame for the lid pull out after adding composting material and rotating the barrel a few times. I've had to drill out all the rivets and install new ones with washers to get the lid frame to stay firmly attached to the barrel on each one. Second, there's no drain in the base, so any rainwater collects in the bottom and creates a perfect place for mosquitoes to breed. I had to drill holes in the bases to solve this issue. Edit: Discovered another issue. If used where they get rained on, you will also need to use silicone caulking around the riveted frame that holds the lid or they leak too much water into the barrel. This causes the composting to slow down and leaks dirty water out the drain holes. Once these flaws are fixed and you understand that it will take much longer to produce compost, these composting barrels do last and work.

We live in northern Michigan, where even during the summer it is not warm enough for speedy composting. We tried another black composter previously and found it to help tremendously. We are very please with this one. It holds a lot of compost. It rotates easily. Even though the whole process stops in winter when it freezes, the black color absorbs the sun's heat, so the process starts early in the Spring. Compost does tend to dry out, but adding a little water remedies that easily. It is easy to remove finished compost with a shovel. I have removed the composter from the base and rolled it to where I wanted the compost. This process went smoothly and saved me the effort of wheelbarrowing . We have had it 2 years and is holding up well. It seems strong enough to last many more years.

I’ve had this for 11 years and it work like magic .!!!!!!!

It didn't occur to me that this would arrive as a whole complete no assembly required thing! SO great! Open the box, slide it out, unscrew the big lid and take out the single sheet of paper with the "instructions" (lol) and put your dirt and crap in it! (well not literal crap - that would be bad) I really like the fact that the 2 major components are so simply and sturdily designed as no pose no real danger of breaking. Even if one of the little wheels cracked (I see no danger of this btw) or the screw holding it on got lost or whatever, these could be easily replaced, as nothing looks like a specialized part. Super sturdy, thick "rugged" plastic material. It's BIG too. I was tempted to get the next size up but I couldn't have used my Amazon BIGTHANKS coupon as it was sold by a 3rd party. Very glad I didn't. It's a good size as is; not so big that if filled it would be too much to use and not so small that you'd run out of material quickly when it was time to harvest your black gold.

Esperaba algo un poco mas decente, el plastico venia "parchado", lo cual no me inspira mucha confianza. El plastico de donde viene agarrada la tapa, al parecer fue mal cortado y 2 remaches quedan volando, por que no estan fijados con nada o muy poco, lo cual deja un hueco que no se si vaya a tirar tierra cuando se vaya a girar. El tamaño es decente, pero estos detalles me hacen pensar mucho acerca de su durabilidad.

We love this Composter and how easy it is to turn it, as long is not too full, otherwise you need help. If you buy one make sure to make some holes in the stand, so any rain water will not accumulate, otherwise you will have issues with flies. I wish the manufacturer would have thought of that.

good composter, check out other reviews, it was as I expected.

I would need to have it for longer to write a proper review, so far so good.............