Compost Tumbler Bin Composter Dual Chamber 43 Gallon (Bundled with Pearson's Gardening Gloves)

I have not used it yet, I just assembled it. But it is very sturdy and I think it will work well! It took me 65 minutes to assemble! It was relatively easy! Some of the reviews say that it takes hours and hours and is very complicated, but it is really not!

The product is good, but the instructions are bad and installation of the center divider is tricky. Comments:1) If assembled correctly, I don’t think spinning the compost bin should be difficult as some have stated. It could be that the hole in the center divider is offset because of improper installation, causing the divider to rub against the side of the center rod.2) The nuts for the bolts that secure the horizontal rod to the stand are NOT caps, as at least one reviewer stated. You just have to use pliers to hold the nut and force the screw beyond the resistance that you will feel.3) The center divider- I’m not sure how to explain this but theirs a trick to installing it. I kept getting space between the edges of the divider and the panels, and the gap for one of the divider edges was so large that it wouldn’t reach the groove to hold it in place. I figured out that the little protrusion on each of the 8 edges of the divider is meant to fit into a particular position in the groove. If you get all protrusions into the right spot in the groove, then the divider will be secure. Took me FOREVER to figure this out. The instruction on this were non-existent.

I decided I should start composting since I like to have a garden and I have plenty of material to put into it to make my own, so when I saw this and really thought the price wasn't bad at all, I decided to give it a try. I have read reviews complaining about the assembly, but if you have any experience assembling things this is a piece of cake. Yeah there are a ton of nuts to tighten but is it hard? No. The middle divider isn't going to go into place without paying attention but is it hard to get in place? No. I put it together by myself in probably 30min max and I can't see anyone getting it put together any quicker just because of the number of nuts as I mentioned you have to tighten is tedious. When I looked at it after finishing assembly my thought was that it wasn't that big, but here I am almost a month out and I haven't filled up one of the sides yet, so despite how it looks its a good size. I've never composted before but I've done a lot of looking and it seems that was is there is doing nicely, and because I've got my proportions of green to browns correct, I can stick my face down in it and it doesn't have a nasty smell. I've also read people complain of it getting hard to turn as it fills, and while I don't have both sides filled, I am almost filled on one side and it isn't difficult at all. I am a pretty muscular guy in my 30s, so I certainly don't see me having any issues turning it in the future, but even if you aren't it seems to have good places to grab on to to get leverage to turn it, so unless you are just tiny I wouldn't think it would be an issue or if you are concerned you may get some juices on you which makes me wonder why you are wanting to get into composting in the first place. It's like me with my chickens, and people tell me they want chickens but they don't want chicken poop or the smell... well you probably don't really want chickens then, you just like the idea of having chickens without the mess that comes with the reality of chickens. My hope is that I will have some feedback after I've let this cook for a while and see what comes out.UPDATE: I had both sides full of compost that I started in the spring/early summer, and this fall emptied the compost out into a big bag to use in my garden. I was planting mustard greens, and I planted seeds of two different varieties in two different spots. One spot is where I mixed the compost in and the other spot was just regular dirt without compost. In the one spot I planted the seeds of half of each variety I had, and in the other spot I planted the other half of each variety's seeds. Now that they are growing I can say both varieties I planted in the composted area are doing unbelievably better than the ones planted in the uncomposted area. This isn't surprising that the composted area did better, but the degree to which they are doing better is impressive. Also both areas are right next to each other in an open area, so sun light, water, etc is exactly the same, the only possible difference is the compost.

This is my first foray into composting, and I'm really excited to get started. I like the tumbling, dual chamber design of this model, and I think the size will be perfect for my household. When I first opened the box, I thought the individual plastic pieces seemed a bit flimsy, but by the time I had it fully assembled I was very pleased with the finished product. All pieces fit together seamlessly, and the unit has a nice balance between being sturdy but also lightweight.It also looks nice, for now (though months of sitting in my backyard might make the plastic fade or warp, though I don't really need it to be pretty, I need it to do its job).I see mixed reviews regarding assembly. I found it very easy to assemble, but if you are struggling or worried, here are a few notes... (1) Some of the small nut and bolt sets require you to hold the nuts in a very limited amount of finger space. I have small fingers so this wasn't a problem for me, but if you are having a hard time I would recommend having a small socket wrench available. (2) At first glance, it seems like the middle divider should fit snuggly against the outer panels, but if you pay attention to line up the arrows, you will see that it deliberately leaves a small triangular gap at each panel. I believe this feature must allow for better air flow through the unit. Once you accept that this is part of the design, the divider panel is easy to place and work around. (3) The first panel you put into place is the one with doors, and then you place the remaining seven identical panels. I suggest working around the barrel in one direction, so the very last panel you place is next to the door panel. If you work in both directions, the last panel you place will be on the opposite side of the barrel from the doors, making it very difficult to place the last bolts without the help of a second person to hold the nuts from the inside. (Unless you have very long arms with more joints than the average human being.) (4) There are two long bolts used to attach the cross bar to the frame on the very last step. These bolts are slightly larger around and have matching nuts that are slightly larger as well (though they look the same at first glance). For some reason, these nuts are just mixed loosely in with all the smaller ones, so when you come across them and they don't fit the smaller bolts, set them aside for the final step. The set comes with a small screwdriver which I found adequate enough for the small bolts, but I used a set of pliers to hold the nuts for these larger bolts because I was having trouble getting them to secure by hand.As a final note, I noticed that one of the two sliding doors has a small embossed plus sign on it. I think the intent is to use this door to designate which side of the composter you are actively adding material to, since you should alternate sides every six weeks or so. When the six week period is up, you would simply slide both doors out and swap their positions. I think this is a neat feature, but the plus sign doesn't really stand out much, so I painted mine with some green enamel paint to make it more obvious.Obviously, it will take several months of practical use to really get an idea of how well this thing will work. But I'm very excited to try it out!

This is a well engineered and well made product. Do note it takes awhile to put it together! I’m handy with tools and with a power screwdriver, took me close to 2 hours, start to finish. But I expect this product to last for years!!!!