5 months in and i've just tried to see what's going on inside - OMG do not read on it you have a delicate stomach. It's situated in a perfect position, displays a good temperature (in and out) and I've been very disciplined at mixing brown and green but trying to get the stuff out of the front is nearly impossible as it all comes down. It stinks, the flies and maggots all around the joints and hinges were revolting. The compost actually looks ok but it's really hard work to get it right and it's definitely easier to put out the food waste for the council collection and leave the composter for the garden waste. The straps definitely need improving as I struggled to tighten when putting them back on. I had to wrap chicken wire around the base to stop the rats eating through the polystyrene. The worst thing is the smell on my hands which I can't get rid of. Any suggestions on any of the above are welcome as I don't like to give up straight away.

After searching for ways to demonstrate to my two children how we could do more to help the environment, I was sure the Hotbin composting would be the answer to a more sustainable lifestyle. I have had the product for nearly 6 months. Unfortunately I could not believe how disappointed I could be with a product, it is no good for an urban environment, the stench, flies, eggs and maggots are unbelievable. The flies block up the vent hole with their eggs.

There is no reference about the lack of resilience to vermin until you purchase it and the concerns are raised on the instructions.

I have tried to contact the after service on numerous occasions but they simply do not respond. Please research thoroughly before spending this significant sum of money.

Took delivery on Saturday, filled to load line on Monday, mixture of comfrey leaves, cabbage leaves and lawn mowings ( all put thro' garden shredder ) cardboard ( used the box that it came in again put thro' shredder ) and woodchip. Checked after approx 24 hrs, lid gauge showed 38/39 degrees celcius didn't check internally, today lid showed 50 degrees, checked internal temp gauge showed 65/66 degrees, lots of steam etc. Well pleased at present, will keep updated as the weather gets cooler.

Received my Hotbin last week. Set it up in the garden on a paving slab yesterday afternoon, and half filled it with a mixture of shredded nettles, elder tree leaves and branches, and a few other unwanted weeds and leaves. Checked it this morning. Lid thermometer showed a temperature of 40C. Opened the lid and I was hit by the warmth from the steaming mixture and the thermometer I had left inside showed a temperature of 60C! Very impressive. I look forward to the end results.

I have to say, sadly, that I am rather disappointed in this polystyrene box. Yes, it has reached 60º a couple of times, but even with the insulation, it only lasts a day and even with regular feeding as instructed, it generally stays between 12º and 25º. I'll be interested to see what compost I pull out after 90 days, but so far it seems lukewarm composting rather than hot composting.

Given one as a birthday present. Seemed to work well and generate a good amount of heat (50-55 Celcius) . So bought another when full. Just opened the bottom of the first one (after nine months) and hasn’t even dealt with compostible food caddy bags. What a farce. Save your money and use the council.

I received the Hotbin Mk.2 for Christmas 2019, having researched many composting options. I had been frustrated that the council in our new area did not collect food waste or shredded paper so this seemed like the ideal solution.
I found the assembly and the start up instructions simple to follow, but had grossly overestimated our food waste amounts. After 3weeks we still hadn't filled the base layer, so I innovated and asked the neighbours if they would also like to contribute their vegetable waste and help reduce landfill.
3 months later, I receive regular buckets of peelings etc from 3 neighbours and so far, together, we have Hotbinned almost 50kg of food waste destined for landfill. We're aiming for 200kg this year.
The thermometer rarely goes below 50degrees nowadays, although I had a few issues initially which were resolved with the great online FAQs and Help pages.
A great product that keeps me enthralled. Looking forward to harvesting the first batch of compost soon.

As we are now grounded due to Covid 19 I decided to empty my compost bin last weekend. I was absolutely delighted with the quality of the compost. Tip - if you're putting T bags in don't. Empty the tea into the compost and throw the bag away as they don't compost down even after a year but it was no hard job just picking them out. I can't believe how much stuff you can put in it and I love this product

I bought the Hotbin mk2 in early January thinking it was a bit cold, but I'd give it a go. I have 4 other "dalek" compost bins and they slow down to a crawl or stop in the winter. I start off as th instructins said as I had a lot of dead leaves and tigs from autumn and a growing pile of kitchen waste. I also have a good paper/cardboard shredder and most of the Amazon type boxes etc. get shredded. Adding all this stuff in with a good mix of bulking agent filled the bin to about three quarters full. A week went by and the temperature had got up to around 25 degrees. A bit disappointing, but it was progress. I checked several times a day and after the second week we were hitting 60 degrees plus. Steadily adding more waste/cardboard/bulking mix keeps it at around 55 to 65 degrees and it's eating stuff pretty quickly. To save continually going out to check I bought a cheap remote temperature probe. The sending unit it stuck to the outside of the bin and the probe itself is pushed 2 to 4 inches into the steaming mass. I can now monitor the temperature in comfort and fill it when the alarm goes off when it drops below 50. No usable compost yet, but one quick peep tells me it's coming on nicely. Should get some good stuff in another month or so.

Bought my bin about 6 weeks ago. Delivery was speedy and arrived in perfect condition.

My bin is situated about 5m from my back door - no issues with flies, vermin odours etc.

I did buy one perhaps too big for what I produce, (I bought the larger one for a 2 person household) but I now have a deal with my local fruit and veg shop and collect waste off them weekly to put in .

Highly recommend this product, already on the way to getting good compost.