I've spent 40 years unsuccessfully trying to make compost, always ending up with a rat-infested, fly-covered slime. I was very reluctant to spend around £150 on another attempt. I'm SO glad I did. This isn't just easy...it's pretty exciting as well. The temperature shot up after a week or so...and now everything goes into the black box. Haven't got to the compost removal yet, but my plants are LOVING the fertiliser liquid that comes off the process. I highly recommend this product.

Yes it was! Beautiful black compost. I bought it 10 months ago. Mine works a little slower as I only chop bigger or fibrous material up. It eats everything, including used kitchen roll, leftover cat food. There are no flies & low odour so I can have it within 3m of back door. Use a few handfuls of crumbled rotten wood as bulking agent so no need to buy that. I am a traditional composter and still run a couple at the bottom of the 100’ garden. The Hotbin is a useful addition particularly in winter. So far so good and I recommend it.

Got mine a couple of weeks ago, admittedly it's probably too big for me but I scrounged grass from a friend and mixed with paper, veg peelings and some bulking agent, first week temp was about 70 degrees, added some more yesterday and temp is now up to 100 degrees. So far I'm impressed, just haven't been brave enough to add cooked leftovers yet.

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.