Help with my composter

[sammmm]

It doesn't have a bottom! It's a Blackwell 330 'compost converter', it came from the council a couple of days ago. It's one of the big cone-like ones that all the councils subsidise.

Anyway, it was dropped off outside my door and there's no actual bottom to it. I could understand if it had gaping holes in the bottom, for drainage and creepy crawlies, but it is totally open. Does anyone else have the same one? I called the council and i don't think they knew what they were talking about..

[kirsty b]

I have the same one that I got from my council a few years ago. Its not meant to have a bottom.
Put it on a piece of ground (soil/grass) and if you can, peg it down. As you start putting waste in it, the worms will come up and start eating through the waste, thus helping it break down, as the lower levels are 'processed' the worms will move up through the waste. Therefore, the lower levels in your composter will be black gold that you can scoop out with a spade and leave the less composted upper levels to the worms for a bit longer.
I was dubious when I first got mine, but it does the job, and I now have 4 in various stages of filling down the allotment.

[salad daze]

hi
I had one of the open ended compost bins and managed to use it for four years then our council offered a larger one which I am using for the first season I will let you know how it goes

salad daze

[DunDiggin]

I've been using mine for about 6 years without problems. I also have a a second smaller one which has a base, and a third square one without a base.
You're supposed to turn/stir whats in the bin but I only do this once a year after removing the compost from the bottom. I then tip the bin over, and through everything left back in before continuing to refill.
With the veg patch in the garden, and all our uncooked kitchen scraps, and a certain amount of shredded paper, we now find that by the middle of March, when I empty the good compost, all three bins are full.