Customer Reviews

Exaco Trading EARTH Earthmaker 120-Gallon Three Stage Aerobic Composter

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

We are pretty new to composting, so I can't give a highly technical review, but I'll tell you what I can. Our family of 4 has owned this composter for 7 months now. I am really beginning to love this thing. Here's why..

-It's big. It doesn't look it in the picture, but it really is a good sized contraption. We cannot come remotely close to filling it up. Perhaps we have little waste as a family, but really, I cannot fill this thing up. Of course, we only have one leafy tree in our yard, so that may play a part.

-It's contained. Our dogs run and play around it, but have not seemed to care that it is there, so the odor must not be too tempting. (We put ours on top of nine 12" patio blocks.)

-It's Easy. If I forget to mix it one week, it's still fine. I also don't have to break my back to try and turn over a compost pile. I have back problems and that is a huge plus for me.

-It's pretty easy to Assemble.

It took about 2 months for it to really start composting, but now that it's started, it works great. My guess is it had to build up all the bacteria and such that breaks down the matter.

The only problem that I've really seen so far is that the first one we ordered had several broken pieces on it. We sent it back with no problems through amazon and the second one we got was fine.


All in all, I am very satisfied with this product and feel it was definitely worth the price.

This composter had A LOT of good reviews on various sites and won 2nd place on Gaiam's compost-off. I've never bought from Gaiam and now I am highly suspect of them for giving this composter such a high rating.

I am 5 weeks into my compost process. #1 problem: flies. We get lots of flies in my area starting around May when I started to compost. I also have a dog and her poop attracts flies regardless of me picking it up daily. So now this pre-existing population of flies LOVES hanging around this composter because all the aeration holes are huge so they get in and out as they wish. Lots of composters I see now have these large aeration holes and I wonder why? why not cover them with fine mesh like window screes? I use to only see the average black flies in my yard, the ones that looked for my dog's poop, now I have a larger variety of flies, small fruit flies, LOTS! and other kinds I dont even know. That's all nice for ecodiversity and whatnot, but I didn't start a compost pile to create an ever growing fly colony.

Problem #2 chambers 2 and 3 are a joke. The top chamber works nicely. I can put a TON of kitchen scraps plus my monthly grass clippings in there plus all the required brown materials ( a TON of shredded cardboard) and it all fits. it is easy to access, water frequently (hot temps over here) and turn. the material did break down to about 1/4 of its initial volume within a 4 week period (great!) But once you open the first slide to let it drop to the "2nd" chamber, I hate it. the second chamber is is only accessed by a tiny hole, so you have no idea how the compost is cooking and if it's ready to be used (I plan to use my compost regularly since I have lots of plants, ornamentals and edible) There is no real separation between the 2nd and 3rd chamber, just a very cumbersome lack of easy access for the 2nd one, so I end up pushing most of the materials down and they fall to the ground (the "3rd" chamber) So basically in the end you end up with a top chamber that works well and the bottom chamber where you can finally access your cooking compost and check on it to decide when to harvest it, and A LOT OF WASTED SPACE (1/3 of the bin in fact) in between.

I would not buy this bin if I could do it all over again. I would have much rather have started with a basic bin like my neighbor has and works just fine (like the Soilsaver Compost Bin) for a fraction of the price and using less space for a similar amount of processed waste. It's black plstic, just like the earthmaker, to retain heat. Mix it, water it, and as long as the temps help you in spring and summer, you'll make your compost just the same.

Now that I wasted this money and have learned more about compost I am gonna give the earthmaker away to whoever will take it in my neighnorhood and I am building my own simple 3 bin system from plastic 5 gallon containers. With the mesh for the flies!

I read a lot of reviews before buying this composter. So far I am happy with it after one year of using it. It came together with no problems. The design seems sensible, although I will know that better as the world warms up next summer. I am learning that it pays to chop up household scraps before putting them in the composter, especially in cool weather. Organic materials do not break down easily or quickly if left too large. This composter is really big, so it can hold a lot of organic material. However, its not easy to hide due to its size, so be sure that you think about the dimensions when considering if it is right for you. The manufacturer thoughtfully included a small sample pack of a compost "cooking" mix.

This is our first shot at being green and wanting to start composting. There are many options out there and prices are not cheap. This item came to our house promptly in a rectangular box. The unit comes in large pieces (4 sides, 4 splines, 2 shelves, 1 "stopper", a stirring tool, a 2-piece trap door for the top and a trap door for the bottom). Assembly was easy with 2 people and took about 10 minutes. Material is high quality plastic, similar to sturdy Rubbermaid garbage cans. There is no bottom to this barrel but the splines which hold the 4 sides together have little hooks at the bottom. My thought is that I may be able to anchor it to the ground with camping stakes and a wire of sort. We have black bears where we live (northern NJ) and I am not sure whether the smell of decomposing fruit and vegetable peels will be a temptation or not. Will do a follow-up review in the summer after a few months of use. But so far I am pleased with the unit (though I am not sure it is worth US$249 but that's another story). This is a very large unit indeed (we are a family of 6 so I am sure it will come in handy).

I purchased this unit last fall in order to solve two issues: (1) eco-friendly disposal of kitchen waste; and (2) cost-effective way of producing compost for vegetable and flower gardens. I was really on the fence between this product and a tumbler, but settled on this one because of cost and the ability for worms to access the compost without help from me.

This product arrived promptly and was very easy to assemble - I did it quickly with my 5 year old "helping." It is also relatively light and easy to move into position. My only complaint is that it is somewhat difficult to stir the compost in the top chamber and compost can stick between that chamber and the second chamber. There is little smell and no unwanted animals really mess with it. It is placed near a structure so I believe a raccoon opens the top, presumably to see what is inside, but does not apparently attempt to get inside or else it would have toppled over.

I would recommend this product but caution that a stable base (we chose bricks) will help immensely in terms of retrieving the finished compost. Also, it takes a fair amount of stirring and movement - so if you do not like to get dirty, you might choose the tumbler instead.

I purchased this composter based on solid Amazon reviews, and after 1 year of ownership am mostly happy with the purchase.

Pros:
- Huge - was surprised at the size when I received it
- Simple assembly - took 5 minutes to slide panels in place and lock them down
- Quality materials - overall this has held up well for the first year, and it's very solid when put together
- Very easy to composte - good space up top for the initial 'dumping', and the multiple chambers keeps you from running out of space. We have filled this with food scraps and misc weeds from the yard for over a year and still have plenty of space.
- Little odor - no problems at all, we have it close to the back door and no discernable smell

Negatives:
- Animals can get into it - we have a possum in the area who has figured out how to slide the top open and tosses all the contents into the yard. I initially tried to set a large brick on the top but he figured out how to get that off. Finally I purchased a locking hook/eye latch at the hardware store and drilled through the plastic to install it. It's easy to undo when putting in more waste, and it's mostly doing the trick. There are still times where the possum literally tears off the entire top sliding lid and it hangs from the hook/eye, but I think that's only when he's visited the SuperPossum meth lab beforehand.
- Slow composting - so we've been using this for a year, and have barely a handful of usable compost at the bottom. I'm surprised by how long it's taking considering we live in Florida so the warmth is not an issue. I think it takes some time to get the bacteria started, as it does seem to be speeding up.

Overall - a very good product that has really helped us reduce our household waste. A couple of tips
1. Get one of the countertop composting pails to fill with your daily scraps, it will keep you from making multiple small trips outside.
2. Install some of the cheap concrete stepping stones under the composter. The bottom is open to the ground, so this will really help with removing compost when it's ready, and keeps the overall unit stable/steady.

Enjoy!

I bought this composter because it was advertised as a trouble free, simple system. The only thing that is simple about it is that it simply doesn't work. Don't waste your money. This is an expensive piece of junk. I've been putting my organic waste in it for over a year and I've yet to yield any reasonable compost. I'd rather keep a garbage pile in my back yard and let it rot for free. It is falling apart after only a year. Go for the 3 bin system and do it right (check out humanure on the internet for good instructions - he talks about composting human waste, which you may or may not like, but also has a great section on 3 bin composting).
Mike Burrell

I find it difficult to find polite words to describe what a useless piece of plastic junk this composter is. In theory, this was a good idea, and I suppose if it were made from strong enough material, it would be too costly. In reality, it is flimsy, wobbly, and wants to fall apart as you start loading it. Then, in fact, it does fall apart as you attempt to move the waste down from one level to the next and the shelf collapses as the thin plastic structure bulges or changes shape from the weight of a few weeks of kitchen scraps and some grass clippings. I could have spent half as much money and built a good one from stock wood from any lumber yard/ home center.

I'm a beginner and I've had this composter for over a year and now I've got compost! Really black rich compost.

I really like this composter because it is fairly easy to use except I am really short and the unit is very tall. I have a difficult time mixing. But adding and moving the stuff is simple. The front door that covers the bottom section doesn't close tightly but that has not had a negative effect for us and we have not had any odor and pest issues. I also really like the ability to continuously add material to the top while older material is cooking in the middle.

I discovered that twigs and branches don't decompose that fast and neither do egg shells and cardboard. I can still identify them in the compost matter. I am a lazy composter though so maybe that's why it took a year to make compost. I didn't chop up any of the kitchen scraps or the newspaper or anything else. One time I threw in a whole head of lettuce. In the summertime it was so hot at times that my pile looked dry. So instead of watering the pile directly with a hose, I would wait til it rained to sweep up the backyard so I could add sopping wet leaves to the pile.

Happy composting everyone!

ps There are a lot of little bugs. And at times I was a wee bit frightened when I opened the lid or took out the shelf to find lots of little insects scampering about.

I really want to love this composter but I do not. Due to its height you end up stirring the compost very close to your face which is as unpleasant as it sounds especially if any flies out (I'm 5'8" so if your a lot taller it might be ok). If I could get another composter I would get one that spins or one that is lower to the ground.

UPDATE: The top plastic shelf broke and now the composter is essentially useless. I will see if I can track down a replacement shelf but overall this was a very expensive product and feels very cheaply made. I regret purchasing it.