Customer Reviews

Soilsaver Classic Composter

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm cooking up my second batch of compost with this great bin.

Pros:
* Can be used for hot (active maintain) or cold (dump stuff in and forget about it) composting.
* Fully enclosed.
* Has a locking lid.
* Uses hard nylon screws & bolts that won't rust.
* More attractive than the chicken wire and wood frame composter I made.
* Light-weight.
* Good instruction booklet.
* Good airflow. (I was worried about this before using.)
* Fast hot composting (about 5-6 weeks)
* 25-yr manufacturer's warranty

Cons:
* Haven't found the doors very useful. (They are not a problem either. More useful for a cold pile I guess.)
* Little difficult to turn the pile. (I usually remove the entire bin, and set to the side and refill the bin in the new location.)

The directions state that you must place this on level ground so the lid fits properly. I used a shovel to level out a spot and the lid fits great and stays locked.

Since nocturnal critters live in my area, I haven't used food scraps for this composter. (I use a vermiculture setup ( Can-O-Worms ) for that in the garage.) I use grass clippings, shredded cardboard and newspaper, leaves, and other chopped-up landscape debris to get a good mix of carbon and nitrogen.

I had purchased this exact product at Sam's in the spring for $40. I used it all summer and it was almost full. I decided that I needed another so that I could "turn" the soil in my existing bin. Sam's of course, no longer had any in stock so I began my search on the internet. This was the cheapest one I could find at twice the price (including shipping). I ordered it so the bins would be the same configuration in the small space in my yard. I wanted my composting to be as inoffensive as possible to my neighbors. I received the new bin in about a week-about 5 days quicker than promised. It was exactly the same as my other one. I put it together, placed it in my yard and began transferring the material from my old one to it. I was amazed at how well composted the material in my existing bin was! It had only been 4 months and I had not turned or stirred it once. I have done composting in the past in big "pens" and thought that was a superior method. I would turn it a couple of times during the season, but it was never as composted as this in such a short time. This bin works incredibly well. The perfect solution for people who want to compost but don't have a lot of space to do it in.

We purchased a Soilsaver compost bin several years ago and now have three of them in our backyard. It has been a great investment for us to turn our garden and kitchen waist into quality compost. We dump all of our coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit waist along with grass clippings and leaves into the soilsaver. In the summer, we have nice compost very quickly. The winter does take longer but it still decomposes nicely.

It has also been a great lesson for teaching our daughter about composting. She gets very excited about dumping our fruit and vegetables and watching the worms eat away an decompose our waist.

The locks on ours have kept critters out of the composter and we have not had any problems like others have stated in their review. It was very easy to put together (even a non-technical person like myself could put it together!)

We've had this bin for two years now, and it's worked really well for us. The construction is great and has stayed sturdy and in great working condition. We do very little maintenance on it, and our scraps still decompose faster than we expected. We live in a very dry climate with cold winters, but it still composts throughout the winter. We belong to a farm share, so we have lots of fruit and veggie scraps (along with our yard waste) that make their way into it, and it composts quickly enough that it never gets more than half full (even without removing the compost). We've also never had a problem with animals getting into it (besides the helpful little insects).
It is hard to turn the pile (which I think is true of any stationary compost bin), which is why we mainly leave ours alone. I'm sure it would compost faster with some help, but it's fast enough for us without the work.

I've been using a Soil Saver compost bin for my kitchen scraps for more than ten years now. I really appreciate how I can add kitchen scraps to the top of the bin, and remove finished compost from the bottom of the bin, to add to my garden. While I have occasionally stirred the contents of the bin with a "garden claw" (the easiest compost turning method I've found, for this bin), I've also gotten excellent compost from this bin with zero turning! Composting is a natural process, but can take some time. It will happen faster if 'turned' occasionally, or with the addition of nitrogen-rich items such as horse, steer, or chicken manure. However, I've found the natural rate of composting of kitchen scraps of this bin to have kept perfect pace with my additions from the kitchen.

Tip: Put this bin somewhere that is easy to get to from your kitchen. It will be easier to make composting a way of life if the bin is convenienty located.

I like this bin so much, for its ease of use and quality, I'm buying a second one today, to place near my new vegetable garden.
Highly recommended!

I'm sure there are many people like me; you want to start composting but picking a bin is just a total hassle. The prices are unbelievably high on some, should I get one that tumbles, it's big so shipping will be expensive too, etc. I was at Home Depot and bought a unit that was on sale but it was really flimsy so I returned it. Costco had one but it looked like a giant alien space ship; I like my neighbors too much for that. This unit seemed like an okay price, straightforward design, price a little high, but I finally decided it was the best of the ones I'd seen.

Bottom line: I really like it and I'm happy with my purchase. The plastic is recycled (kudos) and thick so it's sturdy. Assembly was easy with plastic bolts and nuts (so they don't rust) and they provided the tool. Took me 15 minutes and I was drinking beer - put a screw in, take a sip of beer, contemplate, repeat. About 12 screws. Design is very well thought out IMO.

Some notes: It has no bottom, which I expected. It has rain holes on top, not sure if that will be enough but I could add more. Comes with a very basic composting guide but helpful. It has two doors along the bottom which I opted (read: didn't notice until I was done) to put on adjoining sides but could have put on opposite sides. The knobs you see on top are the locks, one on each side, nothing it getting without turning the whole thing over, e.g. bear, dog, etc. Comes with a 25 year warranty!!! Made in Canada. I think this item is made for Sam's Club and I've seen good prices on it at their site but it was out of stock everywhere.

As an aside, compost doesn't stink. I received my kitchen bin first and started saving stuff. It adds up fast, you'll be amazed. So I needed a place to store it when that filled up and used a bucket and lid out on the porch, in the sun. Two weeks later it still didn't smell, fruit, veggies, cereal, coffee grinds, eggs - nothing...

See my pics of the unit above!

I have had this composter for a couple of years at my former home in Houston, Texas where it is warm most of the year. I have only harvested from this composter about 3 times during a period of a little over 2 years. I think that unless you are prepared to empty out this composter, and turn the composter yourself you will have similar results as your labor is needed to speed up the composting processes, and at this rate, you might as well put together a simple wire mesh composter.

This was easy to put together, I did so within less than 30 minutes, I am not particularly good when it comes to assembly. I put this together without having to constantly having to refer to the directions. My composter held up well during and did not come apart or shift out of place.

My largest complaint with this composter is that you really do need to rotate your materials or the process is very slow. Please note, the compost never comes out like it does in some of the pictures looking like potting soil. It comes out a little rough, it isn't soil, but this does make good rich compost. I just feel the design of this unit means you have slow compost production. I would personally go with a unit that rotates or allows you to easily move around the materials so you can make compost more quickly.

I have had this composter for ten years now and have been very happy with it. I'm not very diligent about turning it so I get some roots but that is easily fixed by being less lazy. The plastic has held up very well, no cracks, and the latches still work very well. I find it easy to remove the composted material from the bottom.

Unit works as advertized and now even better using a different starter this year.
The ringer started is the best so far and I already have room for tons more
of material in the units and the compost pits.

Using the contained units creats an easy way to gather the compost

I recommend. This is one of the only items I found recently that is cheaper to
get at a big box store. The shipping costs are staggering increasing the price
of the unit to 24% more than a pick up.

I bought my first Soilsaver bin a number of years ago. After about 3 years of use I bought a second bin. I plan to order a third this year. They are rugged, have a locking lid, easy to put together, and hold a good chunk of compost. I do recommend that you shop around online to find the best price though.