I originally ordered this product from the Tumbleweed company (in Dallas) and I will say that I did not have a good experience overall in terms of shipping. After almost three weeks of the initial order I discovered that the composter had already made a whole trip back to Dallas before it got to me again. According to a representative at Tumbleweed, UPS had lost the package and because of that it was returned to the sender. She re-sent it via FedEx and I received it within 3 days as promised. FYI...
Now, about the actual product...the construction is amazing! Its a simple design (i'm a 28 year old man, by the way) but it will take you a little time. There are roughly 18 srews and non-slip nuts that you must use around the circumference of the barrel. This is to attach both ends to make it whole. Only tools you will need is a cross tip screw driver, space on your floor, and maybe pliers. Outside of that step, the rest was easy. I was very impressed with its size. I mean, its not yet full but once done I realized that the inside is huge! My wife was even impressed with its size and design and she's not even into this kind of stuff.
I decided to purchase this to complement my red worm bin. There are seven people in my household and we produce lots of garbage. Between the worms and this bin, I feel this is enough space for our output. The bin is made of a very thick and sturdy shell which does a superb job of absorbing and retaining heat. We live in Florida and we just had a cool (high of 80 deg) front for an entire week. While that's not the hottest it gets here, even after the sun had set on evenings the inside of the bin was very warm.
There is not much in the bin now, but the tumbling action is so simple my 6 year old son could muscle it. My kids thinks that its some toy so keep that in mind if you (the adult) get to lazy to tumble it. This is mandatory, by the way. We have it in the back yard where it gets full sun all day and we give it a turn after placing compostables in it. On each end you will find a pair of neatly designed removable lids where all you have to do is twist and remove. I'm a believer that no rodents will be able to access its contents because it does suspend off of the ground about 6-8 inches. I am concerned about the metal legs rusting. I will periodically wipe them down with WD-40 to combat this issue.
Other than the rust concern and the fact that its not yet full, i'm glad I spent the $200+ for it. I don't know about the "compost in as little as 3 weeks" because I add to it on a daily basis. I'm not too concerned with the quick results that it advertised because it already lives up to the heat part. All you need to do is keep up on the other ingredients; moisture, browns, and greens. 4/5 only because I do not yet have complete compost. 22 Oct 08