Hot, steamy & loads of leachate

[jgarvani]

We've had our hotbin for 2 months and it gets nice and hot and very steamy.

In the past week, I thought I'd see if there was any leachate - now emptied it twice and have around 3 pints of brown odourless leachate.

The compost itself seems quite wet even though I do add shredded paper or card board in a 2:1 compost to paper ratio.

I have a lot of green garden waste and was wondering if I should add more paper/cardboard to help it dry out a bit?

Would it be worth emptying out the bin and remixing the contents with plenty of paper/card and then putting it back in the bin?

[nortonbeak]

My very limited experience of HotBin use is similar. Almost all of my burden is grass clippings. A lot of leachate is produced as my HotBin warms up. Then, when at temperature, much more water vapour is emitted and hence, not so much leachate.
So, if I were you I would add a tiny touch more bulking agent and a tiny touch more shredded paper. Keep an eye on the temperature.
I don't see why you should need to empty your HotBin. From what you say, it is working fine.

[Disappointed]

It is really disappointing: 200-300ml of leachate every day and sometimes more, with it leaking out all over the place. I'll try more paper, perhaps. But is it a problem with not opening the valve at the top enough? How open should it be, anyone have a photo?

[nortonbeak]

[QUOTE= How open should it be, anyone have a photo?[/QUOTE]

I have found it difficult to get it correct. The YouTube video suggests a gap of 2mm, which means that the flap is 5 to 7mm up from the lid surface.