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Hi All,
New to the forum but not to the Hotbin ‘experience’. I have had my bin for almost two years and kept a journal at the start which helped me figure out how to get started along with the helpful online info from Hotbin. Emptying, restarting and maintaining has never been a problem and have managed to keep a good 40-60 temperature (and up to 70 on occasions). My biggest problem has been trying to empty the bin and check all the air holes, retwig the base plate before all the stuff tumbles down. Tricky.)
But this Winter Mr Hottie has barely risen past 30 and this is with repeated water bottle top ups. I have emptied, mixed paper, bulking, cleared out base plate holes, retwigged, cleaned the grill etc etc, all to no avail. I think my lifestyle this year (much busier workwise) has caused this as my tendency to batch-cook for busy days has been vital. ANd this has meant, a decrease in REGULAR caddies of enough food waste. Plus the fact my kids are entering teens and eat everything I put before them. The weather has been very cold lately and this wouldn’t effect the hotbin - as long as it is at a good temperature already, so trying to get it going during cold weeks is never going to be easy. The cooked food waste is now mounting up so I might have to leave it out for collection (oh no).
Reading round the forums I have found out that some people have success at times like these by removing the carbon filter in the lid. The temperature immediately rockets. They are noticing the filter bag gets caked up with a white substance and the filter gets so damp that the air can’t circulate. Since it has been so cold an wet I can’t help thinking that this might be part of the problem. No heat from below to keep the moisture in the lid moving. It’s a catch 22. My bin is still in warranty and it is made clear in the info that removing the filter negates it. I would love to get it going again so I can start gradually feeding in the bucket of cooked waste.
I’m sure my new neighbours think I’m a nutter when I fiddle about with so much mucky stuff. Their concerns will be cemented when they see me hair drying the lid of my bin. But these are where my thoughts are right now.
New to the forum but not to the Hotbin ‘experience’. I have had my bin for almost two years and kept a journal at the start which helped me figure out how to get started along with the helpful online info from Hotbin. Emptying, restarting and maintaining has never been a problem and have managed to keep a good 40-60 temperature (and up to 70 on occasions). My biggest problem has been trying to empty the bin and check all the air holes, retwig the base plate before all the stuff tumbles down. Tricky.)
But this Winter Mr Hottie has barely risen past 30 and this is with repeated water bottle top ups. I have emptied, mixed paper, bulking, cleared out base plate holes, retwigged, cleaned the grill etc etc, all to no avail. I think my lifestyle this year (much busier workwise) has caused this as my tendency to batch-cook for busy days has been vital. ANd this has meant, a decrease in REGULAR caddies of enough food waste. Plus the fact my kids are entering teens and eat everything I put before them. The weather has been very cold lately and this wouldn’t effect the hotbin - as long as it is at a good temperature already, so trying to get it going during cold weeks is never going to be easy. The cooked food waste is now mounting up so I might have to leave it out for collection (oh no).
Reading round the forums I have found out that some people have success at times like these by removing the carbon filter in the lid. The temperature immediately rockets. They are noticing the filter bag gets caked up with a white substance and the filter gets so damp that the air can’t circulate. Since it has been so cold an wet I can’t help thinking that this might be part of the problem. No heat from below to keep the moisture in the lid moving. It’s a catch 22. My bin is still in warranty and it is made clear in the info that removing the filter negates it. I would love to get it going again so I can start gradually feeding in the bucket of cooked waste.
I’m sure my new neighbours think I’m a nutter when I fiddle about with so much mucky stuff. Their concerns will be cemented when they see me hair drying the lid of my bin. But these are where my thoughts are right now.