Hot bin but lots of leachate

[Potts]

My hotbin is operating at ca 50 degrees but I am getting loads of leachate maybe half a litre per day . The leachate is odourless and a nice dark brown but is watery .
i have been using my hot bin since beginning of June . It is now early August.
the compost at the bottom of the bin which I took out yesterday was very wet and slightly smelly ( like manure )
i use loads of shredded cardboard and paper.
What am I doing wrong?

[Plaisted562]

I’m new to it too started in June. Got heats & similar leacheste but not as much as you. Haven’t dared try the product yet as am waiting for the three months to pass. Think it’s not too bad though

[Jacqui]

Hi I have a similar problem, I have taken off approx 500ml of leachate every two weeks since I got the hotbin in June this year, I think I need to put it up on bricks as I can’t catch all the liquid, I haven’t found anything suitable to collect it in without making a mess and wasting it.

[Corby80]

Hi, I have had a hotbin for 3 years or more. I also suffer from excess leachate although my bin is always operating at a high temperature ( as I write this it is running at nearly 70 degrees c). I have the bin set up on bricks so that I can get a deep tray underneath ( I use an old base of a large propagator) and as I have a mk1 bin I have made a hole in the zinc mesh into which I have fitted a water but tap so I can easily drain the sump by pulling the bin forward. My problem is that I use a fair amount of grass cuttings in my bin which produce a lot of moisture. I visited the Hotbin stand at Malvern earlier in the year and explained my problem and was advised to use more paper/cardboard which I have started to do. I have had a lot of compost from my bin but when I empty the bottom layer it is always very wet and doesn't appear to be very composted so I transfer it to another standard type compost bin (with a door at the bottom) to 'mature'. Then the brandling worms take over and turn it into what I would have expected the hotbin to produce (as demonstrated on their stand at shows). Also I also don't empty the bin until I can get no more waste in the top. Hope this helps.

[Jacqui]

That’s helpful advice re the water but tap, also we moved ours to a better place yesterday, and took some very woody uncomposted stuff out of the bottom to reduce the weight and I’m thinking this will have to go into a normal compost bin for the worms to break down more, I need to add more shredded card as I have a lot of wet grass.

[HBJulia]

Hello, I’m Julia and I got my HotBin back in May. I thought it was going really well, as it’s very hot, but it does produce a lot of leachate.....as others have mentioned.....about a mug a day in hot weather, even though i’ve upped the quantity of paper, cardboard and semicomposted bark/shredded woody matter to make up about 50/50 with peelings and green matter from the garden. It’s so hot in the bin, that it produces a lot of steam, which turns to water and runs down the internal sides. It’s like opening a sauna! It’s rotting down incredibly rapidly, so i’m hoping this is a good sign. It smells fine and the leachate is a clear dark brown, so i’m hoping all is well. I’ve raised the bin on a paving stone, set on bricks, so that the leachate is easier to collect and am draining it every day in this hot weather. Any advice or reassuring feedback would be gratefully received.

[Paul B]

2 years on, have you any advise for us beginners as to how to reduce the amount of liquid one produces. Mine has been very hot of late so I opened the top vent all the way in an effort to reduce the condensation, and reduce hopefully the fluids.