Dont do what i did

[Stephen c]

Don’t do what I did, when starting my hot bin for the first time I put some composting material out of my wormery thinking it would give it a good biological start, and it did but the worms loved the warm temperatures and the extra composting material being added and stated to multiply and multiply, but as the tempritcher rose they started to rise upto the lid in handfuls, I had to start scooping them out best I could but it got to the stage when they were cooking and that’s when the really bad smells came so I hide to empty the bin out and give it a good wash out ( lesson learned )

[Argyleandy]

Thanks for the warning Stephen, I was considering doing just as you describe today ! After 5 months I'm still struggling to get the hot bin system working properly, at least the wormery just gets on with it without too much hassle, slow perhaps but easy.

[HotBin]

Hi Argyleandy,

Sorry to hear you are struggling try the pointer below, they might help.

To give the temperature a real boost add in the waste you have saved and stir it in with some grass in line with steps 3 and 4 of the second list below –

Check the temp after 24 hours and I would expect you’ll see a 20 celsius increase or more!!

Typically, there are only a few reasons people don’t get up to temperature or struggle, try to focus on the points below and be conscious of these things as you go and it should stand you in good stead.

1. Try adding a thin layer of twig and pruning’s to the bin before you add anything else to prevent waste sitting directly over the aeration holds in the base
2. If the heap looks too wet (be mindful and add more shredded paper if waste you are adding is wetter than normal, introduce more dry material to balance out the moisture levels, try not to introduce excessively wet material)
3. If you don’t have the critical mass in your bin you will not be able to maintain a constant hot temperature, to be able to maintain the temperature the bin should be half way full or more
4. If the heap isn’t aerated well enough, the composting bacteria can’t breathe the oxygen they need to work efficiently (make sure you ar
   e adding enough wood chippings),
   Stir the top 4 inches of heap occasionally, especially 1-2 weeks after adding grass as it can form a matted layer that blocks airflow)
5. It may be that you are not feeding the bin enough to maintain the hotter temperatures
   (minimum feed for HB Mini is 5ltrs or 2.5 kg of kitchen and or garden waste, for the mk.2 HOTBIN its 10ltrs and 5kg of kitchen and or garden waste)
6. You could be feeding the bin too much of the same type of material (temperature is easier to maintain when the HOTBIN has a mixed diet of kitchen and garden waste)
7. You haven’t harvested any compost in over 6 months, the waste in the base has become too dense and air and oxygen cannot penetrate through the heap.

The best thing you can try to get the temperature up at this time of year is to follow these simple steps below…

If you already have a bin with waste in these steps should to help improve air flow and get the HOTBINs temperature up

1. Give the top 6 to 10 inches of the heap a stir to agitate the top layer to get some more air through the bin
2. If you haven’t removed and compost from behind the hatch in over 6 months then take some material out, this should also help airflow through the bin
3. Grass is a good natural accelerator, add in 20-30 ltrs of dry lawn clippings 10-20 for HOTBIN Mini – 20-30ltrs for MK.2 HOTBIN (between half and a full mower box full) Don’t over fill with grass as this can course problems
4. Also add a caddy for of kitchen waste and stir grass, kitchen waste, shredded paper and wood chippings in the correct ratios so they are mixed through the top 4 inches of waste evenly.
5. If you have any you could also add some chicken pellets or blood and bone meal
   (this is not essential)
6. Also, anywhere you chop large pieces of waste up that little bit smaller, just makes it that little bit easier for the composting bacteria to digest.
7. Finally try to give the HOTBIN a fresh injection of new waste two or three times a week.

If you are restarting your HOTBIN and starting by building a base layer, then watch this video - https://youtu.be/p0JsBeQvvC4

These other videos may also help!

Getting the temperature up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5bJ5A1CNvE

Chopping your waste - https://youtu.be/Kc7dAwuOm5k

I hope this helps you to get the temperature of your HOTBIN up, if not email support [email protected]

[HBJulia]

Thanks for the heads up, Stephen. Oh dear, i put some of my own wood shreddings in, which weren’t completely dry and had a few worms in them, so i may suffer the same fate. My bin is so hot, i can’t imagine they’ll survive....hopefully they’ll die before proliferating!!! Poor things. I will lay out some of the wood chip to dry off on a bit of plastic, so the birds can pick out the worms before adding it in future.
(QUOTE=Stephen c;n1181]Don’t do what I did, when starting my hot bin for the first time I put some composting material out of my wormery thinking it would give it a good biological start, and it did but the worms loved the warm temperatures and the extra composting material being added and stated to multiply and multiply, but as the tempritcher rose they started to rise upto the lid in handfuls, I had to start scooping them out best I could but it got to the stage when they were cooking and that’s when the really bad smells came so I hide to empty the bin out and give it a good wash out ( lesson learned )[/QUOTE]

[Tamilou]

Yikes, does anybody know if slugs/snails would have the same smelly effect as worms?