Hot but wet and smells

[Roysy]

I am really pleased with my hotbin, it runs at 60C on lid temp, can even go above it so I am clearly doing something right. Unfortunately it does pour leachate out the bottom. It is very wet and I realise I need to probably add more shredded paper and wood. The worms love it and although my harvest is wet, it is loaded with worms and well rotted. Will adding the cardboard solve the odour as well as the fluid? This smell is not just on lifting the lid but the smell comes out through the filtered hole at the top and the whole yard is blessed with it!

Has anyone else had this and found any additional remedy ... my wife is not impressed

[Spadelessade]

My first couple,of batches were like this, although in my case the compost wasn't all that well rotted and I had pockets of unrotted stuff clearly visible. Mine did smell too - not a very nice pong! I do now put a lot more shredded paper, cardboard and wood chippings in. I also realised my valve had shut for some reason, so I don't think that helped the situation. We have quite a few tea bags and I now squeeze these out a lot more. The last couple of batches of compost have been loads better - drier, actually sweet smelling, and with less leachate coming out of the bottom.

[EnlightenedElm]

If you're noticing more than an espresso cup of leachate leaving your HOTBIN each week, it does suggest that the contents of your HOTBIN is a little too wet. A lot of the moisture released during the decomposition process will be evaporated and leave the HOTBIN through the valve as water vapour but there may still be quite a bit of excess moisture left in the unit. Adding cardboard will help to absorb some of this moisture, yes, but it is unliklely to solve the odour production problem. The type of odour your HOTBIN releases can help to indicate how effectively your HOTBIN is working and often helps identify some small adjustments in your methods to eradicate these odours.

Out of these four categories below, which do you think best matches the odour leaving your HOTBIN:

1. Cabbage/Fruity Odour

2. Ammonia/Urine Odour

3. Putrid/Rotten Odour

4. Musky/Earthy Odour