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Hello, my name is Diane and I'm looking for help. My dad got his Hotbin yesterday and was so eager to get it started, he moved my storage bunker from what used to be the coalhouse and put his Hotbin in its place and began filling it. My concern is that its 3 feet away from a well used patio door to the living room. I also have 4 cats that used my bunker to get on and off the coalhouse roof. What I would like to know is how far away from the house should the Hotbin be? Will the lid become hot enough to burn my cats if they attempt to use it as a springboard to get on the coalhouse roof? And if, as in some cases, it begins to smell, can it be moved? Thank you in advance for any advice.
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Hello Diane.
Thanks for your questions.
There are no specific guidelines we can give as to how far away from the house the HOTBIN can be situated unfortunately as the HOTBINs can be sited on any relatively flat surface and they are designed to be sited where it is most convenient for the end user.
If you are concerned about the potential for the HOTBIN to release detectable odours, please be assured that every HOTBIN unit has an integrated bio-filter located within the lid which should neutralise any odours that are produced during the hot composting process so there should not be any odours leaving the HOTBIN at all. If there are any odours being released, it may indicate that the unit has been temporarily overloaded with one type of material such as a large addition of fresh grass cuttings. Should this be the case, you may detect odour for a couple of days before the bio-filter returns to being fully effective.
Please be aware that once material has been added into the HOTBIN, the weight of the unit very quickly increases. Consequently, for health and safety reasons, if you wish to move the HOTBIN once it is in operation, we would strongly recommend using a trolley to help manoeuvre the unit to the new location.
The external surface of the HOTBIN may become warm to the touch if it is located in direct sunlight; it should not at any point be hot enough to burn either humans or cats if they come into contact with the lid of the unit. We have a number of HOTBIN owners whose cats choose to sit on the top of their HOTBIN units as they are warm and cosy.
We hope that this helps.
If you have any other questions, please post them and someone in the HOTBIN community will be more than happy to help.
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Thank you. The bin is now further away from the house, via a trolley, and not directly in front of the door. Thank you also for the reply on the cat question. If I see them sat on it I will take a picture instead of chiding them.Comment
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Perfect. If you do take a photo of your cat on the HOTBIN lid, please send us a copy..!Comment
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