compost bin

I've seen a few compost bin designs online and took a little from each one and came up with this.
you can take yard clipping ,leaves and kitchen scraps. any organic material will work ,just never put meat in a compost bin. when its done cooking you have nutrient rich soil that you can use for all kinds of gardening applications

Step 1: Materials

3 2x4 x 8 pressure treated
1 galvinized chain link fence post
4 3.5inch 1/4 bolts with washers and nuts
6 or 8 6" 60d nails
one 55 gal barrel (must be food grade)
4 latches
one piano hinge
one box of 10-32 3/4" nuts and bolts ( make sure they fit your hinges and latches)
paint if you want . I use barn paint from tractor supply co . its cheap and it doesn't require primer!
now I bought most of my materials but you can use what ever you have on hand also. the whole project only cost me 50 dollars so its not that expensive any way

Comments

[edx111]

what I used to do is make a pile with alternate layers of grass and cow manure, with a little wood ashes thrown in alternative layers and a little water over the finished pile. After 3 days I turn it inside out and then repeat every 2 days after that. The finished compost is ready in 3 weeks flat

[mel53]

Great queations I would like to know the answers to them also.

[welder tig]

i have built one of these for a food company for mixing dry ingredients , instead of the shaft being straight off set it one dia of the shaft , one end will be high and the other will be low . this will toss the scraps from one end to the other . or if you want a straight composter using a steel shaft weld a bar to each end , drill a hole and put a bolt thru it so the barrel will not slip on the shaft

[clevernonsense]

you absolutely can compost meat scraps, we've been doing it for years. just make sure it's in smaller bits and mix it with a lot of browns

[GrowNatural]

forgive me if this has been addressed previously,
I am confused on how the barrel is secured to the pipe?
It would seem to me that the barrel rotates on the pipe,
how would one make it so the barrel and pipe are one?
therefore one can install a turn handle.

[strumok]

Inspired by this design, it keeps a pretty even temp even in winter. It does leak a little, but no big deal, and it's nice to put the coffee grounds somewhere useful besides the trash. Started this one with leaves, then added other stuff, mostly egg shells, coffee, fruit and vegetables. Occasionally tea bags. It's fun!

[coxj2000]

A: My mom and I are in a dispute. She is an environmental biologist, and says just piling the organic matter and spraying it with water will produce compost within a month to two months. I think that an enclosed bin with vents will work more quickly. She pitches vegtable scraps in her garden or put them in a pile with horse or rabbit leavings, and I collect them along with horse and rabbit leavings and mix them with a 1-3 nitrogen rich to organic inert matter (leaves, paper, twigs [twigs rot slowly] etc.,) then spritz every day and churn every several days. There does seem to be a hype with rotating bins. Any second opinion from others who have tried both?

B: I use an old plastic white printer box from the days printers were giant turned on its side. It had four wheels, but two broke off. This is working, but do you think I should paint it black? Not much visible light can get through. I think it is 1/8 to 3/16 inches thick, but I am not sure of its composition? I think the white is good on the inside but not out. Help, please?

[gardenlvr]

I have been looking into making one of these myself. I am trying to decide if I want to use roller or your design? One concern is the pipe in the middle, when the barrel gets heavy will it elongate the holes? Or should I reinforce the ends with plywood bolted onto it and the hole through that and the barrel? Other wise this design is very portable :0)

[rhodge-1]

Add aluminum plates to the ends with the holes drilled for the pipe. after side door is cut; add a plate inside and then Pop Rivet them or use plated bolts to sandwich them with the plastic.
Use the drive gear for a bicycle pedal gear and the driven gear at the wheels; or the equivalent- Like those maybe on a small motorcycle perhaps?
Use the pedal shaft and ad a handle extension perhaps.
Change the foot pedal for a hand grip.

[rhodge-1]

Make the hand grip with a free moving grip; not fixed to the shaft as that would be hard to turn it.

[moreforles]

just wondering if 3" pvc tubing would be strong enough to use in place of the post, if say filled with the right stuff foam......? I only ask because I happen to have it on hand, along with an old wooden swing/club house for the wooden frame and a blue barrel just like the one pictured. and a second blue barrel should be available shortly, so I can make one for my father in law too... maybe his first (for practice) then mine...

[jblanton1]

I used 2" sched-40 PVC as rollers when I was moving my 1600 lb (empty) gun safe to my new house. Usually had 4 pieces under the safe at any one point in time and the weight is distributed across the entire length of the 2" roller instead of just along 2 points like you would have in this project. Still, it seems pretty strong...

[ajensen bjorgaard]

did you use the pvc? did it work?

[DogTubs]

Great plan! I built a couple, but now wondering if it the best way to compost because it dries out so fast. Any ideas on keeping the compost moist?

[crzyuilter]

I've been filling my bin for a couple of months now. Pretty heavy to turn, but doable. How full do I fill it? When is a good time to stop adding to it and just let it decompose so it can be emptied and started again? Thanks!

[yuemei87]

This design is working splendidly in my backyard in the tropics. Our house puppy used to always eat the food out of the compost corner but this is no longer a problem. I added a few extra venhilation/drainage holes to ours because its monsoon season now, but overall thank you for sharing!!!

One Question- How full do you usually keep it? Halfway?

[crzyuilter]

We just finished our compost bin and are thrilled with the design. We did make it higher off the ground (hoping the wheelbarrow will fit under it for easy of moving of the compost). We used one of the comments about drilling all the hinge and latch holes before cutting out the door, and it worked like a dream. That was probably the easiest part of the project. I used a Sharpie marker and drew a door using a magazine (flexible, but with straight edges) as a template. Note: After marking the top, bottom and one side I slide the magazine over before marking the last side so it would be wider. We then taped the piano hinge and all the bolt fasteners on with masking tape straddling the Sharpie line. Drilled all the holes, removed the hardware and cut out our door. It was easy to attach all the pieces to the door then put it on the barrel at the piano hinge side. All lined up perfectly, tightened, and on to setting it in the garden. We will load it with compost I've been collecting in a cardboard box and see what happens. It looks great. Thanks for the great project help.

[wridgeway]

i built 2 sets of the A-frames, used white pvc (2' i.d.) for the end barrels, and a piece of grey conduit (2" o.d.) to slip in between the 2 end barrels, adding a third barrel in the middle. 2 end barrels are blue, center one black.(gets somewhat hotter).I drilled some 1 1/4 holes about 2 inches from the end of each barrel and turn them with 2 pieces of 1" pipe 24" long. stick the pipe in a hole, catching the pvc and turn down, and grab the next hole with the other pipe, keep turning for a full revolution. my first batch will be done in 2 days, and i'm staggering the barrels so i'll get a batch every week. Also the 1 1'4 hole at the bottoms will drain off excess "tea" into a 5 gallon bucket-dilute 1:1 with water.

[merlehanna]

Inspired by your Instructable...Thanks again!!!

[STF]

Here's one I built. I had some old 4x4's lying around so I thought I would use them. The one picture is what I drew up in Inventor. I guess stacking it is endless if you have a ladder :) Instructable to come with dimensions.

[STF]

Here are the pics:

[merlehanna]

very nice!

[SpinWard]

Here's the one I built. Great instructable! I used 2 hinges instead of one piano, I couldn't find a good one. Instead of the big spikes, I used a bunch of wood screws that we had and haven't used.

[merlehanna]

Fantastic adaptations made in your version.......

[merlehanna]

Great instructable! My son and I hope to make this into a father and son project today...Thank you very much for sharing :)

[miguel64]

Does it leak or drip? I want to make and put mine on a tiled urban terrace and I wouldn't like to dirt it...
The post is great. Thanks!

[Pizzapie500]

Can you put fins onto the barrel so that if it's windy the fins will catch the wind and spin the barrel? Like a turbine? Also would this work in the winter?

[BucketBasher]

What if we were to take that idea a step further? Adding a generator to one side of the rod so that when the fins spin the barrel, it generates electricity too!

[lee_schnitz]

Great instructable... We built ours this weekend.

[Kindlekat]

Loved this instructable! Built it this past weekend.

[crismel]

i need some files about how to make a roatary drum composter or methodology in building a rotary drum composter. please send me some files about soon as possible. i hope somebody can help me

[hav2sing]

Reading all the comments on how to acquire the barrels... cut them in half and have a circular container garden.... another way to recycle the barrels. Love the article, and am hopeful we'll have a compost bin by mid-autumn. And in Arizona, no worries with the heating ;-)

[Napole]

Great instructables. Needs a turning wheel/handle on one end and a handle on the lid :-)

[steveF5]

i made one of these, and it works great... i first stocked it with a bunch of newspaper and paper shreddings from a cross cut shredder, and mixed in some dirt that was from a pile of leaves from the fall. i read a page on compost and it was talking about the N P K levels, and if you have alot of fibrous brown (paper/dead leaves etc) material, you need to add something high in nitrogen, such as bloodmeal. i added some of this, and then the rest of the scraps, and it produces alot of heat  and has worms living in it.

Great instructable

[pinoymale]

I'll be trying to make my first compost bin. Will it still work if I don't add worms?

[Sketchabit]

No, leave the worms out of it.  Composting creates heat and could kill them.  Best bet is to make the compost in the barrel until it's well broken down and then have a second place in your yard to let it finish composting, let the worms at it there.  We did that and things like orange peels that take longer to break down are great worm food.

[SteveSch]

 I just finished up one of these. I have one question, Would it be beneficial to paint it black and if so what paint do you recommend?

[hollylynh]

I called around to local food company's to find a barrel. I ended up getting one for $8 from a molasses company, it had a little of the sweet stuff in the bottom, but I kept it in to get my compost started off.

[ewah]

I tried to build a compost bin using bamboo fence.  Just fold the fence and use copper wire to clip them together so it looked like a tube with both end open.  I stick to the ground in the backyard and put compost in.  Of course, it didn't last and it a pain to stick the pitchfork in to mix the compost.  I tried using an auger to mix the compost but it was a lot of work.  Also, my bamboo fence compost bin eventually deteriorated.  After that, I told myself hell with it and bought a NatureMill compost bins.  It’s fully automatic, no mixing, no turning, no mess, no more rats and raccoons in my backyard and it produce great compost.  Wish I have done it sooner.

[firecraker222]

hey great idea very simple stant and every thing, man great idea , hey should i still paint it black if i live in CA

[danlab]

The process decomposition occurring in the barrel will generate it's own heat. A black container will likely speed up the process some but likely not significantly. So it ultimately is up to you but I doubt it would be worth the additional work/up-keep. 

[qman007]

using an aerosol spray can isn't good for the environment.  I would refrain from painting it all together.

[glenn.craver]

Surely there are alternatives to spray though? I find it hard to believe paint meant to bond with plastics comes only in an aerosol... Hmmm, This is something worth checking out next time I'm at the home depot. Has to be something out there. If nothing else, perhaps just abrading the surface (coarse sandpaper maybe? Steel wool? Something that would scuff up a heavy plastic) so normal paint has something to bond onto?

[marysescapades]

where did you get the barrels?

[rsamtmann]

Great project. I will be making at least one. What do you think about using rivets in place of the nuts and bolts? Do you think they will work and be strong enough? Thanks!

[Jaxoat]

I'm looking at making one of these and was wondering what is the purpose of the ventilation holes. If heat is what is need to "cook" the compost, I'd think the holes would not be wanted, Also, if one mounted a spigot, you could capture the "tea" that would otherwise drain out of the vent holes. Any insight?

[meganscottage]

If you don't make ventilation holes, the whole thing may become anaerobic and stink to high heaven... While there are a variety of microbes, critters, worms, etc at work the vast majority don't make the process stinky, unless the anaerobic (critters that live without oxygen) critters take over. This is also one of the reasons to turn a compost pile... Hope this helps!

[Aaronicus]

Compost also requires air, which it won't get if you don't have any vents. It heats itself, so don't worry too much on it. Even my open-air compost heap is very warm over the cold winters here in Wyoming. Compost tea also needs air, by the way. In fact, you don't want tea to get very hot as it needs the enzymes to do its job, which are killed if it heats up too much.

[Jaxoat]

So would it be better to have vent holes on the side of the drum or throughout the drum as done in this project?

[Aaronicus]

Since the drum is meant to rotate, I'd say they'd be better off being throughout. On commercial compost drums of this type, the vents are evenly spaced and all over the bin. Some of the more expensive ones have little sliding doors or plugs to change how many holes you have in the drum. Basically, the more full the drum is, the hotter the contents are going to be.

[joe speakerz]

great set up. how do you separate the compost from the 'garbage' after the process takes off? how do you remove the compost? how long does it take for compost to form? i have the same drum and will follow your plans as close as i can and also hope to find some black paint that will stick to the drum since i'm in colorado. thanks for a great job.

[natalierose61]

I'm wondering all these same questions. Did you end up making one, Joe? And if so... what are the answers? Especially removing good compost. I don't want to have to sift through rotting food to get the good stuff....

[iPodGuy]

Try Krylon Fusion paint. That's what I use on my barrels.

[billybobdungbeetle]

What's the most effective way to remove compost from the tumbler? Wouldn't a design that allowed a wheelbarrow to be rolled right under it be better? Thanks

[geekygirl502]

my boyfriend and i are making this exact design this weekend! cant wait! :)

[pxbaroni]

Great job and very nice step by step.

[cfishy]

where did you get the barrel? nice compact design, i like it.

[Jaxoat]

Talk to a professional plumber, especially if in the colder climes. I have a friend who receives glycol for hat water heating systems and he had several that I acquired at no charge.

[incorrigible packrat]

You can also try brew-yer-own beer places. They get malt concentrate in barrels.

[ic517]

look in craigs list. they can be hard to find. remember if you going to use compost for vegetables it must be food grade.also try feed stores or livestock sometimes they know where to find them

[Agent_JC]

You don't necessarily need food grade. I sell used plastic (HDPE) barrels in the Indianapolis area on Craigslist to people who use them for composting and rainwater collection. Some of them had harsh chemicals in them but when cleaned out well you can use them for these purposes. The natural cycle that takes place while composting makes short work of any chemical residue breaking it down into basic compounds.

[clevernonsense]

yikes, NOT true. in fact, several components of plastic will break down into even more toxic chemicals.

[mbtech]

interesting.  can you point me to the website that explains how the composting cycle breaks down the chemicals in these barrels?  I love biology and chemistry stuff.

[michaelpgray]

Nice work. I am going to build mine this weekend. Do you have problems with the door warping out of shape? Has anybody made a frame for the door to prevent this from happening ?

[jnine]

I've read that compost needs to be regularly rained on or watered. Are the ventilation holes sufficient to let enough water into the compost bin?

[iPodGuy]

I made an A-frame like this one for at work!

[Zem]

Awesome, this Instructable is going to help me a lot. I'm making mom a compost bin for mothers day, and we got a barrel for free from the recycling center =D They said we could have two, but we didn't have enough room in the car =/

[redchrome]

Here is our version of your tumbler. Thanks for the plans! We made ours a bit taller since we are a tall people -- setting the cross of the X a bit higher, and used two bolts to set it in place. Also, to make the door step a bit easier, we placed all the hardware first, drilled the holes, removed hardware and then cut out the hatch. Great project!

[vooodooo]

with this style, how long does it take for everything to compost?

[AdrianaG]

Nice composter! It would be great to figure out a way to incorporate a crank handle on one end of the center pipe. The catch is to modify the design to avoid slippage.

[Blaik]

Maybe scavenging the pedal sprocket and wheel gear of a kids' bike would work. Would involve a bit more rigging, but then you have ratio turning so you don't have to put as much effort into turning (so everyone can do it, and then when you want to stop, you simple pull back to engage the lock back brake (hence the need for a kids' bike, as most bikes past that have a freewheel sprocket). Once you stop it, gravity would settle the compost at the bottom so there wouldn't be any further shifting.

[ubergeekseven]

I made one just like this this morning. i did a couple of things different. Instead of using a bolt to make sure the barrel doesn't come off, I drilled a hole through the tube and nailed the ends in to the frame. This way the tube doesn't move at all and the barrel spins around it. But other than that, it was easy and a great design. everyone who cares about the earth in my social circle will be getting these as birthday and Christmas gifts. Took about 2 hours ail together. The bolts were the time consuming parts. you have to drill all of the holes and thread all of the bolts. But that only took about 30 minutes. cost me 45 dollars without paint at the local family owned hardware store.

[myriadeyes]

I just built this. Thanks!

[lsfog]

I made a similar one many years ago and it worked great. I screwed 3 short pieces of 2x4 inside to act as churning paddles to stur the pile around. My only ""problem"" was tomatoes and peper seeds would germinate if not turned on a regular basis -- what problem ?? -- I just relocated them to the garden.

[Hillfire]

It is likely your pile wasn't hot enough to kill the seeds. Generally speaking, if the bin didn't steam when you turned, it wasn't hot enough. There are a large number of factors that could contribute to this. Cornell has a nice article on the physics of compost.

[raskolnikov]

I would like to know 2 things: 1) Where does one get a barrel like that? 2) How much can I expect to spend if I start out with none of these materials? Thanks!

[east88thst]

I went to a local commercial bakery (not your supermarket bakery department) and they gave them to me--at exactly the right price--free! Avoid barrels that may have had cleaning compounds or industrial chemicals. Best kind, of course, are barrels that would have contained food products.

[podup365.com]

Search on craigslist "dot" com in any large city near you for these barrels. I have found a source of them in my area for $10 each. Many beverage companies use these barrels to have ingredients, such as syrups or flavorings, shipped to their production plants. Once they are used, for some reason they can't be cleaned and reused by them, so these companies must dispose of them. I would assume they are recyclable, but having them reused is better. The first time I saw them, a local paintball park had one entire playing field of bunkers made out of them.

[kayann]

Looks like a great design! Nice thing about this one is that it appears that you could dismantle and move it - provided it was empty. That's important to me. Two questions though: What's the approximate foot print in sq ft? And has the whole compost tumbler concept produced good compost? Consumer Reports did a review of various compost systems at one point and they were not a fan of the commercial compost tumblers available. If I recall correctly, their complaints were that it was too difficult to turn and they didn't think it composted as quickly as an open-air pile turned w/ a pitchfork - I think they thought the spinning didn't result in sufficient aeration - the key to fast decomposition. Just curious if anyone who has made one has comments on that. A closed compost pile is ideal for me - even if slower - because my dogs would have way too much rooting around in the open air variety. Thanks! Good work!

[yokozuna]

Nice instructable. Does anyone know the reason for not putting meat in it? I assume it is odor, but thought it could also be because that would attract animals/insects. Since he said all compost bins shouldn't have meat, I'm just curious as to the reason why.

[kikiclint]

meat can also cause harmful bacteria and viruses to grow in your dirt, and possibly cause contaminations like the tomato and spinache ones that have scared the US in the past.

[soundmotor]

Meat & dairy products attract animals & flies as they decompose and will be a gross, disgusting, & stinky mess.

[finton]

Joseph Jenkins would disagree with y'all. See his book "Humanure"
http://jenkinspublishing.com/humanure_contents.html

In http://www.jenkinspublishing.com/manual.html he says: "...All food scraps should also go into the compost bin. These can include meats, bones, fats, vegetable peels, liquids such as spoiled milk or stale beer, tea bags, egg shells, hair, and anything else that is organic and produced by the household during food production and consumption. ... So can cotton sanitary napkins (although you will have to pick out pieces of plastic from the compost when it is finished). Small animal mortalities such as dead chickens, ducks or other creatures can be recycled through a compost pile as well. ... When adding ... materials to a compost pile that may attract scavenger animals ..., always dig a depression in the top center of the pile, drop the materials into the depression, and cover over with the compost and the cover materials. ... It may be necessary to keep a wire cover on top ... to prevent ... animals from climbing on top of the pile and disturbing the compost.

[soundmotor]

Joseph Jenkins is more than welcome to pick through his own compost pile and pull out applicators, teeth, and who knows what else. I'll pass however & thanks for the update.

[KD7WHQ]

Get a low end paper shredder, add some worms, and watch what happens. The landlady had a compost pile I'm adding shredded paper, coffee grinds, gone over greens etc to, and it's shrinking in height rapidly. And, filled with worms. Also, it steams when turned. Stay away from glossy paper, as it has too much clay in it. Newsprint works great.

[Deuce Rider]

I got my low end paper shredder and added some worms....that was just NASTY!!! :)

[reedz]

...*bangs head on keyboard a;skldjfaeghivlbknweroif That was just terrible

[AubreeMarie]

You have to be careful with worms in a compost bin. The best aid for compost is HEAt, and too much heat KILLS the worms.
If you're interested in worm composting search around about vermiculture and worm bins_,

[Ian+Siobhan]

I've actually read that (for this design) worms are sort of a futile effort, as the temp inside the barrel is supposed to get too hot, thus killing the little wormies (I've tried it once or twice..both times with the same end result....5 go in, none come out :( This design is supposed to yield compost the fastest and the heat is supposedly why....just what I read.

[KD7WHQ]

Worms would actually be better for a static pile, as the heat in an above ground would be higher, on review. Don't know that the yield would actually be higher though, only lower maintainence, as a static pile requires turning as well, but with a spade. But, the shredded paper may well work as well. It would be interesting to see the contrast between the two methods But the pile at the other house keeps shrinking down..

[sonaps]

My dad and I are doing this soon, we plan on using PVC pipe instead of wood, but the barrel design is the same. Very thorough and great job.

[Bisquick the ninja]

You can get fifty gallon barrels from sam's club. or at least you could at one time! My parent bought one to store water in for Y2K. We kept in the basement along with our three shelves of canned goods! 8)

[Tocsin]

Nicely done- you could add lattice or some other decorative wood to the frame to disguise it (if you have a wife who doesn't like blue barrels in the backyard!).

[ic517]

after the pile of rubbish that sat in my backyard for 6 months - my wife thinks that blue barrel looks just fine - lol!

[SpinWard]

That's funny! I nice blue barrel or a pile of composting stuff. I agree with her! I'm definitely doing this, I just need to find a barrel. Thanks for the instructions!

[tcnola]

I found an experiment that links beer to faster composting in warm months.

Beer compost experiment

[fireerl]

I've built one similar in design and added beer as an accelerant . At two thirds full, it fully converted to "black gold" in as little as 10 days. I don"t know if that is fast or not, but seemed pretty fast to me. Give it a try.

[Bisquick the ninja]

Cool, but your not the first. My neighbor made one of these twelve years ago! But nice job anyway!

[Ian+Siobhan]

Good Job! My gf and I did a similar project, only ours was standing straight up instead of horizontal. My aunt did hers horizontal and I gotta be honest mine yields better compost at least a week faster than hers. Hers is painted black, mines just white (unpainted)...not sure if there's anything to it...just throwing it out there.

[soundmotor]

I probably wouldn't bother with the paint. Blue will absorb light nearly as well as black. You can check this by finding a blue & black car on a sunny day and touch the paint. Then find a white one. The blue one will feel about the same as the black one as far as surface temp goes whereas the white one will be cool. Nice job on this too!

[diajoh]

A couple of places to buy used barrels: beverage distributors (like Coke or Pepsi), which use them for syrup; and car washes, which use them for detergent. If there's a "no giveaway" policy, ask what happens to the barrels when they're empty or can't be used (maybe they sprung a leak). Maybe they're sent back or maybe they're put on a trash dock. If that's the case, find out if you'll get in trouble for liberating the trash. In both cases, wash really well until no more suds or soda smell. Then fill with water, leave in the sun for a week, empty and in the case of car wash ones, refill. The second time, leave in the shade until it grows algae and gets bugs. If it can support life then it's good enough for compost. There are used barrel distributors, too. And I think cookie factories and other food processing facilities use them for syrups, flours and flavorings. And if you live near a port, foreign nations ship us olives and other foods in plastic barrels. You'd have to go to the port markets to find them, and I have no clue how to do that. Talk to chefs at restaurants. They'll know the foodstuff wholesalers.

[soundmotor]

Great tips for free barrels, thanks!

[matthewabel]

This is a great design. I'll have to try it out when I can. Also, just a darn fine instructable - well explained, lots of good pictures.

[sonalgoyal]

I just collect kitchen waste and after about two days, take a mud planter, put some mud at the bottom, put the waste and then a layer of mud again. Repeat till full, then use another planter. After a week, I put the compost directly into the plants. Have about 3-4 small planters, and it works great. > : <

[iPodGuy]

Looks familiar. You did a nice job.

[ic517]

yea I used a few similar designs and refined them into this . I used 6 spikes and will see how it goes. it should work for the simple fact that if you don't have them it can lump half the time anyway

[iPodGuy]

Oh, I like how you ran with the spike idea too. Update us in a little bit with how well they do. Did you use the spikes throughout the barrel or only in a few places?

[uguy]

Do you add any water to the barrel?

[ic517]

sometimes, you want the material moist but not soggy.

[Sandisk1duo]

Good job! what would be the advantages of rotating the barrel?

[Geordiepom]

Rotating the barrel aerates the compost, redistributes the moisture and ensures the bacteria break down the materials evenly. The rods through the barrel are an excellent idea to assist with this.

[Sandisk1duo]

so if it is constantly rotating, it would be better then just letting it sit?

[razumok]

from what I know, the idea is to rotate the compost once a week or so... that way, the compost won't get smelly, and the process is faster

[Geordiepom]

Razumok is quite right. I should have said that you should only rotate once a week or so.