Compost bins?

[greenfingers007]

Hello all,

At last I have found a good suplier of pallets, OH's Dad, (isn't he kind) he has just got us 10 gorgeous pallets for free, said they were broken so he couldn't use them, anyway I intend on making a three bin composter with them, each bin will be 4' by 4' and about 3.5' deep is this too big, also there is about an inch gap between the pallet boards, do I need to seal them or is it o.k. to allow the air in, hope to be getting 10 more so I can make my beds out of the planks, but I thought it would be better put to use ghetting my compost going.

Advice most welcome and needed.

Cheers

Dave

[Two_Sheds]

I have a pallet compost bin, and it drives me nuts ... everything falls out of the gaps and blows around the site. My neighbours are always moaning about it (rightly so).

When it warms up I'll get up there and staple some debris netting over every side, to stop the leakage.

[Capsid]

Sounds fine to me. 3 bins is great too as you can turn one into the other; turning will accelerate the rotting process. Air is important (turning the pile aerates it) so having gaps is not a problem.

[greenfingers007]

I think I might make some alterations to make th egaps a little smaller so not to anoy the neighbours, but thank you for the advice.

[snakeshack]

you could try lining with brown cardboard to stop the gaps,stuffing the pallets with old newspaper will help keep the heat in too,its all compostable.

[allaboutliverpool]

I believe that my compost system is perfect, after 3 complete years of using it. The bins are completely sealed except for the unit that I am filling.
As I move the contents along every 3 months or so, hence aerating them, I am able to water any bits that appear to be a bit dry.
It sounds like a lot of work, but as each bin is only 80mm square, the effort is not too great.

allaboutallotments_compost

[Two_Sheds]

you could try lining with brown cardboard to stop the gaps,stuffing the pallets with old newspaper will help keep the heat in too,its all compostable.

I did that.
Trouble is, the lining disintegrates in rain & wind, allowing the contents to fall out the gaps.

[allotmentlady]

its my mission this year to make one of these, I was once told thast when you have built it, staple in some blue canvas (about 1.64 at B&Q) inside it and it also helps with the heat process.