Tumbling compost bin?

[Wheelie]

I’ve just seen one of these at a good price on the Groupon website. Being in my wheelchair it would make it easier for me to put stuff in and take out as I can’t bend (spinal probs)
Has anybody used one and are they any good? It’s still quite a bit of money for me to fork out, so I don’t want to buy something that’s a waste of money.

[Cadalot]

My plot neighbour has one and said he didn't visit the plot enough to keep it turning, so if you only visit say once a week it may not be so good, where as if you are there and rotate it every day or every other day it will work better.

[Wheelie]

That’s good to know Cadalot thank you. I’m pretty sure I will be out there every couple of days. I have little else to do. I intend to make veg growing my main hobby.

[ESBkevin]

I was lucky enough to gain one when I cleared my mothers shed out, I gave a neighbour a step ladder (I had 3) and he gave me an end over end tumbler.

I toyed with it but once full required some effort to spin and I'm not sure it tipped out anywhere except the floor easily.
One horizontally mounted might be a different option especially given your considerations. I'm now several years in to gardening and make lots of compost so the need for fast composting doesn't exist and I gave the tumbler to my brother.
There is far less effort in just piling the stuff up and maybe stiring the top layers a couple of times.
Not sure if that is useful for your situation.

[ESBkevin]

Another random thought, there are other ways to feed the soil with food and waste scraps.

Worm towers - towers that go down into the soil with holes allowing worms to enter/exit. you lift the lid and ppour the green in. The worms pull the nutrients out into the soil.

Worm bin - You keep it topped up with green/paper etc. and extract the 'worm juice' as a fertiliser concentrate and periodically take the resulting compost out to.

Bokashi bin - a sealed bucket in the kitchen/wherever. you place kitchen scraps in and feed a fermenting bran to start the process. the resulting mass is buried in the garden and is very beneficial.

Direct composting - just have a trench in the growing bed and fill it with the raw organic material, cover when full and plant on top. The breakdown happens out of site over months but still feeds the plants and there are few nutrient losses.

Chop and drop - you just drop the organic material on the surface where it is as a mulch. Over time it breaks down and feeds the soil life. New dropped mulch replaces it from time to time. Mulch has benefits to a lack of watering too!

You will need to research which one or ones could work for you. You tube gardeners and growers have a wealth of information out there and most of it is good.

There are more ways to garden than we could imagine, I hope you find some ideas that suit you. I find I change bits each year as I discover what works best and what suits my way of working. Mother nature always wants to make things grow and sometimes they do in spite of our efforts!

[Wheelie]

Thanks Kevin. I shall investigate further with your ideas.
The tumbler is horizontal and I do have a husband to help with things I can’t manage.

Here’s a link to it.

https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/rotating-composter

[Aberdeenplotter]

I had one of these (had in this instance meaning some sod stole it off my p[lot). Worked super but pretty hard going when there's a weight of stuff in it for an able bodied person so not sure if you could cope with that with your spinal problems....

[rary]

I have one like that (I picked it up,from a plot in Aberdeen) it really should be sitting in the sun for heat, emptying it can be a bit messy value for money~ no I paid £68 for it would probably been better to put more to it and buying a hot box composter Just joking AP, but if you are ever down this way you can have mine

[nickdub]

I made myself a couple of bins out of big plastic barrels with a horizontal bar going through the middles horizontally and with a frame to hold them off the ground.
I was thinking of tumbling them but they get too bottom heavy to move easily after a month or so and anyway I never got round to making tight lids for them. They do work however as wormeries and they also don't get invaded by rats, so I fill one with fresh household waste over 6 months or so and let the other compost down, then empty it and swap.
Being rotate-able makes it easier to empty them as I put a trug down and slide the compost in to that. I may get round to lifting them up on to higher supports sometime, so I'd have room to get a wheel-barrow under neath for emptying.

Didn't cost anything as I got the leaky barrels free and used scrap aluminum bars from an old conservatory for the frame. I used a heated iron bar to make the holes for the horizontal, so I wouldn't weaken the barrels by cutting them. I had to drill some larger holes in the bottoms to let any rain water out.

[bazzaboy]

Theoretically tumbling composters seem a good idea, Wheelie, but they do get heavy.... I haven't tried the type you're considering which must have a lower centre of gravity than the dustbin-sized one I have (pivoted in the middle) but it quickly gets too heavy for me to twirl! I did enquire about the type that have a gear system but they're very pricey and when I was told they need self-assembly "and two people could assemble it in a few hours" that was the end of another good idea!