Hotbin composters significantly speed up the composting process and are ideal for any size of garden and anything in between.
If you are looking to do some serious composting, we have included a comparison to three, excellent hotbin composters to choose from, and they won’t break the bank.
The Kusanagi Compost Bin, Miracle-Gro Dual-Chamber Compost Tumbler, and SQUEEZE Master Compost bin, are three of the best hotbin composters available for the cost-conscious buyer.
When you are seeking a cheap compost bin that will get the job done in an affordable way and not fall apart on you later, you are looking for four things: efficiency, ease-of-use, reliability, and quality.
You can find all four of these in the composter bins listed above. The question becomes and to what extent and which one is for you.
Hotbin composters-and composters in general-are a growing commodity as we see more people embracing the lifestyle of DIY home gardening and smart home automations and conveniences innovated for the sustainability and lives of independent living.
Kusanagi Compost Bin Outdoor
The Kusanagi dual-chamber composter provides a static-capacity design with a limit of 43 gallons.
It does a lot, and it allows you to do a lot more with the dual chamber to enhance your ability to compost efficiently.
- 43-gallon, dual chambers
- Well-ventilated
- Complete, 360° rotation
- Comes with grow bags and gardening gloves
- One-year warranty
- 24-hour customer service
- Made with eco-friendly material
Putting it together is straightforward even though it has capacity and a size of 43 gallons.
You can use one chamber for your composting materials while you access the other to put organic material in, or to separate material if you need to.
The access panels for both chambers slide back and open rather than open and closing on hinges.
While this is good, it can pose a challenge if you are not diligent to keep the sliding trays clean as organic matter that you add, or the compost, can creep into that groove to make skewing the panel to open and close it a bit more challenging.
It’s a highly aerated composter with lots of venting ports and two large fins that the creator says aid in adding and maintaining a good supply of air, which the compost is meant to control within the parameters of plenty of air and moisture.
The large and deep fins help agitate mixture of the compost material well which many composters are held up by shallow fins that do not grab ahold of the components sufficiently.
This is not an issue with this composter as the fins hold deep into the compost to also aerate along with water if needed.
The construction is good and complete and 360° certainly spin, even under a heavy load is fairly easy and not an issue with rotating.
Overall, when considering a spinning composter with fins, the construction, a department that holds its weight is generally sturdy, so all parts added with the fins are certainly helpful air holes for adequate aeration is a nice composter.
Not many options nor high-end options come with extra material so it is nice to see with Kusanagi has added added upon purchase:
- A pair of claw (grabbing gloves).
- Two three-gallon grow backs for sale per two gallon.
A comprehensive one-year warranty and even 24-hour service for any questions or issues.
Kusanagi is very committed to out product even on limited guarantee for service, more and less does provide 24-hour service for a home-disciplinary product.
It is also satisfying to see that even in a nice weight and use product while substantial it is constructed from environmentally friendly elements.
BPA-free, as said, seems even through full use of a complete spin even challenges the 360° spin concept.
Pros
- Dual Chambers
- 360° Spin
- Deep fins
- Eco-friendly
- Well-ventilated
Cons
- Sliding doors can get hung up if not adequately cleaned with each use
- A few quirks during assembly
Miracle-Gro Dual Chamber Compost Tumbler
For decades, Miracle-Gro has been a trusted brand in home gardening and for good reason. The Miracle-Gro Dual Chamber Compost Tumbler is another great product, because it has a unique feature of two independent chambers.
- Dual compartments that are both self-sufficient and at the same time.
- 360° rotation for both compartments.
- Lockable feature for each compartment.
- Made from recyclable material.
- Available in a 37-gallon or 55-gallon version.
- 2-year warranty.
- Rust-free and pest-free.
There are many reasons to appreciate the Miracle-Gro Dual Chamber.
These chambers are stacked side by side, but work separately from each other. So, when one chamber is full, you let it do the work of converting your food scraps and waste into compost, and you continue to fill up the other side.
By the time the composting is done, you’ve got galons of compost you can work with… and the other chamber is going good.
Even though both chambers are separate, each chamber rotates a full 360°!.
Because of their design, it’s very easy to rotate the chambers.
Additionally, there are fins in the inside of the chambers, and while they do the trick, they are small. Larger fins would expedite the mixing process.
As it is, you’ll probably want to spin this thing a few more times than normal to get a acceptable mix.
Another nice addition are the clamps that lock each chamber in place. So, when not in use, the clamps prevent animals from spinning the chamber.
Although the chambers hold shut fairly well, animals will still smell it and will be drawn to the composting process.
Also from an environmentally friendly angle, the Miracle-Gro Composter is made entirely with BPA materials from recycled plastics.
You have the additional benefit of two different sizes, a 37 gallon or a 55 gallon, which allows you the option to begin small or to go big.
The 2 year warranty is great and it is a very good built composter. It is not going to fail during those two years… but if it does Miracle-Gro will replace it.
Like the Kusanagi, Miracle-Gro opted for the sliding doors, which are still susceptible to debris.
The construction is entirely plastic and stainless steet, so rust and the inability to turn the composter will not be an issue.
The sliding door does also mean pest free; even a raccoon would have difficulty sliding open the door to start the induction composting.
Pros
- Dual, independent chambers
- Locking clamps for each chamber
- Eco-friendly
- 2 size options
- 2-year warranty
Cons
- Sliding doors can get stuck
SQUEEZE Master Compost Bin
Like the Kusanagi, the SQUEEZE Master Compost Bin is a dual-chamber composter which holds 43 gallons that works like a hotbin.
Unlike the Miracle-Gro, it has two independent sides and is a standard solid dual-chamber composter.
While it operates like the Miracle-Gro, it has a unique aeration hole design in a steady buildup of moisture and air to speed up the composting process.
According to the manufacturers, you can feed one side while the other side is composting and only turn it six or seven times every few days for the duration of the composting process.
Upon assembly, it is a very sturdy construction made of BPA free materials that sits on a steel frame that can hold up to 352lbs.
It is not constructed out of stainless steel, so you may want to hold onto this one indoors, or if it is too large, oil it well enough to protect it from endowed weather.
Though it is steel, it is coated, so you have some time before wearing it down.
Any knicks or scratches will level it down for rust, and the composter itself is made of PP plastic which weighs little, making spinning it 360° for mixing effortless.
As for the previous two, it has sliding doors which is a bit of irritation when dirt, debris, or compost gets down in the grooves and gams it up.
This one also has fairly large fins- not really as large as the Kusanagi, but not as small as the Miracle-Gro version either, so you can expect a fairly thorough mixing when you put it through the rotations.
It is a little bit of a pain to assemble, as the directions don’t always make sense and some of the screws have no indication as to where they go, so if at the end you are left with a lot of extra screws – you will not know where you went wrong.
From what I’ve researched, there is virtually no customer service that I could find outside of an email that no one replied to anyway.
However, again, if you can get it all sorted, and the item actually arrives intact and not in pieces, it is actually good construction that should last the compost season.
I found no warranty information anywhere except for saying to contact the seller/manufacturer.
If the no-reply email means anything & I suspect it does, this may not end well either.
Pros
- 43-gallon, dual chambers
- Solid feel once constructed
- Can hold up to 352lbs
- BPA-free plastic
- Large fins are good for mixing PP plastic
Cons
- Sliding doors can get stuck
- No warranty
- Customer Service is questionable
- Vague assembly instructions
Final Word
All three of these hotbin composters are excellent and sensible purchases that won’t require you to sell a kidney on the black market in order to buy one.
If pushed on the absolute best of the best, we would highly suggest the Miracle-Gro Dual Chamber Compost Tumbler.
Out of the three, the unique feature of independent, dual chambers of this tumbler makes composting a structured and continuous process a snap.
However, any of these three are well worth your hard-earned money and are good composters – especially for your first time if you’re just getting started.