Sphere Composter: The New Toy I Want!

[TimeTraveler]

So, went into my local neighborhood gardening/hydroponics store today, and after discussing the matters of the day I mentioned my desire to get some compost going at home. The owner directed me to the latest gadget he'd brought in for people:

Gentlemen (and Ladies), I give you the Ecomposter Sphere!

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/sphere-composter.html

Some of you are probably going "Oh, yeah, that thing". For those that, like me, are unfamiliar, let me just say: OH MY GOD I NEED THAT!

It looks awesome: those spikes inside it? They break up compost as it tumbles, mixing it and aerating it, AND they allow gases to escape from inside to the outside, and fresh air to be drawn in, preventing explosions that would otherwise come from a compost container, AND it rotates on its ball-bearing base, allowing you to just fill it and spin it, and mix compost without making a mess or trudging all over the place!

Has anyone tried this? Is it as awesome as it looks? Because for the price (about $250 USD) it seems like a GREAT investment. The owner stocked it after a buddy of his mentioned buying one that worked great for his backyard garden and was on its second solid year of performance. I'd considered buying the AirPot compost unit because it looks like it makes awesome compost, but it had the usual problem of how do you mix it without making a mess?

 

[Eyes on Fire]

My only concern would be the ball bearing base.sealed..ya have to clean them out n flush em with oils n things..?but other than that it looks excellent to me man,something decently low and ease of use with the weight cuz of my back n things..not a bad deal..how big do they come..just the one size?but 70 gallons aint bad.a nice sized recipe can be generated for a decent sized organic garden naturally.Nice.:Sharing One:

 

[Corgy]

That looks like a really neat tumbler, where can I get one this side of the big pond.....

For more in kind and some good advice on tumbler techniques and testing..... Notice tumblers are different from static/open pile and actually not really faster...

http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/testing-compost-tumblers-zmaz03amzgoe.aspx

http://www.growveg.com/growblogpost.aspx?id=266

http://eartheasy.com/compost_tumbler.htm

 

[Eyes on Fire]

me personally Im not looking for a fast composter..since really there is no such thing.compost is compost..but on speed you can either get an aerated bin/tumbler or non aerated(which is slower in the grand scheme) Tumbler/Bin..for me ill get an Aerated one but the ease of use is key for me.elevated is nice but expensive..i love the geared bins,but the rolling aspect is neat too.Im just curious HOW easy it is to turn/roll, with 40-60 gallons of composting materials..LOL which can be heavy as hell until its broken down about 2/3rd of the way LOL! thanks for the links.maaan Im soo bummed my back is jacked up bad cuz I miss turning piles n doing many garden things.so now i gotta spend more money to make the job doable enough for me lol!!funny how that works :Sharing One:

 

[TimeTraveler]

Well, I can't speak from personal experience but the hydro shop's owner said that his friend found it a lot easier to manage and turn than the old fashioned method. I'm not sure how heavy or difficult it will actually be once it's filled with 70 gallons of compostable material; that's the deceptive nature of volume, isn't it? I wasn't looking for "fast" either (like you said, you can't really speed it up, it decomposes as it goes), but the ease of use and cleanliness was a big reason why it caught my eye. It would allow me to keep a compost pile in a fraction of the space and, assuming the thing was manageable full, would be much easier to turn.

I had similar concerns myself, which is why I came here wondering if anyone from AFN has tried it. I trust the man at the hydro shop, but even assuming he's being honest that's only one testimonial (and this same guy also personally dug up his entire backyard with a shovel to fortify and improve the soil, so who knows what he considers "easy" or "easier" by comparison). I'm young and in good shape myself, so I figure I can safely assume I'd be able to handle it at its heaviest. For that reason it's on my wishlist, but I wanted to see if anyone had heard anything bad first.

As far as shipping overseas, the link I provided at least will ship internationally at extra cost (they offer free standard shipping to the 48 contiguous states). So, assuming you have the extra cash to drop on shipping you can definitely get it that way. There might be other vendors locally that might stock or ship it as well; I found a US supplier for my AirPots that brings them in from the UK and sells them here without the exorbitant international shipping rates, for example.

 

[farmergreen007]

I used to work with someone that got one of those compost balls last summer but his didn't come with a base, not a problem he pushes it around the yard once or twice A week and Made two batches of compost with it during the summer. He also has big drum shaped one
that looks something like this,

he much prefers this one, it makes much larger batches (in the same time frame) and cost just a little more I do it the old school way myself a big pile of rotten stuff mixed by my skidsteer. But if I had any space constriction I'd get one one of those.

 

[Corgy]

As far as shipping overseas, the link I provided at least will ship internationally at extra cost (they offer free standard shipping to the 48 contiguous states). So, assuming you have the extra cash to drop on shipping you can definitely get it that way. There might be other vendors locally that might stock or ship it as well; I found a US supplier for my AirPots that brings them in from the UK and sells them here without the exorbitant international shipping rates, for example.

WHOA, international shipping is a whopping $245 to the Netherlands ,..... 5 bucks cheaper than the sphere itself.... Must be flying 1st class all the way or something..... Guess I'll just go and dream on sitting on my boring old bin with the decidedly old fashioned pitchfork grinning at me..... Oh well!

 

[Eyes on Fire]

ya these are the two im looking at..can really swing a galvanized one but really dont want one either..Galvanized metals are not what you need to be using but if ease of use is your concern get one if ya can afford it..but these seem nice and theyre very affordable and will last while id imagine.read some nice reviews too.sooo,Im thinking a compost summer for me I hope..lol.

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Ideas-EZ...d=1427963334&sr=8-11&keywords=compost+tumbler

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Ideas-EZ...id=1427963334&sr=8-3&keywords=compost+tumbler

only thing or con I guess would be the spikes if thyre all over sice scooping it out is gonna be the only way ,so no shovel prolly unless it thin bodied maybe ..lol but I bet it'll do fine Id think.:Sharing One: