Customer Reviews for Eco-Composter w/ Base
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Eco-Composter w/ Base
71-Gallon Capacity; Made of 100% Recycled Materials; Compost-Tumbler
Average Customer Rating:
(48 Reviews) 48
(out of 48 reviews)
Rating Snapshot (48 reviews)
5 stars
12
4 stars
7
3 stars
5
2 stars
8
1 star
16
19 of 48(40%)customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Review 1 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
Susiesusie
Location:Sonoma, CA
Date:March 18, 2010
eco-composter
"Some of previous postings mentioned how difficult to assemble and to rotate the unit. However, I didn't find these were the problems. My 7 & 5 years-old children helped me putting plastic screws and nails together and I hammered in. lt was easy for us to assemble but needed a little patience. It is easy to rotate as well. I rotate the unit daily and can't wait to see the compost."
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Review 2 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
ButterFinger
Location:Brooklyn, NY
Date:February 15, 2010
What a Joke
Cons: smells bad, hard to turn, attracts bugs, breaks on spinning rack, hard to assemble
Model Number: ECo-Composter w/ base
"I bought from Costco.com about a year ago when I saw it in the connection. I am surprised that from what I see that this is still being sold. I have had nothing but problems with it. The help line for this company is very rude and they do not seem to know what they are talking about. The sales manager is really clueless and every time I told him I had a problem he flat out told me I was a liar.
On to the product: It was hard to assemble. It takes more like 3 hours to put together instead of the 45 minutes to 1 hour that I was told it would take on the phone. The composter is almost impossible to spin on the rack, it is just too heavy when stuff is inside. The weight of the inside actually caused the outside wall to crack on the caster wheels on the base. One reason I liked this composter was that it was supposed to keep all the bugs and animals out. That is not true, as soon as you open the top you are hit with a face full of little bugs and knats."
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Review 3 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
RJFinGA
Location:Milledgeville, GA
Date:February 6, 2010
Will Buy Again - Highly Reccomend
"I bought two eco-composters, and was a bit intimidated when I openned the box and realized I was going to have to assemble all those parts. It was repetitive, easy, and actually kind of fun as I developed a rhythm. I had both assembled in less than 4 hours,
It has been six months and I couldn't be more pleased with them. So much more attractive in my garden than other barrels and so much more portable. They add an art element to my yard around my raised vegatble beds. To really mix the compost well, I have my daughter take the orbs for a push around our yard periodically.
Living in GA, at times they become quite water logged with rain at which time they become very diffcult to rotate on the stands, but even with the heaviest rain, within 2-3 days they have dried enough to rotate.
I am going to buy two more this season because of the high volume of composting I am doing on my acre lot. Which, is also another benefit of this type of composter - I can easily move them everywhere and anywhere to take them to where I need the soil once composted because they so much easier to move than other composters I have used."
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 4 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
BettyBoop2009
Location:Livonia, Michigan
Date:October 30, 2009
Poor Design
"It took me hours to put together the Hot Buy Eco- Composter w/base and for the first week it was ok, but then as you add items to the container it gets more and more difficult to turn until I can't turn and its just sitting - useless. Wish I had never purchased it - wasted $200."
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 5 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
teleskier
Location:Redding, CA
Date:October 19, 2009
Way cool then very disappointed
Cons: substandard material.
"It looked great on the internet, good design, etc. Bought it and assembled - looked like the "Death Star" from Star Wars and seemed to be working well for the first 5 or so months. I recently noticed that the green plastic material is just starting to literally fall apart. So, I will empty it and return to Costco and look for a replacement in the spring. Very disappointing!"
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 6 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
Anonymous
Location:Bel Air, MD
Date:September 29, 2009
A day of fun
Pros: extremely prompt delivery. only 4 days!
"Like Wineabit related, assembly of the Eco-Composter, was long and tedious but doable. Much of it is quite repetitive and became straightforward after the first or second iteration. The directions were excellent. The only time we needed more than 2 hands was during the connecton of the two half spheres. Total assembly time including the base - probably 6 hours with no wine - but the NFL was on as a distraction.
Wineabit scared me with his 'don't complete assembly inside' warning. We did that - and the full sphere would not fit through our sliding door. But with the 2 caps removed - very easily done - the width was down to 27" - and out it went.
So we had a good time assembling it - except for the pain in my fingers the next morning. Now if it actually works, that will be gravy. If not, we'll decorate it for Halloween! It can pass for a giant green spider."
Wineabit scared me with his 'don't complete assembly inside' warning. We did that - and the full sphere would not fit through our sliding door. But with the 2 caps removed - very easily done - the width was down to 27" - and out it went.
So we had a good time assembling it - except for the pain in my fingers the next morning. Now if it actually works, that will be gravy. If not, we'll decorate it for Halloween! It can pass for a giant green spider."
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Review 7 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
Wineabit
Location:Santee, CA
Date:September 26, 2009
Eco-Composter
Pros: easy to use
Cons: rusty screws after a month
"We bought this unit about 1 month ago. Some of the reviews were so negative, but most were positive. Yes there are a lot of parts, but it is just putting together the same panel over and over. 2 glasses of wine and the whole thing was ready to go.
HINT: We have been having temps in the 100s so I put it together inside the house with the A/C running. Do not attempt to put both halves together inside your house unless you have double French doors.
I wanted to wait before doing a review until I saw how long and hard it was to put together and see it in action. The instructions were easy to follow. (They don't tell you how to take the two halves apart in case you want it outside instead of inside)
We followed someone's advice by not filling it over 50% and it is very easy to turn. I use the air tubes as little handles to turn it.
This thing is great, if you have some common sense and a little time and wine you can have this thing working for you in no time.
This thing is going to save me a lot of money in the long run. I don't think I will have to buy soil again for my garden."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 8 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
DIVAPetSitter
Location:Santa Cruz, CA
Date:September 24, 2009
Must Be 6' Tall To Operate!!
"After the 2-day assembly, I found that I could not turn this huge sphere. I'm only 5'2" & cannot get enough leverage (no handholds available) to easily turn the contents. What a huge disappointment. Not to mention a waste of money."
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 9 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
waterratt
Date:September 18, 2009
Worst Costco purchase ever
"I bought two of these but only assembled one since it took so long. Wanted to see if it worked before taking the time for the second one. I am no novice at assembling things like this but it still took me 4+ hours. Eight weeks later the vegetation I had put in it looked the same as ever. NO CHANGE! It does say in the instructions that stuff should be as small as possible. Among other things, how much smaller than grass clippings does it need to be! Don't bother. By the way, this was located in direct sun in a warm climate."
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 10 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
hippiechick
Location:Long Island, NY
Date:September 14, 2009
A Mixed bag
Pros: innovative design, easy to 'stir' contents, attractive
Cons: overcomplicated assembly, may need to pay someone to assemble
"I would have given this product 5 stars if not for the assembly.
I was shocked when I first saw the box my composter arrived in because it was so small and flat, It was, indeed, the composter, but in over 500 tiny little parts. It took 2 people and over 5 hours just to assemble, which I feel is excessive. It wasn't overly difficult, just tedious. I understand companies ship products like this to save money, but this was way over the top. I would only recommend this to someone if they had a Scout troop standing by to assemble it for free, lol."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 11 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
kitty52
Date:August 31, 2009
Ecomposter
"I will most likely return this product to the store. It is ridiculously difficult for one person to put together. It requires some hand strength and another person. There are entirely too many parts to it and I am a person who loves to put stuff together. I'm sure it makes good compost if you can ever get it outside in one piece. I will buy a different kind and will not recommend this product to anyone."
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 12 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
CaliforniaComposter
Location:California
Date:August 21, 2009
Tips on the Eco-Composter
Pros: cheap, effective, good looking
Cons: hard to turn in the beginning
"You may have some unrealistic expectations for your Eco-Composter w/ base. Here are tips on what to expect:
* Expect to take a few hours to assemble. I used a rubber mallet, wore gloves and got a kid to help me. We set up an assembly line approach and turned it into fun.
*Do not overfill. I did this, and it was hard to turn on the stand. Yes, the wheels dent the ball a little. TIP: The end of the wrench they give you fits into the vent holes. I use that to get a grip. Yes, it is hard to turn. It gets easier as it composts.
*Expect some surprises. Composting is a fancy term for decomposition, that is, rotting. I started with half-rotten grass clippings, which tended to ball up, and smelled bad. Small flies came. I added some dry leaves and it started "cooking." Expect a sense of satisfaction when that starts to occur. Put your hand inside and feel the heat. Good lord, don't handle the stuff, just feel the air above it! Smell disappears completely later.
*Expect to be exposed to what's going on: rotting. A little leakage can occur in the beginning. Do not put on living room carpet. Do not sleep under your Eco-Composter. Do not expect a perfectly clean, storybook-type experience. You are participating in turning your waste into soil.
*Expect to feel a little proud. The device looks good and works . You are able to take a portion of your waste -- material otherwise requiring fuel to remove -- and use it, instead of compost trucked in, to grow vegetables, which don't have to be shipped to you. You are part of the solution and, to that extent, not part of the problem. It is one heck of lot easier and more effective that turning a compost pile with a garden fork. It's cheap and it's thrifty. I'm proud to be an Eco-Composter owner."
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.
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Review 13 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
ewl25752
Date:August 17, 2009
Eco- composter
"A piece of junk !!! We have had it 3 months not one batch yet. We are old composters for many years. Back to the old compost pile, much more effective."
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 14 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
Steve57
Date:August 17, 2009
Need another project?
Pros: great concept
Cons: very poor execution
"When I opened the box, I almost returned it. There were hundreds of parts, no instructions and the picture on the box did not depict what was in the box very well. After working dilligently for 3 hrs, I got the composter assembled with only 2 key parts left over. Based on other reviews, I am not sure how this will hold up in the months and years ahead."
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Review 15 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
Anonymous
Location:Tucson, AZ
Date:August 15, 2009
Worst purchse EVER!!!
Pros: nothing good about this
Cons: difficult to assemble, time consuming to assemble, warps easily in 80°, leaks like a sieve, dries out due to warping
"This unit took over 3 hours to assemble. I am an engineer and have never found instructions so difficult to understand. In addition to assembly being time consuming and tedious, it was painful to push in all the pins and connectors especially after two hours. Once assembled, I filled it with material according to instructions and wet it slightly with a garden hose. Not only did it leak like a sieve but it was impossible to turn once it was filled. The material settled to the bottom and due to its round shape, there is nothing to grab onto to turn it. Perhaps with two people sticking their fingers in the small nooks and crannies, it could be turned but I found it impossible to turn on my own. I cannot imagine how it can be lifted back onto the base once it is filled since there is nothing to grab onto. After several days in 80° sun, the panels became so warped where it was resting on the base, that it caused the material inside to dry out which defeats the purpose of a composter. I cannot image how badly warped it would have become in temps exceeding 90°. I would avoid this unit and purchase another turn composter that is not only better built but more easy to assemble."
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Review 16 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
Calif
Location:Laguna Niguel, CA
Date:August 5, 2009
Bottom line - quick and clean compost
"I agree with the previous person who wrote: This product did take some time to assemble, however, the instructions were spot on and I had relatively no trouble.
I live in CA so the hot sun has allowed me to use this compost twice in the last 4 months with complete break-down of fruit, grass, etc that is added on virtually a daily basis. I have no leaks, no dirt falling out. I agree with other reviews that it does not roll well on the stand, but it does not require much turning for my compost to break-down properly. Bottom line, I have been composting for years and nothing has come even close to this in turn-around time - that is why I choose 5 stars."
I live in CA so the hot sun has allowed me to use this compost twice in the last 4 months with complete break-down of fruit, grass, etc that is added on virtually a daily basis. I have no leaks, no dirt falling out. I agree with other reviews that it does not roll well on the stand, but it does not require much turning for my compost to break-down properly. Bottom line, I have been composting for years and nothing has come even close to this in turn-around time - that is why I choose 5 stars."
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Review 17 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
SuburbanGreenThumb
Location:Renton, WA
Date:August 4, 2009
Great Product... some things to consider.
Pros: looks great (my kids like to show it off), easy to assemble, large capacity, it really makes compost, easy to use
Cons: early rust on screws/nuts (down from 5 to 4 stars)
"I've had my Eco-Composter for 2 months, and it's making compost as advertised. However, there are some things that need to be considered when purchasing and using this product.
You have to be "realistic" when using this product.
After watching the video commercial, seeing the cool looking Eco-Composter being modeled by the happy lady in the cute garden with the soothing music, kinda makes you think that the Eco-Composter can work magic, and create the best compost without the owner's attention and assistance.
1. To the person assembling the Eco-Composter.
- This is a complex designed made simple via repetition. This project is going to take some time and patience to complete properly. I'm pretty skilled with tools and building, and it took me roughly 5 hours to complete, including the optional metal stand. I assembled the metal stand at the end of the project, and could feel my patients running thin, but I managed to maintain focus and a high level of precision. That is what is required to get the rollers to function at an optimal level. If you don't take a little extra time to accurately measure the legs (clearly stated in the simple directions) and the placement of the rollers, the rollers will not share equal pressure (as designed), causing some of the rollers to carry no weight at times, while the worthy few, unevenly share the "panel warping" weight. So, if your stand is poorly built, your Eco-Composter will surely become difficult to spin and warp the plastic pieces when it's full (and heavy). My Eco-Composter has always rolled smoothly and while somewhat heavy when first loaded with fresh yard and kitchen vegetation, it does become lighter as the compost breaks down.
- This is a complex designed made simple via repetition. This project is going to take some time and patience to complete properly. I'm pretty skilled with tools and building, and it took me roughly 5 hours to complete, including the optional metal stand. I assembled the metal stand at the end of the project, and could feel my patients running thin, but I managed to maintain focus and a high level of precision. That is what is required to get the rollers to function at an optimal level. If you don't take a little extra time to accurately measure the legs (clearly stated in the simple directions) and the placement of the rollers, the rollers will not share equal pressure (as designed), causing some of the rollers to carry no weight at times, while the worthy few, unevenly share the "panel warping" weight. So, if your stand is poorly built, your Eco-Composter will surely become difficult to spin and warp the plastic pieces when it's full (and heavy). My Eco-Composter has always rolled smoothly and while somewhat heavy when first loaded with fresh yard and kitchen vegetation, it does become lighter as the compost breaks down.
2. To the Eco-Composter loader.
- If you want your compost to break down into small dirt like compost particles (in 6 weeks), you really have to spend some extra time chopping the waste into smaller particles (i.e. banana peels). Large pieces of yard and kitchen waste, will break down a great deal, but will remain relatively large as it relates to 6 week old compost. I put large pieces of waste through a small electric chipper/shredder before putting them into the Eco-Composter. It mixes better, I can fit a lot more into the Eco-Composter, it breaks down faster, and ultimately produces better compost for the garden.
- If you want your compost to break down into small dirt like compost particles (in 6 weeks), you really have to spend some extra time chopping the waste into smaller particles (i.e. banana peels). Large pieces of yard and kitchen waste, will break down a great deal, but will remain relatively large as it relates to 6 week old compost. I put large pieces of waste through a small electric chipper/shredder before putting them into the Eco-Composter. It mixes better, I can fit a lot more into the Eco-Composter, it breaks down faster, and ultimately produces better compost for the garden.
Conclusion
Get the Eco-Composter, give it a fair chance at life and build it correctly. Feed it properly, and it will perform beautifully. I'm off to figure out how to stop the rust... Bye."
Get the Eco-Composter, give it a fair chance at life and build it correctly. Feed it properly, and it will perform beautifully. I'm off to figure out how to stop the rust... Bye."
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.
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Review 18 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
Nodd
Location:Portland, OR
Date:July 22, 2009
Almost, but not OK...
Pros: great idea
Cons: they cut too many corners, hard to assemble, not strong enough to retain shape
Model Number: 71-Gallon Eco-Composter w/base
"Way too many pieces to assemble.
It doesn't roll easily on its roller assembly, flat spots, rivets (196 of them) and lack of grip.
It leaks and the liquid can smell pretty ripe.
I took it off the roller assembly and that helps the rolling, but if you leave it on a panel instead of the lid area it will get a flat spot.
I almost returned it when I saw the assemble silliness and wish I had."
It doesn't roll easily on its roller assembly, flat spots, rivets (196 of them) and lack of grip.
It leaks and the liquid can smell pretty ripe.
I took it off the roller assembly and that helps the rolling, but if you leave it on a panel instead of the lid area it will get a flat spot.
I almost returned it when I saw the assemble silliness and wish I had."
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Review 19 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
JM2208
Location:Chicago, IL
Date:July 13, 2009
Bad Choice
"Purchased this item several months ago and am very disappointed. The composter does not rotate easily on the base. When the composting material is added to the composter it sags on the base and unable to rotate. Liquid leaks from the product and if placed on cement stains the area. This is the first time I have not been satisfied with a product purchased from the on-line site."
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Review 20 for Eco-Composter w/ Base
Rating:
gmaof2girls
Location:The OC, CA
Date:July 11, 2009
Eco-Composter-ology
"This product did take some time to assemble, however, the instructions were spot on and I had relatively no trouble. I did need a second set of hands to help put the two halves together, but other than that, I assembled it myself (senior-age female, that I am). Whoever wrote about "juice" squirting out must be doing the composting all wrong. This composter does NOT require water and apparently, that person did not add a "starter" as suggested in the directions. I used blood meal and am awaiting my first batch of compost in a couple more weeks. There is nothing wet or soggy in the composter and as it ages, the easier it is to turn. When the composter is full, it is hard to turn in the base - but with patience and turning it daily, the load will become lighter and you'll see a difference within the first week or two. Enjoy composting! It's good for ALL of us!"
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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