Sun-Mar 400 100 gal cap Garden Composter review

I appreciate the warnings other reviewers gave regarding the crank arm inadequacy. Because the device as-a-whole made a lot of sense to me, I ordered the 400 anyway, planning to spin the drum either without using the crank arm or by fashioning an alternative part. So far, I've done the former; I didn't mount the crank arm. There are very convenient hand holds for two of the three tugs needed for each full rotation (I'm 5'10" tall; this task will be harder if you are shorter). Mindfulness required!

Looking at the way the grip is attached to the crank arm, it's obvious that the contents of the drum can easily weigh too much. The drum is voluminous. As I see it, the problem is that the grip pivots to fold out of the way and the flanges on each side of it are not able to deal with the torque necessary to begin and continue loaded drum rotation. I sought to reinforce the flanges, but certain clearances along the arm's sweep are so small that nothing I tried could serve the purpose. The crank arm and grip could possibly be one well-designed and well-specified piece, but perhaps something more like a wheel is called for. The challenge then would be to maintain easy access to the finished compost.

One more thing to know up front concerns moisture management. With this device you have something really different from an open air compost pile that receives rain and releases excess water to the ground or the surrounding area. Keeping the drum closed at all times, I sometimes pour in a few cups of water prior to spinning. Because the flow of materials into the drum is ever-changing, this must be where composting by this method becomes an art.

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