Focusing on maintaining optimal internal temperatures within the HOTBIN during autumn sets the stage for successful composting throughout winter. Adhering to a HOTBIN checklist is essential for consistent and effective composting year-round.
Checkin' it once... and checkin' it twice... that's the spirit!
Making sure the HOTBIN's checklist is reviewed, sets the stage for a successful composting season. It's all about attention to detail, especially when it comes to maintaining that optimal temperature and minimizing heat loss. Here is a short list to checkin' once and twice this season:
- Continue feeding your HOTBIN regularly. Bacteria only generate heat when they have food to eat. Feeding the composter regularly with waste is critical to procure a continuous composting process.
- Chop up your waste for composting faster. Watch Video
- Don’t forget to add the suggested proportions of shredded paper and woodchips, when adding new waste to your HOTBIN. Shredded paper and woodchips are meant to manage moisture (paper) and procure the right structure for aeration (woodchips/mulch). Adjust quantities of shredded paper if the composting pile looks too wet, and briefly mix it with woodchips/mulch to ensure air pockets are built and enabling aeration. Watch Video
- Use the reactivation process (kick-start bottle) if the inside temperature drops below 60°F. Bacteria do not grow quickly below 41°F and not at all at 32°F. When the waste is cold, only a tiny amount of heat is created by the bacteria, and this is quickly lost to the cold air. (This is why cold composting heaps lie almost dormant through winter). Watch Video
About the reactivation process: When you add the bottle with hot water into the waste, this heat moves to the colder waste (34 oz. of boiling water contains 4200 Joules of energy as heat). The HOTBIN's insulated walls help retain this heat, just like a thermos flask. The waste around the bottle heats up to 86-104°F for an hour or so. During this short period, bacterial are warm enough to become active. They generate heat, which makes them more active which quickly heats the waste.
Find out more about hot composting with HOTBIN during the colder months on this website.
If you do not own a HOTBIN yet, buy yours this season and take advantage of our weekly sales on your favorite HOTBIN.