Maze 160L Roto Twin Tumbler

The legs are too flimsy. The whole point of two compartments is that you fill one and then the other. But with one side partially full, the whole set up starts to twist and if you don't keep trying to pull it back into line, eventually the ratchet jams and it won't turn.

I bought another one! Oh no, second thoughts! – I have one already for a few years, it makes compost very quickly. The best thing about it is, rats and mice can’t get in. I bought another one just recently, because it’s so good, and reasonably priced. I’m updating my review, as the metal bar inside the tumbler has rusted out, and broke in the centre of the tumbler. Should make the bar from aluminium. I will not purchase this tumbler again. Show details

Assembly is a joke – I'm mid-60's and got my daughter to help assemble. Haven't heard so many eff-bombs in a long time. Seriously, why can't a person purchase a ready-made compost bin these days? I have no idea whether it will create usable compost. We're both hitting a bottle of wine and ignoring the compost bin until we've recovered from putting it together. Show details

Quite good composter – I have used this for about a year and found it to be quite good. It did take a while to assemble and works better for me than the bins. It makes very usable compost even though it ends up in balls. When it occasionally gets too wet I just add shredded paper or sugar cane mulch. The openings are rather small and getting food scraps in can be messy… Read more

and getting compost out quite difficult. It does drip so I keep it in a garden so the soil underneath benefits. I have noticed there is now an improved model slightly larger but with bigger openings and a side winder which would be great as when it is getting full it can be quite difficult to turn easily.

Gives me more room in my other bins! – I found assembly quite simple compared to other reviews here. Hardest thing was just working out the best location to put it in my yard. Took us a while to get into the habit of composting our food scraps etc but we now also have a little compost bin under the sink which when full we transfer to this one. Seems to work well/as designed. No issues… Read more

with it, not that I am a composting guru. Sturdy design, relaitvely easy to turn with the grooves in the design. Looking forward to my first useable batch of compost that I can use in my veggie garden!

Disappointed – Makes very wet compost & has odour. Despite lots of brown/carbon the result is still wet. No vents for evaporation/drainage so will always be wet smelly result. Am disposing of bin. Show details

Assembly issues – Followed instructions but I’m unable to make the last panel fit to the door panel. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong? Divider is in properly but the last panel on the barrel is not co-operating.....help! Show details

Does what it says – Had one of these for year or so. Works well enough to buy another but will leave out the divider for this one. Easy to assemble and pretty fast with a power screwdriver, follow the instructions and chop up the box for your first brown material!! Show details

Not bad for the price – I just assembled the Maze 160L Twin Tumbler. I found the instruction brochure easy to understand. The assembly process is a little tedious, requiring 56 nuts and screws to fix the panels. I can understand those that don't have the correct tools or little mechanical ability, may experience difficulty with assembly. If that is the case, I would… Read more

suggest getting a helper to assist. The quality seems reasonable for the price and there are no small plastic components to break. The quality of the actual tumbler seems rather good and all the screw holes lined up. The stand however is made from painted light steel tubing. Nuts and Screws also appear to be just painted mild steel. I would expect both the frame and fixtures to corrode over time.

Maze 160L – Must admit, for an older woman, the instructions did look daunting. After time to ponder the situation and with trusty screwdriver in hand, I was able to assemble the unit. Took me much longer than the average I would suspect but I got there. I am extremely pleased with the unit. So much so , I am thinking i will remove the divider from the unit I… Read more

have and purchase a second unit. I will then use the same principle as for the divided bin but work woth two bins to make much larger batches of compost. Very pleased with the unit and myself.

Can't put it together! – Have had the parts laid out on my living room floor for a few days. The parts list has reference letters but the assembly instructions have diagrams without reference letters. The assembly diagrams are pretty incomprehensible to an elderly woman such as myself and I will have to hire someone to put it together. Many screws and nothing to install… Read more

them with in the package that I can see. Wouldn't recommend it at all unless you have experience of putting things together, which I don't. Called the company to ask if there is an instruction video on the internet which may be easier to follow and left a recorded message; they didn't get back.

Easier to assemble than the 245L one – Just finished building mine. Few assembly tips: 1) set aside 2 hours for a comfortable completion 2) ensure each piece snaps into place (ie each piece has their inside interlocking plastic bit coming through) & make sure all screw holes are full. It is worth double checking each piece before moving on - slowly but steady. 3) work your way around… Read more

from first piece. Leave last piece to be right next to where you start so you can reach into compost slot to screw. This actually makes it one of the easier pieces to finish. 4) cordless drill helps but wouldn't say essential 5) keep that middle divider in the groove. The 4th piece is most difficult but once it's in it settles easy with future pieces as it becomes more locked into place. Tip for middle divider on 4th piece is to let gravity do it's work in keeping it in place by putting the done parts on the ground with divider just 'slotted' in there. 6) final two screws that hold the center bar to the standing frame are locking screws. It will be very very difficult to screw but you need to screw it all the way. For me I could only screw it with a hatchet/special drill bit on my electric drill for lock screws - whilst holding the other end in place with a spanner.

That last bit is the only really annoying part as they don't call it out or explain how exactly to tighten, and try as I might I couldn't do it without my drill bit for it.

As to the product itself: it spins very freely and effortlessly when empty. Time will tell how difficult once full ;)

Simple and gets the job done – I have been using this compost tumbler for a good 4 years now and it still works perfectly fine. There's enough capacity for a family of four and the dual compartment is really useful as you can fit up one half while the other composts. Like all compost systems it does get smelly if you put in too much green material (e.g. kitchen scraps and… Read more

especially fruit) but a generous amount of brown material and a few turns is enough to fix it.

However, the tumbler is a bit cumbersome to empty as the openings are relatively small compared to other tumblers. The compost tends to get stuck around the opening and needs to be encouraged to come out using a stick or hand shovel. I find myself having to scrap out a portion of the compost with my hands as the opening is too small to stick a good sized shovel/other scraping utensil in there. Not a deal breaker for me but keep in mind there are other tumblers out there with bigger openings and which may (or may not) be easier to empty.

If you're just getting started with composting/using a tumbler and want a budget option I highly reccommend this tumbler.

One improvement – Easy to assemble after reading instructions. Only design problem is the compost can escape through the hole at each end and grind away the bush when turning the drum over. I fixed the problem by inserting a length of 27mm high pressure water pipe all the way through the centre. This seals the unit and will extend the life of the unit. Show details

Easy to use – Simple to use and effective. It is large enough to have one batch of compost breaking down while starting on the next. It is easy to turn and doesn't take up too much space. In a year we have produced one batch of compost and are nearly ready for the second. We have not yet run out of room and the divider and dual system has worked well for us.… Read more

We are able to compost food scraps, cardboard, paper and garden waste. It drains well with the breathing holes and days of wet weather have not turned the compost into sludge. I would recommend reading all the instructions before assembling to avoid problems. We didn't and made it much harder than it had to be. It's a little bit of time to assemble but well worth the effort.

Makes composting fun and easy – It took about an hour to assemble - be sure not to waste time trying to get the divider to fit perfectly as the instructions indicate that it won't (this won't affect its performance). Also be sure that the last panels you assemble are near the doors for easy screwing together - otherwise if your last panels are opposite the doors, you'll need to… Read more

lean all the way inside the barrel to assemble and it isn't easy!

I like that the barrel stands tall, so that I don't need to lean over to use it. It's a bit more work to rotate once it gets fairly full and heavy but it's not an issue. I had thought that the opening would be too small to empty the grass clippings from my lawn mower catcher directly into it, but this wasn't a problem. You can even compost the plain cardboard box that it comes in. It does dribble a bit of liquid out of the breathing holes sometimes when it's spinning, but I suppose this is to be expected - just stand back a bit before you spin. I find it's a really good size and it fits more than I expected. Also like the dual barrel feature where you can leave the full side in the barrel to mature while you start up a fresh batch in the other side.

One drawback is removing the compost. The openings are too small and it takes quite a bit of time and effort to get all the compost out. It's especially difficult sticking your arm all the way in without being able to see what you're doing to try remove the considerable compost that clings to the internal plastic mouldings that help turn the compost. One other negative is that because of the rotation feature, my compost always comes out in round, tennis ball sized lumps that I need to pull apart prior to use. This happens even when I try and minimise turning.