It's the Death Star! Guess it didn't explode after all...

Amazon averages 3 1/2 stars

That's no moon... It's a composter!

As an added bonus, you can be the Death Star for Halloween next year

this thing eats crap like you for breakfast!

They've had this enough times recently that I can remember the FAQ's. To wit:

It's bigger than it looks (heavier, too, when full).

Assembling it is the same kind of fun as a 50-piece 3-D puzzle.

It works really well as long as you only put compostable stuff in it.

Yes, banana peels and coffee grounds go in, too.

No, it does not walk around your yard or shoot a death ray.

Why do the boxes in all of woots pictures always look like crap?

Purchased on a previous WOOT. WORKS GREAT! Lowes/Home depot has same composter without additional stand and the price starts at $135+. If you ever thought about composting this is very easy to use, and does not seem to have the smell of other composers. I think that is due to the advanced airation system.

zark424 wrote:Why do the boxes in all of woots pictures always look like crap?

My guess....So when you get one in slightly better shape you'll feel better about the Woot purchase, as opposed to them showing a pristine box and you getting the beat to crap one and pissing and moaning about it????

bmw66x wrote:It's the Death Star! Guess it didn't explode after all...

Darth Wooter Strikes Back!

Ecomposter with Sputnik Base

So what will this thing do to wood, like the hundreds of branches falling off the oak in my back yard each year? I assume it'll do a good job of rotting leaves, grass clippings, and the stuff I want to throw out of my fridge decently.

I got one a couple of woots ago. Here are some points:

- It's bigger than expected - I had to take to 2 lids off to get it out my door.
- I put it together myself but it definitely would have been easier with 2 people.
- I have it on the spider base and it can be pain to turn once you get it near full.
- It does come with the roll-on base too so you could just roll it round your yard if you prefer.
- It looks cool in the yard - everyone that's noticed it has commented on it.

Two hours for two people to construct? That's enough to keep me away. I'll stick with my little beach bucket.

There's a video about this product at the WalMart site: http://www.walmart.com/ip/EComposter-Model-STC33301/10965911 (WalMart's price on this item is $170)

Dr. Klan wrote:So what will this thing do to wood, like the hundreds of branches falling off the oak in my back yard each year? I assume it'll do a good job of rotting leaves, grass clippings, and the stuff I want to throw out of my fridge decently.

Put the branches through a chipper first and it'll handle them fine.

Nothing says you cook too much food more than a composting ball.

I bought this last time it came around. I have this and another name-brand compost tumbler.

There are hundreds of small parts to build this thing. It'll take the avg person 3-4 hours to setup. Quality of parts is high, instructions good, it is rigid despite plastic appearance.

Once halfway full, using the spider stand, I couldn't even roll the unit anymore b/c theres nothing to grab onto, and forget getting it out of the spider stand at that point. My wife can't roll it once it's one-quarter full, and she's pretty strong.

It comes with optional plastic base that acts like a round curb you can roll it in and out. Much more reasonable if you've got a flat spot and no prankster neighbors or nearby kids that will roll off with your unit.

I found spider base worthless for my level of usage. Other base makes this a superb buy. Putting unit together is not for the faint of heart. It is much sturdier than my Urban Compost Tumbler unit, which I paid 3x as much for.

I would recommend this unit, good bang vs. buck.

5 gallons of organic compost costs about $4. So after only two loads of compost at 70gal each, this baby pays for itself. Then you can turn your lemonade stand into a compost stand, selling worm fecal matter to the neighbors.

Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.

This is probably why my order won't go through!!!

Current numbers (updated each minute)
First sucker: erafailov
Speed to first woot: 5m 40.293s
Last wooter to woot: erafailov

I am trying to get three!!!

Home Depot $193 with spider base, $142 with standard base. WOOT gives you both bases. Great deal.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?keyword=ecomposter&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

If someone could find out the weight for me on this product I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm expecting my Bandolier of Carrots to arrive next Tuesday, and the package is weighing in at 16.4 pounds. I really hope this thing weighs more than that, because even though I know we're all supposed to be going green and helping out the environment, I don't think I'd be too excited to receive one of these. Thanks

Someone mentioned last time that there was a problem with nuts rusting that had been fixed. Apparently that is not the case, since the nuts on mine are rusting. Not good for something that needs to be damp to function properly.

I use neither of the bases provided, preferring instead to simply move it around the yard by rolling it. I'll probably end up using this thing for the compostables that might attract local fauna, and then when they have composted enough to no longer attract them, dump it out to complete the composting processes in a regular pile, freeing up the ball for more kitchen refuse.

The plastic also gets pretty soft when hot, which happens when composting rich material or in the Texas heat (or a combination of the two). That is one reason I don't want it sitting on the rollers. I suspect that will warp the ball too much when the plastic softens. Besides, turning it is easier when you can simply roll it across the lawn.

Just don't leave it in one spot long enough to kill the grass.

shifty wrote:I bought this last time it came around. I have this and another name-brand compost tumbler.

There are hundreds of small parts to build this thing. It'll take the avg person 3-4 hours to setup. Quality of parts is high, instructions good, it is rigid despite plastic appearance.

Once halfway full, using the spider stand, I couldn't even roll the unit anymore b/c theres nothing to grab onto, and forget getting it out of the spider stand at that point. My wife can't roll it once it's one-quarter full, and she's pretty strong.

It comes with optional plastic base that acts like a round curb you can roll it in and out. Much more reasonable if you've got a flat spot and no prankster neighbors or nearby kids that will roll off with your unit.

I found spider base worthless for my level of usage. Other base makes this a superb buy. Putting unit together is not for the faint of heart. It is much sturdier than my Urban Compost Tumbler unit, which I paid 3x as much for.

I would recommend this unit, good bang vs. buck.

Wow. I had no idea composters were so complicated. I thought this was just a giant sphere lol.

...it still says the first and last wooter are the same, is that really right? Only one wooter wooting?

Tickle me silly - 527 pieces, I think that is a woot record! It looks like a worth while endeavor. I bet it dresses up well as a spider for halloween. Costco has something similar, at 51 gallons for 169.99 shipping included. - that makes This Woot deal superior! - Woot on ;)

DrChops wrote:Wow. I had no idea composters were so complicated. I thought this was just a giant sphere lol.

...it still says the first and last wooter are the same, is that really right? Only one wooter wooting?

My order for 3 has been refreshing since 12:09AM CST, and still no confirmation email.

prosperouscheat wrote:I got one a couple of woots ago. Here are some points:

- It's bigger than expected - I had to take to 2 lids off to get it out my door.

To give an idea of the size to expect, the advertised volume of 71 gallons is 16,400 cubic inches. Since it's roughly a sphere, v=4/3 pi r^3. which leads to a radius of roughly 15 3/4" (a bit over 2 1/2 foot diameter), not counting the amount of stuff that it took to make the shell and the tubes.

I've been debating the various composters out there. Saw this one on previous woots and finally decided to pull the trigger. In for one!

ThunderThighs wrote:Our server was getting testy so they gave it a swift kick. It should start spitting things out shortly.

Phew!!! It appears I tried to order more than 3! Luckily only 3 went through, hehe.

Good to go now.

dudeleocious wrote:If someone could find out the weight for me on this product I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm expecting my Bandolier of Carrots to arrive next Tuesday, and the package is weighing in at 16.4 pounds. I really hope this thing weighs more than that, because even though I know we're all supposed to be going green and helping out the environment, I don't think I'd be too excited to receive one of these. Thanks

it weighs 40lbs - I got this off the picture of the box.

I have one. A bit of a pain to put together, not difficult (except for one step), but a bit time consuming. Would have been better if it was just two hemispheres to bolt together instead of all the tabs and pins. But the real design flaws are more serious. The long aeration tubes are a bit silly, they can trap all the stuff on one side and then it may not rotate freely, especially if you haven't turned it in a week.
Some have commented that this has a lot of volume. No, it is too small. My home made wood frame with chicken wire walls takes a year to fill up with scraps, but this thing was filled up in about 2 months, and has shown very little composting. I'm dumping all my compost in the home made one now, because the spherical thing is filled to the brim and frozen into a solid mass, so I doubt it will be any farther along than the chicken wire cage version.
I don't see that it really is any faster than the home made one. I think it is probably a lot slower because it has a volume TOO SMALL to generate the heat from fermentation and decomposition to really cook the organic matter into usable compost. From what I've read, you need a minimum of a 1m x 1m x 1m cube to allow enough heat build up for proper composting.
Maybe next spring I'll have a pleasant surprise and see some results, but so far I'm unimpressed, and I could have build another one out of lumber and chicken wire for $5 that would hold twice the volume and work faster and take less time to assemble.
Looks kind of cool and the toddler likes to spin it (when empty), but it is a rather expensive toy and the only advantage I see is that it cuts down a bit on odor and bugs. But if you can build a normal one a hundred feet from the house, it really doesn't matter.
I concede that the Texas guys have enough heat to get stuff composting inside, but up north, the composting season for this thing might be rather short. With the home made one, I just keep adding to the top, and the bugs and worms assist in mixing it up.

you know, this $100 has been burning a hole in my wallet, and a large ugly device that helps food rot sounds like a great way to spend it.

Works out to about 19 cents a piece! That's value!

I have one of these and it's been sitting semi-constructed on my deck for six months. It's really hard for one person to put it together, and time consuming under any circumstance. A LOT of little parts, but not extras to substitute if, say, the dog pushes a couple of them down through the decking and they're gone forever. A hassle to get substitute parts. Definitely attractive and interesting and the concept is innovative, but antfarmer is right....it's cheaper to construct a board-and-chicken wire composter.

Woot has become really SAD lately.

jlimm1 wrote:you know, this $100 has been burning a hole in my wallet, and a large ugly device that helps food rot sounds like a great way to spend it.

I'll give you the second half. If you're anything like me, you've got a natural talent for encouraging food to rot.

But this thing is ANYTHING but ugly. It's a damn work of art. In fact, if you carried this thing into the right museum you could get a few grand for it.

You might have to hot-glue it to a toilet or somethin' first, but you could get a couple grand from the right hipster.