Miracle-Gro Dual Chamber Compost Tumbler – Easy-Turn, Heavy-Duty Outdoor Bin Composter with 2 Sliding Doors (2x18.5 Gal/70L

I'm really pleased with this. It's my first attempt at composting, and this has made it easy. Assembly was no problem at all, and it's very sturdy. I did have to reconnect one of the legs once; not sure why it came apart but it didn't cause it to fall and I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't looked down. Maybe an animal tried to get into it but if so they did not succeed. I've been using it for a couple of months and have almost filled the first chamber. I don't know yet how long it will take to get usable compost as the shredded paper I've been using for "brown" material doesn't seem to be breaking down very well. My biggest surprise has been that I don't notice much odor at all. I was prepared to hold my nose when I opened it, but it just hasn't been an issue. I don't use any meat or dairy scraps, just vegetable, fruit and plant scraps, coffee grounds, etc. along with dryer lint, cat hair, etc. In addition to tumbling, I do use a long stick to stir the contents a little.Update 11-20-22 At 3 months in, I "harvested" my first compost today! It was such a wonderful feeling, spreading nice rich compost around my trees and on my flower bed. I've already filled half of the second bin. The first one taught me some good lessons about what breaks down well and what does not. Dryer sheets definitely do not, even when torn into pieces. Most of my "green" material consisted of banana peels, coffee grounds and vegetable scraps. No meat or fat. Most of my "brown" material was also from the house: dryer lint, cat hair, certain packing materials, used tissues, etc., all torn into smaller pieces before adding to my kitchen receptacle. My trees are all oaks, and oak leaves do not break down well, so I'll probably keep using household waste for brown material. The best lesson I learned is that if I can't easily tear it into pieces manually, it's definitely not going to break down quickly enough. No twigs or branches. No corn cobs. Also, I used a lot of shredded paper for my first bin and that took a long time to break down. I had to pull some of it out as it just didn't break down at all, so I won't do that again. I've considered buying another bin just for things that take longer but maybe I'm getting too obsessed. LOL

This truly was not difficult to assemble, but it does require good hand strength. If you go online and follow the step by step picture guide it is very easy to follow and get the assembly done in a reasonable amount of time. Make sure the small brackets that you hold the pieces of the barrels together with are in as far as they can go or your barrel pieces will not stay together. I laid them flat on the floor to put together, which made it a bit easier. Putting the small brackets in is the hardest part and it is harder if you don't have much hand strength. I recommend placing something solid under the area you will have to push on (this support helps the brackets go in easier). Then I pulled them up on their side very slowly to attach the first side of the barrel. After that, the rest is easier. ***NOTE: Please make sure that when doing anything with the 2 panels that have the yellow & green doors on them that you follow the instructions EXACTLY as far as what directions they need to go in. If you don't the composter will not be able to function at all.This is a great composter so far. It was very light to move to get it outside where we wanted it; I did it alone, even going down a few steps.So far it seems to be really solid and I am hoping it will hold up for a number of years.The venting holes are small enough so that it should really focus the heat good and cause the composting to work fairly quickly. The really small holes also prevent pests from getting into the compost barrels, which is very good. Do expect such things as flies and maggots to be present because that is natural with decomposing food scraps.****I really feel this is a great investment for multiple reasons, 1) Reducing garbage 2) Gaining Organic fertilizer 3) Reducing what goes to garbage dumps 4) Increasing recycle material that is actually recycled

UPDATE May2023: The broken J-connectors looseness continued to be an issue so I super-glued the junctions to stabilize the panels... problem solved. I needed the gloves to do work in the yard and discovered they are BOTH LEFTHANDED... sturdy thorn-resistant on the palm surface for one hand!The dual-chamber tumble composter arrived Apr 4 and was put together the next day. Assembly is not too complicated but the J-connectors were really difficult to install. Mine were not solid as shown, but actually toothed on the ends, so theoretically they should compress a little. I bent & stretched them as directed, but they barely fit into the slots.There were two extra but several broke off an end tooth which means everything held together well enough for assembly. but the junctions wiggle. I'm concerned the panels may separate when there is actually the weight of compost material in the chambers. I've contacted the Miracle-Gro support to purchase more J-connectors but no one has replied. I can't even find a mention of a "composter" product on any Miracle-Gro website so unsure how this product is supported. I may have to just secure the connections with super-glue if the company does not respond.Otherwise, the dual chamber composter is just about what I wanted. Each chamber should hold enough kitchen waste for several weeks so alternating sides would give enough time for the compost to mature. The construction material is plastic but seems solid. The drums spin easily and doors are secure.I would purchase this item again if the construction issue can be solved.... maybe use hot water or a heat gun to make the connectors pliable during installation.

Was able to assemble in 90 minutes. Simple directions on line, just don't get ahead of yourself; I had to redo a couple steps because I did.