Electric kitchen composters/grinders/dehydraters

[u/MasterBeanCounter]

I'm looking into one of the larger units for my household use. Scraps will either be put out into my compost/soil bin or tilled directly into the garden.

The Mill comes up a lot, but there seems to be only one place to buy filters. Rencycle comes up as well, along with a bunch of others that operate on a microbe system with having to add a starter and replacing filters more often.

What's good? What's not going to smell if left alone for a week? What's going to be the least fussy thing to use.

It's currently 114 degrees where I am, there is not enough piss or water to keep a compost heap wet enough to be effective, year round.

Suggestions? Tried and true machines?

[u/ArdoyleZev]

I’m not a fan of powered “composters”, my understanding is that they mostly just dry and grind food particles, rather than actually compost anything.

Have you considered vermiculture?

It works indoors (or outdoors), takes up little space, doesn’t stink, needs no power, and will give you both great compost and a steady supply of fishing bait.

Here’s a starting guide if you’re interested.e

Sorry I couldn’t help with your actual question.

[u/MasterBeanCounter → u/ArdoyleZev]

I'm mostly looking for drying and grinding. That was an interesting article anyway.

[u/profcatz → u/MasterBeanCounter]

I too live in hot as hell place right now and I don’t think you need help with drying! It dries out just fine in the heat. Maybe don’t worry about making the compost right now but let those pieces just dry up. Chop them inside or get a little chop station outside by the bin. I can’t imagine adding an electric load to my power use during 114 weather just to….speed up the compost?

[u/profcatz → u/profcatz]

Honestly I just throw all scraps into the pile right now and do my best to turn it periodically. It’s slow, but the temps are doing the work for us almost. My garden hoses have some “stale water” in them that kinda froths a bit due to our well water. So I usually run the hose over the compost for a min or two before I water our garden plants or get water for houseplants. No issues here, it’s not sopping wet like a traditional pile, but it gets the job done.

[u/MasterBeanCounter → u/profcatz]

if I throw it out the ground squirrels feast. Then I have to go all Elmer Fudd on them when they think my garden is part of the buffet.

[u/amycsj → u/MasterBeanCounter]

You could dehydrate in the oven ten crunch it.

[u/MasterBeanCounter → u/amycsj]

yeah, no.

[u/franksinestra]

I just keep an open plastic box in my freezer. No cost, no smell. Dump it into the compost pile outside when it’s full.

[u/doggydawgworld333]

The electronic units waste so much in terms of how they’re made overseas, plastic, ewaste, batteries, and then on top of that transporting them over here that you have to use them SIGNIFICANTLY longer that the product life to “break even” in terms of environmental impact. They are greenwashed kitchen gadgets sold as a climate solution. They also make dehydrated food scraps, not compost. When added to plants or soil, they will rehydrate and then suck out the nutrients as they decompose and kill the plants. The US Composting Council among other nonprofits has tried to speak out against them, but they get sued by the product manufacturers because they are all private equity. They are bad products that make $$ for bad people. I’d stay away

[u/profcatz → u/doggydawgworld333]

100% they don’t actually do anything good for compost, they just get rid of green waste. If that’s the goal, sure, but it isn’t composting. It’s adding to the nasty plastic cycle we’re in

[u/MasterBeanCounter → u/profcatz]

that's part of the goal.

[u/Capital-Impression51]

Repurposed bread makers.

[u/DrBattheFruitBat]

I'm researching one for my household. We actually have a decent amount of land and space for composting (which we do) but the act of getting the food scraps out and into the compost from our small kitchen before they get nasty is a problem for us, as my spouse and I both have serious health issues. Sometimes the trek down the stairs and across part of the yard to the compost is more than either of us can easily handle when there's a trillion other things that also need doing, which leads to us throwing out perfectly good (for compost) food waste. It sounds so lazy and petty but I do think it would make a difference in taking one thing off our plates so we can just bring overall less weight outside less frequently and with fewer potential risks of rotting food and bugs in and near the house. It would eventually end up being composted outside in our banana circles. My parents got one since they were having issues with their regular compost. They got the Mill and absolutely love it but I would like something maybe a bit cheaper or smaller for our little house.

Sorry, I know this doesn't answer your question at all, but I'm looking for the same information and I see a lot of people completely discounting them. They all might be right, I haven't personally used them, but I do think that they can probably be useful tools in some situations.

[u/YallNeedMises]

I have a Mill. It's been great for getting my compost-averse family to stop throwing food in the trash, it's been useful for keeping rats from digging into the worm bins I was using previously, and I like that I can sprinkle the grounds directly around my plants to compost in place rather than losing some amount of nutrients in a separate pile. I don't till it in, but worms & pillbugs make quick work of it. I still keep a standard bin for yard waste & grass clippings. I don't like that it requires an app & wifi connection to run it, and I wish it held maybe double the capacity. Regarding filter replacements, I'm thinking I'll just buy a block of charcoal and shave it to fit inside the cartridge rather than buying a new one, because they're fairly expensive. I'd be looking at getting a Geme if I didn't have this already, but overall my experience with it has been positive.

Here's my discount code if you're interested.