Composters are one of the most effective tools to create your compost in the comfort of your home. Instead of spending money on bags of compost which are virtually free to produce, albeit time-consuming, instead you should invest in a handy composter to produce your own nutritious and environmentally-friendly piles of compost.
With proper know-how and, of course, the right tool, you too can begin the decomposition process of rotten vegetables, biodegradable paper, and fallen leaves and twigs and turning them into completely usable compost.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at two popular composter models from Envirocycle and Yimby. One look at any of these models and you’ll instantly fall in love with the idea of composting. They’re both extremely easy to use, easy on the eyes, and work beautifully at retaining heat and moisture and circulating air. However, the big question is which of these two models is better. Let’s find out.
Mount
Envirocycle E20C-BK
The first thing we notice when looking at the Envirocircle is that it doesn’t have a stainless steel mount. Instead, the tumbler sits on top of a base with plastic rollers which rotate the tumbler, distributing oxygen to each and every compost particle within. The plastic rollers work beautifully and seamlessly, though you need to install them properly. Replacement wheels are easy to get from the manufacturer as well.
Yimby IM4000
As for the Yimby, the tumbler is mounted on galvanized, rust-free steel which sits roughly two feet off the ground. This means that loading and unloading compost from the unit doesn’t require much bending, so it’s easier to access. Because it sits on a steel mount, it’ll take much more floor space, though when placed outdoors, space shouldn’t be a problem.
Conclusion: Only the user can decide whether they can sacrifice more floor space for the Yimbly or need a more compact model like the Envirocircle. In our opinion, the Envirocircle would work better for people living in apartments off of the ground floor, whereas the Yimbly would better-suit homeowners with lawns in which to place the tumbler.
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Tumbler Capacity
Envirocycle E20C-BK
An important spec to pay attention to when purchasing a composter is the compost capacity. You don’t want a model that can’t hold enough compost to supply free nutrients to your entire garden or indoor plants, but you also don’t want to invest in a larger-than-needed composter. The Envirocircle features a 35-gallon tub which, in our opinion, is more than enough to provide for all of your indoor plants and small gardens without overkill.
Yimby IM4000
The Yimbly’s tumbler capacity isn’t much different from the Envirocircle’s. It features a 37-gallon tub – a 2-gallon difference – which may or may not be significant in providing an adequate amount of compost for your garden. However, the larger tub generally means better air circulation, resulting in quicker decomposition. This is only in theory, of course, and in reality, there isn’t much difference in decomposition times.
Conclusion: We feel that although there is a 2-gallon disparity between the two tumblers’ capacities, this shouldn’t be significant enough to persuade you to put one on a higher pedestal. At the end of the day, serious gardeners would probably require larger tubs, whereas hobbyist gardeners would need something smaller.
Compost Tea
Envirocycle E20C-BK
Compost tea is the residual water produced after compost is fully matured and ready to use. The liquid is just as beneficial to your plants as the solid compost is to your garden’s soil. The Envirocircle features several drain ports from which you can extract the liquid and pour it over your plants to give them much-needed nutrients to grow.
Yimby IM4000
Like several other models on the market, the Yimbly doesn’t come with drain ports. The only way to extract the tea is by dumping out the contents or compressing them while they’re in the bin. It can be a tedious and messy process, but it’s definitely worth it if you can get a couple of cups worth of liquid gold (so to speak).
Conclusion: The Envirocircle’s drain ports make tea-extraction extremely easy to do. Simply twist off the plugs and place a cup under the tumbler. As for the Yimbly, you’ll need to get your hands (and ground) dirty to get to the liquid.
Chambers
Envirocycle E20C-BK
Composters can come with one or several internal chambers. These compartments can be used to separate the ready-to-use compost from the currently-decomposing mixture so you can use and prepare compost simultaneously. The Envirocircle features a single chamber so you’ll end up mixing the new with the old.
Yimby IM4000
The Yimbly features two separate chambers. Accessing the different chambers is done by sliding open one of the doors. Although mixing the new with the old isn’t detrimental to the decomposition process, it does mean that you need to wait a little bit for the newly inserted materials to decompose. With the Yimbly, you can skip that step entirely.
Conclusion: We feel that with multiple chambers you can get more work out of your tumbler. Essentially, the Yimbly allows you to produce and use your compost simultaneously. The Envirocircle, and many other models like it, feature a single chamber which mixes old and new compost, so you’re really limited to how much ready-to-use compost you can use on a regular basis.
Envirocycle vs Yimby: Verdict
Deciding the better of the two models is a challenge. First of all, they’re designed for entirely different markets – the Envirocycle E20C-BK is made for people with limited floor space, whereas the Yimby IM4000 is designed for people with large front or back yards.
However, in our opinion, the better of these two models has to be the Envirocircle. It’s not just the more beautiful-looking model of the two, but it functions extremely well and provides enough compost for the hobbyist- and moderately-serious-gardeners. The only people who need multiple chambers are those who are extremely serious about their gardening business.
For the average Joe and hobbyist, a single chamber that mixes matured compost and adolescent compost materials is just fine. In addition, the ability to extract the nutrient-rich compost tea is something that we consider a plus since not many models allow for easy access and draining to get to the liquid good-stuff.
Composter Tumbler | Recommended
Last update on 2024-03-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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