Hotbin v Green Johanna

[DigbyTheDigger]

Any thoughts on either of these? I’m leaning towards the Green Johanna as I have a spot for it on soil and in shade, which is what they recommend, although we’d only be able to access one of the two hatches.
The Hotbin straps look fussy and annoying to me.
Are either of them better at deterring rats?

I had a terrible few years with a Hotbin. They clearly work for some but all I got was a putrid mess. I'd bought it specifically to put on a hard surface but in fact it leaked the leachate so we had this dark brown goo spreading across decking.

My view is that you have to be very careful with the contents to ensure there is sufficient air in there, which given it's a sealed unit (sort of, see comment above about leaking) is hard.

Also crazily expensive - I paid £200 but see they are now £300z Unless you fancy a used one for £20!

Yes, I definitely prefer that the Green Johanna stands on soil so there's not a leakage issue.

Don't fancy a putrid mess.

I got given a hotbin. It works pretty well for us, it's on the drive and when I remember I drain the liquid off, but it kind of drains off into a bed so it's OK anyway.

I've always got decent compost out of it, half empty it 2 or 3 times a year. and the fresh stuff goes down to the bottom.

So it's fairly efficient, I don't pay much attention to what proportion I put into it but will add a bit of cardboard if it's looking gloopy.

It's a bit of a pain to empty though. I used to have a dalek and you just levered it off and then put the good stuff in a wheelbarrow and the unfinished stuff back in.