[Jd1980]

So I have 2 plastic dalek composts .
Debating whether to keep these or replace with a built one made from reclaimed pallets..

Figure the pallet ones will be easier to turn, slightly bigger and better to look at .
Or am I wasting my time and should I stick with the daleks ?

Opinions greatly received

[AlaninCarlisle]

I have two Daleks and a home-built wooden compost holder.
Wooden holder contains about three times the volume of the Dalek
Wooden holder has a finite life and rots away needing to be re-made every few years
They are equally convenient for turning
The Dalek is easier to empty, I just lift it off leaving a pillar of compost that is easy to load into a wheelbarrow
The Dalek is easier to re-site once emptied

[sunshineband]

It depends how much compost you make: daleks don't take so long to fill and leave to rot down, pallet bins take masses (I have 3 and have one being filled, one with compost being used as and when, plus one still rotting) Used daleks for years but it got so as I needed a fair few and they took up more ground space than the three pallet bins in a row. Just unscrew the front to access the compost. They do eventually need replacing but pallets are always available

[Plot 1 Problems]

I have two pallet bins for my main composting and two plastic daleks which I fill with leaves every Autumn, some which get added to the pallet bins when I'm short on brown waste and the rest which are left until I have leafmould to go into my beds.

[Fairy Plotmother]

We have 3 pallet compost bins and use the same as Sunshineband. We also have 1 dalek which I don’t find very easy to use. I will probably dispose of it next season.

[snowdrops]

I have a 4 bay compost bin made from scaffold boards, another wooden bin made from parts of my old shed & the front slats from my old pallet bin, & a green Johanna bin that is plastic. I used to have plastic daleks but I couldn’t lift them when it came to emptying them, plus the  wooden bins take less space for the cubic metre of compost that I produce which was approximately 6 cubic metres last year.

[JayG]

Daleks work fine for me, just wish they were square in section rather than round and tapered (OK, they wouldn't still be called Daleks and would probably fall over too easily, but at least they would take up less space for a given capacity.  )