starting my first compost bin...any tips?

for best composting it needs to be in a hot spot so all ur compost material brews up nicely and breaks down faster.If u dont like the colour of the ''dalek'' u can always paint it differant colour.

Thanks guys, I am going to try it in the shady spot for a year and if noting much happens I will reconsider, I like it being out of sight! Thanks for the link, it suggests things to compost I had not thought of like toilet role inner tubes. Fab thanks.

Put it where it will get sun. If you put it in the shade nothing will happen other than it will go rank and stink
If you don't want to interact with it, and hate the sight of it, then I'd pass it onto someone who will tend it lovingly     Bins change hands in seconds on Freecycle 

my bin is mostly in shade - gets maybe 2 hours of sun in the summer months - does ok - just make sure you layer/mix brown and green - i.e. grass cuttings/cardboad - give it the occasional stir if you can

Cheers,

Balders

All my bins are in full shade and doing fine. There's no need for them to be in the sun if the mixture is right and damp. Nature will work 24/7 regardless.

I have a similar compost bin and it sits behind the shed, but does get the sun.
I put in loo rolls, cardboard, egg boxes, flyers, veg peelings, soft prunings, weeds, veg clearing, grass cuttings

Not sure about putting it on gravel, i always thought it best on soil, so the liguid can drain away and it brings in the worms.
A good sign is seeing plenty of worms, feeling or seeing warmth.
Always check the lid for slugs and snails, they seem to head to the lid so easy to pick off and do what you like with them. 

If you can be bothered every coupla months, spill the whole lot out, give it a damn good mix up, and put it all back in. It's a bit of a ball ache and stinks  , but its worth it. 2/3 months ago I spilled a whole bin out and put it back in mixing some shredded confidential waste as the compost was too wet . This dry matter seemed to make a huge difference as it finished rotting in no time