Anyone used the Big Pig composter?

zippie · 26-08-2005 8:59pm #1

hi
I'm thinking of buying one of these (http://www.growgreensolutions.com/PAGES/digesters.htm#JORA270) - they take anything and everything, and produce compost within 6 weeks apparently. don't smell and aren't too bulky. Has anyone got one of these and how do you find it? It costs a fortune (550 ex VAT), but I guess you make it back on reduced bin costs in the long run. why don't the government subsidise this kind of thing?

Takeshi_Kovacs · 27-08-2005 11:59am

sounds a bit too expensive , you should do a google, and see if you can make a homemade one...

i don't have any worrys with leftovers, i got two big hungry alsatians that will eat nearly anything ( except people.. they're nice doggies )

WILKEL · 28-08-2005 2:58pm

I have been using the greencone - a organic food digester (www.greencone.ie) for over 3 months now without any problems.
it only cost €40 euro from the local council. It does not make compost like the big pig as the food decomposes into the ground.
It is worth a try and there is now smell from it.

cuckoo · 09-09-2005 11:35pm

Wilkel, which council did you get the Green Cone from? It looks very interesting, especially as it takes all kitchen waste.

WILKEL · 10-09-2005 11:00am

CUCKOO - I GOT IT FROM Mayo County Council

Mothman · 10-09-2005 10:19pm

Been using Green Cone as well. Has taken all organic waste from kitchen, which is a lot, and it has kept up with it all summer.
Will have to empty it soon because of the volume that has been put into it.

Only real problem have been fruit flies, which I think is likely to be a problem with me with any system.

zippie · 11-09-2005 12:35am

don't suppose it takes light paper...or eco nappies?

breffni_murdoch · 25-09-2006 3:38pm

I purchased the Big Pig about a year ago now and overall it has been great. It created great compost which it reduced to nothing and its dead handy 'cos of the fact that it takes meat, also extremely easy to use... It is pricey though but I figured it'd be worthwhile.

Overall great, but three downsides:

1. As far as I remember its says on the documentation that it lasts between 15 to 20 years... I'd be very surprised if mine is still in action in 5 years time. Its started to get a bit shakey already (the bin when full is VERY HEAVY) with the odd screw coming out and needing tightening...

2. During the hot summer the composting process speeded up too damn fast and its started to smell bad... this was solved by adding lots more sawdust than you normally would, pissed off a few neighbours by the time I figured this out

3. You need to know someone who has sawdust! This was a MAJOR problem for me as Grow Green Solutions claimed not to have any when I ran out of the sawdust they provided. Also it is next to IMPOSSIBLE to source a few bags of woodpellets for the composter. Wood pellets tend to be sold in bulk only.

The only serious issue that I have with it is the fact that it seems to be a little less robust than I'd like and I can't really see it lasting the long haul, (I'll probably have to do my own personal repairs to it to make it last the long haul)... saves me putting out an extra bag a week of rubbish which is at the end of the day the reason I bought it!

yop · 26-09-2006 9:51am

Wikel - Did you just ring them up to get it or what department?

breffni_murdoch · 08-10-2006 9:47pm

just rang 'em up - they took credit card over the phone and delivered in about 10 days.....

etcetc · 19-07-2008 11:09pm

anybody else using this?

a review good or bad most appreciated

badolepuddytat · 22-07-2008 12:17am

woodies do bagged pellets. a bit expensive for fuel at about twice the cost of bulk..... but for the small qtys there..... it should eb ok.

Jim Comic · 29-08-2012 12:46pm

i got the jk400 (very big one) last year and so far no probs, though somehow worms climbed up and got in but that's not an issue

the wood logs for home fireplaces are just fine re. the sawdust issue, just pop one in every now and then and they'll disintegrate after a few daily revolutions of the pig itself

louise MchUGH · 08-01-2021 5:26pm

breffni_murdoch wrote: »

I purchased the Big Pig about a year ago now and overall it has been great. It created great compost which it reduced to nothing and its dead handy 'cos of the fact that it takes meat, also extremely easy to use... It is pricey though but I figured it'd be worthwhile.

Overall great, but three downsides:

1. As far as I remember its says on the documentation that it lasts between 15 to 20 years... I'd be very surprised if mine is still in action in 5 years time. Its started to get a bit shakey already (the bin when full is VERY HEAVY) with the odd screw coming out and needing tightening...

2. During the hot summer the composting process speeded up too damn fast and its started to smell bad... this was solved by adding lots more sawdust than you normally would, pissed off a few neighbours by the time I figured this out

3. You need to know someone who has sawdust! This was a MAJOR problem for me as Grow Green Solutions claimed not to have any when I ran out of the sawdust they provided. Also it is next to IMPOSSIBLE to source a few bags of woodpellets for the composter. Wood pellets tend to be sold in bulk only.

The only serious issue that I have with it is the fact that it seems to be a little less robust than I'd like and I can't really see it lasting the long haul, (I'll probably have to do my own personal repairs to it to make it last the long haul)... saves me putting out an extra bag a week of rubbish which is at the end of the day the reason I bought it!

Hi can I ask if you are still using your Big Pig and how you found it. We purchased one in October 2020 and have just emptied for first time Jan 8th 2021. Our first compost spells nice and looks good. Like you we added saw dust and soil.

Bricriu · 26-01-2021 8:48am

Very badly built; self-tapping screws are used where bolts are needed. Some of the self-tapping screws didn't 'anchor' properly
I substituted my own bolts for some of the screws; otherwise it would not have held together.
Shaky and started to rust after two years.
Doesn't make compost very fast.
Expected much, much more for the very high price.

Advice: make you own from wood and slab-insulation, or get a good DIY friend to make it for you.

hirondelle · 26-01-2021 12:52pm

To add to this discussion. I got a regular square flat pack composter a few years ago, buried it a third of the way into a large hole already half-filled with stone chippings and backfilled around it. It is set back a good distance from the house.

Since then, every bit of unwanted food waste along with some paper and torn up cardboard has gone into it. There is only myself and my wife, so it isn't a huge amount of food waste- we don't eat a lot of meat between us but do eat dairy and that is potentially a source of bad smells etc.. We had one visit from rodents early on, I compacted a bit more stone and the problem vanished. It works absolutely great- no additives, just add a bit of extra water in the summer (the washing up water) and we make sure there is a bit of paper going in also.

Absolutely no smells or other nuisances. The one thing to be clear about- it is really just a cheap food digester- I haven't had to empty it in over six years now, I don't turn the contents or do anything else to it and the waste just continuously reduces in bulk to the point that it never actually fills. With more food we would just need to put another composter to increase capacity but otherwise it seems to be foolproof. So our entire food waste disposal cost for six years is €30.

I compost our green waste separately (pallets/New Zealand composter) and that is what I use as the source of compost in the garden.

tom1ie · 17-04-2021 5:24pm

Hi all,
I'm thinking of getting one of these, but I didn't realise you have to mix the food scraps with sawdust.
Question I have is can you just use paper and cardboard cut up small to substitute the sawdust?

Anyone used the Big Pig composter?

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