Is the FCMP dual chamber composting tumbler worth it?
The FCMP dual-chamber composter is made of 100% post-consumer recycled BPA-free, UV-inhibited black resin. It is designed to absorb heat to promote increased material breakdown and withstand harsh weather, including direct sunlight, heavy snow, and rain.
Product Specs.
- Size: 30″ L x 28″ W x 36″ H
- Capacity 37 Gallons
- Dual-Chamber
- Tumbling Design
- Made with 100% post-consumer plastics that can be recycled again
The dual chamber holds 37 gallons (about 18.5 gallons per chamber). The barrel easily rotates, allowing for easy mixing with minimal effort. It also has multiple holes for aeration, making it highly efficient and easy to use.
The barrel is elevated from the ground, preventing it from exposure to rodents. It has a very stable steel galvanized frame and allows the chamber to be accessed via a sliding door without having to bend (a huge accessibility plus for me, who lives with chronic pain). It also does not require the use of a shovel to turn the pile (another huge plus for me).
Why Choose a Dual Chamber Composter?
- Faster composting process: The best feature of dual chambers is simply that you can fill one side up, allow it to decompose completely, while the other side is being filled with fresh organic waste. For a small household that composts regularly, this composter should give you about 3–6 months of space (in my experience) to fill a side while during that time the other side should fully be ready to go!
- Better Aeration: This composter has vents for each chamber as well as little slotted vents around the entire barrel. The airflow of this composter allows aerobic decomposition (the process of organic matter breaking down in the presence of oxygen) to occur quickly, while releasing odors, excess liquid (that may drip from the bottom) and ultimately result in healthier compost.
- No Waste Accumulation: The dual chamber feature means that you never have to wait on compost to finish before you can empty and reload the composter. This allows you to steadily use the compost on one side, why continuously adding to the other side so there is never a moment where you are unable to compost efficiently.
How to Get the Most from your FCMP Dual-Chamber Composter
While composting can get tricky, using the composter isn’t.
- Save the Scraps. Choose a side, and begin filling it with the right stuff. You’ll want to add fruit and veggie scraps, teabags (without staples), plant cuttings (aside from any ones that have bacteria that can survive the compost), grass cuttings, leaves, small twigs, eggshells, and pretty much any organic matter. If you aren’t sure — research is your friend. (Avoid meat, dairy, meat-eating animal waste, or plants with seed heads that you don’t want to see pop up in your composted area in the future — while a healthy compost pile can properly break down some of these items, beginners are safest avoiding the complicated things).
- Balance your compost. There are many books, scientific articles, and studies on the perfect temperature, blend, nutrients, and more for your compost pile. But the secret is you can have nice compost without worrying too much about the fine details. The short of it is, if your compost is too wet, then add more dry (also called browns, like leaf litter, cardboard, twigs, etc.). If your compost is too dry, keep adding more wets (also called greens, like vegetable scraps, fresh grass clippings, etc.)
- Turn the chamber. Aeration is key to healthy compost. The more oxygen, the faster it will break down, so don’t feel the need to squish everything together — let it say loose! I turn the chamber a few rotations every time I add something, and if I haven’t composted in a few days, I make sure to still go out and turn it to ensure it stays fluffy.
- Use the Compost. This is the best part: you can add your compost to garden beds and pots. If you don’t have a particular spot in mind for your compost or you are composting so much you have too much, I sprinkle it over my entire yard. Compost will help overall soil nutrition, and if you have grass or wildflowers, it will work its way to rebuild topsoil and be better not only for your plant life but for the environment.
6 months later
I’ve used the composter for six months, adding a variety of scraps, including fruits, veggies, coffee grounds, leaf litter, cardboard shreddings, eggshells, paper shreds, and more.
After six months of sitting in full sun, the barrel’s color, the integrity of the frame, and the construction have not changed noticeably.
There is some compost leakage from the bolt holes as well as the aeration holes after rain or with too wet compost. After this, you may notice that the compost wants to cling to the bottom of the chamber. Eventually, it will unstick with rotation, or you can poke it with a hand shovel.
Rodents do not get into the chamber, but lots of insect life does—which isn’t a problem for me because it only speeds up the rate of compost. It also attracts birds who like to watch the aeration holes to see if any insect life falls out, which my cats love to do.
How much compost has it made?
After six months, one chamber is nearly full and one chamber remains empty. A majority of the material in the bin is nearly ready to use but will likely take another few months to fully breakdown. It will be faster in the warmer months and slower in the cooler months.
There has not been a noticeable smell from the compost, but this should not be an issue if the correct materials are added in tandem and the barrel is regularly rotated. However, I would not put this bin near on a porch or near a house due to the sometimes leakage that could result in smelly and unwanted liquids.
Remember: A stinky compost pile is not a healthy compost pile.
"A stinky compost pile is not a healthy compost pile."
Would I recommend the dual-chamber composter?
Yes! I am an active composter, and this bin has been enough to keep up with all of my scraps, is easy to use, and is much faster than a classic compost pile that takes much more work to maintain.
I do want to note that I did receive this composter for free as a part of a city-wide initiative to introduce composting to rural areas and reduce the amount of trash reaching landfills and I am not sponsored by FCMP. Before using the tumbling composter, I used a compost pile which is largely inefficient compared to this composter. Even without the initiative, I had my eye on this composter, and I would gladly buy this composter and will buy more if more compost space is needed or if it ends up needing replaced. There are many similar brands with comparable composters so while this is the composter I use; I encourage testing other brands as well!
However, I think this composter will work for my current needs for the foreseeable future. Yippie!
*Links in this article are Amazon Affiliate links that do not cost anything additional if you buy through the link but does result in a small commission for me, which helps me write more articles like this.
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