Dolmen Compost Mixer and Aerator

It took about 4 weeks to convince myself it was worth £36 including P&P to purchase this tool. It is fantastic, well designed and made. It will work in any shape or size compost bin or pile and completely stops the anaerobic smelly lawn cutting layers. It is easy to use and quickly and effectively mixes and aerates the compost, it is bound to make good quality compost much more quickly that my previous composting methods over the decades, with much less effort. I have enthused about this tool to 2 gardening friends since buying it 3 months ago, letting them try it themselves. It is so good that both have now purchased one for their own use and are equally delighted. That is sufficient endorsement to recommend highly, despite its initial cost. It is a quality steel which looks as though it will probably last me for many decades. Update June 2024: After 2 years of use my expectation that it will make high quality compost quickly has been confirmed. Several "crops" of great, friable compost, made in less than half the time taken previously from the same pair of large compost bins. Well worth the initial expense. Further update after 3 years of use: This tool has continued to deliver excellent service. I have easily saved several times its initial cost in additional high quality compost made. We had to buy some commercial compost recently for the first time since purchasing this device, highlighting the exceptional value this stirrer delivers/

I am an ex-professional gardener. I am currently maintaining a hot heap in a jacketed Green Johanna compost bin. I have been composting successfully for decades and used to supply my own compost to my customers, but this is the first time I've maintained a heap during the winter. The temperature had been averaging the mid to late 40 degrees celcius mark, but had dropped to 40 and needed turning. I have a dodgy back atm, so didn't want to fully extract the bin contents to turn them, plus it was Christmas and I had other things to do! So, I bought this and used it on 28 December 2021 to bring material from down near the bottom of the bin to the top - a five minute job with this tool - then left the pile to do its thing. When I checked on 30 December 2021, the temperature had risen to 57 degrees celcius, showing that the aerating device had worked well. This device allows the contents deep down in a compost bin to be brought to the surface for aerobic decomposition without having to dig the bin contents out and mix them. It saves a lot of time and effort. It can be used in narrow compost bins which are hard to use other tools in, is a simple idea, but very effective, though, admittedly, I've only used it once so far. I'm 5 ft 10.25" tall. I suspect that height may be an advantage using this tool, particularly if you want to go deep in the pile - I think someone shorter than me may struggle a bit trying to pull the tool and it's contents back up from the depths, though if they stood on a foldaway work platform (NOT a ladder!), or some other stable elevated surface, it may work. I suppose that if you find it difficult to pull it up, you could just wind it back in, say, 6" increments, stopping and pulling every 6" until you find a depth where you can comfortably pull it up with the material from the heap - mind your back if you do this though! All in all, I think this is a great tool and it works well for me.

Delivery was quick and arrived within a couple of days of ordering. Once it was delievered I immediately went to my compost bin (standard manufactured bin) to put it to use. At first it's a bit tricky to get the hang of it but once you do it works amazingly! Because I have a manufactured bin, the opening is not very big so I found it difficult to turn the compost all the way to the bottom with a fork (or other tools), it was awkward and messy, plus a fork is very labour intensive and doesn't half do your back in. But this clever mixer and aerator took the strain out of the work. It turns all the way to the bottom, aerating and mixing and within days my full compost bin had shrunk down at least 3-4 inches and the material breaking down much faster. It takes half the time than it did with other tools. It also comes with illustrated instruments that was simple to follow. To sum up, I would HIGHLY recommend the Dolmen Compost Mixer and Aerator. It is very effective for mixing and aerating any standard compost bin (which after all is what you want). It is not as labour intensive that a garden fork! Not as time consuming as other tools, and not as messy. Plus, it is made of solid steel so you wouldn't have to worry about it breaking or rusting so you can leave it outside next/near the compost bin. If you haven't got one, get one- makes your life more easier (well at least turning your compost at least). Worth the money and the 5 stars!

Recently invested in a compost bin and to start with I used a pitchfork to turn my garden waste. It was bloody hard work, inefficient and frustrating. Saw this device and basically it's a twisted bit of metal which makes light work of turning your garden waste. It really works! It's light and easy to use - just place in the bin, screw it round and it will delve into the bin, lift it back up and it will turn the waste with ease. It only takes a few minutes to turn your waste, unlike with the pitchfork - it took an age to turn my heap. Only downside is the price - 20 quid for a piece of twisted metal?? :/ Otherwise a good device, cannot fault it.

I have just received this item,not expecting too much. How wrong was I? This is a fantastic product. The design is breathtakingly simple. There is absolutely nothing on here to break and like all the best ideas, it really works! I have just spent a happy half hour in the garden aerating the compost in my two large plastic compost bins. Not being tall and weighing very little, I have never been able to turn the compost in my bins and have been unable to do anything other than jab at it with a fork, usually damaging my hands on the bin in the process. This little gadget made it easy. Simply hold the handle and screw it into the compost - then pull! Up comes the compost, shake it off and repeat. Having not turned my compost ever, I went bit by bit, working through the layers in the bin. If you go too far and can't the gadget up simply unscrew it a little until it is comfortable for you to pull. I have turned both bins completely. The tool reaches easily to the bottom. I will be doing this regularly and know this will improve the quality of the compost tremendously as well as the speed it breaks down. If you are thinking about buying an aerator get this one it is fantastic. Just ordered another for the allotment!

Bought this based on other reviews so thought I would add my own to the list. I very rarely (if ever) write reviews but this is such a brilliant little tool I felt compelled. Having a garden is a relatively new thing for us and there's been a rather steep learning curve. We were very keen to get composting but ummm ... let's just say we've not been...particularly diligent...in our turning (ahem). We have a double wooden bin type set up and turning it from one to the other was definitely labor intensive and time consuming. This more or less discouraged me from ever wanting to do that particular chore. I tried just going at the pile with a pitch fork - and roughly turning it over on itself - but this was also heavy and difficult for me (and in no way joyful) - plus I stabbed the bin itself on more than one occasion. It's now time to get my veggies going for the year and, given the compost I'd hoped to use was only partly broken down, I lamented our poor turning and went looking for things that might help. I read the reviews on this and thought it might be just the thing. It arrived quickly and was well wrapped. I was keen to give it a go based on the reviews so today I jabbed it into the first pile and turned the handle (despite it being just a thin piece of metal - I found very easy to do). The tool screwed into the pile like a cork screw. I pulled upward yanking it out and effectively bringing stuff from the bottom of the pile to the top. It was actually a little fun (though it is quite possible the fun-ness factor will wear off quickly). In hardly any time at all I was able to get some real air into the pile and give it all a good shift around. There were a few places where I screwed it down to the bottom and it was too heavy for me to pull up - so I just unscrewed a bit and pulled up less stuff - went down again and pulled some more. I can see that if I use it regularly my compost will be much better aerated and will break down much quicker. The fact that this is so easy and really quite painless to use means that I am much more likely to actually use it. Given my bins hadn't really been turned in ages it was a little workout for my arms but honestly not too bad and if done regularly I imagine it will be even easier. It literally took minutes. I think you can probably tell I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to others. I wish I had bought one earlier.

I saw a lot of mixed reviews and complaints about the price so probably spent 4 weeks deciding whether or not to get it, I'm really glad I did, I think its an excellent tool, and whilst it might seem expenses for what is a shaped piece of metal, you factor in cost of the material, postage, selling fee's and wages, and i don't suppose they sell enough to get economies of scale and drop the price. Currently have 4 dalek style compost bins in various stages: 1. The first one is pretty much finished compost, this tool really fluffs up the compost, I added shredded leaves and they have mixed in well, mixing is really easy at this stage. 2. The 2nd one is full to the top, of half composted material, as the bin is pretty much full its quite difficult to get to the bottom of the bin, and i keep pulling bits over the top of the bin. However, using the tool more or less weekly it is making a noticeable difference and becoming easier to mix up. 3. The last 2 are both early stage of composting, the mixer gets right down to the bottom, its easy to mix up and is really helping churn up some excess grass that went in. I am noticing the compost isn't dropping as fast as it would normally do, which makes me think its not as compressed so getting more air in, though obviously its also colder this time of year so not composting as fast. Really its the wrong time of year to be able to tell the impact on speed of composting, but I'm confident its working well, and it only take 10 mins for me to mix all the bins saving a lot of hassle, i hadn't been mixing the compost of other than sticking a fork into the top, which took longer than giving it a proper mix with this tool. I'm about 5ft 10 and its a pretty good height, I think if your 2-3 inches shorter it might be a little more tricky to use, especially with a full bin, though a small step would help, and in my opinion it would be worth the effort. Very please I purchased this.

I spent ages researching these and other compost aerators before finally buying one, and I made the right choice. There are other aerators on the market that are much cheaper. They have little wings that are supposed to open while in the compost, but many reviewers say they don't open, so I struck those off my list. That left this design - it costs a bit more but people were saying it actually works (a very important quality in a product). I then noticed that this type vary in length according to their brand. This is important if you have Dalek-style compost bins as it's a long way down from top to bottom. This was the longest one I could find, and has good reviews, so this is the one I chose. It's perfect! One of my Daleks is particularly tall and it gets right down. To use the aerator, you simply place it on the top of the pile and screw it in, then pull it out and tap it on the side of the bin to shake off what you've drawn up. My heap was very compacted, so I started by just doing the top bit and worked my way down, but it was still done in next to no time. If you find you can't pull the spike out easily, it mean you've gone into really compacted stuff. Just unscrew it a bit and try again, then work your way down gradually.

Kurz: Ich bin begeistert! Länger: Mit dem Kompostbelüfter kann ich mir das mühsame Umsetzen meines 500l-Thermokomposters sparen. Durchrühren und fertig (nur aufpassen, dass man den Bodenachutz gegen Nager nicht dabei kaputtmacht). Unten mühsam Rausschaufeln und oben mühsam wieder Einfüllen entfällt ab sofort. Klar, das Teil ist gefühlt ziemlich teuer (ich habe fast 30€ dafür bezahlt) und ich hatte mir überlegt, ob das einen Punktabzug wert ist, aber mich dagegen entschieden. Irgendwer hat das erfunden, die richtige Übersetzung für das Kurbeln berechnet und das produziert. Ich könnte das nicht. Das Teil spart mir Zeit und Rückenschmerzen und ist damit den Preis wert. Der Versand erfolgte schnell, gut verpackt, aber ohne überflüssigen Verpackungsmüll. Klare Kaufempfehlung!

Absolut TOP! Der Kompoststab/ Kompostbelüfter ist eine einfache, aber geniale Konstruktion aus Stahl. Mir gefällt besonders die Länge. Andere Geräte sind kürzer. Die Habdhabung ist selbsterklärend. Etwas schräg ansetzten-eindrehen, Stab herausziehen. Der Kompost wird gelockert, belüftet, gemischt und die Feuchtigkeit gleichmäßig verteilt. Hab nix negatives gefunden. Gut der Preis ist schon etwas hoch, aber ich bereue es nicht. Da ich einen Thermokomposter nutze, wo sich das umsetzten ja schwierig gestaltet, zahlt sich das Teil erst recht aus, da man sich den Schritt dann spart.

Mein Thermokomposter wies verdichtete Stellen auf, so dass ich mir diesen Rührlöffel bestellt habe. Anfangs war es kraftaufreibend, ich hab ein paar Tage immer mal wieder herumgerührt. Jetzt ist alles ganz fluffig, wie frisch aufgesetzt. Von mir eine klare Empfehlung. Bedienungsanleitung in Englisch, jedoch bebildert.

Ein tolles Teil, das ich mir schon letztes Jahr hätte kaufen sollen. In 15 Minuten habe ich meinen Komposter komplett durchmischt. Umsetzen hat sich erübrigt.