JK270 - DOMESTIC COMPOSTER
...perhaps the Council now only collects your food waste every other week?
...perhaps you've tried composting before, and been unimpressed?
...considered buying a wormery-type composter, but have been put off by the thought of managing and cleaning?
......if so, then the answer to all your composting concerns has arrived!
We have taken delivery of the JK270 model, designed to make filling and emptying the machine easy. The machine features a split lid, which does away with the 'blanking piece' used on the older models.
The plastic side vents are no longer necessary and a higher-density polyethylene insulation material has been used to eliminate shrinkage problems. A higher stand is available as an optional extra - if you don't have a suitable wall to hang the machine on you are still able to get a wheelbarrow underneath using this stand.
Please note: the higher stand is an extra (if you have one of the older models, this high stand will fit it) - should you purchase this in addition to the regular machine you will get the smaller stand as well. Whatever you put in them, the result is a finished compost ready to use on the garden.
Note: videos are in Windows Media Player format (playback performance will depend on your connection speed).
BUY ONLINE NOW - For prices and delivery information click here.
For answers to our frequently-asked questions, click here.
Download the JK270 Brochure
Download the JK270 Instruction Booklet
The plastic side vents are no longer necessary and a higher-density polyethylene insulation material has been used to eliminate shrinkage problems. A higher stand is available as an optional extra - if you don't have a suitable wall to hang the machine on you are still able to get a wheelbarrow underneath using this stand.
Please note: the higher stand is an extra (if you have one of the older models, this high stand will fit it) - should you purchase this in addition to the regular machine you will get the smaller stand as well. Whatever you put in them, the result is a finished compost ready to use on the garden.
Note: videos are in Windows Media Player format (playback performance will depend on your connection speed).
BUY ONLINE NOW - For prices and delivery information click here.
For answers to our frequently-asked questions, click here.
Download the JK270 BrochureDownload the JK270 Instruction Booklet
Rotation
Regular mixing is necessary for successful composting for two reasons:
- Fresh waste is brought into direct contact with decaying waste, increasing the efficiency of the process
- Air is allowed into the mixture, providing the oxygen that is vital for the process
Insulation
The composting process generates heat, and the different microorganisms start working at different temperatures. The insulation in the JK270 composter allows the temperature to potentially rise as high as 70°C, resulting in the quickest and most efficient composting of your organic kitchen waste.
As temperatures drop in winter, the composting process will slow. However, because of its integral insulation, the JK270 will continue working long after other composters have stopped completely. This photo of our JK270 was taken in January and February this year, when local temperatures got down below minus 5°C on several occasions, and twice reached overnight lows of minus 7 degrees.
Dual Compartments
The JK270 is divided into two compartments. One is being filled while the compost in the other matures. Once the compartment being filled can take no more, the mature compost is emptied from the other compartment, and the cycle begins again.
You can see from the photo that it's time to empty the mature compost from the left-hand compartment and start filling it again, leaving the right-hand compartment to continue composting to maturity.
Rodent-Proof
The JK 270 is sited off the ground, either wall-mounted or freestanding, so there is no possibility of rodents or other pests gaining access to the waste in the machine.
What can be composted?
The JK 270 composter will accept all organic waste generated by a household:
- raw and cooked food scraps - vegetable, meat or fish
- cardboard, e.g. egg cartons
- garden waste
In addition to the waste, which has a high nitrogen content, a source of carbon must be added to provide an energy source for the microorganisms. This is done by adding sawdust or wood pellets (which are simply compressed sawdust) when adding the waste. Start by adding woodpellets in the ration of 1:10 (pellets to waste). However, you might have to add more, depending on the composition of your waste. Add sawdust in the ratio of 1:3 sawdust to waste. The sawdust/wood pellets also absorb moisture, keeping the mixture relatively dry. We have tried using wood shavings but this was not so successful as they do not absorb the moisture to the same degree as sawdust or pellets. Wood pellets can usually be obtained from a solid-fuel appliance vendor as they are used as a biofuel in special wood-burning stoves and boilers. One of our customers has recently told us that coir works very well, as do dry leaves. Dry, chopped straw can also be used.
Note to cat owners: wood pellets are also available as cat litter, so this is an excellent environmentally-friendly way of disposing of your cat waste!
It will take somewhere in the region of 6 to 8 weeks for each chamber from starting to fill to production of compost - so once both chambers are in operation you should be emptying one chamber every 3-4 weeks or so.
Note that the machines are delivered flat-packed (like all things Swedish!) but are not difficult to assemble.
The composters have also been independently tested in the UK - see the report on page 6 of Devon’s Community Recycling & Community Composting Networks newsletter, and also reviewed the Editor of Environment UK magazine - both of which can be viewed below as PDF files:
Devon Community Recycling Composting Networks Newsletter
Environment UK magazine review
Also, click on this link to see a discussion of the JK270 on the Helpful Gardener forum in the USA:
HelpFul Gardener Forum
Assembly instructions for the new model with the low stand and high stand can be found below:
Size comparison with the JK125
To give you a good idea of the relative sizes, here is a side-by-side comparison of the JK 125 and JK 270. Note that the JK 270 now comes in the slightly darker green colour of the JK 125.
To work out the appropriate size for you, the best thing is to measure your waste output over a typical week and compare with the capacities given below. If you are unsure, go for the JK 270. There is no harm in having additional capacity.
The JK 270 has been tested and evaluated in a project comprising 466 households in small houses and blocks of flats and day nurseries. The results proved most satisfactory as shown in the Report No. 4229 by the Swedish Authority for Environment Conservation.
To work out the appropriate size for you, the best thing is to measure your waste output over a typical week and compare with the capacities given below. If you are unsure, go for the JK 270. There is no harm in having additional capacity.
The JK 270 has been tested and evaluated in a project comprising 466 households in small houses and blocks of flats and day nurseries. The results proved most satisfactory as shown in the Report No. 4229 by the Swedish Authority for Environment Conservation.
Your own Ecological Revolution!
RESULTS
These are the results from our JK 270 during winter 2005/6. It took us about 4 weeks to fill one compartment, which was then 'maturing' for a further 4 weeks while the other was filled - a total of 8 weeks from starting to fill with kitchen waste into its transformation into the material you see above - and this was during some quite prolonged cold spells - it produced the barrow full you see plus about a bucket full. During the summer the process only took about 6 weeks.
Technical specifications comparison between the JK125 and JK270
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The JK 270 is particularly valuable in schools as an educational tool.
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