RSI MCT-MC Maze Compost Tumbler, Black

It took a while to put the tumbler together, but the instructions were well-written and unambiguous. I was happily surprised that the instructions show a picture of the bolts needed for each step in actual size, rather than just with a part number reference. This definitely made it easier to make sure I was using the right hardware on each step.The bolts are all hex drive, which is good because it resists stripping better than a Phillips drive would, but the hex key provided is fairly small and my large hands weren't great at holding onto it in some cases. If I had had a hex drive screwdriver that fit the bolts, I would have used it. The tools included are adequate up to a point. I found that the last nut to be installed, which is used for holding the ratcheting mechanism to the frame, gave me a lot of trouble. Whether I tried to thread the nut onto the bolt by hand or by placing it the box end of the wrench, I just couldn't get it to stay in the right position to get the threads started. As I said before, I have big hands, and the nut goes into a in a tight area, so I understand not everyone might experience this problem. I ended up using some angled long nose pliers to hold the nut in place and it threaded just fine.The tumbler works about as well as you'd expect it to. Open the door, add composting material, close the door, and turn the barrel directly or using the crank. It's as simple as that.With the vents closed, It's really good at retaining moisture. I loaded it up with some compost I had already started and added some food scraps and a little water. We had several days of 105-110 F (40-43 C) temperatures, and I expected the compost to be very dry, but when I opened it up to add more material, the inside of the door was wet.The cart that came with the tumbler had instructions for attaching the wheels, but not for attaching the handle. That said, it was simple enough to assemble. I was surprised that it uses wingnuts, rather than hex nuts, for holding the bucket to the handle, since the tumbler only uses hex nuts. Also, the bolts use a smaller hex drive size than the tumbler's hardware. I originally thought I had not been given a hex key with the hardware for the cart, but when I was cleaning up after assembling everything, I found it - it's easy to miss, so keep it somewhere it won't get lost.The only issue I had with assembling the cart is that there's nothing to hold the handle in place while you push the bolts through the mounting holes on the bucket and handle and try to thread on the wingnut. The weight of the handle can cause it to shift and make it more difficult to put the bolts through. If there were some either some piece of plastic to cradle the end of the handle tube or a loop of plastic to pass the handle tube through, it would have made assembly simpler.

To be fair, I have only had this composter for a week, so I can't comment on long term function and use; however, I wanted to speak about assembly and initial function. I was slightly concerned about putting this together after reading some of the reviews, but overall it went quite well for me so thought I would add my two cents.ASSEMBLY: The 2-4 hour time window for assembly is spot on, if you're doing it by yourself. My husband and I put the unit together in just under 90 minutes with no issues, although if I were to do it by myself I can totally see it taking me the better part of 2 hours. It's also obvious that some engineering went into helping this be an easier, although time consuming, assembly. Contrary to a few reviews on here (maybe they've updated the instructions since then), it came with the required tools (allen key and wrench/spanner thing) and the instructions were quite clear on which direction the pieces face and how they fit together. We took a few moments on each step to review what was happening and gather the necessary pieces, and we didn't have to go back and fix anything. Overall the instructions were clear, they gave you actual size of the screws needed for each step (that was nice, as there are five different length screws), and the process went quite well for us .INITIAL FUNCTION: Having only been using it for a week, I can't speak to any longevity, quality of compost, or how fast it works. However, so far it's been great. The openings for adding materials are large and easy to access, and I love the turn handle and lock to hold the barrel in place. Materials seem good and so far the unit appears to be quite sturdy. The centerpiece used to divide the unit into two separate areas is a rigid plastic disc, which can be left out if one large composting area is desired. If you set it up as two compartments, once one side is full all you have to do is switch the sliding covers so the "+" sign is now on the empty side - no manual switching of compost needed!OTHER THOUGHTS:The cart came in a separate box and assembly was as expected; had to work a little to get the metal aligned with the tub to work the screws in, but overall it wasn't a huge issue. Cart is plastic and handles are metal, it's not fancy but that's okay.I'm looking forward to seeing how this unit works over the next year or so!