SQUEEZE master Compost Turner

I have used this aerator several times a week for over a year, and it’s still working great and feels as sturdy as ever. I keep mine outside, and both the stainless steel and the plastic handles have remained in good condition. So much easier than turning a compost pile with a shovel!

Works well, but one problem is the bolt length. Many of the 1 star reviews said, the handle comes apart and ends up in the compost. This only happens because the bolt that attaches the two sections together is slightly too short, and does not full engage the self-locking nut. (See photos). I bought a proper length bolt, which works properly. The bolt is a M4 x .7 (diameter x thread pitch). The bolt that was included was 15mm long, the one I bought was 20mm long. It needs to be at least 18mm.

This Item is efficient and Easy to use, It is Light weight. It is a little difficult to assemble requiring nimble fingers but is only one screw and and all tools are included.

I prefer this to any of the tumble compost bins.

The joint in the middle seems like a potential point of failure, and an obvious compromise for shipping. But it's pretty sturdy. Depending on the nature of your compost, it might be some effort to pull it up, but it does its job.

I usually don't review items that I have just had only a few hrs, but I hope that my experience will help others. Keep in mind that I am a woman in her early 70's with a rotating compost bin, and 3 other stand up types of bins ..,2 dyi garbage bins and a geo bin. 1. Putting together the Squeeze Master was simple, but a bit frustrating when I got to the tiny nut...kept dropping it and wasn't sure that I had it on in the right way when I finally succeeded. Sure hope that I got it on tight enough and that it doesn't come loose eventually. I am thinking that wing nuts would have been easier for me. Surely, they could have sent an extra nut incase the 1st one comes loose? 2. I am impressed at how sturdy and well made it is, aside from the tiny nut...lol I love how comfortable the swiveling hand grips are and very glad that I didn't get a model without them, as turning the compost still requires a lot of effort. This probably isn't the best tool for someone with very weak arms or hands. 3. No instructions on how to use :( Fortunately, I watched several utube videos, so I had an idea on how to best use it. Don't try to go very deep the 1st time. I was only able to get a 12" down in my geo bin of almost finished compost that is currently at about 20" deep. Now I don't have a lot of arm strength even though I do planks...think that will change if I turn my compost more often! That said, I found that the outside edges which were drier were easier to penetrate deeper. I will say that I have avoided trying to turn any compost in this geo bin which is about 4 ft wide for many months until just recently because it is such a chore. So, I am hoping that using the Turner will speed up the process, as I actually enjoyed doing it. Now, the other 2 bins have much less finished compost with larger pieces and I found them very difficult to do much with at this point...probably will still need to dump those bins and turn with the old pitch fork until they are further along. In the future, I will try to chop my compost into smaller pieces and possibly this will be an easier chore!

The overall idea of how this works is good; however it is poorly made. It came apart in the compost and the piece that secures the two halves together got lost in the pile, now I can't use it.

It makes the job of turning much easier and it is very comfortable to use