Not sure what "the size of a regular garbage bin" is or would be.

Me thinks or thought that the number of worms is what determines the volume of waste consumed or recycled.

I think their numbers would rise to meet that amount of feeding as long as you could maintain proper healthy conditions. Obviously that over Fed environment would quickly become acidic or otherwise unsuitable for the worms. It'd be difficult & unstable, plus it would crash of you went on a ski trip for a week or so.

Though worms generally stay near the top of the bin, thus the emphasis on surface area, if a bin has good aeration, they will go deeper, so a well aerated bin can support more worms and process more waste.

Im thinking its true worms will stay near the top 3" for the most part . I would think many could underestimate the ability of a large growing herd to process food. But a sign of overfeeding would undoubtedly be unusual bad smells coming from the bins. I have my bins to the point where things are going well but havent reached the breaking point in feeding as yet. Also I concentrate on a balanced bin bedding so as to not get to the muddy point of vc which would not be wanted for my purpose garden/plant amendments.

Number of worms, surface area, aeration all have an effect on the amount of food that can be processed. For example, a worm inn mega (don't have one and am not selling you on it) can support more worms per volume than the 10-gallon plastic totes I use because it is a breathable cloth system and thus has better airflow than a plastic bin. That being said, I'm leery of manufactures' claims because they base them on ideal conditions which most of us can neither reach nor maintain. Take their sales pitch with a grain of salt. Remember, they are after your money so of course theirs is the greatest system since...

charity, that's exactly what I'm thinking, so I'm still hoping to hear from someone with first hand experience with a "Hungry Bin". Would be even more helpful if he/she could compare the H.Bin to any other vermicomposting methods they are currently using or have used in the past.

Harry

I have no idea what a HB is but it could be like an equation. amount of worms x weight of food = ? castings. Of course all conditions would need to be met for the worms health and happiness. aeration, moister, and proper bedding conditions just to name a few. Once you have a well-oiled machine established yes they could process a lot of food. For most newbies it will take a good deal of time to get to that point. Worm farming is not for the impatient.

I purchased a HB in February. So far very happy that I can harvest castings without dumping my I entire bin etc. I live in Alaska so a tidy bin that stays indoors was my incentive to go big. Yes, the cost is steep but so worth it to me.

akdeb49: Glad to hear you're happy with the bin. I checked on the dimensions but couldn't find info how deep the bin really is. It only stated being 37.4" from the unit's top to the floor. IMHO it's rather small to process 2 kg. of waste/day, considering it's tapered design and the time waste's need to process and become compost no matter how many worms you have in there, the waste needs "storage" space until it's "done".

So, since Febr., how many times have you harvested and how much compost did you get. Do you have 2 kg. of waste/day?

The top section is 12 inches deep, I feeds diirectly into a tapered bottom that is around 11 inches. This is where compressed castings and composted matter hangs out. It pushes down into a removable tray that us about 3 inches deep. Since I didnt have many worms I fed them about 2 kg of food once a week. I elected to wait 3 months before I emptied the bottom tray for the first time. Did so last week. It was full of castings and beautifully composted matter. No worms. Took me a total of 5 minutes. Did not disturb anything going on at the top of my bin. My worms have multiplied now with many cocoons and the top level where the worms live is dropping inches daily so I have increased food etc. Right now I feed them around 2 kg of waste 3 times a week. I will report back with more precise info as time goes by.

Wow , that is a lot of food going into any type of worm bin! Any smell or leachate issues? I'm assuming you're using red wigglers - how many did you start out with? Any guesses as to the numbers now?

Sounds like your having fun with it. Good stuff.

Harry

I had a smelly bin the first two weeks because I was a newby and feeding daily the roughly 400 Eisenia Fotida that I got from a friend. I quit feeding for two weeks, added another 400 or so, fed them once a week and no more smell. I did have a problem with the bin heating up because of all the over feeding but that went away too. Then I accidentally purchased another 600 worms from a local grower thinking I had bought a bag of castings (planting time, new bin, need more castings) They ended up being European nightcrawlers not castings and thanks to the info from this board, I dumped them in my bin and everyone seems happy. Right now my worms have been multiplying like crazy. I put a wet gunny sack over the top of the bedding and there are cocoons everywhere. I didn't know I has cocoons until one got deposited right in front of my eyes. I am having a blast. How many worms do I have now? How the heck do I know!

Regarding leachate, I have a small amount, 1/2 cup a week. Not worried about that so much because all else on top is working well.

Thanks for the info. Looks like it's working great.

I looked at it, very pretty, but no way in he-dbl hockeysticks would I pay $300 bucks for any worm bin unless I'd built it myself and it were to be about a 12 foot by 20 inch deep rectangle with a mesh bottom and built onto an old vibrating motel bed frame to sift the VC out! I'll leave the fancy stuff like the Hungry Bin to the San Fran & Seattle crowds. ;)