Okay, this is one heck of a good product
I’m not adverse to having a garbage disposal and after we just did a remodel on a 17-year-old home that we have owned I found in the garbage disposal wastewater line 30% blockage minimum from the garbage disposal and we use a very high-end disposal and always have. We’ve also treated our pipes with toxifying chemicals to keep the pipes clear.When we remodeled the kitchen I did not want to have another garbage disposal because when I rerouted the piping I noticed that heavy blockage in my pipes and was perturbed at minimum. I don’t like all those chemicals going into your water supply and I don’t care what a water company does you can’t get it out.We were more than content in our new sink with its little basket to just dump that in the recycling or compost pile. And here we go with the food cycler from Vitamix. I think Vitamix is definitely leading the way here. We basically take all of our cooking goods and instead of throwing it in the trash or in the garbage disposal we just have the unit sitting next to the preparation area and it has a charcoal filter lid that rests simply on the top.We are a family of three currently and that amount of food prep is what gets cycled every night. If we have a heavy prep day we may do two cycles.I really appreciate this product because the volume that would go down my sink or in the trash can is cut by 100% in the sink and 96% minimum in trash because it dehydrates it grinds it and leaves it like a loose sediment. It even does small bones but they are still in their form so we just run those into the trash.If we run a batch of non-animal related products we can take the remnant at a 10 to 1 ratio with soil and amend our soil and use it to consume in our bodies but if we use eggshells or cheese or something like that then we do not consume that in our bodies and at the same ratio use that for our flower planting.It is so nice to know that my pipes are clean and our waste is minimalized. I’m not being a snotty person or anything like that it’s just that having a farm/rancher mentality you tend to take care of everything that is before you and you waste not if you want not. Farmers and ranchers are good stewards of the Earth and that is a bit of a bias and an approach. And to have a product like this is awesome.The underlying question is would I buy another one and I would definitely buy another one and I hope that some of the pricing will get a little less than a quality food grinder under the sink. I guess a question would be do we miss having a garbage disposal and the answer is resoundingly no. We have already adapted not even in a month of use and people are amazed that it’s 4-Hour cycle.Let’s say we have some friends over for breakfast and we have a heavy processing day. Once the food is fully been prepped and the plates have been cleaned after the food has been eaten into this device we may run it right then because about 4 hours from now it’ll be ready and it could be a little more than that depending on volume.What do we do if we have another meal in between we then simply leave one plate with that preparation remnant and after dumping the original run will add the next remnant and then into dinner and of course start the cycle of nightly running. This product is well made, extremely simple to operate and a blessing for us.I think another nice thing is not hearing a garbage disposal run or that putrid smell that emanates and that you have to constantly clean. That is a small benefit that I was not expecting.Lastly, we are very mindful of our sink/drain management and what goes down that pipe. It has to end up somewhere. If I put something that is not necessarily great because of a habit or what I’ve been trained to do and it affects your water supply then I have not been a good neighbor to you and I have caused you an extra layer of toxicity that your body does not need.So there you go, I hope you enjoy the purchase and maybe you have to wait for it to go on sale like we did and I am asking Vitamix to get a little bit lower price on that thing. But I would definitely save a little money and buy it. We try to pay for things in advance and wait until we have the money to pay for it as to not create a vicious cycle of credit and more so indebtedness.Thank you Vitamix for a well thought out product and you got full thumbs up from us. Blessings to you all.

We’ve had this nice little appliance for 6 weeks and can now, confidently, say that it’s well worth it. I got it on sale for $299 which made it much more attractive than the more expensive “other brand”. I also prefer the cubic shape because it slides into spaces nicely.The inner bucket is 2L. I worried that it would be too small but I think that I like that because I really wouldn’t want moist, organic waste sitting around very long. That said, there are days when I do have to run it twice. Outside of those days, every other day is the norm. Extra bucket, would be nice but not for $100. I just use a bowl until I can get the bucket back.Suitable foods – we put veg and fruit scraps, rice, breads, egg shells. The odd bit of cheese ends up in there too. I will rough chop banana peels and avocado seeds. Fibrous things tend to get stuck between the paddles and inner bucket wall. Onion peels do not seem to break down so I will use scissors to cut them up going forward.It is a fairly long cycle, so we try to keep to off peak hours or weekends.With regards to smell, there can be a bit of an earthy/funky smell but it’s not smelly like bad food. If the weather is not bad, I will put it out in the gazebo. On bad weather days, I put it on top of the stove with the rangehood fan on.It is easy to use – fill the bucket, line up the arrow on the bucket with the arrow on the unit, tuck the handle down, put the lid on, lock it and press the button.Output – after 6 weeks, we have about 3L of output and our green bin is about 1/3 full by garbage day which comes around every week. It’s mostly cat litter and meat bones.

For the money this is a big con. The machine clogs and doesn’t do as described. I even half filled with very soft material but all the machine does is clog up and doesn’t do anything. I was very disappointed with this machine and at its cost. It is very annoying that they say it does one thing but in reality it is just a big con.UpdateSince I have got this machine I have tried different ways to dehydrate and grind my kitchen waste and this machine is NOT up to the job. after 30 attempts one of which was just wilting lettuce but again every attempt the machine clogged up and didn’t do anything but waste my time. It certainly does not do as it says on the box.

I love this machine. It makes wonderful chips of all my food waste, with no smell. I put the end product in the compost bin for further decomposition but you don’t have to. It’s so good knowing I’m taking this step out of landfill.