Here are answers to questions from our customers

The Harp Home Composter uses a mixture of heat, special Harp enzymes and a stirring mechanism to help break down your food waste into a nutrient rich fertiliser.

1. Unpack your unit, plug it in, and power on
2. Add the Harp Enzyme Starter Pack with 500 ml of water into the unit
3. Wait 24-hours to allow the Enzymes to wake up
4. Week 1:  add up to 700g of food waste chopped into small pieces
5. Week 2 and beyond:  gradually increase chopped food waste up to 1.5kg per day (maximum of 10kgs of food waste per week)

Where do we start?  Not only are you helping to keep down greenhouse gas production by processing your food waste within your home, you are also reducing what goes to landfill in your rubbish bins (just think, that 10kg of food waste is 10kg less in your weekly rubbish collection).  In processing your own food waste and turning it into a high-density fertiliser that you can use at home, you are going full circle by returning valuable nutrients to the soil.

Choose a ventilated location with access to a powerpoint to best suit your family needs. We recommend that you place your unit in any of the following locations:  kitchen, butler’s pantry, laundry, garage or outside undercover patio area that is not exposed to the elements, very low or very high temperatures (below 0 degrees or greater than 35 degrees).

You can place up to 1.5kg of food waste per day into the Harp Home Composter, up to a maximum of 10kgs per week.  A smooth and effective digestion process is best achieved by feeding the unit 2-3 times a day, not dissimilar to human digestion!

Raw and cooked foods including meat, fruit and vegetables peelings, egg shells bread products and pasta can all be digested by the Harp Home Composter.  It’s important to cut your food waste into thumb size portions to help it break down easier, especially hard vegetables including carrots, turnips, broccoli stalks and hard skinned citrus fruits.

Please do not put any cooking oil, seashells, meat or fish bones into the Home Composter.

It is also important to not insert non-food items such as plastic (or other) packaging, glass, metal, cutlery, biodegradable bags, medicines, paper towels, cigarette butts, toothpicks and chopsticks.

The digestion process breaks down the food waste into a nutrient-rich fertiliser with high N, PK.

The unit is designed to digest up to 1.5kg of food waste per day.  If you have much less waste, you can still use the machine and reap all the benefits.  The fertiliser will just take a little longer to produce.  We recommend that you add a little water (up to 500ml) to prevent dry conditions which can lead to minor smells and slower digestion times.

You may experience a slight smell from time to time and this will be dependant on the input.  For example, overly acidic foods or placing high quantities of food waste into the machine may lead to a slight odour.  If you find there is a slight odour, use the deodoriser function on the machine and let it run without feeding it for 24-hours.  Any smell will dissipate during this process.

Yes, it is!  Unlike other synthetic, chemical based fertilisers with strong odours that should not be inhaled directly, it is safe to adults, children and pets, as well of course to your pot plants and surrounding gardens.

It is however, prohibited from human consumption.

The fertiliser output can be used mixed into the soil of flowerpots, established plants, and trees, or even spreading it across on that patch of lawn that’s not doing so well!  As this is a very high nutrient-rich fertiliser we recommended a ratio of 9 parts soil to 1 part fertiliser to ensure safe and efficient growth rates.  You can also dilute the fertiliser with water to nourish your plants during the summer instead of using artificial growth stimulants.  What a cost saver!!!

The Harp Home Composter is very energy efficient, using approximately 1.5 kWh per day, the equivalent of a small bar fridge.  And if you have solar panels, your daily running costs will be much less.

When the organic fertiliser inside the internal cavity has reached the “Maximum” line (noted on the back inner wall) you can start to use the fertiliser.  Prior to removing the fertiliser by-product from the internal cavity, refrain from feeding the unit for 24-48-hours.  Use the scoop supplied to scoop out what you need to readily use.  If you want to scoop out more, store the fertiliser in an airtight container for use later on.  Just ensure that you do not remove contents below the level of the stirring shaft.

Share it!  Maybe your family, friends or neighbours would enjoy receiving some free fertiliser for their gardens?  As much as we don’t want to see this valuable fertiliser be sent to landfill, we know that once it’s been processed it is no longer harmful to the environment, so you can place it in your home rubbish bin.

Also, feel free to email us at enquiries@harprenewables.au as we do have another solution!  Watch this space!

If you are going away for just a few days, you don’t need to do anything!  Just let the unit run on power without your daily feeding.  After 48-hours of non-feeding action, the unit will automatically go into power-saving mode.

However, if you are going away for a few weeks or more (lucky you!) – about 24-hours or so before you embark on that great adventure, check the levels of by-product within your Home Composter.  The unit should be about half full so please remove any fertiliser above that amount and store it until you need it.  With the unit now half full, simply press the dehumidifier button to dry out any remaining dampness from your feeding.  Please don’t feed the Home Composter during the humidifier function period.  After 24-hours, make sure the lid is fully closed and then unplug it from power.

When you get home, just plug the unit back in to switch on the power and let it run for 24-hours before adding any food waste.

The unit contents will appear dusty if the conditions are too dry.  Simply add up to 500ml of water to re-moisturise the contents.  Dry byproduct can be a result of small food waste amounts being discarded into the unit.

We recommend that when adding your food waste in regular increments throughout the day, that you drain off any excess moisture that may be present.  For example, whilst soup can be added, it must only be added in small quantities and mixed with dryer material.  An excess of liquid will not produce the right fertiliser output and impact the smooth operation of the stirring shaft.

Yes you can.  If you have scooped out more fertiliser than you require, simply store it in an airtight container for future use.

Australia is a big nation, and we are working with several couriers to get your Home Composter delivered to you as soon as possible!  We’ll keep you informed of the delivery process for your order, but as a guideline, from metro to metro it usually is around a week (maybe less), but for regional delivery areas it may take a little longer.

The Harp Home Composter is very simple to maintain.  Just ensure that the inside rim of the outer closing lid is wiped down regularly to ensure a tight seal and that the air filter located at the back of the unit (internally) is regularly shaken off or rinsed down once a week.  Good airflow is essential to the digestion process and protecting against unwanted smells.

We advise you to refer to the supplied Harp User Instruction Manual should you require additional support.  If you cannot find the answer to what you are looking for, please contact us on:  enquiries@harprenewables.au or call us directly on 1300 427 700.

The digestion process takes 24-hours to breakdown the food waste.  However, the unit needs to build up the by-product fertiliser to the “Maximum fill” line marked on the back wall of the inner cavity before you start to remove the fertiliser for your use.

The by-product of the digestion process produces a rich fertiliser.