Taps, mats and legs: the finer points of worm composting

I sent this email to Wiggly Wigglers today:

Hi Wiggly Wigglers

Just wanted to trouble you with a small inquiry. I was bought a Can O Worms for my birthday last Feb – my first wormery. I have been very happy with it on the whole, except for one thing – I have found the tap at the bottom just isn't strong enough. Within weeks the plastic “handle” to turn it on broke off, making it very hard to move at all. In trying to turn the tap off and stop liquid feed pouring all over my patio, I then managed to damage the tap further, causing a leak. As a result I now have an old washing up bowl under the tap collecting the liquid, which isn't ideal as my toddler thinks it's a wet play area set up just for her! My only other quibble is the legs, which could do with being a tad sturdier in my opinion: when the wormery's full they got dangerously close to buckling, which was a bit alarming.

I should balance this out by saying that I love the “tray” system and have found the Can O Worms easy to set up and use. The worms seem pretty happy with their home too. I find an old woollen jumper works brilliantly as a “moisture mat” (and breaks down amazingly speedily) and the anti-lime mix and worm feed keep my wiggly charges on top form.

So I wonder if you could send me a replacement tap?

Many thanks

jane

Has anyone else experienced the same problem with their C'O'W?

I got an email yongs ago from George Pilkington, pointing out that although Wiggly Wigglers gets a lot of press attention, there are other wormeries on the market, including his very own Waste Buster, which is made of FSC-approved wood in the UK - not something the C'O'W can boast. He also sells a wormery with a viewing window, which sounds like a brilliant idea for classrooms. As the author of a book about worms, George knows a thing or two about vermiculture. One can never have too many wormeries, in my opinion, so I might have to put a Waste Buster on my Christmas list.

Comments

[Heather Gorringe]

Hi Jane
Haven't picked up your email yet but there has been a batch of problems with taps and in fact Reln in Australia are shipping over some replacements free as we have had to replace a fair few taps in the last few months. Unless a Can-O-Worms is years old we will always send these out f.o.c. We are not manufacturers of wormeries and I have tried many many wormeries over the years including the Waste Buster and we choose to sell Can-O-Worms as in my opinion it is the best on the market currently.
As for the legs we have heard of no buckling.
We developed the moisture mat, the lime mix and the worm treat to help keep the whole thing balanced as well as the instructions and all things wiggly to make sure however you are worm composting is working well and fully supported.
I shall pop you a tap in the post and if there are any customers who have a tap problem please just email
[email protected] and I will sort a new one wiggling its way to you from the wiggly team
with best wishes
Heather

[Heather Gorringe]

I forgot to say:
The taps have now been strengthened and redesigned.
Sorry to have missed that essential piece of info!
Heather

[Jane Perrone]

Hi Heather,

Thanks that's really helpful. Hope you don't mind me putting this on the blog, but I do find it's a helpful way of sharing info with others. And it shows how good your customer service is!

[Amanda]

I've got a leaky tap on my Can-o-Worms, too. Thanks for posting this Jane - I've always been impressed with Wiggly Wigglers' commitment to customer care and now this just proves how diligent they are. I'm emailing Heather right away!

[Heather Gorringe]

Hi Both
I dont mind at all. You will both see that we have reviews now available on our website at www.wigglywigglers.co.uk and in fact that really alerted us to the tap issue which we were able to pass onto Reln.
By the way we are also alerting our Bokashi Bucket suppliers about leaky taps too. A small tip from me on leaky taps whether on your wormery, your Bokashi Bin or your Water Butt. A bit of vaseline in the washer before you screw it in works wonders!
In the meantime if you need cheering up just for you Jane and your blog folks here is the secret code which gets you an absolute deal on Farmer Phil's Box of Sunshine. At the moment you wont find it on the wiggly website (as I have hidden the code) unless you do the following:
In the search box in the shop type in S2929 Well, we all need cheering up in this continual rain!
Bestest from the westest
Heather

[Teak Bench Guy]

Hi

has anyone heard of QR (Quick Return i think) composting? i think this is an old technique that i heard someone talking about the other day?

just wondering if it was worth a try...

[Lisa]

Hi All,

I have the Can-O-Worms composter and have been using it for a month now. In the first 3 weeks the legs did not leak. Now, the legs on my Can-O-Worms leak. Is there anything I can do to stop the leachate from leaking from the legs and onto my floor? My spigot is fine and not leaking at all.

Best Regards,
Lisa

[A Facebook User]

Having had the can-o-worms for more than a decade, the problem with the taps has been ongoing for the entire life. I gave up and put a pitcher below it and just let it drip.

Harvest times are tough, because 2 full trays are a heavy awkward lift, so you will need a hand.

The real drawback are the vents. The castings land on the vents that the legs connect to and block them. Then the castings get in the holes a permanently block them. Nothing worse than spending time with a safety pin clearing them, it takes a long, long time. Hoping that the worm care solves these issues.