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I'm thinking about purchasing a two chamber compost tumbler bin. Any thoughts or advice on this approach?

I'm having a lot of fun with my new garden and yard, and spending eyewatering amounts of money. I'll make another post when I'm not trying to cook dinner at the same time

I talked to a coworker who is a really experienced gardener and he said the tumbler composter are high maintenance because it's hard to keep the moisture balance correct.

I just use a 3 bin system and let it compost slowly and turn it over to harvest the finished compost from the bottom about once a year. I have it positioned to get some overspray from the lawn sprinkler so I don't have to worry about lack of moisture.

That would make sense in our dry climate. OK,I may have to rethink this! Thanks!

I've always done the 3 bin system too. It can be big bins (when horses were on site), or small bins (kitchen and yard refuse).

When using horse manure I had three large pits and I put sewer pipe that had holes in it at angles with the ends sticking out. The holes got air in since I couldn’t turn it. Then I would stick a hose in the pipe end periodically to add moisture. The pits were approximately 4x8 and 5 feet deep. Then once a year use the tractor to dig the compost out and spread. It worked fine when I had three horses, but was too much manure for more.

I agree that the tumbler types are a bit fussy and not worth the $. I mostly compost to eliminate garbage---not necessarily to add to our gardens (although I do take out very nice compost 1-2 x year). I find one of these types of bins works great for two avid cooks/gardeners who generate large amounts of compostable items every day:

https://www.earthmachine.com/the_earth_machine.html

If I were more serious about wanting to use the compost more frequently, I'd just have 2 or 3 of these bins.

Confession: I never stir/aerate my compost. But I don't have the moisture challenges of your location! (I live near a temperate rain forest.)

I’m having a heck of a time with our compost - I just don’t think it gets warm enough Here to do it the way I’ve always Done it other places. Very frustrating.