Lomi Composter Reviews

After using Lomi on a nearly daily basis for about 3 months, I would discourage anyone from buying it.

First, it does not really compost. It shreds and dehydrates kitchen waste. If you try to use it as compost, it rehydrates and begins to mould.

Secondly, if you want to replace the activated charcoal pellets that allow you to use the machine indoors without a lot of odors, you have to sign up for their program where they send you new charcoal every 3 months.

In my experience, the charcoal needs to be replaced much more frequently than that. What kind of a company sells a product that requires replacing a filter, but refuses to just sell the replacement when you need it. It’s a scam in my books.

Thirdly, if you want the 3 year extended warranty, you also have to sign up for their costly program. You can’t just purchase it like any regular legit company does.

The Lomi does break down and dehydrate food scraps, but it does not create soil, and in my experience I couldn’t even use the recommended 10% ratio of the Lomi-soil to my actual soil. The Lomi-soil rehydrates, and became moldy in my case. It also managed to harden in my plant pots (I used less than 10% of the Lomi-soil in my soil ratio), causing me to throw out a lot of store-bought soil, and repot a bunch of plants. Very disappointing. I’m also stuck in a “subscription” with them wherein I have to keep buying charcoal and pellets for, I believe, two years. Overpriced and does not meet expectations.

Worked great for about a week. After that is won't turn on, a light flashing says heating issue. Look in book for troubleshooting. It mentions the problem, and that's where it ends. No tips to fix it. Reset it several times didn't do anything.

Sent emails, contacted through Instagram, Facebook. Absolutely NO RESPONSE. No phone number, no way to contact them other than what I have tried.

We were gifted this Lomi from a friend who never opened the box. We used it 4 times with great success. Loaded #5 and got an error message indicating ventilation fan error. The manual only recommended resetting to clear the error which did not work.

Attempts to resolve with Lomi were not productive. Not only are they offering no warranty since we were not the original purchaser, they have not offered any solution to what we now know is a known flaw. You will read similar issues with other reviews.

Sad that a machine designed to reduce landfill waste will actually be adding plastic, metal and electronics to our landfill when we throw it away.

I have tried many combinations of items and cycle times and have had zero good results with Lomi.

I asked to cancel my order over a week ago. They (Katrina (Lomi)) agreed. Today, they attempted to charge my card. FAIL

I am so discouraged. We did not read reviews before we ordered. We had success for a few weeks, but now when I start it, within seconds a light flashes saying that there is a ventilation issue. There is no information on how to fix this.

I see that other people have had the same issue. It is with the fan. What????? The product is new. I also don't see how you contact the company. VERY disappointing. Maybe this review will get some attention and I can then write a positive review. One is clearly needed.

This this is worthless!!! It worked twice, and then nothing. I ran it on grow mode ( to make compost) twice, and then tried the express mode, and it hasn't worked right since. No sounds of indications that it is not working correctly.

Just a lot of wasted time and energy. POOR customer service!! We add food, and 5-20 hrs later (depending on the mode) when we open it up,it looks exactly the same. I would not buy this or recommend this to others.

It sort of does what it says, but not as well or as quietly as they claim. The results I have had are not dirt, as they claim; it's just ground up whatever you put in it. It is much louder than my dishwasher. The bucket does not hold much.

They say to put the compostable packaging into it with your food scraps, but it is going to take months to compost all of it. You also have to tear/cut everything into small pieces; easier to burn it.

The site does not have a place for you to write a review either.

The website does not accurately show that the $49 order deposit is non-refundable but the customer service rep is telling me that they are unable to refund it. I have looked everywhere for this disclaimer but it is nowhere to be found. Not in the order terms, not in the web page/order page, and not even in the terms of service section at the bottom of the website.

This website also says a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, money back no questions. BUT I CAN'T GET A REFUND ON AN ORDER CANCELATION? They say they care about the environment, but the fact that in order to get the $49 back I would need to have them ship me a product to then have me send it back to them. What about the carbon emissions it would take to send a product only for it to have to be sent back? Clearly they don't care that much, either that or their "money back guarantee" is just as scammy as this pre-order is.

This company is incredibly questionable in how they are running things. I am waiting on a response from customer service after fighting back about the order cancellation and deposit refund. If they do not handle this soon, I am going to have to go to my bank regarding this matter.

The company was clear about requiring a deposit to secure the order. The payment was charged to my credit card a month prior to receiving the product. Which would account for the shipping time. (from Canada I believe).

I have used x5 and have been very pleased with the results. I don't want the hassle of an outdoor compost.

The product does all it says it will, so far.

I have not had to deal with customer service yet so cant speak to customer issues with that.

I cant imagine that little machine requiring that much power to run for 6-24 hours. At least its not reflected on my power bill. So I vindicate myself by saying I feed better putting my waste in here than in the trash can. Doing my little bit I guess you could say.

We plan to run our Lomi only on the grow cycle - the longest one. We did one patch and it worked - we ended up with soil that we mixed with the dirt for our plants and they perked up. We will be adding it to our outdoor gardens as well. We did build a shelf for it to run in the garage as it's a little loud at night.

Bad. Don't buy it. They tell you only the good stuff!!! Not the other!!! I warned you! Price is outrageous! Then they keep your credit card number to send refills so you can’t get it anywhere else. Then they don’t tell you what it cost. Just the down payment of $49. Then bill you for $499.

It is difficult to write this. Stated simply, my experience of their business practices relative to communication is one of extreme dismay. The advertising campaign is skilled and impressive, with a plethora of videos online. The advertising campaign creates a strong favorable first impression and I am sure that this is what engendered great excitement and initial orders.

However, calling and emailing these people with specific questions is a practice of futility. The replies I received were extremely evasive, distracted and inattentive. Some were quite rude. The use of cut and paste corporate speak is the sole method employed there, even when I asked to speak to a supervisor. They did not ever actually answer my questions. I attempted to write about the poor communications in the review section of their website but was blocked, and not because I used rude or foul language.

I placed my deposit in September of 2021, being told on the day that I ordered it that I would have delivery of unit in February of 2022. I was required to send in the balance January 12, 2022. I received the Lomi on March 17, 2022. No apologies for being late whatsoever. They are very casual about missed deadlines. The corporate attitude they employ puts a real damper on any alignment with the values of environmental idealism.

I have used the Lomi only three times. It is indeed quiet. There is no smell coming from the unit. It does break kitchen waste down into something like small woody chips. I am a serious gardener, with ample opportunity to distribute the "compost" that is created. I am not yet sure there is any environmental advantage to using a Lomi because you need to use the electricity for many hours to get the resulting "compost."

It does indeed break down things like banana peels, onion scraps, asparagus ends, lemon rinds into this woody chippy stuff. If you use the long 16-hour cycle, you get something like paper thin woody chips, if you use the brief 4-hour cycle, you let lumps that are similar to dime sized bits of hard dried plastic.

Who knows when these will decompose when mixed with the soil. I just don't know about having to use a 16 hour cycle all the time to get a genuine breakdown. The machine is attractive. You do have to place it far from any wall or cupboard or anything when using it, as it releases steam for a good while.

Sorry folks: Not so sure yet that the this product isn't greatly over-rated. If I go on to find it more helpful in the future, I will return and write again.

Not sure why all the negative reviews. So, far I love the Lomi. I have used it for several weeks now and most weeks several consecutive days in a row.

It has produced exactly what it says it will and the composted material is easily added to the soil mixtures that I utilize.

This year's growing season will be the test of the results of it being added to my gardening. However, so far I have zero complaints and no regrets purchasing the unit. The whole experience including the funding and purchasing experience has been 5 star.

The negative reviews contained here are all about the early charges to credit cards and the misguided language on the reservation page.

I cannot defend Pela's business practice of saying 'Pay 49 to hold your unit, the rest is payable on shipment' ... then charging the full balance the next week, and finally shipping the product 6-8 weeks later. I don't. I think it is super deceptive. But I can defend the product itself.

I have been a long-time composter - I used Nature Mill (twice before the company went out of business), the a barrel roller (still), and now this, I can attest that the hype is completely true. I have been working through a 25 gallon bin of partially composted material (we live in the Northeast and basically compost stays frozen outdoors for 5 months of the year).

In three days of mostly constant use, I am chugging through the old lumpy wet compost from 3-4 months ago and turning it into beautiful, dry, usable material. It works, it works well, it meets the hype.

We have received our Lomi composter and it is working great. We have composted our veggie and fruit scraps, and the unit has worked fine each time.

The soil looks great, will start planting flowers in pots with the soil next week. I had good responses with customer service when I had questions.

I receive texts and emails from Lomi about the operation of the unit, and tips on how to use the composter. We are happy!

I had ordered a Lomi and paid the $49 deposit.

I was informed that is would charged the balance once the Lomi shipped.

Lomi decided to charge me $449 a few days later and had no idea when the Lomi would ship.

Clearly the company is using customer payments to fund their operations.

When I raised my concern with the Lomi Rep she got very defensive,. I further shared the fact that the Lomi was a fraud . I cancelled the order and have reported Lomi to the authorities.

I am appalled by how rude and defensive the responses to customers have been. If you have a good product, why not just simply improve your web page with transparent language and satisfy customers rather than charge them an extra $50 just for ordering. Good companies do not take money until products are shipped. I am now dubious of your product!!!

I was excited to receive the Lomi and felt good about supporting their initiative. It worked perfectly for two days turning food waste into usable dry odorless earth. Then the fan broke down. I contacted Pela and they referred me to the manual which I had read thoroughly before contacting them.

Contacted them a second time and told them it was the fan. They said in 3 to 5 days the fan would ship and I'd be notified. After 5 days still no word. I prompted them again and now it's 8 days, no word from them. Customer Service feels robotic--like nobody gives a damn. I regret this $400 purchase.