Is this the most illogical appliance ever?

CHOICE experts have put Breville’s FoodCycler to the test and declared it to be one of the most illogical appliances the consumer group has seen in its labs. 

“The FoodCycler is a food disposal system that pulverises and dehydrates your food waste, turning it into odourless chips which can be put into your bin or garden,” says CHOICE kitchen expert, Fiona Mair. 

The Breville website also praises the FoodCycler for its low energy usage, but CHOICE found this statement to be untrue. Breville has introduced an energy-consuming product to what is ordinarily a simple process - composting. 

“If you’re someone who is environmentally conscious and looking for an easy way to compost your food scraps, this is one of the poorest choices you could make," Ms Mair explained.

"Each cycle takes about four to eight hours, and due to the device’s small capacity you can really only fit about one meal’s worth of scraps in there at a time. This means that there are significant running costs associated with the FoodCycler."

 

“Our performance tests found that if you ran the unit seven times a week, it would cost you $86 a year in energy running costs.

"You also need to replace the filters every three to four months, which adds up to $159.80 a year.

"The separate bucket lid carbon filter needs to be replaced every six months, at a cost of $63.20 per year. The total running costs for the FoodCycler add up to over $300 a year,” Ms Mair said. 

“Any benefits for the environment that you’re producing through using this device are really lessened by the electricity costs, and the contribution you’re making to landfill with the replacement filters."

CHOICE also found that while the FoodCycler is running it intermittently emits an irritating, high-pitched sound. 

“The sound the FoodCycler produces while it’s running was so annoying that we had to move it out of the kitchen lab while we were waiting for the cycle to finish. You just can’t deal with a noise like that for the four to eight hours it takes to get through a cycle,” Ms Mair said. 

“Finally, the 'eco chips' this machine produces have huge limitations. You have to wait 90 days before using the 'eco chips' on soil you grow food in to minimise potential health risks according to Breville’s instructions.

"Unlike simple composting, you need to keep the output of the FoodCycler around for three months in some cases before they’re useful.”

What is the most useless appliance you have in your kitchen? How do you compost in your house? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. 

6 comments

What a ridiculous waste of money. I use an indoor compost bin with an accelerator spray. When the waste is slightly fermented I empty the compost bin into the worm farm. The worms relish the stuff and make an awesome garden fertilizer.

Ah yes, a worm farm. This is actually one of the gadgets I've got that is really useful but that I have never used. If only I could find someone locally who supplied these little creatures I might actually get around to setting up my own fertiliser manufacturing system. Worm juice as it seems to be called, is supposed to be truly great for growing anything. I love living in a very remote area but it does have some drawbacks and obtaining worms is one of them.

Hahaha, this one really is over-the-top silly. Whatever next? I actually have quite a few gadgets in my house that could be described as useless, not because they really are useless but because I usually forget I've even got them and use the old tried and true basic methods to do what ever it is I'm trying to do. Sorry about that convoluted and pretty illogical sentence but I'm sure you'll get what I'm trying to say. At least this article has been good for a bit of a laugh :)

Me too :). I have a rice cooker but rarely remember to use it. Recently bought a pie maker from Aldi and have been having some fun making pies but no doubt I will forget I own it down the track too :).

I have a Breville the Bakery Boss Cake Mixer, best ever, also Breville the Quick Wok, Breville milk Shake stainless steel, and a Breville the Handy Mix and Store. Find all these kitchen Appliances are great and they get used all the time. However, the Breville compost what a waste of good money. whoever would of thought up such a ridiculous item.

:) The older I get, the less appliances I use.

Breville’s FoodCycler would be last on the list on any further appliance purchases from me.

Bushbaby,I to have a worm farm one year we had a heat wave and I forgot to cover my worms and they all died so I went to the garden and found a few worms put all my rubbish in and guess what I have lots of worms now so you don't need to buy them but it does take a while to get heaps of them 

You can buy compost worms from Bunnings or get them delivered from online garden stores. Just google it.

6 comments



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