Frequently Asked Questions

If dried food waste is stuck to the Bucket, soak in warm soapy water to remove. While the Bucket can be cleaned in the dishwasher, doing so may reduce its lifespan. If the Bucket is jammed due to food waste coagulating along the bucket interior and blades, we recommend pouring in boiling water and letting the Bucket contents soak before attempting to remove the blockage. Any residue stuck to the bucket is caused by the oil/grease or moisture content of the unit cycle. For an all-natural clean, try cycling citrus peels by themselves! This will also help to eliminate any trapped odours in the unit's ventilation system.

It's normal to notice some dried food debris stuck to the sides or bottom of your bucket after a cycle.

Tip: dry by-product can actually serve as a beneficial "dry mix" addition for the next cycle. As long as the grinding blade can fully rotate after emptying the Bucket, you can proceed to fill it for the next cycle.

CAUTION: Do not reach your hand into the FoodCycler® Eco 3™ Bucket, as the blades are extremely sharp.

Each cycle consumes an average of 0.9 kWh per cycle, which is roughly equivalent to having a desktop computer running for the same amount of time as the cycle. Depending on where you live, each cycle should not cost you more than a couple of cents.

The FoodCycler® has built-in sensor technology that monitors the dryness and humidity of the food waste. Once complete, the unit will stop the cycle automatically.

After you replace your carbon filter pellets, press and hold the Power button for 3 seconds, release, and then hold again for another 3 seconds until you hear an audible tone to reset the Carbon Filter Replacement reminder.

This is normal! The unit could be emitting an odour for a variety of reasons.
The carbon filtration systems in each FoodCycler® are required to ensure a near-odourless cycle. The filters last approximately 500 cycle hours, or 3-4 months with regular use.

Even if the ‘Replace Filter’ light has not gone on yet, you may need to switch out your carbon pellets. Similarly, you can continue cycling even if the filter light has gone on and no odours are apparent.

Filter life is determined by the moisture quantity in the food waste, and the the intensity of odours of each cycle. If you are cycling rotten, smelly or potent food wastes (such as rotten meat, fish or old cheese) your filters may not last as long as if you were cycling simple veggie scraps and coffee grounds.

Tip: Running a cycle of mostly citrus peels will not only help keep your Bucket clean, it also eliminates any trapped odours in the unit's ventilation system.

The FoodCycler® food waste recycler greatly reduces food waste volume, odors, liquids, bacteria and methane gasses that would otherwise be generated by putting your food waste in the trash.

The FoodCycler uses a multi-phase cycle which aerates and pulverizes food waste to a fine, dry, odourless powder which can be used in gardening applications.

For more details, visit our How It Works page!

3.5L (0.9 gallons)
We recommend keeping the contents below the indicator line level to avoid jams. For more information, visit the Eco 3 product page!

Yes, you can add additional food waste to the FoodCycler® Eco 3™ once the cycle has already begun. For best results, and to avoid extending the cycle period, we recommend adding food waste early in the cycle- or within the first hour and a half of cycling. Adding food waste midway through the cycle may result in unprocessed food waste at the end of the cycle, as this extends the dehydration and grinding process. If this occurs, we recommend starting a second cycle until the food waste has been completely broken down.

Yes, the FoodCycler® Eco 3™ can process fish, chicken, pork, lamb and other small bones. Large bones can cause jams or damage all units’ Bucket grinding gears.

The chart below show the "Do's & Don'ts" of FoodCycling - for more information, visit the Eco 3™ Product Page!

 

Stuck Bucket : Open the unit.
Secure the lid to the locked position and press Start. Let the unit run for 10-20 seconds, or until you can hear the grinding arms start to turn. You can pause the cycle by opening the unit lid, and try removing the Bucket.
If unsuccessful, check the food content. Is it a solid mass? If so, proceed to step 3. If not,
You may need to loosen the by-product inside the Bucket. Unplug your unit, add boiling water to the Bucket, enough to submerge the solid contents. Let the Bucket sit for a period of approximately 10 minutes. Using a long plastic or wooden utensil, attempt to shift the Bucket contents so as to free the blockage from the grinding arm. Run the cycle again for 10-20 seconds, and try again to remove the Bucket.

1) Stuck Bucket : Open the unit. Secure the lid to the locked position and press Start. Let the unit run for 10-20 seconds, or until you can hear the grinding arms start to turn. You can pause the cycle by opening the unit lid, and try removing the Bucket.
If unsuccessful, check the food content. Is it a solid mass? If so, proceed to step 3. If not,
You may need to loosen the by-product inside the Bucket. Unplug your unit, add boiling water to the Bucket, enough to submerge the solid contents. Let the Bucket sit for a period of approximately 10 minutes. Using a long plastic or wooden utensil, attempt to shift the Bucket contents so as to free the blockage from the grinding arm. Run the cycle again for 10-20 seconds, and try again to remove the Bucket.

Prior to seeking customer support, we recommend that customers try a few troubleshooting steps on their own. Please reference the Error Codes document below. If your unit is displaying codes 1-6, please read the section(s) below respective to the code you're seeing. For codes 7-12, please reach out to Customer Support directly at support@foodcycler.com so that we can assist you further.

Prior to seeking customer support, we recommend that customers try a few troubleshooting steps on their own. Please reference the Error Codes document below. If your unit is displaying codes 1-4, please read the section(s) below respective to the code you're seeing. For codes 5-11, please reach out to Customer Support directly at support@foodcycler.com so that we can assist you further. 

All FoodCycler® units will complete a cycle within approximately 4-9 hours.
The time needed depends on the amount of food waste being processed, the density of the food wastes and the moisture levels contained in each.

The Vortech™ grinding system utilizes a multi-blade steel rotary system that effectively pulverizes a wide variety of soft and hard food waste scraps, transforming them into smaller, dried granules. The flow stream that powers the turning system, pushes the food scraps into walls of the container, breaking down and squeezing the pulp further to the bottom, while removing moisture, processing the matter into a fine dry substance. The resulting by-product contains rich nutrients that can be added to soil as an amendment for gardening uses.

The carbon filters last between 3-4 months with regular use, or 500 cycle hours. The life expectancy of the carbon filters is determined by the moisture content of the food waste, and the natural odours of the food waste. Denser, wetter and smellier food wastes will go through filters much faster than simple veggie scraps and egg shells.

FoodCycler® products use a refillable filter system, which means that you can keep using your filters indefinitely and simply replace the carbon itself when they are ready to be changed. The filter carbon is a harmless organic material, and can be safely disposed of in your regular trash or organics collection bin. Please follow your municipal waste guidelines in disposing of your used carbon. Buckets can be recycled through your local metal scrap collection service.