If you look at the basic diagrams and can read through the poorly written instructions, you'll whip through it slowly in a couple of hours. Frankly, I didn't want to purchase it because I had to assemble the pup and don't consider myself a handyman. However, I used my portable drill/screwdriver and made the task easier. Personally, I threw out the center panel. It's worthless and will slow down the decomposition process. And don't buy anything to speed up the process. If you really want to do so, run down and buy a bag of manure and add a few quarts of it to the mix. Get everything nice and wet and remember to rotate the unit several times a week. The decomposition trick is really in the turning of the compost. The manure will provide the nitrogen to accelerate the breakdown of the stuff. Once you get it started (and it starts within a few days, especially if you add grass clippings, cardboard, coffee grounds, etc) you'll have high quality compost for your garden. Be warned: the compost will have to \"cool\", so make a tea using 2 cups of compost to a 5 gallon bucket of dechlorinated water (let the water stand 24 hours before mixing) and then use the mix for the garden. Have fun. Gardening/farming is a blast. Learn the lyrics to Green Acres and sing with gusto. Or Gustavo. Your choice.