NatureMill Indoor Composter or rotting heap of food in my kitchen?

Years ago before I had a place to use it.... I purchased a NatureMill Indoor Composter, about 2 months ago I put it into use.

From the NatureMill website: "How it works: Deposit food waste any time, any day - up to 120 lbs (55kg) per month. For best results, cut items into small pieces. Items remain in the upper chamber under optimal composting conditions: mixing, air flow, heat, and moisture. The energy released destroys odors, pathogens, and seed germination. It is later transferred through a trap door to the lower cure tray , where it continues to compost while you add fresh items to the upper chamber. "


In theory this is the most wonderful product ever! Now lets get to the reality, first I need to disclaim that I should have read the directions. They clearly stated to place 2 cups of outside dirt into the chamber with some wood shavings and backing soda then allow it to sit for a week while it germinates "the good bacteria" (this is what brakes down the food scraps). As you can see in the photo above I started with a grapefruit and mushrooms... not real dirt.
After a few weeks of use the thing stunk! Every time you open it the stench wafted and filled the kitchen. It just smelled like rot and compost 'heat'. The smell overwhelming and not conquerable with any air freshener, in fact they seemed to make it worse!  I was also surprised to open the collection chamber (a the bottom) and see that it was full of water... stinky,smelly, moldy water. This was what prompted me to finally read the instructions.
Had I been mixing in the wood shavings the water would have been absorbed and would not have become an issue. Had I been using the baking soda the smell would have been diminished. Oh, and the starter dirt was an imperative thing for the bacteria. So I started over.
Now it only smells after I've had it open and I dry out my food scraps overnight before putting them into the composter to lessen the amount of water and wood chips inside. I still have not mastered the correct amount of shavings to add when I add 'wet greens' but I'm getting closer.
Today first batch of soil was done, it looks amazing, rich and dark! It's too bad that I cant use it inside on my plants because its to potent. I'm looking forward to using it in my garden this spring. Its just so fun to me that I'm using my old food scraps I would have sent to the dump to nourish and grow my new food.

Overall i've enjoyed the experience of learning about indoor composting. It takes a bit of effort but I feel its going to be well worth it when I grow my new garden.