Garden shredder

[sandspider]

Hi folks

Toying with getting an electric garden shredder. To deal with willow branches, hedge clippings, brambles etc. Up to 2.5cm diameter maybe. Budget £100 ish - am I going to get anything worthwhile for that, or better to have a bonfire / hire a big chipper every so often? 

Thanks.

[JKD]

My boss bought a 'budget' chipper recently to clear lots of bushes, shrubs and small tree branches. Apparently it could handle branches up to 40/50mm,,,, yeah right ! Thin twigs and branches were ok, but it couldn't drag them through, so the short bits left in the chute kept blocking the blade drum ! And I mean continuously 🥴 That box of matches finally came in handy 🔥😆

Don't recall the make, but as usual, budget and do a good job don't go together 😉

[JKD]

Found a picture of it, taken in jest 😂 The pile of stuff behind it was about an eighth of the final amount. It took over an hour and 4 clean-outs of the drum to get to what you can see in the picture 🤬

It would have been way cheaper to get a company in, even twice, to clear and get rid !!! 🤣

Edited November 6, 2023 by JKD

[RCB56]

I bought one about 15 years ago and it has never blocked up, but it wouldn't have since I've never used it. I'll have to try it out one day.

[sandspider]

40 minutes ago, JKD said:

Found a picture of it, taken in jest 😂 The pile of stuff behind it was about an eighth of the final amount. It took over an hour and 4 clean-outs of the drum to get to what you can see in the picture 🤬

It would have been way cheaper to get a company in, even twice, to clear and get rid !!! 🤣

Is that an hour to get the stuff in the wheelbarrow? Or to clear 7 8ths of the pile behind?!

Shame,  Forest Master are generally thought to be a decent brand.

I would like one that drags stuff through. Matches it may have to be instead!

Cheers.

Edited November 6, 2023 by sandspider

[amateur]

I bought a 2500W one from Homebase for £100 about 20 years ago to shred the hazel trimmings, up to about 25mm diameter, from my back hedge.

It only gets used once a year, but it is hard use.

Yes, it jams periodically, but it is easy to clear and you soon learn not to overload it. I have sharpened the blade twice over the 20 years and the plastic feeder surround has broken in places, but I reckon that I have had my money's worth.

Edited November 6, 2023 by amateur
Misstype

[JKD]

11 minutes ago, sandspider said:

Is that an hour to get the stuff in the wheelbarrow? Or to clear 7 8ths of the pile behind?!

Shame,  Forest Master are generally thought to be a decent brand.

I would like one that drags stuff through. Matches it may have to be instead!

Cheers.

An hour for the wheelbarrow contents including clearing out the bloomin' thing, which is the chippings on the ground, in which you can see the stubs causing the blockages 🤬 I had better things to do with my time 🙄 

edit to add,,,, We all told our boss to get a firm in,,,, he thought he'd save money as we were there doing building works,,,, he was wrong,,,, about saving money and the machine he bought could handle the task ahead 🤷🤣🤣

Edited November 6, 2023 by JKD

[sandspider]

36 minutes ago, amateur said:

I bought a 2500W one from Homebase for £100 about 20 years ago to shred the hazel trimmings, up to about 25mm diameter, from my back hedge.

It only gets used once a year, but it is hard use.

Yes, it jams periodically, but it is easy to clear and you soon learn not to overload it. I have sharpened the blade twice over the 20 years and the plastic feeder surround has broken in places, but I reckon that I have had my money's worth.

Sounds a bit more encouraging! Do you know what make / model?

34 minutes ago, JKD said:

An hour for the wheelbarrow contents including clearing out the bloomin' thing, which is the chippings on the ground, in which you can see the stubs causing the blockages 🤬 I had better things to do with my time 🙄 

edit to add,,,, We all told our boss to get a firm in,,,, he thought he'd save money as we were there doing building works,,,, he was wrong,,,, about saving money and the machine he bought could handle the task ahead 🤷🤣🤣

😅 That sounds a lot less encouraging!

[JKD]

2 minutes ago, sandspider said:

 

😅 That sounds a lot less encouraging!

It was soul destroying 🥴 But I was getting paid whatever I did 😉😂

[walshie]

Save the clippings up and burn them or hire a chipper. The cheap ones are useless.

[harrycatcat1]

I had one of these Bosch but the older model and it was a proper worker, it did get jammed now and again but put it in reverse and it soon cleared.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196047948170?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ISWTH5EvTMe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=v2P7Ib7BQsi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[amateur]

1 hour ago, sandspider said:

Sounds a bit more encouraging! Do you know what make / model?

It was a Homebase own brand, and, unfortunately at the moment, is buried at the back of the shed.

It would have benefited from a reverse mode like the Bosch, mentioned by Harry.

About the only stuff that gives it problems is very fine, fibrous twigs.

I also find it better to leave pruning the trees until all the leaves have dropped, so that I'm dealing with bare branches only.

[bruno22rf]

Have a look on Facebook Marketplace, lot's of people seem to buy one, use it a couple of times, then sell them cheap. I bought a Mc Callister as new for £30, sounds like The Flying Scotsman flat out and vibrated worse than whatever the other half has hidden in her bedroom drawer but it does chew things, till it blocks every 5 minutes then it's a 10 minute unblocking job - bad design IMHO.

[ant.mass]

4 hours ago, sandspider said:

Hi folks

Toying with getting an electric garden shredder. To deal with willow branches, hedge clippings, brambles etc. Up to 2.5cm diameter maybe. Budget £100 ish - am I going to get anything worthwhile for that, or better to have a bonfire / hire a big chipper every so often? 

Thanks.

sham your not closer as i got JCB one here thats not being used anymore and is going up for sale for £35

[sandspider]

Thanks folks. im keeping an eye on Gumtree, FB marketplace etc but always good to have recomdations of shredders to look at / avoid. Currently a box of matches still looks the safest option! 

Bruno, I like your vibration comparison!

[harrycatcat1]

2 hours ago, sandspider said:

Thanks folks. im keeping an eye on Gumtree, FB marketplace etc but always good to have recomdations of shredders to look at / avoid. Currently a box of matches still looks the safest option! 

Bruno, I like your vibration comparison!

Make sure whatever you buy it has a reverse to prevent blockages taking ages to clear 👍

[billytheghillie]

Get some beavers 👍

[bruno22rf]

11 hours ago, billytheghillie said:

Get some beavers 👍

Been my lifetimes Motto 😃.

[Mice!]

On 06/11/2023 at 19:38, harrycatcat1 said:

Make sure whatever you buy it has a reverse to prevent blockages taking ages to clear 👍

 

On 06/11/2023 at 14:29, harrycatcat1 said:

I had one of these Bosch but the older model and it was a proper worker, it did get jammed now and again but put it in reverse and it soon cleared.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196047948170?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ISWTH5EvTMe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=v2P7Ib7BQsi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

That looks like a newer version of the Bosch I have, the reverse is priceless,  it will jam up, but it's been going a long time and done a lot of work.

Yesterday's fun and games, builders bag filled with the bigger stuff, wheelie bin full of the shredded stuff, occasionally stopped on thicker stems.

Bought as an ex display with no box, absolutely marvellous. 

[sandspider]

👍 Might yours be the Bosch AXT 2000? Thanks.

[Mice!]

43 minutes ago, sandspider said:

👍 Might yours be the Bosch AXT 2000? Thanks.

Without looking I wouldn't know sorry, but I can check Saturday.  I know we'd be lost without it.

It's always best to have everything trimmed ready for shredding,  just makes the job lots easier,  you find that different types of tree shred easier than others, that lot yesterday was dead Eucalyptus so was quite hard, nothing clogged, it just stopped a few times,  you turn it off, into reverse, then off and forwards again and job done.

I always wear hearing protection with mine.

[sandspider]

If you get a chance to check that would be useful, please. Thanks. Got a fallen willow tree to deal with, lots of volume once I've trimmed the log size stuff out...

[martinj]

22 minutes ago, Mice! said:

Without looking I wouldn't know sorry, but I can check Saturday.  I know we'd be lost without it.

It's always best to have everything trimmed ready for shredding,  just makes the job lots easier,  you find that different types of tree shred easier than others, that lot yesterday was dead Eucalyptus so was quite hard, nothing clogged, it just stopped a few times,  you turn it off, into reverse, then off and forwards again and job done.

I always wear hearing protection with mine.

I had one, possibly Black and Decker, I used it to shred a grape vine and passiflora which grew up my pergola and needed cutting back every autumn , I composted the chips. It was very noisy and a major hassle to use, getting jammed all the time. In the end I got rid of the compost heap and the shredder and now lead a quieter lifestyle

[Mice!]

48 minutes ago, sandspider said:

If you get a chance to check that would be useful, please. Thanks. Got a fallen willow tree to deal with, lots of volume once I've trimmed the log size stuff out...

Will do 👍 but you might be amazed how much stuff there is on a Willow if it's a big one, me and my neighbour had a Willow pollarded,  they spent a day and a half just shredding stuff with an industrial shredder.

And it's probably just as big again now, I'd have had it taken right down,  but it was mostly on his side.

[Mice!]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115951306939?hash=item1aff3c88bb:g:qoQAAOSw8EBlNsHv&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4POWVKoLhutlFAXbVPTqFbL%2FE5DefT6Q3cU%2Ft2UoOZtZTgU1Vz3kXopSR3BxwtgCs2EsgWX%2Fuo7tk8TDvXERJoItk74ZUNHisSH%2Bg4vgEGn2xenRHoOvJNsugwMKcA8gNeXd5oyt5pTct1lhrAStgfALok4L2EGzAum1P6twmc9HV7ex8cwxJtL4CSen%2BojorwbPfTb2fR10xluP%2Fn3u08IiT3g3lETVairBQDzCFoN4L7wXbkV0z5jJoTUk1uatwuoLXWNMAAzdMUtcWzN%2F8TkSad0gM%2F%2BfbHFPfEDMw%2FQG|tkp%3ABk9SR8DHpO_1Yg

Mine definitely looks like this, but there are a couple of different models, few on ebay but there all collection only.