Shredder!

Rob Lockwood

Hi all!  There's a Spear & Jackson "quiet" grinding/crushing-type garden shredder available at a well-known high street outlet at what looks like a good price (£150).  Anyone any experience of this or any comments about the shredder market generally?  I can envisage using this once or twice a year to chop up fairly dry / firm twigs and branches for either composting or mulch.  So, relatively light use, and not attempting to grind loads of mushy green material.

Thanks!

philippasmith2

If you are only going to use it once or twice a year for dry twigs and branches, I'd consider the size of the shredder too - unless you have plenty of undercover storage space ?  Is the one you are looking at petrol driven or electric ?  If the latter, it helps to be near an outlet to save you hauling the machine about too much.
I purchased a large petrol one a few years ago which was both a chopper and shredder - it blocked up constantly and I ended up giving it away to the local Allotment Society.  I am still using my smaller electric one which I purchased in France some 10 years ago - it's had a good bit of use over the years and still does a good job.  It is an "own brand" rather than a well known make.
Don't know whether the above is of any help - hope you find what is best for you anyway 

Rob Lockwood

Thanks Philippa - in a bit of reading around the subject I've seen French and American ones lauded, as opposed to endless complaints about ones available on the market here! 

This one's electric and whilst I know it's a bit of a beast weight-wise compared to the bladed ones, I'll recheck the dimensions - thanks for the warning.

It's not a "essential" really, which is why I'm looking at the lower/cheaper end of things; as a result, I'm deliberately aiming not to tax it too much by expecting to stick fresh hedge clippings through it etc - they can sit in my log pile for a year or so to "dry out".  The idea is just to speed up the composting / provide some mulch - some of the stuff I put on my log pile, whilst drying out, still won't compost easily after a couple of years, so the thinking was to speed things up a bit and create some mulch in the process.  If I can get 10 years out of it like you have yours, that would be great.

philippasmith2

Sounds as if you are on the right track.
The only stuff I have found with mine which doesn't need much drying beforehand is Bay - no idea why but it does smell nice when doing a rather boring job
I believe there are 1 or 2 threads about shredders on this forum - may just be worth your while to use the "Search" facility to see if anything useful comes up before you make your final choice.
Good luck with it anyway and Happy Shredding

Ergates

I’ve got two shredders, almost identical to each other, but one is a Qualcast, the other a Lidl own brand ( other shredders are available !) paid just over, and just under, £100, at least 10 years ago.Both are electric and not too noisy. I get a lot of use out of them shredding prunings for the green bin. Lots of laurel and the like. Hours of use during the summer. I run one until the box is full, then use the other one to let it cool. Sometimes I have them both running at once if I’ve got a big pile of greenery.

One feature I would check that it is a self feeding shredder, ie once you stick the branch into the rotating cutter, the machine pulls the branch through by itself. Apparently there are some shredders which require you to push the branch through the cutter, bit of a bore, I should think. I don’t know which models those are.
this is a similar design to mine

Nanny Beach

Bosch electric copes with quite big branches,self feed,I can't say it's quiet though

Rob Lockwood

Thanks both.  Got to be a useful tool, but I'm getting the impression from reviews that I might need to spend a few quid!  Philippa's "warning" about size has given me pause on the S&J one a bit as it's a bit of a beast (looks quite a lot yours Ergates!), but the lighter/smaller options (non-self-feed, spinning blade, noisy) have very chequered reviews until you get to Bosch at around £190!  The one everyone raves about is a Bosch at £400, but £400's a lot of plants...

Forester_Pete

Recently purchased an electric Bosch for £180 and very happy with it so far. I had far too much twiggy stuff for the compost heap so am now shredding a small sack full of chips every few weeks. Hoping still that the chips will compost but have not put anything in the green bin since I got it. Doesn't take much room in the shed either

Rob Lockwood

AXT Rapid 2200 Pete?  That's the one which gets good reviews @ £180/£190.

Ergates

Just taken a look at the Spear and Jackson shredder, with helpful video on high street store website. It is virtually identical to both mine, with an easy to use catch on the collection box. They wheel away into the shed when not in use, and I use an electric extension reel with an RCD socket, just in case.
We have over an acre of garden, lots of laurel hedges and overgrown rhododendrons. Wouldn’t be without the shredders. Before we got one, we were regular visitors to the tip, with massive bags of prunings. The shredders reduced that to more manageable proportions. It’s amazing how a huge pile of chopped off branches etc can be quickly converted into a small box of minced up greenery, ready to compost, or in our case, tip into the green waste bin for collection.
If you have room to store it, you won’t regret it.

Forester_Pete

Rob Lockwood said:

AXT Rapid 2200 Pete?  That's the one which gets good reviews @ £180/£190.

Yes that's the one. Doesn't come with a bag but cobbled one with some gaffer tape and a rubble sack.