Garden shredder; recommendations?

Post by Chris Holford
They seem to run from about£50 to £500 or more. I'm thing of getting one
as my garden has a lot of shrubs that get pruned each year. Looking for
a reasonably priced one which will be reliable.
Thanks

Amazon reviews are your friend IMHO. FWIW I have a Bosch AXT Rapid 2200
which is fairly amazing, although you do need to replace the rotating
blades regularly. People with "serious" gardens tend to go with the more
expensive "grinder" type.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Tim Watts

2018-06-18 07:07:55 UTC

Amazon reviews are your friend IMHO. FWIW I have a Bosch AXT Rapid 2200
which is fairly amazing, although you do need to replace the rotating
blades regularly. People with "serious" gardens tend to go with the more
expensive "grinder" type.
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Bosch Shredder AXT 25 TC

It's between a cutter and a grinder (slow conical cutting blade). Quiet
enough to run for hours without upsetting the neighbours.

Been very impressed: It eats upto the stated thickness of branches and
it will take fine fresh hedge trimmings without clogging (though these
do need a bit of wiggling with the supplied push stick - partly down to
the narrow safety chute mouth - but there's not avoiding this on
domestic grade gear.

Munches cardboard too if you rip it into foot wide strips then roll up
like a branch - handy for bulking out grass cuttings in compost.

Brian Gaff

2018-06-18 08:16:18 UTC

Sounds good. The noise factor is what would put me off of using these having
heard many.
Brian
--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
***@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!

Amazon reviews are your friend IMHO. FWIW I have a Bosch AXT Rapid 2200
which is fairly amazing, although you do need to replace the rotating
blades regularly. People with "serious" gardens tend to go with the more
expensive "grinder" type.
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Bosch Shredder AXT 25 TC
It's between a cutter and a grinder (slow conical cutting blade). Quiet
enough to run for hours without upsetting the neighbours.
Been very impressed: It eats upto the stated thickness of branches and it
will take fine fresh hedge trimmings without clogging (though these do
need a bit of wiggling with the supplied push stick - partly down to the
narrow safety chute mouth - but there's not avoiding this on domestic
grade gear.
Munches cardboard too if you rip it into foot wide strips then roll up
like a branch - handy for bulking out grass cuttings in compost.

newshound

2018-06-18 10:09:30 UTC

Amazon reviews are your friend IMHO. FWIW I have a Bosch AXT Rapid
2200 which is fairly amazing, although you do need to replace the
rotating blades regularly. People with "serious" gardens tend to go
with the more expensive "grinder" type.
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Bosch Shredder AXT 25 TC
It's between a cutter and a grinder (slow conical cutting blade). Quiet
enough to run for hours without upsetting the neighbours.
Been very impressed: It eats upto the stated thickness of branches and
it will take fine fresh hedge trimmings without clogging (though these
do need a bit of wiggling with the supplied push stick - partly down to
the narrow safety chute mouth - but there's not avoiding this on
domestic grade gear.
Munches cardboard too if you rip it into foot wide strips then roll up
like a branch - handy for bulking out grass cuttings in compost.

I like the look of that. Nice big collection box. More than double the
price, though.

My ATX rapid can wear out a set of blades inside an hour, the blade tips
are induction hardened and I have never had any luck trying to sharpen
them. Presumably yours last *much* longer.

Mind you, you can get through a HUGE pile of cuttings in an hour.

Tim Watts

2018-06-18 20:15:44 UTC

Post by newshound
My ATX rapid can wear out a set of blades inside an hour, the blade tips
are induction hardened and I have never had any luck trying to sharpen
them. Presumably yours last *much* longer.
Mind you, you can get through a HUGE pile of cuttings in an hour.

I've not touched mine - but I've only had it a year mind...

dennis@home

2018-06-22 18:03:07 UTC

Post by newshound
My ATX rapid can wear out a set of blades inside an hour, the blade
tips are induction hardened and I have never had any luck trying to
sharpen them. Presumably yours last *much* longer.
Mind you, you can get through a HUGE pile of cuttings in an hour.

I've not touched mine - but I've only had it a year mind...

I have had a Bosh with the cutting screw for a few years now, not
sharpened it yet.

It has an induction motor and it can get fouled up if you put a branch
with a lot of green leaves on as they get pulled off and block the
mouth. They shred much easier if they can dry for a few days first.

The branches come out cut into small lengths and partially crushed so
they compost well.

John Rumm

2018-06-23 02:48:58 UTC

Post by ***@home

Post by newshound
My ATX rapid can wear out a set of blades inside an hour, the blade
tips are induction hardened and I have never had any luck trying to
sharpen them. Presumably yours last *much* longer.
Mind you, you can get through a HUGE pile of cuttings in an hour.

I've not touched mine - but I've only had it a year mind...

I have had a Bosh with the cutting screw for a few years now, not
sharpened it yet.
It has an induction motor and it can get fouled up if you put a branch
with a lot of green leaves on as they get pulled off and block the
mouth. They shred much easier if they can dry for a few days first.
The branches come out cut into small lengths and partially crushed so
they compost well.

Sounds like the one I had. No easy way to resharpen the helix alas. ISTR
that the part was £80 when I replaced it the first time. They work ok
when sharp, so long as you can accept the limitation that it only works
well when shredding exactly the right kind of stuff - dryish, not to
leafy or lush, nothing too soft.

The small opening also makes them hard to feed - you spend alot of time
shopping side shoots off to get the thing in the hopper. I think they
designed the hopper opening to limit the size of branch that could be
fed, but in doing so just made it hard to feed. (I attacked mine with a
reciprocating saw in the end to make the hopper neck wider!)

In the end I got so fed up with it, I lobbed it in a skip rather than
replace the helix again etc.

About the only bit of it I miss is it was good when taking down over
grown brambles - you could snip a bit off near the root, and feed in an
end, it would then pull in the rest of the stalk and save you getting
lacerated by it too much.
--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

dennis@home

2018-06-24 08:44:17 UTC

Post by newshound
My ATX rapid can wear out a set of blades inside an hour, the blade
tips are induction hardened and I have never had any luck trying to
sharpen them. Presumably yours last *much* longer.
Mind you, you can get through a HUGE pile of cuttings in an hour.

I've not touched mine - but I've only had it a year mind...

I have had a Bosh with the cutting screw for a few years now, not
sharpened it yet.
It has an induction motor and it can get fouled up if you put a branch
with a lot of green leaves on as they get pulled off and block the
mouth. They shred much easier if they can dry for a few days first.
The branches come out cut into small lengths and partially crushed so
they compost well.

Sounds like the one I had. No easy way to resharpen the helix alas. ISTR
that the part was £80 when I replaced it the first time. They work ok
when sharp, so long as you can accept the limitation that it only works
well when shredding exactly the right kind of stuff - dryish, not to
leafy or lush, nothing too soft.
The small opening also makes them hard to feed - you spend alot of time
shopping side shoots off to get the thing in the hopper. I think they
designed the hopper opening to limit the size of branch that could be
fed, but in doing so just made it hard to feed. (I attacked mine with a
reciprocating saw in the end to make the hopper neck wider!)
In the end I got so fed up with it, I lobbed it in a skip rather than
replace the helix again etc.
About the only bit of it I miss is it was good when taking down over
grown brambles - you could snip a bit off near the root, and feed in an
end, it would then pull in the rest of the stalk and save you getting
lacerated by it too much.

I didn't really have a problem with it jamming. The wife does though as
she just wont stop bunching loads of stuff up and shoving it all in at once.
It will quite happily take a whole branch and pull it through but it
won't take three or more at the same time.

John Rumm

2018-06-24 23:04:02 UTC

Post by newshound
My ATX rapid can wear out a set of blades inside an hour, the blade
tips are induction hardened and I have never had any luck trying to
sharpen them. Presumably yours last *much* longer.
Mind you, you can get through a HUGE pile of cuttings in an hour.

I've not touched mine - but I've only had it a year mind...

I have had a Bosh with the cutting screw for a few years now, not
sharpened it yet.
It has an induction motor and it can get fouled up if you put a
branch with a lot of green leaves on as they get pulled off and block
the mouth. They shred much easier if they can dry for a few days first.
The branches come out cut into small lengths and partially crushed so
they compost well.

Sounds like the one I had. No easy way to resharpen the helix alas.
ISTR that the part was £80 when I replaced it the first time. They
work ok when sharp, so long as you can accept the limitation that it
only works well when shredding exactly the right kind of stuff -
dryish, not to leafy or lush, nothing too soft.
The small opening also makes them hard to feed - you spend alot of
time shopping side shoots off to get the thing in the hopper. I think
they designed the hopper opening to limit the size of branch that
could be fed, but in doing so just made it hard to feed. (I attacked
mine with a reciprocating saw in the end to make the hopper neck wider!)
In the end I got so fed up with it, I lobbed it in a skip rather than
replace the helix again etc.
About the only bit of it I miss is it was good when taking down over
grown brambles - you could snip a bit off near the root, and feed in
an end, it would then pull in the rest of the stalk and save you
getting lacerated by it too much.

I found with a branch it would start out ok, but then choke when it got
down to the leafy bits without much wood left...
--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

Jeff Layman

2018-06-17 21:34:11 UTC

I've had Screwfix's own brand shredder for over a year, and thoroughly
recommend it. Absolutely no problems and it works well using a
slow-speed cogwheel-type blade to pull in and cut/crush branches.
<https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb683shr-2500w-200kg-hr-garden-shredder-230v/6887p>

Previously I used a high-speed shredder ()rotating blade) which I had to
stop to unblock every few minutes. It was also extremely noisy.

--
Jeff

Rob Morley

2018-06-17 23:10:15 UTC

On Sun, 17 Jun 2018 22:34:11 +0100

Post by Chris Holford
They seem to run from about£50 to £500 or more. I'm thing of
getting one as my garden has a lot of shrubs that get pruned each
year. Looking for a reasonably priced one which will be reliable.
Thanks

That looks like the one I hired - it filled my new compost bin with
very well chewed vegetation - everything from inch-and-a-half thick
branches to grass and soft green leafy stuff came out nicely crushed
and chopped, and occasional jams were easily cleared by shifting into
reverse.

Post by Jeff Layman
Previously I used a high-speed shredder ()rotating blade) which I had
to stop to unblock every few minutes. It was also extremely noisy.

I have one of those, it's crap. If I had paid more than a tenner for it
I'd have been annoyed. No amount of careful cleaning, adjustment and
sharpening will get it to run for more than a few minutes without
jamming and even when it is working it doesn't do a very good job.

T i m

2018-06-18 08:08:59 UTC

On Mon, 18 Jun 2018 00:10:15 +0100, Rob Morley <***@ntlworld.com>
wrote:
<snip>

Post by Rob Morley

Post by Jeff Layman
Previously I used a high-speed shredder ()rotating blade) which I had
to stop to unblock every few minutes. It was also extremely noisy.

I guess even those of a similar design can be different in use.

I bought one of the Bosch spinny disk ones (partly because of the good
reviews here and elsewhere) and whilst it is a bit noisy, it is fast
and therefore on for less time.

Daughter took down a small (25') conifer and I fed everything that
would go though the chipper though it and it took it faster than I
could clear the bags of chip away! You would just drop one or two of
the branches in and it would just fall though about the speed of
gravity. ;-)

There was also an old apple tree and that it also consumed but that
was more difficult, simply because *nothing* was straight. It also
took all the vegetation ok.

We have both used it on other jobs and still agree it's a great bit of
kit (for something that small / light / cheap).

Her other flail chipper has a 13hp Honda engine and she has played
with big trailered jobbies when working for a local Tree Surgery Co so
should be able to judge 'a good chipper' from a bad one. ;-)

Not quite up to the capacity of the beast we saw at one of the Arb
shows that was taking half a dozen telegraph (and bigger) sized tree
trunks and chipping them at the same time!

Cheers, T i m

newshound

2018-06-18 10:14:05 UTC

Post by Rob Morley
On Sun, 17 Jun 2018 22:34:11 +0100

Post by Chris Holford
They seem to run from about£50 to £500 or more. I'm thing of
getting one as my garden has a lot of shrubs that get pruned each
year. Looking for a reasonably priced one which will be reliable.
Thanks

Post by Jeff Layman
Previously I used a high-speed shredder ()rotating blade) which I had
to stop to unblock every few minutes. It was also extremely noisy.

I was going to say I liked the look of that, until reading your experience!

Some Titan stuff seems to be OK for the price. But a clone of the Bosch
£400 one for a quarter of the price looks too good to be true.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Huge

2018-06-18 07:03:09 UTC

I've had Screwfix's own brand shredder for over a year, and thoroughly
recommend it. Absolutely no problems and it works well using a
slow-speed cogwheel-type blade to pull in and cut/crush branches.
<https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb683shr-2500w-200kg-hr-garden-shredder-230v/6887p>
Previously I used a high-speed shredder ()rotating blade) which I had to
stop to unblock every few minutes. It was also extremely noisy.

I have one of these (the rotating disk type). It's rubbish. Don't buy
one of those.

--
Today is Prickle-Prickle, the 23rd day of Confusion in the YOLD 3184
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

Halmyre

2018-06-18 13:11:31 UTC

I've had Screwfix's own brand shredder for over a year, and thoroughly
recommend it. Absolutely no problems and it works well using a
slow-speed cogwheel-type blade to pull in and cut/crush branches.
<https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb683shr-2500w-200kg-hr-garden-shredder-230v/6887p>
Previously I used a high-speed shredder ()rotating blade) which I had to
stop to unblock every few minutes. It was also extremely noisy.

I had a Champion BL1800 shredder from Focus many years ago, it has a rotating disk with a couple of double-sided blades screwed to it. When they wear out, unscrew them and turn them round. Fairly reliable as long as you were careful with larger knotty branches, but a bit noisy. Sadly I can't get new blades for love nor money.

Rob Morley

2018-06-18 20:44:15 UTC

On Mon, 18 Jun 2018 06:11:31 -0700 (PDT)

Post by Halmyre
I had a Champion BL1800 shredder from Focus many years ago, it has a
rotating disk with a couple of double-sided blades screwed to it.
When they wear out, unscrew them and turn them round. Fairly reliable
as long as you were careful with larger knotty branches, but a bit
noisy. Sadly I can't get new blades for love nor money.

Build the worn ones up with a bit of weld and regrind them?

Halmyre

2018-06-19 06:17:05 UTC

Post by Rob Morley
On Mon, 18 Jun 2018 06:11:31 -0700 (PDT)

Build the worn ones up with a bit of weld and regrind them?

That's a bit beyond my capabilities. But I might dig out my dad's old oilstone and have a go at sharpening them, and touch up the kitchen knives while I'm at it. A&E, here I come...

newshound

2018-06-19 08:35:49 UTC

Post by Halmyre

Post by Rob Morley
On Mon, 18 Jun 2018 06:11:31 -0700 (PDT)

Build the worn ones up with a bit of weld and regrind them?

That's a bit beyond my capabilities. But I might dig out my dad's old oilstone and have a go at sharpening them, and touch up the kitchen knives while I'm at it. A&E, here I come...

Did you check whether the Bosch ATX Rapid ones might be the same?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-F016800276-Replacement-Blade-Rapid/dp/B000Y16DZQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529397291&sr=8-1&keywords=bosch+shredder+blade

I can check the measurements for you if they look about right.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Halmyre

2018-06-19 10:18:33 UTC

Post by Halmyre

Post by Rob Morley
On Mon, 18 Jun 2018 06:11:31 -0700 (PDT)

Build the worn ones up with a bit of weld and regrind them?

That's a bit beyond my capabilities. But I might dig out my dad's old oilstone and have a go at sharpening them, and touch up the kitchen knives while I'm at it. A&E, here I come...

Did you check whether the Bosch ATX Rapid ones might be the same?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-F016800276-Replacement-Blade-Rapid/dp/B000Y16DZQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529397291&sr=8-1&keywords=bosch+shredder+blade
I can check the measurements for you if they look about right.

Thanks, but mine are like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/AL-KO-Shredder-Blade-Screws-Prepack-103264-ALKO-Dynamic-Tec-Power-Slider/2255374607

only rectangular instead of rhomboidal. I did source a set from somewhere, but the shape was subtly different, they didn't sit quite right on the spinner plate and were trying to take too much off at each pass, so it would either jam on the thicker stuff or pass the lighter stuff through unshredded.

The stalls at vintage car or agricultural rallies used to be a good source for this sort of stuff. Also, it might be that the Al-Ko plate is a straightforward swap (hah!), I should look into that.

dennis@home

2018-06-22 18:05:03 UTC

Bosch do a similar one, a lot more expensive though.

Chris Hogg

2018-06-18 05:54:06 UTC

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

Bill

2018-06-18 09:14:27 UTC

Post by Chris Hogg
I have the Bosch ATX 25 TC 'Quiet Shredder' which I'm happy with,
although I would prefer to be able to see at a glance how full the
collector was getting, or even use my own buckets/trugs to collect the
shreddings. But it copes with fairly thick branches, up to about 4.5cm,
and is quiet, unlike some of the high-speed shredders. Quite a big
beast for the amateur, and not particularly cheap.

I have one of these here, partly dismantled until I couldn't get any
further.

It just stopped one day. I thought it had jammed, but I couldn't see
anything, and poking things in didn't help. I've given up until my
health and stamina improves.

We got it for nothing from my son who had become fed up with its
slowness on his huge and in those days wild garden.

He replaced it with some horrendously noisy and slightly frightening
Titan petrol driven thing. It has been fine, although I have already
been on a mission to the nearest Fenner agents to buy it new drive
belts.

--
Bill

Chris J Dixon

2018-06-18 10:33:04 UTC

For some time I have had, and been very pleased with, an Alko
SP5000, cog type. It has recently needed the capacitor replacing,
but that was reasonably easy and inexpensive.

Chris

--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK
***@cdixon.me.uk

Plant amazing Acers.

John Rumm

2018-06-18 13:31:49 UTC

IME what will work best for you will depend a bit on the type of
shredding you want to do...

I had an old Bosch "silent" HP2000 which was their previous "quiet"
design that used a sharp edged helix to draw stuff in and crush /
section it. It was ok on woody stuff (or green stuff you had left to dry
for several days prior to shredding), but easily clogged on fresh leafy
green stuff. In the end it drove me nuts as it was difficult to feed,
and I spent more time unclogging it than using it.

The modern cog type are better in that respect I understand. They also
do a drum version that slices stuff obliquely, which is supposed to cope
with a wider variety of stuff more easily.

In the end I had a chat with the arb specialists at FR Jones & Son to
see if they could suggest something a little more "industrial". They
were initially keen to promote the Viking shredders since they felt they
were a good compromise at handing a wide range of waste types (entry
level machines were also only about £200 - high end north of £1000).
However in the end it became clear that what I really needed was a
chipper rather than a shredder, since most of what I want to handle are
tree branches, and I have very little need to shred shrubs or hedge
clippings etc.

So I went for a semi-pro Lawnflite chipper. Its powered by a 6kW+ petrol
engine, and that has been outstandingly good. Basically you lob a tree
branch in (anything up to 80mm at the thick end[1]), and it spits it out
the elevated disposal shoot into what ever container / pile you fancy,
rather like a snow blower. A bit of a beast of a machine (135kg - but on
big pneumatic tyres, so not actually that difficult to trundle about),
loud (you need ear defenders if close to it), but its a kind of petrol
mower not too disturbing kind of sound from a distance so not actually
that bad for neighbours etc.

[1] Which basically means if it won't chip, its big enough to cut as a
log instead.
--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

Another John

2018-06-20 07:51:33 UTC

Recommendation?

Don't waste your time and money! :-)

I haven't read any of the other responses here -- mine is a gut
reaction, born of (a) having lots of hedges (and border plants for that
matter) and (b) cutting them for decades. [And (c) having tried at
least two shredders in my time.]

You're going to either compost the cuttings/plants, or you're going to
take them to the tip:

- if keen on composting, pile them up lengthways on the lawn, then use
your hedgetrimmer to chop the pile into short lengths. [1]

- if taking to the tip, pile them neatly on to a tarpaulin, then wrap
them up tightly and ram into your car -- also by far the easiest way to
unload at the tip.

Shredders are noisy, expensive and worst of all demand hours of your
time.

[1] Many people, including the TV experts, say "just run over them with
the lawn mower". This advice usually comes from people with loads of
time, and/or assistants whom we never see, even in the background, on
programmes like Gardeners' World. This method is slower than chopping
withe the hedge trimmer, and in any case you need a big, powerful,
petrol driven mower.

hth
John

newshound

2018-06-21 14:11:15 UTC

Post by Another John
Recommendation?
Don't waste your time and money! :-)
I haven't read any of the other responses here -- mine is a gut
reaction, born of (a) having lots of hedges (and border plants for that
matter) and (b) cutting them for decades. [And (c) having tried at
least two shredders in my time.]
You're going to either compost the cuttings/plants, or you're going to
- if keen on composting, pile them up lengthways on the lawn, then use
your hedgetrimmer to chop the pile into short lengths. [1]
- if taking to the tip, pile them neatly on to a tarpaulin, then wrap
them up tightly and ram into your car -- also by far the easiest way to
unload at the tip.
Shredders are noisy, expensive and worst of all demand hours of your
time.

Noisy, yes. Expensive, I didn't consider my ATX rapid particularly
expensive when I bought it (£140 or so?) except for replacement blades.
Jams are rare once you get the hang of it, and quick to clear.

A very quick way of getting a good volume reduction. I had a cone of
stuff more than 6 feet high and probably 8 feet on the base. IIRC this
came down in an hour or so to five feed sacks (slightly bigger than
rubble sacks) which easily fitted into an Astra estate. I think this
wore out both sides of the blade (£14 at the time) but saved hours
compared to manual cutting and bagging.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Tim Watts

2018-06-21 15:00:02 UTC

This post might be inappropriate. Click to display it.

T i m

2018-06-21 15:19:36 UTC

Post by newshound
Noisy, yes. Expensive, I didn't consider my ATX rapid particularly
expensive when I bought it (£140 or so?) except for replacement blades.
Jams are rare once you get the hang of it, and quick to clear.
A very quick way of getting a good volume reduction. I had a cone of
stuff more than 6 feet high and probably 8 feet on the base. IIRC this
came down in an hour or so to five feed sacks (slightly bigger than
rubble sacks) which easily fitted into an Astra estate. I think this
wore out both sides of the blade (£14 at the time) but saved hours
compared to manual cutting and bagging.

I'm impressed.
Took me about 4 hours to clear a 6' x 3' x 2' mound of hawthorn with
mine - but it was all fine nasty stuff that had to be shoved in the
throat in clumps the size of an inflated balloon (that's the real slowdown).

I think that's the key with these smaller chippers. When I fed a
conifer though mine you just dropped one (or more, depending on size)
branches into it and they nearly fell though! ;-)

The biggest issue was getting new green-waste bags underneath it fast
enough (we hooked the bag handles over the lugs on the chipper and
took them off when any more in them would split the bag when lifting).

I think I may have 'dressed' the blade with the diamond hone on my
Leatherman a couple of times.

Post by Tim Watts
I've cleared something like a 6' high 10' deep 30' wide pile in a couple
of days with a hired "proper" chipper where you could just literally
throw it in.

Yes, we have access to a range of chippers where the biggest would
take a 4" diameter branch and everything on it with reasonable ease.
Again, it's amazing how quickly you can fill a transit truck with
something like that. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Andrew

2018-06-21 15:05:57 UTC

Post by Another John
You're going to either compost the cuttings/plants, or you're going to

Or simply pile them up in a corner, allow to dry thoroughly and
then burn them. It's carbon-neutral and the ash is good for the
soil.

John Rumm

2018-06-21 20:19:59 UTC

Post by Andrew

Post by Another John
You're going to either compost the cuttings/plants, or you're going to

Or simply pile them up in a corner, allow to dry thoroughly and
then burn them. It's carbon-neutral and the ash is good for the
soil.

Its what I do with clippings from the hedges and the waste left from
when I massacre a pampas grass or three each year. Usually burns pretty
well after a couple of days drying.

For tree branches its a different matter - they are usually to sparsely
spaced to burn well (or get many onto a resonable sized fire at once).

For those the chipper is really good - it got through probably 30 m^3 of
branches last autumn faster than I could drag em to the machine.
--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

newshound

2018-06-21 22:26:13 UTC

Post by John Rumm

Post by Andrew

Post by Another John
You're going to either compost the cuttings/plants, or you're going to

Or simply pile them up in a corner, allow to dry thoroughly and
then burn them. It's carbon-neutral and the ash is good for the
soil.

Agreed, that is really where they come into their own. I forget which
particular plant gave me my big pile, may have been ash, alder, or
buddlia but whatever it was I had relatively straight six foot lengths
tapering down from 1 inch to 1/4 inch and they self-feed and really
whizz through provided the blades are sharp. You can tell when the
blades are going blunt because you have to start shoving them a bit.
More knarley stuff like hawthorne is not so efficient. I don't have a
handy space for drying and burning hedge clippings, you get some volume
reduction from the shredder but sometimes I just dig them into a big
muck heap.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Chris Holford

2018-07-05 21:43:28 UTC