Best Garden Shredders

This is absolutely useless. Bought it to shred some shrub clippings, really light stuff no more than 11mm thick. Was easy to assemble but that's the… Read more

only positive. The feeder constantly blocked, and after a while the exit chute would block too. Had to constantly turn it off to clear jammed material. I calculated it would take hours to process, so instead I got the lawnmower out and ran it over the lot and it was done in 10 minutes. So the supposed purpose designed machine failed where the humble mower designed for something else left it for dead. Completely unfit for purpose and very poorly designed. Don't buy this junk !

Had mine 7yrs plus. Best piece of equipment I've ever bought. Simple to use and gutsy. I use it on the native gardens for mulch. Takes up to 75mm or… Read more

so (anything bigger is firewood) self feeds and spits a mile. It's the only one I know that truly eats fronds. I have a bamboo wall out back and use it shred the lot for the green bin or tip. It can at times get stringy bits wrapped around the disc, but undo 2 bolts & it's easy to free - my fault in the first place. For anyone who has problems with it, check your technique it's usually operator error. I do service it regularly and it never misses a beat. The knives are easy to remove and sharpen with most of the issue being sap. Just make sure the gap setting is right when you refit, and remember chippers are meant for green not dried cuttings. Changing the belts is simple enough when you get the hang of it. I love it.

Posted on Ryobi Feedback also ago I bought my Mulcher maybe three years or so. It mulched branches and leaves for three autumns until this week when… Read more

the smaller branches ended up clogging up the system being crushed not chopped. I looked online for parts to fix the shredding mechanism and was surprised to find that they were NLA. I contacted Michigan who have a similar 2400 w mulcher, to see if their parts would fit but got no joy. So armed with this I raised the issue of parts support with Ryobi and Bunnings the manufacturer and my supplier. Surprise came when I was referred back to Bunnings by Ryobi Customer Service with an RMA. Bunnings gave me like for like a full replacement valued at $499 after three years of use thanks to Ryobi. No questions asked. When I got the new mulcher home I did notice that a disclaimer on the box states that the four year warranty relates to full replacement. They do not have a servuce department, choosing instead to rely on the product quality. Now depending on your point of view and the Consumer Affairs requirement for any product that is sold carries a warranty, it woukd appear that if you gave an issue with a Ryobi product especially high value, they don't impose any conditions much. Again surprised to come home with brand new mulcher value $499 and four year warranty, You can't ask for better than that can you? . Thank you Bunnings for the ease of returning the worn item and replacing it. A better than fair outcome.

I got mine from hard rubbish side of the road. Got it home and it wouldn't turn on , pulled it apart and the switch had come apart and seems to be… Read more

useless evan when workingproperly. So i held both switches down with zip ties so they stay on and sum duck tape. Motor sounds great .just has no longer got a safety cut off. So my not use it.

Great machine as the conical shaped open bladed both cuts, drags and also shears against the stationary blade. Its conical shape results in the… Read more

clearing of the rotor. As a plastic recycler once, I had many cutters and the design of the Bosch 23 is very clever and its blade endurance has been terrific. The stationary blade can be adjusted easily by just turning a black knob. I have had my unit for over 10 years, and the blades are as good as new. But it will build up with soft leaves so keep woodier bits ready to pull the softer stuff through. Big flowers won't get pulled through - and heavy leaves also will not get through. They'll build up and block the hopper, and you'll have to open up the hopper and free things. Reversing also assists. It is safe due to only working when the feed hopper is closed. For hedges and tree branches this unit is incredible. It mostly self feeds. I had an Ozito mulcher which wore out quite quickly. However I dropped the Bosch removing from an SUV to do my father in law's large hedge, and the Bosch fell onto the road, and cracked an internal part of the housing. One has to be careful that it is not designed to handle a fall! Bosch in Australia had it repaired (it was 5 years old and I paid for the repair) but they could not source part, so they made up a part from timber, which eventually failed. The machine still works fine mechanically but the safety switch can not always connect, so I am having to buyer another one. Its price has been maintained over the years as i paid over $Au700 ten or more years ago. If one is moving it - remove the top completely, do not bundle it as a single unit. The top can be stored in its mulch container, which makes its compact, but also, that is the way to transport it, in separate bits. The rest of the mulchers are much lower in quality or very expensive (ie petrol units). The main benefit of the Bosch 23 is that it self feeds, so while its pulling an item through by itself one can be getting the next stuff ready. But if its all soft and leafy, and you have no harder bits to pull the soft stuff through - one would be better off with a high speed rotating blade and noisy shredder that you'll have to push most of the greenery through. If you have a decent volume of hard material then the Bosch is an outstanding unit.

Honda heavy duty motor is no more – Bought one of these on the recommendation of my neighbour who has one and been using it regularly for several years. His has a red Honda commercial… Read more

heavy duty GX engine.

But I was bitterly disappointed when mine came with a Chinese white GP Honda engine and is only light duty. The shop said this is the only option and Hansa stopped using the better Red engines on these chippers to compete with Chinese imports. Ironically some Chinese imports are now coming with the Honda GX motors.

Another issue is the narrow chute design. My neighbour’s works well because most of the stuff he puts through it is straight. Mine is a a bit more bushy and has to be tediously be broken down into small bits and pushed with a stick. It takes for ever.

Before you buy these chippers, take the above into account. Especially the light duty motor.

Way too much work to do some simple mulching – Overall this is a good mulcher however there are a few things that are irritating. The output chute is just about on the ground and requires frequent… Read more

clearing - every 30seconds or so. Having a rod going through the middle of the chute also increases the chance of blockages. This precludes using the bag as build up is even faster. I use a garden tool to clear the chute and a blower to clean up after mulching. This all makes mulching a much lengthier task.

The mulcher really does not handle wet materials well and is even more likely to clog up. Clearing this out takes quite a bit of pulling apart of the machine requiring the use of multiple tools. The chance of losing nuts, bolts, and washers is quite high.

Having used the machine for 6 hours or so I now expect that I have to sharpen the blades and flails. This also requires quite some disassembly using multiple tools. The blades are fairly small and I expect I will need to buy new ones every couple of years.

I probably would not buy this again as it really requires too much effort beyond just mulching.

Repair Cost Issue – The cutting wheel in my C13 chipper seized. I contacted Hansa Australia for assistance. They sent a parts diagram. I dismantled the machine which… Read more

included the removal of all housings, belts and motor. I took photos of the dismantled machine and sent them to Hansa for advise on the next step. This step entailed the dismantling of the bearings and drive shaft. Simply there were several nuts and bolts Simply I didn't wish to dismantle parts that did not require dismantling. Hansa did not respond. Reluctantly I contacted Hansa for direction to a preferred dealer. I was directed to Nambour Outdoor Power The pulled down machine was delivered to this entity and several days later I was contacted by Text to collect the machine. I was invoiced $ 595 of which labour was 4.5 hours @ $ 110 per hour = $ 495 This is an excessive amount given that I pulled the balance of the machine apart in half an hour. Nambour Outdoor Power simply had to undo 8 nuts and bolts, a couple of grub screws and replace some small parts. I would be happy to receive a response but given the issues raised have some doubt one will be forth coming. Trev

Well worth it – Two years after buying a house with overgrown yards, this has proven one of my best buys. The fabric 'catcher', however, was a waste of money as an add-on. It might work if you're on level ground.

Product might be ok, but don't bother about any after sales help from Melbourne office as they just buck pass you to a nearest dealer which is not… Read more

helpful when there so far away. They don't like giving you any info on the product you buy. Will go elsewhere next time that has a better after sales record. Seems to be a major complaint about this on google forums.

A great unit! – Minimal assembly required, should be done within the hour. You need to ensure you adjust the chute before assembly of the stand otherwise you'll… Read more

have to undo the bolts and remove what you've just done! Not clear in the instructions. Took way more oil to fill than indicated too! Mine starts first/second time every time. Revs down low, choke fully open...Let it warm up a little, close the choke and increase revs. I put small leafy branches in the top and larger branches in the side feeder. Anything in the top really snatches, so throw in and DO NOT hold onto it to feed. Also, when you stop the mulcher, you MUST ensure there is nothing left in the side feeder or top feeder. Even a small branch will stop the blades/hammers and in turn the belt will jam, but the motor will run. You'll soon have smoke and if you don't stop the unit, it will likely catch on fire (As seen in other comments). I try to have a mixture of wet and dry things to feed as mixing it up prevents clogging and end up giving you a better quality mulch (which I re-use everywhere in the garden). The only thing I find a little frustrating is that I have to constantly manually move the mulch away from the chute to create space and avoid clogging. I think with a better design, you could have had a movable chute to work on mulch distribution. Anyway, overall I'm very pleased with the units abilities.

Purchased one second hand about 18 month ago. Runs like a dream, starts first or seasond pull and mulchers branches so easily ( only downside I could… Read more

note is small branches can be dangerous to mulch as it pulls them in so quickly and instantly spits out the mulch) overall very happy and great little unit!

Pretty good but not perfect – After over 25 years of active service my MTD Model 645 chipper/shredder died. I'll write a review on this later. I bought the Raptor 700 from… Read more

Edisons and it arrived in a box - unassembled. It came with instructions on how to download the manual. Luckily for me neither the downloading nor the assembling was a problem but that would not be true for everyone. It took over an hour to get the thing ready to go. I couldn't believe it started on the first pull which I thought was a good omen for things to come. Wrong. Once the engine was warm and stopped to empty the bag, it was very difficult to start again. I tried every throttle position. It eventually started but it really drained my energy. So-much-so that I left the engine running on slow when emptying the bag. Not ideal (or safe). I have to say that it chipped even large branches very well and effortlessly. All the small stuff thrown in the hopper was voraciously devoured. Almost scary. However, when examining the chipped/mulched product it contained a lot of small branch material not chopped finely enough in my opinion. I had to dig it out and put it through again. Not good. This was never a problem with my previous chipper/shredder (read review). Overall I think the Raptor 700 is worth the money. You could spend a lot more for little better performance. Further, it doesn't take up much room in the shed - and excuse to get more stuff lol.

Ok for dry stuff – dry sticks and leaves go through well, however the outlet chute is easily blocked when green vegetation is fed through, very frustrating to have to… Read more

clean it out often when shredding green leafy product. note i have a vegy garden so we have lots of greens like lettuce, cabbage etc leaves.

Noisy and dusty – The mulch it creates is good for composting because the particles are very fine, I would not recommend it for pathways or similar uses. It's also… Read more

incredibly fast. However, it is VERY noisy and generates a lot of dust—my neighbors are going to hate me. It handles stems and branches well but struggles with leaves. In hindsight, I would have preferred getting another Ozito "silent shredder," which costs only a little more.

New model is a down grade in pleasure to use mainly for un-needed safety improvements over older model. Higher and narrower infeed means you work… Read more

harder. Square side infeed flange has broad face and prevents stem with leaves going in easily means you work harder. Covered in base fills up, and the unit must be moved to clear it out means you work harder. This newer unit is good for slower and patient working style. Horay for un-needed safety.

Awful. Unfit for purpose – Bought with the express purpose of processing veggie garden waste. Completely unfit for purpose. Chokes up constantly. The blades fill up with… Read more

material and it stops feeding. Lasts about 30 seconds before you need to detach the bin and pull the jammed material out from underneath, despite the reverse gear option.

Awful awful awful.

May possibly be ok if you only ever have dry, long dead sticks.

A sub-standard garden shredder – The shredder clogs the input when trying to mulch soft material. This shredder blade bounces stalks back up the entry chute, or at least causes them… Read more

to sit in the area above the blades, spinning or vibrating until more material is push in from above. Even then, this area gets loaded with leaves, small stems and soft stalks. The operator has to force the material into the chute, as the blades do not draw anything in. The OUTPUT of the shredder clogs easily when soft material is mulched. This means that the operator has to stop the machine and remove the cover to clear the clogged area. If this is not done, the motor will not restart after being turned off, and on again. Shredded material quickly builds up under the cowl at the bottom, meaning that this area too has to be cleared regularly. Stringy material can wrap around the U-shaped blade, making it much less effective. This machine will mulch/shred small branches and large twigs Ok, but as smaller foliage is fed in, the above problems start. This machine is quite frustrating, and slow, to use.

mulcher – first of it was very poor in operation, the top feeding section caused more grief than help, so removed it, secondly it still wouldn't mulch… Read more

properly, had spoken to friend at my flying club who told me most needed the blades adjusted, removed blades and put a thick washer under each screw holding blades in place, and guess what, PERFECTERMON it mulches like a dream, so now it get a 5 star rating

During the first time I used the Raptor 1000 I accidentally leant on the emergency stop bar. This shut the machine down, and I looked for the “red… Read more

emergency stop button” to reset it. There was no such button on the machine and of course, I haven’t been able to get it started again since that happened. The most expensive piece of metal sitting in my shed now.