Talon 3HP Electric

Good; with limitations – I've had this a long time now (10-15 years) - a previous model; 2400w rating. Purchased at Bunnings on a 'super-special'. Good points: gets the job done. Eventually! Anyone buying 'a new one' should note: There's two kinds of shredder; 'blades' like this one - mulches in a manner like a lawnmower, speed essential - and 'cogs' - which crush… Read more ·  2

the material between gears and are low-speed. If I was buying again, that's what I'd get (but it might be more expensive). Negative points (for this model) - when it clogs, there a hand-unscrew bolt (no tools) that has a long shaft - takes a while to unscrew/re-screw - and the micro-contact doesn't engage till it's tight. Good safety but slows usage. Experience/operator tips: It can clog relatively easily with some kinds of branches - particularly anything stringy, like sisal or kurrajong/bottle-tree or vines. Basically, vines or kurrajong? Forget it!! But... Unlike other reviewers, I've had no trouble with dry woods, including acacia. In fact I put a few dry sticks down amid a green job to 'clean things out'. I found it useful to look at the machine when it was 'undone' and work out just how things worked in the cutting chamber when done up. That explained to me why it sometimes got full of uncut material while continuing to shred the next branch no problems. The original plastic 'pusher' is still present but has worn dramatically, like a child's seaside toy. It's still usable, but I've taken to using sacrificial sticks from what I'm shredding and a 'thin one and a thick one'. This works well, as does secateuring the branchlets into optimal shapes for feeding into the narrow slot. I'm an avid and experienced 'sharpener' and sharp blades make a LOT of difference; and an occasional bit of oil on the twisty bits also made it quieter and happier. The last two jobs were a senescent Acacia and an overgrown 'green weed tree' that was shading my solar panels. In both cases, what began as an overloaded trailer of branches was reduced to a few barrow-loads of medium quality mulch. And took two four-hour-days for a geriatric gent. I'm a happy customer and it's adequate for our occasional needs - but if I was buying again I'd get a low-speed cog/crusher machine.

Perfect when pruning trees – A must for all who prune trees around yard. Saves trips to the dump. I love the machine, the only thing it does not do green grass. It jams the machine. Blade on machine is excellent . Easy to clean. Easy to use. small enough for me to move on my own but strong enough to mulch most branches. Portable do can move around yard easily.  Show details

Good product, works well for size – i bought mine second hand 2017, found the mulcher/chipper eats branches, leaves, sticks with ease. take your time. mulch comes out a good size around 1/2 to 1 inch. Do not feed old dry hard wood in this machine, you will burn the motor out. Keep the blades sharp, easy job with a angle grinder on slow speed. Can buy new blades for $5.80 a pair… Read more

#2001, from eBay with free post. You can retemper the blades AFTER you sharpen them by heating each blade on the gas to a straw color, wear your glasses, hold the blade with vice grips, then quench (dip) in oil or water, this will harden them. Just heat the cutting edges AFTER you sharpen them. If you want to un harden the blades to sharpen then just reheat to bright red but don't quench them. if you sharpen the blades and don't reharden them the blades will blunt very quickly because of the heat of the grinder. This is the way I do the blades. One more thing don't put any WET branches or leaves through the mulcher, it will clog up. This Talon mulcher is one of the best electric ones on the market. I have had a few petrol and electric types over the past 40 years. Look after it and it will serve you well. Happy mulching. G.W.

Best shredder for a suburban block – I've had my Talon shredder for five years - picked it up from Kmart at a bargain clearance price $170?. I have a mature garden with dozens of trees and huge shrubs in the front and back yard that need to be heavily pruned on a regular basis. Most of my trees are deciduous and drop huge volumes of leaves every year. My Talon shredder just eats it… Read more

all up. I use a lopper to cut up branches so they are as straight as possible so they can been fed into the side chipper chute. Any branches that are too thick, I try and split in half, but if it's too hard to reduce their size they end up on my fire pit.

Initially I found it would block up, but the problem is easily resolved.

1. Keep your blades sharp. (Make sure you have at least one spare set. I've got three sets which I regularly sharpen using a chisel sharpening guide fitted to a linisher on my bench grinder. You can buy blades from Bunnings, Mitre 10 or various places on line. Try and buy genuine blades as they are made out of hard tool steel which will remain sharp for longer. If you don't have the skills to sharpen them yourself, shop around for a sharpening service - cheaper than replacing)

2. Remove the plastic shroud from the exit chute and attach your collection bag directly to the metal chute (if you do end up with a blockage don't stick your hands inside if the power is connected, otherwise Darwin's theory of evolution will kick in)

3. Make sure you don't use a metal push stick, use an oversize branch as a pusher.

4. When stuffing material in the top, make sure there are no stones, gravel or metal objects.

The Talon shredder is virtually unstoppable. I've brutalized mine and it keeps on going.

PS. Yes I have put metal in mine and suffered the consequences of damaged blades. Rusty pliers in with leaves is not good. Metal push sticks are not good, refer notes 3 and 4.

So what do you do with all the chipped/shredded output? If I am chipping solid branches, I put it straight on the garden beds - spread thinly. But everything else gets put into two very large 400 liter compost bins (I don't Have or want a green waste bin)

Great Shredder – Have been using this shredder for a while now and have to say it does the job. This unit is also sold by other companies here in Australia and around the world under other names. Have read some negative comments, some of which are not realistic, These are my thoughts: - It doesn't make excessive noise. It is quieter than some other units of… Read more

this size

- The shredding size is not too fine or large and is ok for garden mulch or for use in the compost

- It cuts long stringy grass leaves (Lemon Grass) without a problem

- It will block if too much wet green plant material is loaded in. Best advise is to shred with dryer material and the issue is greatly reduced

- Don't overload the machine and it won't block

- Spare blades are available in Australia if you search around. Reliable, shreds a variety of garden plant material You will have to sharpen the blades eventually, Can be awkward to wheel around

Where can you get replacement blades for these? – Can anyone tell me where I can obtain replacement blades for these? A bit of wire that had grown into a tree branch got put through my mulcher and resulted in a broken blade. I guess one way to get around the problem might be to take the old blades to an engineering works and ask them to make me some. I'm not sure what they would charge. Another… Read more

brand has a very similar blade, which should fit, providing the two ends are filed down by a few mms. They are basically the same blade, just a few mms longer and the holes are slightly smaller too, so would need to be redrilled. I've searched the internet for replacement blades, but it seems that nobody is making them, not even Talon. Pros: Good when working. Cons: Can't replace blades easily! Had only just purchased it and then found out they were not making replacement parts for it!!

Ok for this type of design – Been using it for light brush (Lilly Pilly), ivy, plane tree leaves etc for 6 years on a 1/4 acre city block so not exactly demanding workload. Forget wet material - it'll clog in a flash and removing the cowl to clear the blockage is not a one step operation. I've just had the 'V" blades disintegrate but the very thick metal body meant no parts… Read more ·  1

escaped - if they had, it could have been a concerns as the blades are chunky. Alton Mower Power have been helpful and found spare blades and even the base which holds the 'V" up right blades which also didn't fare well after the above incident. A good unit but not one I'd rush out and buy again. An average perfromer for an electric unit of this design. Blocks in a moment if wet or fibrous (ivy) material used. Don't use it without eye or ear protection.

Goes blunt too quickly, and is too expensive – Not worth the money, u can get 10x more multch for the money. The mulch you get out of a set of $20 blades will cover the same area as a bag of sugar cane It breaks down way too regularly and the blades are made With inferior product ( need to sharpen blades after every large mulching session). If you buy a mulcher, Think twice before… Read more

buying any low end item.

The Leaf tray is also a waste of time, a regular lawn mover does a better job and is much quicker to mulch leaves. Convenient. Good warranty, I had 2 issues within warranty that were covered. Unreliable. broke down twice. Blocks up too easily. Goes blunt too quickly. Definitely not worth the money

Useless – I loved it when it was new. It worked very well. Unhappy that they gone out of business and no spare blades are available. Can no longer get new blades for the Tallon shredder. It was a good shredder. Cannot get new blades Show 3 replies

Good – Good machine for the price. Would like a larger chute for branches, as it gets stuck at most forks in the branch. Overall, it does a sterling job! Very quiet motor & chews branches very quickly. Mulched up 6 trees in 6 days without much problem. Just kept on going! Blockes up occasionally in the exit chute, and the cutting blades need sharpening occasionally.

Good – Very pleased with the machine have done quite a lot of shredding over the last year. Some very hard wood as well is quickly shredded. Often needed to sharpen the branch chipping blades and the main mulching blade broke in half. Easy to use and move around. Good size mulch produced Chipping blades blunt-en quickly

Good value – It is quiet and works as described - it tells you not to use it for wet/fibrous plants. It will mulch these, but you will need to manually empty it out from time to time as it will clog. It could be a little taller to prevent backache, but in the end I sat down and fed everything through. It chomps through hardwood and even palm fronds that are… Read more

well dried out with no problems. I am glad I bought it Quiet, produces great mulch Bit too low, protective flaps a little difficult to get through for clippings

Good – great for getting rid of the garden extras and turns it into woodchips has an emergency cut out ffor extra safety a very large hopper and saves having to load the trailer and head off to the tip it is great feed in branches and gets rid of the bulk is a bit noisy