I am not getting paid for this!! Just an honest review of how I do what I do.
I am an avid chop and dropper, just pruning trees, shrubs and plants and leaving the offcuts in small pieces around the tree. A great way to increase the mulch layer and reduce double handling of the material. However in recent times my hands are feeling the effects of RSI-ish pains when I use secateurs with woody branches, so I’m using this machine more and more.
Every six months or so the craving for a proper mulcher creeps in, but I just can’t justify spending the money on an expensive petrol driven, large machine (which I have to find somewhere to store when not in use) when this thing just keeps on keeping on.
This is a rough and ready video made on the spot as I thought about it showing how it works, what kind of material I put in, and what kind of material I get out. Hope it helps.
A few things I don’t mention in the video:
- The only maintenance I’ve given it is the odd squirt of lanolin lubricant on the roller. Apart from that it just works every time. I’ve never sharpened the blade or anything else.
- The exit chute has a tendency to block up and you have to drag the material out from the bottom. Your hands are nowhere near the blade, unless you have half your arm in, so it is safe.
- It isn’t good with sloppy green vines such as pumpkin or tomato, which at the right time of year, I am drowning in. These are best done with shears and elbow grease.
- I use the bigger material that the shredder can’t get through to put around trees in the chicken run so that the little darlings can’t scratch up the roots. Eventually they rot, but there is a continuous supply over time.
- This shredder is still available in the shops now, and looks exactly the same…
