Decent garden shredder?

[Retired]

Hi,

I'm considering completely removing a conifer hedge which I planted about 25 years ago; it runs up the rear garden the site being on a steep valley side; as I become older I don't want the chore of trimming this hedge which gets more difficult each year; I use a petrol hedge trimmer working from an old unstable wooden step ladder; the hedge is now so deep across its top reaching the far side is hard graft; large trees are nearby causing access difficulties. Also we have lots of laurels; I've already lowered many of them from 30' tall to waist height but now at the very top of the garden the laurels need attacking once again. I can dispose of any thick branches or trunks to neighbours who have wood burners but the large amounts of brash are a pain to dispose of at our local tip six miles distant meaning lots of trips.

The last time I had a serious go at the laurels I bought a cheap Titan garden shredder which coped with the laurels but the Titan didn't want to know about the conifers it simply wouldn't shred them; even the laurels were very hard work; I shredded over 150 big bags and used this as mulch. I don't want to buy another shredder which is so hard to feed so any suggestions please?

I've been looking at this thinking it looks like excellent value;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FYS-15E-15Hp- ... Sw4shX-L6w

Our rear garden is like a mini park; the picture below shows what I'm up against hence a DIY shredder simply isn't up to the job.

Kind regards, Col.

Tree felling Oct 2012. (9).jpg (590.75 KiB) Viewed 9483 times

[Grendel]

I've looked at petrol shredders which would be man enough to cope with most stuff but to be honest the cost was prohibitive to say the least and I really don't do enough of that kind of work to justify the expense. For your job I'd say hiring one would be the way to go. Cut everything down get one in for the weekend and shred everything. You'll still have a shed load of chippings to get rid of though.

[steviejoiner74]

I would go down the hiring route as well Colin. You'll need a pro shredder for sure.

[dewaltdisney]

You need a professional chipper. See this https://www.hss.com/hire/p/shredder-wood-petrol This will deal with fairly thick branches but it has its limits. It will produce a mountain of mulch as has been said so you have a disposal issue as well to think about. I think I would get some quotes from a tree surgeon who would have the kit and dispose of the mulch. Sometimes you have to contract the work Colin

DWD

[Duck_Tape]

Just a thought
Bonfire night, Guy Fawkes is coming up
perhaps a local posting on Gumtree or something like that could have the un-chipped logs taken away
to be burned at a local area fireworks bash.
Or
People have wood burning fires these days perhaps someone would take the logs if given for free
Again Gumtree or the like.

saves the cost of a rental wood chipper / shredder and the cost of getting rid of the chippings.

As said, just an Idea if it will work for you.

James

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Grendel and Steve; I can understand anyone hiring as it looks like a good solution but I'm against hiring or renting anything; I prefer to buy. A few years ago I needed a cement mixer for when I was doing extensive drain work to our bungalow; I bought a brand new 240V electric cement mixer through eBay then assembled it when it arrived; I kept the mixer for six weeks being hampered by bad wet weather then I sold it for only £30 less than I paid for it. Hiring works for many people but doesn't appeal to me thanks for your suggestions though which I do appreciate.

Thanks for the link DWD. I've just had a quick nosy and for a weekend the shredder would cost £137.86 plus £22.50 +VAT delivery and collection each way. For a week it would cost £220.56 plus delivery and collection so a week's hire would cost around £274.56 inclusive? Not a huge amount of money and we can easily afford it but for a little more I could perhaps buy a second hand petrol shredder and keep it given the size of our rear garden; it would quickly pay for itself and I wouldn't feel under any time pressure to do the work so could work around the weather conditions if I had to.

Actually a very good thought Duck_Tape regarding bonfire night; thank you. I've been looking at the rules governing bonfires and I find I can have a bonfire any day I like as long as the smoke doesn't interfere with traffic or cause a nuisance etc?

https://www.gov.uk/garden-bonfires-rules

Disposing of logs isn't a problem at all because a number of neighbours have wood burners so are very happy to collect the logs saving my time and trips to the tip. It's the brash which takes some getting rid of; the last time I attacked the laurels I shredded over 150 bags of laurel leaves and small branches; I carried 50 bags to the top of the garden and deposited them as a big pile until I could spend time using them as mulch; as shredding progressed I filled the bag each time and then scattered the contents around the gardens where it actually looked good and I knew given time it would simply rot down which it now has. When I got around to the big pile though I was horrified to find as I broke into it the pile could have caught on fire at any instant; the inside of the pile was ash and it was extremely hot so again I scattered this lot around the gardens; this was just from some of our laurels. I'll never forget how hard the work was and how many days I stood there feeding the cheap shredder saying I'll never do this again; I sold the shredder at little loss and at the time thought it would have been easier running the brash to the tip by the car load. Now Bron and I have a much bigger car in the Yeti I might run the brash to the tip this time because the Yeti converts into a nice big van?

I wondered if any member had any recommendation as to a decent shredder; I've seen lots of Bosch shredders on eBay but I've also seen many of these being sold as used making me dubious as to if they were any good. I don't mind spending the money on a shredder if it will do the job and save me lots of running around; I don't want to end up with aching back and arms though as I did when I bought the Titan shredder through having to force material resulting in frequent jamming also kick-backs were most delightful.

I've just been up the mountain with my bow saw and no sooner started again attacking the laurels that my constant companion Blackie the cloud decided to join in soaking everything so I quit for the day; I'll try again tomorrow but will take my petrol chainsaw up with me; the bow saw is too slow and very tedious.

Below are a few pictures I took the last time I did this cutting back but this time I plan to remove the big conifer hedge as well; our laurels don't half put some new growth on every year some reaching around 30' tall with trunks over 6" diameter; the trunks are dense and very heavy; I haven't a clue what they burn like but they must take a lot of drying out.

The laurels pack flat and tightly into the car but I've never tried loading lots of conifer brash; I think I'm in for some work whichever method I adopt.

Kind regards, Col.

IMG_6191.JPG (417.33 KiB) Viewed 9369 times

Heavy work..jpg (605.57 KiB) Viewed 9369 times

Cutting back in rear garden. (1).jpg (561.59 KiB) Viewed 9369 times

Firewood..jpg (495.8 KiB) Viewed 9369 times

IMG_5153.jpg (713.13 KiB) Viewed 9369 times

[Grendel]

Plenty to pick from with a variety of prices if you can find one not too far away
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... &_sacat=0h

[boxedin]

Hello Retired hope you are keeping well always enjoy reading your posts I have a few suggestions to through in

Agree with DWD re hire and use of tree surgeons

1 Shredders
I have used one on the allotment with a briggs and stratton engine and it was a real chore always jamming, stalling and no good for branches over half an inch or anything very green as it just chewed it. The Pros always seem to use Timberwolf who do a gravity fed one
http://www.timberwolf-uk.com/industry/h ... g-chipper/

2. Hire
You probably have but I'll mention it anyway have your local tool hire firms ?
http://www.toolhirehuddersfield.co.uk/c ... _to_3.html are quoting £70 per week hire for a petrol shredder but then there is delivery and collection etc
also have you tried radcliffe tools or chippingdale

3. Local tree surgeons the good ones will have a very large timberwolf attached to a big trailer that will get rid of those branches in an hour what would they want to do the job? They may do it as a loss leader and save you some hassle but looks like you will have to get the stuff to the front of the house. Round here someone recently cleared 6 sizeable silver birch for £350

Leylandi wood is acidic which needs to be born in mind when mulching as to where you put it.
It has anti fungal, chemicals in it and is to outdoor use so the wood in the bigger branches could be used as garden stakes. The trunk can be used for fenceposts etc. It has a high resin content so as firewood it spits and gives off resin

Finally, have you considered investing in a Silky pruning saw for your future manual wood cutting/pruning needs they make life easier than a bow saw and they seem to hold their value. Plenty of youtube videos on them. Tree surgeons seem to use them
There is this cheaper japanese equivalent that looks interesting
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Samurai-C-330 ... Sw7XZXgpOz

best wishes

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks for the eBay link Grendel. I've been looking at these for a few days but as usual it's difficult to find one local although I've found an MTD petrol wood chipper which I can collect if still for sale ; I've just emailed asking for more precise location before deciding; I offered full price if it could be delivered but it appears I need to use our Yeti in anger.

Thanks for your kind words Boxedin; much appreciated to receive encouragement. I've been looking at the links you've kindly taken the time to add. I'll echo your comments regarding how good Timberwolf are; my 20" petrol chainsaw bought cheaply brand new through eBay is a Timberwolf but an older model which has seen plenty of use but it's still cutting like a good un with it's Oregon chain installed; I bought a pair of these chains through eBay ages ago as a special deal and one still hasn't been installed or used; they last ages; I never bother sharpening the chain I just dump it when blunt as they are cheap anyway. My Timberwolf chainsaw has bags of power as seen here in the YouTube video below;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJYQnUWmbSk

I always run with good quality Stihl synthetic chain oil never letting the oil tank run dry; I never take risks with this chainsaw; safety shoes; gloves and earmuffs are always worn; I wear glasses and if I try to wear goggles my glasses tend to mist up but I do take a lot of care regarding my personal safety.

I never rent or hire equipment and am aware of the hire companies local to us; I recently noted the HSS hire store closed in Dewsbury; I'm unsure if it has relocated or simply closed for good.

The Samurai pruning saw looks like a useful bit of kit; unlike my bowsaw the Samurai would get into much tighter places; pull saws are a bit strange in that as the name implies these saws cut on the pull stroke; a chum recently bought me a top quality Japanese pull saw for use on my cabinet/ furniture making projects and it sure is fierce.

Thanks for the tips about Leylandii which I was unaware off; I give our thicker branches and trunks away to locals who have woodburners in fact only this morning Caroline collected a full car load; the previous load Caroline collected a couple of weeks ago were new scaffolding board offcuts; I hadn't realized many of these scaffolding boards are made of poplar timber which is resistant to burning? I mentioned this to Caroline this morning because I don't want duffing up when she tries to burn it although the link below states poplar will burn OK.

http://www.woodstovehandbook.co.uk/popl ... od-or-bad/

The weather has now turned for the worse on our valley side it being more like its normal wet black hole; I wanted to do a lot of cutting back in our rear garden today but I don't like working in rain or when fallen branches are covered in slimy slugs; YUKKKK. I'm very pleased though because we've enjoyed a decent summer this year allowing me to do lots of work to the bungalow exterior; last year and for previous years summer was cancelled.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

A quick update to say the petrol chipper I was interested in has been sold; why do people leave adverts running when an item is sold; do they enjoy messing people around? Below is the ad still showing as I type. This chipper looked like it would be perfect and at a good price; I'll keep looking; one thing which concerns me with these petrol chippers is their weight; living on the mountainside I could struggle to get one of these up the rear garden right to the top where it levels out a bit.

Kind regards, Col.

Petrol chipper on Gumtree.JPG (93 KiB) Viewed 9266 times

[Retired]

Hi,

I've been trying to locate a petrol shredder/chipper this side of the planet; the one posted above still being advertised was sold a similar model was in Manchester advertised as spares/repairs but sold on eBay for £210. I've been doing some research regarding petrol and electric shredders. YouTube has videos showing both petrol and electric shredders in action but I'm surprised that the 5hp petrol shredders appear to only have the same shredding performance as an electric shredder?

Living here on the mountainside I hadn't taken into account the weight of the petrol shredders at over 100KG; yes they are on wheels so are mobile but dragging one of these up the rear garden won't be fun; having to buy petrol and oil plus lots of noise; these petrol shredders generally throw the shredded material around a great deal? so a few things against going petrol.

Having had no success anyway in finding a suitable petrol shredder I had a good look at electric shredders; again on Youtube the videos were interesting and performances between the two are comparable but the electric shredder wins on not needing oil changes or petrol; it is also quieter and importantly it is much lighter so for my application where access to electricity is good I've decided to go the electric shredder route and am to collect a Bosch shredder from Poynton today after 5pm; the Bosch I'm collecting is brand new but at half the new price (£150 cash being paid) so I'm in with a chance?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bosch-AXT-25- ... 2273433426

I hope this Bosch shredder being a drum type doesn't clog as easily as my previous Titan it being a rotary plate cutter type; I'll know soon enough when I get the Bosch home and put it to work.

Two sample videos below for comparison.

Kind regards, Col.

[dewaltdisney]

You need to look for a petrol 15hp motor with a drum Colin. The drum types have a series of sharp hammers rather than a rotating blade so they mash the wood. This way it can cope well will thicker sections of wood.

DWD

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks for your suggestion DWD.

Unfortunately as I explained previously our site is on a steep valley side; dragging a 5 hp 100kg petrol shredder up the rear garden would be a problem whereas a 15 hp petrol shredder at around 200 kg would need winching up the garden. I could have managed at a push with a 5 hp petrol shredder and was very interested in two of these for sale but didn't buy either of them.

However I did buy the Bosch AXT 25D and it is brand new but I only paid half new price at £150 cash upon collection. The Bosch seller informed me it would be OK to collect after 5pm yesterday; I really wanted to collect during the afternoon but never mind; I set off from our home in Fenay Bridge at 3:30pm thinking this would give plenty of time for a nice little 36 mile ride out to Poynton where the shredder was located. I chose the route over the top of the world; Holme Moss dropping down to Manchester Road; at first all was well as I cruised along in our new Yeti at peace with the world until I hit the first traffic jam in Hollingworth; from then on the rest of the journey was horrible with gridlock; I couldn't have driven at a worse time; bumper to bumper with massive queues at temporary traffic lights; I arrived at the sellers just after 6pm so it took two and a half hours to drive 36 miles.

I was invited into the seller's front room and given a demonstration of the shredder (no not with material being fed through it) I was shown how to use the few buttons then handing over the cash with a handshake the shredder was loaded into the Yeti; it was surprising how heavy the shredder was; I set the SatNav for home and departed only to stop after a short distance pulling to the side of the road; I didn't want everything rattling all the way home so I separated the parts ensuring no more rattles and was on my way home hoping it wouldn't be a repeat of the outward bound journey; by now it was becoming dark as the night closed in; lots of roadworks on strange roads to me so I had to fully concentrate; a few heavy queues and as I came back up over Holme Moss found myself in dense fog or cloud making driving dangerous; back home safely the homeward journey had taken an hour less but I was glad by the time the Yeti was parked back in our driveway; I dumped the shredder into the garage and due to it raining today haven't been to play with it. One of these days I'll actually buy something nearby; only 36 miles but what a lot of hassle; I think I would have been out all night but for the Garmin SatNav which was brilliant.

So now I've got my new electric garden shredder to play with but I think it's going to be next week before I can use it in anger given the poor weather forecast; I'll be able to take this shredder up the rear garden and after use can possibly store it in the garden shed; no petrol or oil needed only an extension cable for power. Perhaps I'll enjoy playing with this Bosch shredder after all I'm not under time pressure in any way; the shredder is self contained and can be set up quickly so any dry day with a bit of sunshine will get me out in the garden which isn't a bad thing. Once I get on top of the garden work I'll keep on top; I've been incredibly busy with the bungalow makeover that the garden has become a big job to sort out but I'd rather do something like this than be a cabbage in front of the TV.

I'm interested in a metal cutting saw; if I see one for sale in Poynton I'll dash over to collect it? My previous collection was gridlock down Manningham Lane, Bradford on a Saturday afternoon to collect the Pickhill welder; I never learn.

Kind regards, Col.

[camallison]

Col,. I have the very same Bosch electric shredder and it gobbles brash in no time at all. My only negative is that the pieces of thicker stuff don't chop down very small.

Colin

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks for your information Colin.

What you say Colin is good news because it's the large volume of brash I have trouble in disposing off; any branch over 1" thick can be used as kindling by our neighbours who own wood burning stoves so these can simply be bundled up; thicker logs are also easy to dispose of. Once I get stuck into the garden then I'll have lots of laurel and conifer brash which I hope the new shredder can eat with a vengeance; as you know Colin the laurel leaves are of a type shoes can be soled with; they are thick and slick; our previous Titan shredder didn't care much for laurel and it simply disliked conifer brash rejecting it.

I've just been into the garage and have run the Bosch shredder so it's now ready for work once the garden dries out. Whilst in the garage I enjoyed myself giving my American Shopsmith a wipe down and whilst at it waxed the four bed bars; I derive a lot of pleasure out of looking after my kit which in turn then looks after me. I hope the bad weather isn't now set in until next July because once it turns bad here on the valley it's bad for many a long month.

Kind regards, Col.