Earthwise (1-3/4") 15-Amp Electric Chipper Shredder Model: GS70015

[roadrunner]

I ordered one of these (link below) and it arrived yesterday, so I put it together -- very easy assembly -- and will use it for the first time today.

I don't need anything big, since I bury the larger logs, i.e. practice Hugelkultur. I got this because I do a lot of chop-and-drop and hoping this will save me time and make the debris look nicer, since it'll be more uniform in shape.

P.S. The link says it's rated for 1.25" (3.175 cm) sticks, but everything else, including the owner's manual rates it at 1.75" (4.45 cm) sticks. Plenty big enough for me.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Earthwi...ric-Corded-Chipper-Shredder-GS70115/303833242

 

[Silentrunning]

Be sure to give us a report. I have been toying with the idea of getting one or just renting one.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I ordered one of these (link below) and it arrived yesterday, so I put it together -- very easy assembly -- and will use it for the first time today.

I don't need anything big, since I bury the larger logs, i.e. practice Hugelkultur. I got this because I do a lot of chop-and-drop and hoping this will save me time and make the debris look nicer, since it'll be more uniform in shape.

P.S. The link says it's rated for 1.25" (3.175 cm) sticks, but everything else, including the owner's manual rates it at 1.75" (4.45 cm) sticks. Plenty big enough for me.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Earthwi...ric-Corded-Chipper-Shredder-GS70115/303833242

Bit of advice is check that blade angle before you wear it down and write it down in the instruction manual. I would measure size for wear reasons, and wieght for balance reasons, and write them down as well, since bar stock is far cheaper than the blade if you sharpen your own. Over time they can get hard to find as new types come out. I use a metal shaping sanding disc on my 4.5" grinder for the heavier blades. If you know the angle you can angle cut 2 pieces of wood for a guide that you clamp the blade between. Or use a belt sander jig. That angle is critical for the feed rate.

The size is absolutely perfect for ramial wood. Yard twig pickup just became a real cool thing. You will wear out a set of loppers. I use loppers and my battery chainsaw mostly when I am chipping, but a wood blade in a battery sawsall is nice too. You get adept at cutting the shape that feeds best after a number of jams.

 

[roadrunner]

Probably the biggest problem with this chipper was my expectation. In other words, I was expecting to just throw things in there and have it shredded effortlessly. That ain't goin' to happen...

The problem is that the opening is shaped like binoculars, i.e. two 1-3/4” holes connected by one inch slot-like cutout in the hopper; I assume this is so you cannot put in a log larger than 1-3/4 inches. So the result is that you can't just throw in stuff and have it be “eaten up” by the chipper – that's exactly what I wanted and expected.

However, once I accepted reality, things got better, I just had to learn how to insert the debris, most of which are not logs and is easy for the chipper to handle, but it's limited by the small opening. With all that said, it's still faster than me chopping the stuff up into small pieces and it looks much nicer, especially wood sticks which do have a nice woodchip look.

However, one thing you can't put into the chipper are wet fibrous materials, such as dying banana leaves/stalks/stems. They will NOT pass thru the cutting disc and end up clogging the disc. BTW, this disc rotates at ~4,500 rpm.

All in all, I'm happy I got it, but it can't do everything, but as long as I use it in conjunction with my lawn mower I'm happy.

I will not be able to use this machine on leaves, especially leaves of the southern magnolia, simply because the opening (described above) is too small and would take a very long time to feed in the leaves. I don't mind this, since I don't usually shred leaves, except for the magnolia leaves, which I can do with my lawn mower and use the chipper to shred the sticks.

I'm sure I will buy another chipper sometime in the future and the lessons learned on this one will be of great value. But for now I'm happy with this one.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I use my little mower and a blower to pick up and shred leaves. I will occassionally use the big chipper, but once they get wet it is easier to blow them up and clean the grass of the leaves while mowing.

 

[Durgan]

Where I come from we call such a device a blender. Basically useless. I have a 10 HP MTD and it is marginal. To be effective they need be 10 HP plus.

23 July 2017 Pea Plants Shredded
Posted on July 23, 2017 by Durgan
http://durgan.org/2017/July 2017/23 July 2017 Pea Plants Shredded/HTML/23 July 2017 Pea Plants Shredded
The 25 foot row of peas is finished for the year. The vegetation was removed and shredded in the 10 HP MTD Chipper/Shredder and deposited in the compost pile. Vegetation shreds easily if a bit of green is still left on the vegetation. The shredder is ideal for a home garden and facilitates removal of spent vegetation and creates a small amount of compost.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Where I come from we call such a device a blender. Basically useless. I have a 10 HP MTD and it is marginal. To be effective they need be 10 HP plus.

23 July 2017 Pea Plants Shredded
Posted on July 23, 2017 by Durgan
http://durgan.org/2017/July 2017/23 July 2017 Pea Plants Shredded/HTML/23 July 2017 Pea Plants Shredded
The 25 foot row of peas is finished for the year. The vegetation was removed and shredded in the 10 HP MTD Chipper/Shredder and deposited in the compost pile. Vegetation shreds easily if a bit of green is still left on the vegetation. The shredder is ideal for a home garden and facilitates removal of spent vegetation and creates a small amount of compost.

Exactly what I am doing today, save it is tree limbs and leaves.