Garden shredders.

[Colin]

Hi,

For many years I ran car load after car load of garden brash up to our local recycling center then about five years ago I bought my first garden shredder this was very cheap brand new from Screwfix;

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb353shr-2500w-80kg-hr-electric-garden-shredder-230-240v/39931

Even today these Titan shredders are still cheap; at first I suffered lots of shredder blockages due to plastic "fingers" at the outlet; I completely removed these and it transformed the shredder; this obviously I cannot recommend doing and it immediately invalidated the warranty but now this cheap shredder did what it was supposed to do and I shredded mountains of brash using it; with the shredding completed I then sold this shredder recouping half the initial outlay so it proved to be a tremendous bargain. The downside was having to force feed it and it didn't like conifers but with a great deal of patience and lots of time it did a fair job.

About two years ago again now needing a shredder I browsed Gumtree and found a much bigger Bosch AXT 25 D advertised as new but with damaged packaging and it hadn't been used; I put in an offer which was immediately accepted and I collected the shredder.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-ax...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CMC5zOHY1tYCFWqiUQodVV4ACw

This Bosch AXT 25 D is much more expensive than the cheap Titan but the extra money is well spent; I thought I'd add the story because I've just been using the Bosch to shred a big pile of assorted brash; as usual its another black hole today with rain forecast for later today which is strange because it seldom quits raining here; I dashed out at 8:15 and set the shredder up on our sloping garden power via a long extension lead the cable sockets placed in a plastic shopping bag as water protection; it's blowing the usual gale but by 10:15 I had finally shredded the entire pile; all during shredding I was buffeted with the wind bringing horizontal drizzle with it but now its raining. I try my best to enjoy gardening and to take it easy but I'm forever working just the right side of panic fighting our dire climate; I'm pleased however to get this lot shredded before it got another soaking and became covered with slugs and snails. I'm going to use the shredded material as mulch but at the moment have had to declare defeat the weather is too bad to carry on.

I never hire machinery because hiring is very expensive once all the extras are added like VAT and transport and then there is lots of pressure to get the job done in order to return the machine. I bought the cheap Titan shredder and did lots of shredding using it over a long period then sold it on so it cost virtually nothing; a few years ago I bought a brand new cement mixer which I used to install flood defenses; due to the dire climate the work took six weeks but once completed I sold the cement mixer for £30 less than I paid for it; I kept it immaculate so again another machine that cost me very little indeed. I'm keeping the Bosch shredder though and its already paid for itself since I bought it shredding masses of laurel and also this shreds conifer brash.

I only shred up to about an inch thick (25mm) anything thicker is saved and given to neighbours who own wood-burners. safety protection is needed because during shredding the material tends to whip around; I wear glasses and these double up as my safety glasses for such work; this Bosch is nice and quiet but I wear ear defenders and also thick rigger type gloves are a must especially whilst shredding brash from Berberis; Holly and brambles etc which are a real pain to handle.

I'm not a shredder expert but both the Titan and now the Bosch have been well worth buying and the shredded material makes good mulch; I'm not yet into composting but I feel this shredded material would be ideal for composting.

Here's how to mulch on a bigger scale which hopefully is of interest; Bron and I found it fascinating. I'm planning on mulching our entire back garden using wood chips.

Just passing a bit of time whilst the rain lashes down. The pictures are dark taken with the camera on "Auto" normally I use Gimp to brighten them up.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[MoonShadows]

Never saw an electric one before. I would like to get a corrugated cardboard shredder. While we are surrounded by trees, we get very few leaves. The winds tend to blow them from the open spaces of our property into the woods, and raking them from within the woods is a pain. We produce a lot of waste corrugated cardboard from our home business. A cardboard shredder would help to physically break it down so I could use it as a carbon source in my mulch pile, but they are so expensive...$1000's compared to a brush chipper.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks MoonShadows for your reply. We too have big trees but find most of the leaves disappear just like yours due to high wind coming up the valley; we get lots of rain but the wind dries the leaves then blows the leaves away; the squirrels bury the acorns so we end up with lots of oak seedlings; holly seedlings are also a problem self seeding.

I've just browsed your excellent website and C'mon "Frog Jam". This is sure to get members logging on to see what I'm on about.

I was thinking about the large amount of cardboard you have; I don't know if it would work but I have a circular saw bench and perhaps running the cardboard through the saw ripping it into strips then putting it through the shredder might break it up for composting? I like to experiment a bit.

Over 40 years ago I worked at a waste paper/cardboard recycling company and we used to bale cardboard in a press securing the bale with wire and it would be collected by the wagon load at a decent price; do you bale your cardboard?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[MoonShadows]

Never thought of ripping it on the table saw. I do have one. No, I don't bale it. I take it to the local recycling center, but I don't get paid for it.

Thanks for the kind words about our website.

BTW...FROG Jam...

...made with absolutely no frog parts...ribbit!

We have TOE Jam, BEAR Jam and possibly TRAFFIC jam as possibilities for next season.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

You're most welcome MoonShadows.

I'd be highly in favour of Traffic Warden jam.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[alp]

Hahaha! I laughed so much watching the video. This lovely lady should sell them as top soil. This is glorified fly-tipping .. I had to use speed x 1,5 to get over the video. The video is a bit jerky.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks alp. Definitely like fly tipping but what useful stuff the wood chips are. One big difference about the US and the UK is space; here in the UK we've got to get planning permission and if the building is listed then it's a nightmare with strangers dictating what can and can't be done even though they don't own a bit of dust on the property; then there are the rates; improve our homes and make them worth more the council then wants to get their hands into our pockets. In the US they appear to have masses of space and guys with my hobbies erect huge workshops where they then move materials with fork trucks; ever see an American guy knock a nail in? No not an hammer job; they like to crank up a huge compressor and fire the nail in with a nail gun; we in the UK are struggling so much to pay bills there is little money left over for such buildings or kit but then UK houses are usually built crammed together on very small plots; it beats me how plans are passed to build new houses on flood plains?

Just look at the space available in the video; wagons can back in and tip full loads of wood chips without the slightest problem; when I retired (joke) in 2000 I wanted to dig out at the side of our bungalow to remove the steps and lay a new pathway involving lots of sticky wet clay; I estimated two big skips would be needed to cart the clay away; I phoned a local skip (dumpster) company and each skip at that time was £117 so I tried ordering a skip only to be told our local council wanted me to pay an additional £6 for a certificate to place the skip in front of our bungalow on the street?

I cancelled the skip and at the time Bron and I owned a Nissan Micra; I set about digging out and bagging this wet clay taking car loads to the tip; 72 trips later the clay was in the council skip at the tip and now the council had to dump it at their cost; Bron accompanied me most times to the tip for the ride out; I was careful not to overload the Micra but shortly after we traded the Micra in for another new Micra.

I then laid the 3' x 2' heavy paving slabs on the steep slope which was fun; as I bedded each slab into the mortar and tapped the slab the slab wanted to head off to the valley bottom; I love living here with all these problems; I feel here in the UK there is no incentive whatsoever to improve ones property or lifestyle but then I'm totally biased because I live here.

The sloping path is 42' long; I dug the lot out by hand; the fence is bespoke designed and made by me using treated roofing battens and the dimensions took quite a bit of working out because of the slope; the posts are perfectly vertical and in line. The low garden random stone retaining wall I built to hold the neighbours garden back; this was just up the side of our bungalow; round the back of the bungalow I did lots more clay digging and slab laying but now Bron and I have the only bungalow on our street with such a pathway; all the other bungalows have lots of steep steps. As I say I received absolutely no encouragement apart from Bron on my side whilst I grafted but I won through in the end because I'm downright stubborn and am too stupid to know when to quit; the skip company lost out; the government lost out due to not receiving their VAT on the skip cost and the council lost out having to transport all the clay to dump it; OK it was a nightmare of a job many times working in dire conditions but I refuse to be ripped off by our local council; I can but wonder just how many certificates are issued for all the council houses having work done on them by the council?

I'm always busy improving our home and the picture shows the new metal work in place ready to accept the scaffolding decking boards; I bought the heavy metal at the scrapyard and cleaned it before painting it then I single handed erected it; the metal railings are new steel bought in long lengths which I cut and welded. I really do upset some of our neighbours because of the amount of money Bron and I save by doing all the work ourselves. The paint is American Benjamin Moore at £75 per US gallon; I used five and a half gallons giving the bungalow exterior a full and comprehensive makeover last year. The cladding is new it being 18mm thick WBP plywood that I routed; the plywood is completely sealed with paint and so far this paint has been brilliant.

As usual I'm rambling but whilst our neighbours are away on their foreign holidays Bron and I are beavering away making our home beautiful after all we are fully retired and live in our home all the time; we don't need to run away on holidays because we are content with our lifestyle as it is. Saving our hard earned money and not having any luxuries for many years meant I could retire aged 53 now every day is an holiday. The house numbers are illuminated at night and I think the police helicopter uses them for navigation.

WOW; another day slips by so got to go; hope I'm not boring anyone because I can be better than Ovaltine at bedtime. I almost forgot to mention; I designed and made the side hung garage doors and installed them; I think grafting was invented for people like me. Hope you enjoy a good giggle with this post alp.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[alp]

I was daunted by the prospect of another essay, @Colin ! But I laughed again. Thank heavens you didn't break the axle. We have a Nissan Note and the wires near the boot always broke up and every two years, they cost me £60. I have promised myself that my next car will be a Mazda or a Ford.

I never throw away my clay. I always break it up and incorporate something into it - horse manure, compost, orange peels, gypsum board (broken up bits) and sometimes coffee grind and eggshells.

Your house looks very nice and I can your workmanship.

I'm surprised that you have to phone the council telling them that you need a skip. We never have to do it here. Just plant the skip inside the garden and that's it. You're not placing the skip on the main road?

If I were that lady on the video, I would sell the decomposed woodchip as top soil. Why not? But these tree surgeons are getting cheeky. Dump them when they are not here. Hope the piles do not collapse and bury their house or themselves in them. Basically, it has now become a licence to dump waste .. albeit, useful waste to some..

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks alp. What me; another essay.

Bron and I have owned nine new Nissan Micra's over the years the last one being the worst it riding like a skateboard. All were 100% reliable but then Dixon's the main dealer ceased trading and Nissan didn't seem bothered about us so we swapped over to Toyota Aygo's owning two of these delightful little cars; in 2014 we bought a new Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo and this was gorgeous in black over red and we liked the Monte so much we intended to keep it but we were invited to a special event day at our local Skoda dealership which of course tempted us to part with our beloved Monte but we now have a wonderful Skoda Yeti SEL 2.0L Diesel in black. Skoda's are no longer the cheap car they once were but now owners love them as we love our Yeti. The Yeti due to its boxy shape turns into a good sized van with the rear seats folded and its easy to obtain 60mpg. Our lovely neighbour has just traded in her Skoda Citygo and bought another new Citygo SEL; she's only had this one three days so hasn't stopped smiling yet.

Sorry if I confused you; no I didn't have to phone the council about the skip; it was the skip company who sorted this out; in the end though two skips at £117 each plus the £6 certificate was saved and all it cost us to dump the clay was around £60 for fuel for the Micra.

Normally I wouldn't dispose of any clay but the pictures below show the rear of our bungalow; the dry stone wall was originally 4" from the bungalow; during the first year of my retirement I dug the lot out moving the wall away from the bungalow to create a new but much lower pathway also the new pathway joined onto the new patio; I also created a new pathway up into the garden with steps at the bottom but the dug out clay was laid both sides of this new path also I dumped lots of clay into the side garden there were tons of clay so by the time I wanted to create the new pathway to the side of the bungalow I decided to dump the clay from this at the tip. I've been constantly working on big jobs since moving here 30 years ago but at last I've now completed the bungalow and am attacking the gardens.

Yes the tree surgeons in the video are rather cheeky dumping outside the normal area but the guy seems happy amongst the piles of wood chip; he must get "high" on the smell; before retiring I was in charge of the timber department at work and the highlight of my day was to walk in and get my "fix" I love the smell of timber and I love the smell of a wood fire.

Time I got off my backside and do more grafting; today is attack stump day; I've got dozens of Snowberry stumps to dig up and am filled with deep joy at the thought of it (NOT).

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Owdboggy]

I have over 30 ,80 litre compost bags full of shreddings. I let them rot down a bit before putting them on the garden as mulch. Last time I poured a bag out, had the less than pleasant sight of a disturbed rat fleeing across the garden.
Actually we have three shredders. All of them Bosch electric models. The best one they ever made they have stopped producing which was one which worked with an Archimedes screw type cutter. Would deal with almost anything and turn it into small pieces. Sadly a small part of mine broke and despite fitting a new one, the machine has never worked properly since. The next one is totally useless. It works on a rotating set of blades. It blocks at the slightest excuse. The one I use now is one which cuts and crushes the material. Not as small pieces as the best one, but adequate. Biggest problem with it is that it does not pull the stuff through as well as the first one. You end up pushing the stuff through which makes it harder work. Know what you mean about the safety goggles. A piece of twig poked me in the eye, despite the goggles, and left me in a lot of pain for a few days.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Owdboggy; possibly the Bosch shredder you liked so much was too good and Bosch weren't selling enough spares.

Manually feeding a shredder is indeed very hard work and after a full week of shredding it sure makes arms and back ache; the Titan shredder I owned was OK for the money but not a patch on the Bosch AXT 25 D I currently own and use. This Bosch does pretty well at self feeding but it does tend to whip things around quite a bit making wearing eye protection a must. My Bosch only jams if I try to put thickish stuff through so now I limit it to about an inch diameter (25mm); the collection drawer quickly fills but I watch the level and pull the drawer out once it starts to look full then I level the shreddings and push the drawer back in doing more shredding before emptying the drawer.

Years ago Bron and I enjoyed a rat running about on the bedroom ceiling just above our heads at around 2am each morning; this was bad enough but it was wearing clogs. If we made a noise the rat would run across the ceiling and down the cavity in the wall towards the bungalow foundations; I think it cost us £50 when we called the council in but money well spent; it used to terrify Bron; it's said we are all seldom 6' away from a rat?

I'm hoping to scrounge loads of wood chips to use as mulch; every year we are pestered by tree surgeons wanting to do work on our trees; now I want these tree surgeons they are extinct? Now autumn is upon us I'm sure the tree surgeons will be active again locally; I'll just follow the sound of the chainsaws and wood chippers.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[alp]

I love all Bosch, apart from this horrible washing machine which was a dud. They are always very economical to run. I had a small Bosch dishwasher which had been brilliant. But lately, the top mugs weren't washed and some dishes were dirty. In the end, I pulled out all the arms to have a good look, only to find a long piece of plastic bag stuck to the bottom one. After extracting it, the dishes and mugs came out all clean again. Bosch is very economical to run.

Son's piano teacher had a Yeti from new. Now people laugh at the make Skoda. In fact, Yeti is a very good runner. His teacher said he never had another trouble during winter. If you park it outside your driveway, nobody would try to steal it and that is another advantage. A surveyor had his BMW stolen and was refused insurance even though he knew that these cars could be stolen just by pointing to some signals. We all knew that but insurance company still refused to pay out. These trade people keep tons of German whips as they sustain their values, but it's all a con not to pay tax .. my accountant told me to buy these cars ... and all that!

 

[Colin]

Hi,

I have a number of Bosch power tools alp and they are good. Bron and I became fed up of washing machines a few years ago; the previous one died and what a total rip off the price of spares are; around £100 just for a circuit board which was needed. We are all encouraged to save the planet but its cheaper to buy new than to repair in many cases; we've bought what are supposed to be good quality washing machines but now we buy Beko our current one costing about £180 brand new and it's already paid for itself; anything at all goes wrong with it we'll just buy another Beko; one thing I like especially about this Beko washing machine is that its cold fill only.

We love our Yeti; it's a pleasure to own and delightful to drive; I never had a Tonka toy as a child so now I've got one; how sad though that the Yeti is being replaced by a completely new model which is more in keeping with modern style being rounded; we like the boxy look of our Yeti and because its so boxy it affords lots of space inside. Normally we trade our car in for a new one at three years old but it's going to be a terrible decision whether to let this Yeti go; we might decide to keep it because it suits us perfectly.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Owdboggy]

Only thing I would add is that if you are intending bringing in shreddings to use as mulch, then it may be worth putting down something like Bone Meal or Blood, Fish and Bone on the soil before you do. There is a small chance that the action of breaking down the wood chippings could remove some nitrogen from the soil.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Many thanks for your most welcome suggestion Owdboggy; I'll do a bit of research to find out how much to apply; I don't yet have any wood chips but I'll update the thread when I do have the wood chips and am ready to spread them as mulch. I'm always willing to learn and to act on suggestions and advice from you clued up forum members; I've a lot to learn but I think the hardest part is over because I've made a good start.

Kind regards, Colin.