Good compost chipper/shredders?

9 years ago

So with this old age thing i don't have the time, back or arthritis free hands I used to when creating compost. I am looking at some of the electric chipper/shredders and wanted to see if anyone can comment on them. Most say they handle branches up to 1-1.5" which is more than I need, i doubt I would go over .5" on tree and hedge clippings.

What I would like most is something that would handle shredding cardboard for my worm bins since that is a lot of work and leaves my hands sore.

Also, I'd like something that would handle partially done compost that is moist but not sloppy wet - I have more than one bin going and running compost through a shredder to tear up clumps and remix the compost a bit finer would be terrific but I'm afraid it would clog.

Anyone have first hand experience with the electric chipper shredders? I'm talking about machines like the 2.5hp eco-shredder that sells for around $300. That would be a worthwhile investment for me if it tore up cardboard and small branches easily and could 'remix' partially done compost without getting gummed up. I hot compost and vermicompost and like to get a fine grade and fast decomposition so the better it is ground up to start with the faster it breaks down.

On cardboard, if it didn't exactly make confetti out of it but mangled it up pretty good that would be okay - would make more surface area for microbes to attack it initially and once partially composted should crumble the second time through a few weeks later.

If you have one, please share the good and bad. i'd rather stick to the electrics for up to $300 or so, I know the $2K gas ones will chop anything and laugh at cardboard or wet stuff but i want something easy and not too loud, heavy or likely to need engine work.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

toxcrusadr
9 years ago
My wife bought an electric, I wish I could remember the model but I can't at the moment. It does a fine job on small branches especially when still green. We put fresh cut cedar branches into it to make some nice mulch. My only complaint is that the inlet is so small, it's tedious getting stuff through it. They didn't want your fingers or branches that are too large going in, I guess, so they made this ridiculous plastic inlet cover with two holes connected by a slot, shaped like a dumbell.

I have not tried putting cardboard into it, it would have to be in 5" wide strips in order to get it in.

I was thinking if you really needed a lot of shredded cardboard, a band saw or a radial arm saw would cut through stacks of it like buttah. :-]
CHFIII
Original Author
9 years ago
Band saw or arm saw would sure work but I am too ADHD and would lose a finger by the time I got it into strips let alone confetti :-)

I'm impatient - the finer the mix the faster the finish on compost - hot or worm variety - so if I can shred it going in it finishes fast and shredding it coming out to get a nice fine grade without sifting would be handy. One of those things where if it worked great it would be worth the money but if it did not then it would be a waste of time/money/space. Maybe I will find one on Craigslist so if it doesn't do the job I can repost it and sell for what I buy it for... gotta love Craigslist!
Related Discussions
Chipper/shredder quandary.
Q
Comments (27)
We finished the pile the next day, and a huge pile of ornamental grasses, keeping it good and hot. Half the solid volume of the big pile was 6-9" trunks, cut into 4-5' pieces. The fire reduced the volume faster than we could collect it. Half way through this, who should show up with a big grin but the fire chief, with five other people from the volunteer fire department, saying: "I'm not seeing this illegal fire. There's a ban on all open fires until May 15." What he did see was the hose, the wet banks of the 12' pit and the careful supervision. "Chief, says I, "You know I don't read newspapers or listen to the radio, but I've got good news for you; - we got a new toaster". This cracked up the whole crew, since our old demented toaster is notorious for setting off the smoke alarms and bringing them out when we weren't fast enough calling the alarm company to abort. I'm lucky to have a great relationship of mutual respect with my fire department. They use my factory/showrooms as a training facility. I told them the story of my chipper/shredder quest and the resulting fire. He said,"we'll be back Monday week with twenty people. You don't have to feed us". "Make some toast", said I.
...See More
Do I need a chipper and a shredder?
Q
Comments (17)
Ray, "Now thinking of using a Home Depot sized, electric cement mixer to mix the different sizes of material. Whadda-ya-think?" I would hold up on the electric cement mixer until you see firsthand what comes out of your 12PT10E machine. I have used my Mighty Mac to mix old compost with leaf litter and deadfall, simply by feeding the two materials together and using a larger screen like, maybe the standard 1-inch screen or the Â¾" or Â½" screen. Being bashed around in the hammermill section mixes materials rather well. I think that is a much more "active" mixing than you would get in a cement mixer. There's nothing to say you can't reprocess some material that came out of the machine right back through the machine with the same or a different screen. A couple of years ago I ran some dry leaves through the 1-inch screen and as I started adding them to a compost pile noticed that it looked like they were going to form a separate "wet" layer. So I decided to reprocess that pile of "one-inch" leaves with some old rotten deadfall (dead and rotten twigs and small rotten tree limbs, tree bark, some scooped up leaf mold, a few acorns and pine cones, and some dirt). That mixture came out of the Â½" screen as a nice porous dark fluffy product that "looked" already composted, although it went into a new compost pile. I wouldn't worry too much about the "powder-like" texture that Dmullen mentioned for the Â¼" screen. I think that was just his word choice to convey that the product is very fine compared to what other screens produce. Depending on what you put through it, the one-quarter-inch screen can produce some very compostable material, and it is my favorite screen. Dry leaves through it might need something else for porosity, because they tend to shatter and the particle sizes can range from Â¼" on down to almost dust. But when you are processing small greenish tree branches and twigs, you can get some longish fibers that "sneak through" the Â¼" holes. They can be various lengths, and some of them might be 2 inches long or more, which gives the product a kind of fine fibrous texture that has plenty of air space for composting. Depending on what you feed and how you feed it, you can get a whole spectrum of products from just the Â¼" screen. The same principle holds true for the other screens as well. Incidentally, if you do see some longish piece of something appear on your output pile that "sneaked through" a screen hole, just toss it back into the hopper. It won't be so "lucky" the second time through. Before you spend money for a concrete mixer, I do recommend that you experiment with the MacKissic as a mixer. It can work well. While you are processing some new material for compost, throw in a little old active compost every now and then. The hammer mill will do an excellent job of "marrying it" with the new material to inoculate your pile. MM
...See More
Compost Shredder vs Wood chipper
Q
Comments (22)
We have the Craftsman chipper/shredder as well and it works great. If you can rent one, that would be a good idea to try it out. What we do is pile all our hard prunings for awhile and then when they are a bit dried out, we run them through the chipper and add it to the compost pile. Sometimes I use it as mulch. Once you shred the plant matter, it breaks down much quickly. The attachment on the back is also good for leaves, but you'd still have the issue of gathering the leaves. I also use a shredder/vac on most of the leaves and put them in the compost or use them as mulch. On the lawn, we just bought a new Toro lawn mower that is a 'Super Recycle' and on a high setting made about 6 inches deep of leaves disappear. Of course then you can't add them to the compost pile, but they do feed the lawn. This year, I tried this contraption: It worked pretty well. I did have a problem with the bonnet popping off, which was frustrating, so I threaded a string through the bonnet (which is cloth) and wrapped it around the bottom of the container and up the other side. That helped.
...See More
WANTED: Trade chipper/shredder for tiller
Q
Comments (0)
I have a good chipper and shredder in Fairfax Virginia used about 5 times, purchased for $675. I never use it since I no longer compost and I cut my trees. It has been idle for about 6 years. I would like to trade it for a tiller of other useful product. Any takers?
...See More
User
9 years ago
My experience is that there are chippers, which is one thing, and shredders, which is quite another, but I've never found a satisfactory machine that will do both.
plaidbird
9 years ago
Problem is with composting in a bin or whatever, one needs to carry the stuff to the bin, then afterwards haul the stuff where you want to use it. It seems to me, your very early in the process of potential joint problems since your still doing this.

My suggestion is to begin experimenting with composting in place. Less chance of accelerating damage to the joints. We need to consistently keep moving, but not stress our body. And hands and wrists are much more important than the average person realizes. Not being able to wipe, because of wrist problems can be the end result, where you thought not being able to open the door was the worst of it.

Every single thing you do each day adds up. Review all the things and start working on ways to make things easier on yourself. It will pay off in the long run. An appointment with a physical therapist is a reasonable option, having an expert to help guide me, early on was one of the smartest things I did and paid off in lower medical costs in the long run.

Since I've changed doorknobs and faucets to levers, found a mouse that works for me, learned to crochet to strengthen my hands and wrists... some folks take up knitting for the same reason, but not holding the hook in the normal way. Changed my keyboard layout to Dvorac and learning that was a trial, but super helpful..and continues paying off. Then all the more obvious things like household and garden tools designed to be wrist friendly.

Do take care. Being tough and working through the pain does NOT make sense once you realize you can cause damage to your body that can NEVER be undone. If it hurts... STOP.
Be kind to yourself and with luck we will both continue in the garden till the end. I know my quality of life would diminish significantly without my garden.

I agree with Ltilton, chippers are chippers and shredders are shredders. Folks that try to get one to do both, are the ones writing bad reviews on the machines they bought. Each machine does exactly what it was built to do, and does anything else poorly.

I did buy a Worx leaf shredder for specific things. It works great for my needs. The plus there is it nests together in a small stack that fits on a shelf on my back porch. I only bring it out now and then during the summer for certain projects.

For your cardboard go to the vermicomposting forum and search for the paper shredder they prefer for cardboard. I forget the brand name, but there was one several folks use and really like.

This post was edited by plaidbird on Fri, Jul 4, 14 at 17:15

Good compost chipper/shredders?

Comments (4)

toxcrusadr

CHFIII
Original Author

Related Discussions

User

plaidbird

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Good compost chipper/shredders?

Comments (4)

toxcrusadr

CHFIIIOriginal Author

Related Discussions

User

plaidbird

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

CHFIII
Original Author