What to do if mountains of branches pile up after pruning? The solution to the riddle is a garden shredder that shreds clippings from hedges and trees into small wood chips. Various models are available. Here you can find out how and with what you can effortlessly shred branches.

Chopping branches turns bulky tree clippings into useful mulch

Which device can shred branches?

With a garden shredder, the problem of disposing of cuttings in valuable mulch (€239.00) is resolved. Knife shredders or roller shredders effortlessly shred branches and reduce the volume of green waste by 75 percent. The shredded shrub cuttings are useful as a free alternative to bark mulch, serve as winter protection for patio plants or help with composting.

Knife chopper or roller chopper? - Differences in a nutshell

The cutting technique makes the difference between knife choppers and roller choppers. To help you make the right purchase decision, the following information provides a compact overview of the functionality, advantages and disadvantages of common garden shredders for the hobby garden:

Knife shredders shred with knife discs

A rapidly rotating flywheel, peppered with sharp knives, shreds the filled branches in no time at all. Crowds of wood chips fall into the catch basket for natural use in the garden.

  • Advantages: primarily suitable for fresh shrub cuttings, inexpensive to buy, produces high-quality mulch
  • Disadvantages: high level of noise, noticeable blade wear, entry-level devices block with thick branches

Roller shredders shred with crushing technology

This garden shredder works with a slowly rotating roller and pressure plate. Filled branches are shredded and crushed in one go.

  • Advantages: quiet, ideal for dry, hard wood and thick branches, chopped material rots quickly
  • Disadvantages: heavy machine, not suitable for wet branches, shredded material cannot be used as mulch

With the innovative AXT 25 TC model, Bosch presents the happy medium between knife chopper and roller chopper. The ingenious turbine cut system is based on a slow, whisper-quiet roller whose extra-sharp cutting edges shred the branches. A good choice for hobby gardeners with a large garden, because the turbine shredder can handle up to 230 kilograms of clippings per hour and shreds branches with a diameter of up to 45 millimeters.

How do you shred branches correctly?

Safety is key when shredding branches properly. Razor-sharp knives or grinding rollers cannot tell whether they are chopping branches or fingers. Please note these important instructions when using the garden shredder:

  • protective gear: Wear hearing protection, safety goggles, work gloves, sturdy shoes and protective clothing
  • stability: Place the garden shredder on firm, level ground
  • Fill in branches in a controlled manner: hold long branches to the edge of the filler neck so they don't whip like whips
  • emergency shutdown: If the cutting unit is clogged, always switch off the shredder (€199.99) first

Children and pets are not allowed in the garden while the shredder is in operation.

tips

The specialist trade offers knife shredders and roller shredders in various performance classes. In a normal hobby garden, an AC device with 220 volts masters the task with flying colors. Hobby gardeners with a large volume of clippings from fruit trees or large hedges use a high-voltage shredder with 380 volts or a shredder with a petrol engine.

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