We choose a garden shredder for branches and grass, and we are not mistaken! Detailed instructions for a smart purchase

Any owner of a country house or summer cottage is faced with the need to dispose of plant waste. The best way to get rid of fallen leaves, dry grass and cut branches is with a garden shredder. Since this type of auxiliary equipment is still gaining popularity among owners of individual farms, it will be useful for interested people to get as much information as possible about it in order to make a truly smart purchase. You will learn how to choose the right garden shredder by reading this article.

Operating principle and purpose of a garden shredder

The principle of operation of this unit resembles a meat grinder or food processor.

Garden shredder device

Each manufacturer tries to give it its own design and construction features, but the list of basic elements remains unchanged:

1. Durable metal or plastic housing mounted on a steel frame. To allow movement around the site, wheels are provided;
2. A power plant implemented in the form of an internal combustion engine or an electric motor;
3. The cutting mechanism is connected by a simple and reliable drive to the motor shaft;
4. Funnel-shaped loading box for easy feeding of waste for cutting;
5. Output device for crushed mass. It can be adapted for soft or hard containers. Many models simply throw the mixture onto the ground. Some of them allow you to adjust the height and direction of the release.

The resulting granular mass decomposes quickly enough in a compost pit, turning into fertilizer rich in useful substances, or is used as a mulching layer. Even taking it to a landfill turns out to be more convenient than transporting branches. Which garden shredder will best suit your needs depends on your application and processing volume.

Benefits of using a shredder

On a note! Shredded wood can be an excellent raw material for the production of pellets used to load solid fuel boilers.

Types of Garden Shredders

Before you accurately choose a garden branch shredder, you need to determine its technical characteristics. Based on power and the duration of continuous operation directly related to it, productivity and maximum size of processed pieces of wood, all units are conventionally divided into three large groups.

Household model Professional shredder

Experts distinguish between models of household, semi-professional and professional classes. Their comparative indicators are shown in the table:

How to choose an electric garden shredder? To do this, it is necessary to assess the conditions for its upcoming use, and then consider options for the corresponding class.

Advice! You should not purchase equipment with a large reserve of power, so as not to incur unreasonable expenses.

The cutting efficiency is largely determined by the design features of the cutting unit. Based on this component, there are two main types of instruments.

Disc shredders

This type of equipment has one or more knife discs mounted on a powerful shaft. They are made from high-strength tool steel. The rotation speed and grinding intensity correspond to the hardness of the metal and the degree of processing specified during the design. Such a node has its advantages and weaknesses.

Advantages:

• simple design;
• low cost;
• ease of maintenance;
• high performance when chopping grass and small branches.

Flaws:

• wood thickness limitation;
• forced supply of processed mass is required;
• knives quickly become dull on dry, hard branches.

Milling shredders

The working body of such a tool is a rotating cutter - a special part of a complex shape with many cutting edges. It is made from high quality steel grades. For its operation, the transmitted force is more important than the rotation speed. It chews and grinds hard wood without any problems.

Advantages:

• increased maximum diameter of processed branches;
• long-term operation without the need for sharpening or replacement;
• the design itself tightens the supplied material without the use of additional devices.

Flaws:

• more complex design;
• high price;
• Grass and soft fibers from fresh wood often clog the free space of the cutting unit.

The nuances of operating homemade equipment

A self-made shredder is essentially three in one: a chopper for branches, a straw cutter, and a mechanism for cutting grass. It helps to significantly facilitate household work associated with the disposal of plant waste, as well as feeding poultry and livestock.

If you have to process grass in small quantities, for example, for chickens, geese, ducks, then very simple devices that operate on human muscle power, for example, a hand pruner, are sufficient.

For homemade electrical equipment, it is recommended to install a separate differential circuit breaker to provide reliable protection against electric shock in case of unforeseen circumstances. In any case, when making a garden shredder yourself, you must follow safety regulations. It is also worth adhering to them during operation of the mechanism. Before working with equipment, it is recommended to wear goggles, suitable protective clothing and check that the structural elements are securely fastened. When creating a home-made unit, you should take into account the upcoming amount of work, as well as the nature of the vegetation being processed, in order to select an engine of the required power and the desired design of knives. This will allow the completed device to cope with the assigned tasks without any problems.

Main selection criteria

There are many parameters that you should pay attention to during the purchase. Choosing the right characteristics of a garden shredder will provide benefits that you will immediately feel during use.

engine's type

The most common are models with an electric or gasoline engine. Each type has its own characteristics.

Electric model Gasoline shredder

Advantages of electrical devices:

• environmental cleanliness;
• no need for refueling;
• simplicity of design and minimal maintenance;
• efficiency;
• light weight and compact dimensions.

Flaws:

• impossibility of autonomous operation and dependence on cable length;
• the cord touches obstacles;
• undesirability of use in wet weather;
• the need to take breaks from work to cool the engine;
• limited power.

Advantages of gasoline shredders:

• autonomous work;
• high power;
• Can be used in any weather.

Flaws:

• more complex management and maintenance;
• exhaust emissions;
• increased noise level;
• relatively high cost.

We are not mistaken! For periodic work near the house and in the garden, we choose an inexpensive garden shredder with an electric drive. For autonomous use over a large area, you will need a gasoline car.

Type of cutting part

Manufacturers of garden shredders use working units of various designs. They are adapted to different materials and operating conditions. The following options are common:

1. With two or more knives. The simplest machines of this type specialize in grass and small branches. Units with 4-6 rotating disks are capable of processing thicker waste;
2. With worm type crusher. Their cutting part is similar to the screw of a meat grinder. It easily shreds branches with a diameter of up to 4 cm and copes well with grass, but requires periodic cleaning of adhering residues;
3. With cylindrical cutting unit. They have a cutter in the shape of a cylinder or a truncated cone with many side knives. They are placed on universal models for any type of vegetation;
4. Cutting shaft. This cutter is designed to grind branches up to 8 cm in diameter. It is reliable and durable, but requires use in conjunction with a powerful engine.

Worm type crusher Operating principle of the device with a shaft

Ease of use

You can decide which wood chipper is best for you only by assessing the ergonomic design features.

The device should be convenient for you

Pay attention to:

• the dimensions of the model so that loading the receiving compartment does not cause you any difficulties;
• the weight of the product must correspond to your physical capabilities;
• the optimal shape of the receiving hopper ensures easy feeding of branches to the cutting unit and eliminates their rebound;
• the location of the handles for transportation should be at a height convenient for you;
• Sufficient wheel width is a prerequisite for using the shredder outside roads and sites.

Reverse and noise level

How to choose a simple garden shredder that won't clog? It should have a reverse function. Reverse rotation ensures removal of the stuck piece and makes it easier to clean the cutter from waste.

Be sure to read the accompanying documentation. Operating a shredder with a noise level of 70-80 dB should not cause significant inconvenience. Powerful models sometimes exceed this figure.

Important! In this case, you need to take additional care of headphones or other noise-protective devices.

Is it possible to chop branches with it?

All grass and leaf shredders must be used only for their intended purpose , because trying to dispose of even thin branches with their help can lead to serious damage.

The line/milling mechanisms are designed to grind material with fragile soft fibers, so a branch that gets inside will break the line or break off several blades , after which you will have to either install a new line or change the impeller.

Therefore, you cannot use devices designed to work with green mass to destroy branches and wood ; for this, there are various wood chippers, crushers and chipping machines.

We have already talked about how to make them inexpensively yourself in this article and here.

Additional features

Really high-quality equipment is distinguished not only by high reliability and performance. It is characterized by a thoughtful approach to ensuring safety and maximum user convenience. Models with the following options have a clear advantage:

• automatic material supply;
• blocking accidental self-start;
• engine shutdown in case of overload;
• noise-absorbing design;
• the ability to regulate the speed of rotation of cutting parts;
• the presence of a standard pusher for garbage disposal;
• intensive processing of material into mulch.

Rating of the best manufacturers of garden shredders

Before choosing a garden electric or gasoline wood chipper, it is useful to familiarize yourself with the models available on the market from leading manufacturers. The rating presented here will help you not make a mistake when purchasing and are guaranteed to receive a high-quality unit in the appropriate price category.

The best disc garden shredders

The best milling shredders

Assembly instructions for a twin-roll shredder

Work begins with creating a frame. To do this, using an angle grinder, two blanks 80 cm long and four pieces 40 cm long are cut from a profile pipe. Next, short sections are welded between the two long blanks at right angles. The two internal parts must be spaced at a sufficient distance from each other to ensure secure installation of the grinding drum.

Helpful advice! For the device to be mobile, the structure must have wheels for movement. To do this, two racks are welded to the frame, onto which an axle with wheels is attached.

Drawing for assembling shafts of a two-roll grinder

The next step is to create the shafts for the chopping drum. If you plan to install four knives on one shaft, then we use a square metal blank. We make both ends of it round so that they can fit into the bearings. For three knives you will need a round blank in which the central part is sharpened. Three flat cuts are made in it for the subsequent installation of knives.

To create knives, you can take a small piece of a Kamaz spring sheet. Holes for bolts are made in the knives. Then you should sharpen the knives on a sharpening machine, where the cutting edge angle is selected with a value of 35-45 degrees. Next, the sharpened knives are applied to the shaft and their attachment points are marked, in which holes are created, and the thread is cut.

Next, we proceed to create the grinding mechanism. Round holes are made in two metal walls using a welding machine for installing bearings. Using special pads and bolts, we install the bearings inside the metal walls. We insert the shafts into the bearings, securing them securely. They must be located at a sufficient distance to prevent them from touching. Next, the drum walls are connected using threaded metal studs and nuts.

Drawing of the location of the shafts on the frame of a two-roll shredder

Now let's start creating the receiving bunker. To do this, four parallelepipeds are cut from thin sheet metal. Next, each edge is bent by 4 cm. A short section in one direction, a long section in the opposite direction. We connect all the parts using self-tightening rivets or welding. Holes for fastening are made on the bent edges at the base of the box.

Now gears are put on the shafts to synchronize the movement, and the entire structure is installed on the frame and secured with bolts. Then the motor is installed, which is connected to the shaft by a belt drive or chain. It is better to take an engine of high power, but with a low number of revolutions. At the end, the receiving hopper is installed and secured. A protective cover is then placed on all rotating parts of the shredder to prevent foreign objects from entering the shredder.

The main advantages of such a unit are its high power and technical ability to chop thick branches with a diameter of 20 to 80 mm. This will depend on the number of knives and the number of revolutions. Numerous websites on the Internet provide detailed recommendations on how to make a branch chopper with your own hands. Video examples more clearly display the entire process of assembling and installing a homemade device.

Do-it-yourself two-roll shredder