Today, there are a large number of mechanisms and equipment that can alleviate the hard and painstaking work of the summer resident. One of these reliable assistants is a garden shredder for grass and branches, which in a few minutes processes dry leaves, grass and branches into chips, which can serve as high-quality mulch, the basis for producing humus or useful fertilizer. How to choose this simple device will tell this article.
Garden shredder for grass and branches: principle of operation
A garden shredder or shredder for wood and grass resembles in its internal design a meat grinder. All kinds of garbage that gardeners face at their summer cottage gets into the grinding system, where it is ground to a state of wood chips. Thanks to the powerful engine with which some types of shredder are equipped, even the heaviest materials are ground.
The standard garden shredder for branches, leaves and grass consists of three main elements: a hopper, a chopping mechanism and an engine.
The most significant element is the bunker. This is a kind of filter that prevents foreign objects from entering the grinder, such as fabric, rubber, metal parts. Another bunker function is to directly pass recycled waste.
According to the grinding system, milling and knife shredders are distinguished. The knife shredder recycles garden debris up to 3 cm. Milling devices handle larger debris, up to 8 cm.
A shredder drives an engine that can run on electricity or gasoline. The type of engine is determined by the composition of the garbage to be recycled. Each garden shredder is equipped with a regulating device, through which it is possible to speed up or slow down the grinding process. An integral part of the gardening device is the reverse, with which you can clean clogged knives.
Before proceeding to the choice of a garden shredder, it is necessary to evaluate all the work at the site and select the most complex waste, as a result of which they are generated. The quantity and composition of the processed raw materials will directly depend on the type of device. Further, you should consider the weight of the shredder, the brand, the cost of equipment.
When choosing a shredder should be guided by its main characteristics:
- Grinding system
- Device class
- Engine’s type.
There are knife and milling shredders. The most popular are milling, which shred garden debris with steel gear. This type of shredder allows you to recycle both soft materials and hard wood. Knife shredders are suitable for shredding small branches and soft materials.
The class of device equipment affects its power, performance and cost. For simple dacha needs, you can use amateur or middle-class equipment, which can be selected by numerous reviews. The garden grinder for a grass and branches of amateur class with a power of 1,8-2,2 kW will easily cope with soft materials.
Technique middle class with a capacity of 2.5 kW recycles larger rigid branches. The most professional are devices with petrol engines and noise reduction. They are able to process hard raw materials and thick boughs. They are more powerful and high cost. For ordinary garden plots, they are not suitable because they can not pay for themselves.
The type of engine shredders can be electric and gasoline. Professional high power shredders are usually equipped with gasoline engines. They are mobile and have high performance. Budget models are powered by electricity. They are rarely used to work in large areas, since the radius of their movement is limited by the length of the cord.
Before you buy a garden shredder for branches and grass, assess the size of your site, which determines the length of the cord. If the plot is very large, then it would be advisable to purchase a gasoline chopper. Attention should be paid to the noise level, which should not exceed 84 dB. The highest rate of noise reduction are professional devices.
Helpful advice! Keep in mind that the lower the noise level of the device, the lower its performance. This applies to models of the middle and amateur class.
When choosing the type of device, read the list of materials that it can recycle. This model must be certified and have a warranty. Prefer well-known manufacturers who have service centers in our country.
The choice of the device will be helped by the rating of garden shredders of branches and grass. The feedback from professional gardeners is based on many years of experience in using each model of shredder. Here you can find out all the detailed information about each specific unit, assessing the advantages and disadvantages of each model.
The shredder can be purchased as a separate device or buy a branch chopper for the motoblock, which is an additional equipment for agricultural technology. The principle of operation and the rules for choosing this mechanism are the same as for independent equipment. The main advantage of the branch chopper for the motoblock is that it is ideal for any models of motor-cultivators and motoblocks, which are equipped with a belt drive from the engine to the gearbox.
The type of engine distinguish between gasoline and electric shredders. Before you decide on the type of equipment, it is worth exploring the advantages and disadvantages of each of them.
It is a compact, low-noise chopper with a capacity of up to 2.6 kW. It easily grinds the fallen leaves, dry grass and branches up to 2.5 cm in diameter. However, its ability to move is limited by the length of the electric cord. It is very responsive to voltage drops in the network, which is not uncommon for summer cottages.
Helpful advice! If the site has a problem of voltage drop, you can use a garden generator.
Main advantages:
- devices have low noise levels, unlike gasoline shredders;
- ecologically safe;
- due to compact design, simple and easy to use;
- more economical. It has a low cost and eliminates the additional costs of fuel and fuel.
The main disadvantages are:
- cannot operate without a constant source of electrical current;
- sensitive to voltage drops;
- low-power device that can not cope with large solid raw materials.
This device is a powerful mobile technology that can work in any garden. The gasoline shredder of branches and grass is capable of processing solid wood with a diameter of up to 7 cm. The technique has considerable weight, which limits the possibility of its easy movement around the garden plot.
Because of the high power up to 8 kW, the device is quite noisy, but at the same time much more productive. Therefore, the price of a garden gasoline shredder and grass will be higher than the electric counterpart.
As a result of their work, gasoline shredders emit harmful products into the atmosphere. Compared to electrical counterparts, they require additional equipment maintenance costs, namely, the replacement of engine oil after a certain number of hours. However, such a timely event will eliminate the damage to the internal combustion engine and will prolong its life for a long time.
The type of the cutting mechanism of the grinder should be selected depending on the structure and size of raw materials. Next, we consider each system separately.
This grinding mechanism consists of knives in the form of a disk, which begin to rotate when the device is turned on, and to process waste coming to them. They are ideal for shredding herbs, foliage, small branches, tops and semi-rotten roots. Knives can cope with more solid waste, but their blade quickly get blunt and the life of the shredder is significantly reduced.
Helpful advice! To ensure the continuous operation of the shredder, you should have a spare set of knives for the branch chopper, which you can buy together with a shredder.
Shredders with a milling system are the most reliable. They are capable of processing dry solid materials up to 70 mm in diameter. This type of processing system is used for powerful professional models. The grinding process is carried out using a monolithic gear, which rotates on the shaft, and a vertical anvil opposite. Garden waste, passing between these elements, is crushed.
It is better to use such mechanisms for hardwood, because as a result of grinding grass and leaves, the space between the cutting parts becomes clogged, which shortens the life of the device. Many models are equipped with an automatic feeding mechanism, which provides an opportunity for a person to do other things in parallel.
Helpful advice! To meet all the needs associated with shredding garden waste of various sizes and hardness, you can buy a shredder for grass and branches with a combined shredding system. However, its cost will be much higher than single devices.
Another significant advantage over knife choppers is the availability of the reverse function of milling devices. This makes it possible to remove the stuck element from the chopper cavity without affecting its further work. A video shredder with such a function clearly demonstrates this. In milling shredders, it is possible to control the level of processing by changing the distance between the gear and the anvil.
Visually, the level of operation of each system can be viewed on numerous videos of a garden shredder for grass and branches offered on the Internet.
In terms of power, garden shredders are divided into three classes:
- Professional shredders.
- Semi-professional shredders.
- Amateur level shredders.
Professional shredders have a high power rating of up to 8 kW and are often equipped with gasoline engines. However, professional three-phase electric shredders that operate at 380V can be found on the market. The devices are equipped with a large grinding mechanism for grinding large solid raw materials, a receiving funnel and a retractor.
Due to high performance and power, such grinders have a bulky design and high cost. Therefore, the use of such devices in small suburban areas is impractical. They find their use in large farms, where there is a large amount of waste.
Approach to the choice of garden shredder should be with great responsibility. First of all, it is necessary to objectively evaluate the entire amount of work with which the unit must handle. Then, based on the characteristics of each model, choose the appropriate option at an affordable price. However, if it is not possible to purchase a shredder at this time, many owners offer to lease a chopper of branches and grass at an agreed price.
In order for a reliable assistant to serve a long service, you should not forget about proper care for the device specified in the instructions, and that its work is safe for all others, strictly follow the safety instructions.
