Electric Leaf Shredder

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

I got one of these last year. I haul it out 2-3 times a year when leaves accumulate. It shreds them down into mulch like a champ.

It works on the principle of an upside-down weed whacker with a hopper on top for receiving the leaves. Easy-peasy. It does a sensational job on dry leaves. Less well on wet leaves. Can't take more than the smallest, driest twigs. Anything larger keeps the leaves from feeding down into the trug and breaks off the nylon trimmers.

Jams are pretty rare unless we're talking wet leaves or a lot of sticks. When they do happen they're easy to clear out.

There are a couple things worth noting:

• The replacement nylon trimmers from Worx are very difficult to find which is a bummer as they need frequent replacement. OTOH, installing new ones is pretty easy and found that slightly larger gauge ones from the hardware/garden store held up better. I suggest cutting them at an acute angle to get them to feed into the mechanism.

• Leaves come out with a furious gust. Wouldn't work with the trug pictured but I put one trug upside-down and a second one upside-right on top of it so that the opening is up at the bottom of the motor.

• The quality and appearance of the resulting mulch is excellent.

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

It works to reduce the big sycamore leaves into finer particles for my compost pile. These leaves usually take forever to compost, but this leaf shredder helps to create a better compost. Little sticks and too many damp leaves will cause build-up to occur around the edges of its cone.

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

I shredded about 10 bags of oak leaves as soon as I got it. It reduces leaf volume as stated, with a consistent size mulch as long as the nylon filaments are in shape--filaments shortened and shredded by twigs produce less consistent size mulch. I replaced the nylon filments twice. The small twigs that inevitably come with raked leaves went through the mulcher without jamming it, but they do cause the nylon filaments to shred and shorten--the more twigs, the more often you need to replace the filaments. Nevertheless, nylon filament replacement is very easy, there are many included with the mulcher. Do follow the directions and use a dust mask when using this. Finally, I really like how compactly it stores in my garage.

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

This machine was a headache to use. It is large and heavy, difficult to move and store, and painfully noisy.
You will need eye protection, hearing protection, long gloves, and a dust mask.
This is basically a string trimmer in a megaphone, and was very slow to use. It takes only leaves, a small handful at a time. We were careful. My husband, who has always been a big user of big noisy machines, hated it. Neither one of us wants to try it a second time.
Right now, it dominates the patio (it's just under four feet high), and we don't know what to do with it.

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

It would be better with more durable metal blades and casing

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

It does everything I expected it to do and stores easily.

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

Too soon to tell how this machine will perform in the long run. It seems to be of a better built that my previous shredder which stalled easily and also had a poorly designed stand. What I find most satisfying is the fact that the stand accepts a plastic bag which cuts down the operator exposure to dust.

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

Well-designed and a good value. Basically a heavy-duty weed-whacker motor mounted upside-down, with a "cauldron" on top into which you feed the leaves. Two doubled nylon lines cut the leaves, so it's not suitable for anything other than leaves and the smallest of branches. Made short work of my front & back yard piles. Would probably bog down w/ wet leaves. NOTE: Unpack it immediately and make sure that the extension legs for the stand are included. Mine were missing. I called GSC, and they shipped a set in a couple of days.

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

I'm a lady senior citizen that can handle this equipment easily. I like the fact that it's so easy to use, light weight and easy to move around.
The leaf chipper chops the leaves up into fine mulch for the garden. You do need to be careful not to put sticks into it, as, that is not it's intended purpose. However, if you do put sticks in, they generally fall through the bottom anyway.
I would recommend it to anyone who is not able to lift heavy equipment and is nontecky.

Comments about Electric Leaf Shredder:

I used the product for about 4 hours clearing my yard before writing this.

Pros:
* Easy to assemble
* Collapses into a compact unit for storage
* It really chews through the leaves
* Design allows the leaves to spin around inside the funnel to help with consistency and avoid jams
* Lightweight enough to move to the leave pile vs moving leaves to it.
* Trash bag can be hung on frame below discharge for easy collection

Cons:
* I wouldn't call it quiet, although not as bad as internal combustion for sure
* anything more than small sticks don't go through well

TBD:
* Lifespan of blades / string: After my 4 hours, the string blades were starting to fray. Not a big deal as it comes with spares and it looks like it normal string trimmer material. I suspect the accidental introduction of sticks with the leaves accelerates the wear.