For the keen gardener, owning a shredder is a must. Rapidly reducing the volume of garden waste into manageable bags or compostable material is a tidy and efficient way of clearing up the garden.
Shredders can take care of clippings from hedges and bushes, branches from trees and even kitchen waste such as potato peelings. There is no fun in trying to use pruning shears to chop up large hedge clippings. The question is which is better; electric or gas?
On price, electric tends to be cheaper with bottom of the range starting at 0, but these are basic quality machines and only suitable for the lightest of materials. A good gas shredder can cost over 0 with some topping out at a whopping ,000. A key point for the buyer of a shredder is the weight of the machine. For those gardeners with bad backs or who are not so nimble on the feet anymore, the weight of a shredder is important, as an electric five horse power shredder can weigh some 135 pounds in weight!
Power-to-power ratios are difficult to compare, but the short answer is that electrical shredders will weigh far more than the equivalent gas powered shredder. However, if you have a significant pile of branches of up to three or four inches in diameter, then the gas powered shredder is essential. The electrical variety tends to be cheaper, but that's because they are typically not as powerful. If you only require leaves and twigs shredding, then an electrical shredder is probably fine.
Given the air pollution from any type of garden gas powered machine, the green gardener has the option to convert to run on plant oils. On top of this, to reduce the cost of a gas powered shredder, reliable second hand machines are available from reputable dealers. You can also get second hand machines online on online auction sites. If you go down this route then double check that you buy from a reputable seller.
For the most serious shredding, it is advisable to go for an engine size of at least four horse power, otherwise blockages will be regular and some larger branches will not go through to be processed by the machine. You might find electrical shredders are noisier than the gas powered equivalent, although it depends on the type and size of the material being fed through because harder materials will make more noise.
