Bosch Shredder - Last chance saloon?

[John Duffy]

This Bosch shredder has been given to me.
The motor runs fine, but to be honest I have found it worse than useless at shredding. I wondered if it just needs a sharpen, or new blades. I've had a similar MacGregor unit in the past, and although brand new, that wasn't much better. So my expectations are low, and I don't have the time to waste on it.
Any thoughts or advice before it goes to the tip?
Thanks
John

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

When my current lady and I got together we found we had two shredders. Hers is a Bosch just like yours while mine was a different brand and type. The Bosch is a worm in a cylinder type shredder so probably can't be sharpened. I've had it apart to a) unjam it and b) see if it could be sharpened (sorry I know that word is likely to bring out the sharpening police) but couldn't fathom how to do that. If you grind away at the worm you'll reduce its diameter and make it a looser fit in the bore of the cylinder so it will clog up more. In the end it's pushed to one side in the garage not used.
My old shredder, the one we gave away, was of the spinning blade type and was much easier to maintain. Got rid of the wrong one - as usual.

 

[Geoff_S]

I’ve got something similar with blades. Yes, the blades do get blunt. If you look at the blade, it can be reversed, it is a double edged sword!

I have sharpened the blade but you have to be careful to make sure it’s balanced.

These days, I just keep a spare blade. When sharp, it’s a very good machine.

Edit: looks like yours is a worm …. Ignore me

 

[MorrisWoodman12]

Thanks @Geoff_S with your encouragement I've just done an online search for the helix blade. The dozen or so websites I looked at state the blade is not available and one says Bosch have discontinued it.
Thanks anyway
Martin

 

[Blister]

I have one like this , It is a slow highly geared machine , I have put 1" + branches through it and it hardly slows down , Had it 2 1/2 years now

My one came from Amazon
Regardin disposal of the Bosch , Put it on Freecycle collection only , It will go.

 

[ChaiLatte]

In the picture you show, the feed direction switch is set to reverse. Have you tried it in the other direction?

https://www.manuals.co.uk/bosch/axt-1600-hp/manual?p=11

 

[Spectric]

I think that the ATX 1600 is the older version of the ATX 2200 which I currently have and that works really well even though it now has no wheels and has to be carried around. The 1600 is a helix type cutter whilst the 2200 uses a blade and is a much simpler design and for composting having it chopped up with a blade is supposed to be better. For anyone wanting to shred then as a freebie it has to be worth a go if you live nearby, which @John Duffy you are not giving us any clues ! Giving some idea of your location can be very helpful in situations like this because there just might be someone close by who would jump on the offer.

 

[Jacob]

I'm reclaiming a garden and was wondering about a shredder for all the small stuff, hedge cuttings and small tree thinnings-out but got the firm impression that unless you paid over £500 they were pretty useless.
Instead I've taken to chopping stuff by hand, on a nice end grain stump. Small stuff goes into compost heap, or buried in new beds*. This leaves bigger than 1/2" stuff which I attack in bundles with an electric chain saw and it's handy for the wood-stove (or will be when it's installed).
I'd like to have a go with a shredder if one came my way, but not too bothered!
PS but you have to keep your axe nice and sharp, a little and often, the old fashioned way, so it might scare off the sharpening obsessives!
Also if you leave small stuff in a heap for long enough, it settles down, dries out, becomes brittle and easy to break up.
* https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/the-many-benefits-of-hugelkultur/

 

[Spectric]

I'm reclaiming a garden and was wondering about a shredder for all the small stuff, hedge cuttings and small tree thinnings-out but got the firm impression that unless you paid over £500 they were pretty useless.

This is not the case, yes there will be some to avoid but I can vouch for the Bosch ATX 2200, you have to use genuine Bosch blades that are reversable but my one is getting on a bit but it still digest all my hedge trimmings and woody stuff as well as branches up to 40mm. You just have to be reasonable and not just shuff to much through or to fast and it works fine.

Small stuff goes into compost heap, or buried in new beds

Remember that whilst it decomposes in the ground it will deplete the nitrogen .

 

[Diver Fred]

I had use of a worm type of Shredder - was really impressed. Bought a spinning blade one, used that once and took it back - the noise was horrendous!!!

Now have a Qualcast 'Silent' one, work well within it's parameters (40mm timber, just have to be aware of the duty cycle within is around 25%, doesn't like lots of leaves). Would I have another - Yes.

Take the shredding to the local tip or dispose of in the 'Green' bin.

 

[artie]

, just have to be aware of the duty cycle within is around 25%, doesn't like lots of leaves).

I've been dithering about getting a shredder/chipper.

The ones I think would be effective are too expensive for the small amount of hedge clippings I have to deal with and the ones at a price I like I think would be too slow and tedious to feed.

But may I ask you to elaborate on the above statement, I don't quite get it.

 

[Jacob]

This is not the case, yes there will be some to avoid but I can vouch for the Bosch ATX 2200, you have to use genuine Bosch blades that are reversable but my one is getting on a bit but it still digest all my hedge trimmings and woody stuff as well as branches up to 40mm. You just have to be reasonable and not just shuff to much through or to fast and it works fine.


Remember that whilst it decomposes in the ground it will deplete the nitrogen .

OK ta I'll bear that in mind.
Isn't 40mm a bit on the big side for it?
But trimming small stuff off a branch with an axe leaves the bigger stuff behind for the stove. It's all down to how much you have to deal with.

 

[Spectric]

the noise was horrendous!!!

If you were being chopped up by a spining blade you would also make a lot of noise, you just need googles and ear defenders and then shred away in your own silent world. I shred a lot of hedge clippings and this involves a good mix of green and brown for the compost bins which just shreds easily, also branches go through with a lot more noise and I end up with buckets of shreddings that I put into my four Johanna compost bins and a Joraform hot compost tumbler. It does take some time but then we all know about feed rates so cannot expect instant results but if I did not shred then it would take longer to fill the bin and take the rest to the local recycling centre,

 

[Spectric]

It will take 40mm, you just need to feed slowly and it soon ends up as a bucket of wood chippings.

 

[recipio]

I have that Bosch model and it's working away. It's OK for dry branches up to about 25mm but very poor with the green stuff like Leylandi.These machines are designed for the suburban gardiner where quietness is desirable but frankly it's a bit tedious feeding branches one by one into the narrow aperture. Next time i'd look at the large propellor types - the neighbours won't be pleased but i'd avoid Sunday mornings. !

 

[ChaiLatte]

But may I ask you to elaborate on the above statement, I don't quite get it.

There is a kind of scale, from mulching through shredding to chipping. Different materials are better treated at different points on that scale and the machine to do the job will be constructed differently according to its main task.

With a chipper, for example, too much green stuff blocks both the infeed and the outfeed especially as the chopped up stuff is too light to attain any exit velocity. With a spinning blade-type machine, it would fling peanuts all day long, but choke up on confetti.

You can get any machine to work outside its designed range, but it is slower and you have to be selective with what you feed it: on a chipper, mix the green with the hard stuff; on a mulcher, go easy on the hard stuff and feed it more vegetation.

Have a little look on YT for Forestmaster stuff: they have both a chipper and a mulcher of very similar design, but with critical differences according to the machine's purpose. If you can see and understand those differences, you will answer your own question better than I can describe above.

 

[gregmcateer]

I've got a Screwfix Triton pretty much like the one Blister shows - have put the best part of several trees worth of branches through it, up to about 1.5 inches. Works fine

 

[Jacob]

There's a Which report here.
Makita UD2500 comes out top.
I'm tempted - it says 40mm OK. But anything bigger would be good for the woodstove so that's OK
https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/gar...-to-buy-the-best-garden-shredder-ahQP91O2Xm4h

 

[Oldman]

My cheap and cheerful Silverline shredder has an allen screw on the outside that if you very carefully adjust it puts the rotating mass closer to the blade. I can tell when it needs doing as the branches come out daisy chained together by a small amount.

 

[Cobbs]

My cheap and cheerful Silverline shredder has an allen screw on the outside that if you very carefully adjust it puts the rotating mass closer to the blade. I can tell when it needs doing as the branches come out daisy chained together by a small amount.

I have something very similar with a "Mowerland" badge on it. Had it 20-odd years and it gets a serious amount of use, still going strong. Paid about £120 for it from ebay and it's paid for itself time and again. Branches get cleaned with a bill hook and anything bigger than 1" is brilliant for quick heat in the Rayburn / wood burner.