Size matters! (JCB-GSB 1800 Garden Shredder)

Member Name: valleyhill

Product:	JCB-GSB 1800 Garden Shredder
Date:	01/07/01 (4134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Relatively inexpensive, Shreds thin stems well, Solid and good looking

Disadvantages: Can't shred thicker branches, Jams too easily, Fiddly collection bag

I bought the JCB shredder to shred the heaps of shrub, hedge and rose prunings accumulating at the top of my garden. My plan was firstly to save a trip to the local rubbish tip, and secondly to acquire free bark chippings for mulching, as well as a useful addition to my composting bin. My early impression (I've only just bought it) is that it will indeed get rid of most of my prunings and provide bark chippings and compost, however I am disappointed with its general performance.

Its powerful, but quiet, 1800W motor is supposed to have a capacity of 35mm. But my shredder struggled to shred rose stems less than half this diameter with the rotating blades jamming all too easily, or the sensitive overload protection kicking in when a thick section of an otherwise thin twig is being shredded. Very frustrating!

I also had problems with shorter stems not shredding and falling into the chippings - annoying because I had to pull them out of the shreddings before I could add them to my compost bin. Though you get a kind of plastic plunger to push shorter material such as privet clippings etc into the feeder area.

At least I think that's what it's for - the User Guide was very poor concentrating almost entirely on assembling the machine. Not too difficult but worrying for me I had a few parts left at the end!

On a plus point though the JCB made short work of my Budleia (hardwood) stems, sucking them through the blades at speed and spewing out some lovely looking mulch chippings.

I didn't like the collection box/bag arrangement - too fiddly, I would have preferred a rigid box though you can use your own container.

This shredder is heavy so if I haven't put you off buying it make sure you get help to carry it into the car. One assembled it's easier to move on its wheels and its
weight makes it reassuringly solid and sturdy to use, notwithstanding the outer plastic yellow hopper.

>I have a lot of privet hedges in my garden and I assumed that it would be simpled to drop the hedge cuttings into a chute with them being shredded in no time.
However the cuttings will have to be pushed through a sort of rubber flap letterbox with the plastic plunger (I guess), so this looks like being a long job.

£124.99 (Argos) was the most I was prepared to pay for a garden shredder and it may be that my expectations of what a machine of this price could do were too high. It will still get plenty of use because most of the shrub prunings from my garden are narrow enough for the JCB to deal with. But if you're thinking of buying this shredder,
especially if you're expecting it to deal with stems of an inch or more, I would strongly recommend you ask for a demo first so that you can make your own mind up.

Summary: