It is impossible to imagine a modern person without various household appliances and appliances. Some of them, in the opinion of many who bought them, are completely meaningless and inconvenient, such as a thermopot or an electric egg cooker. Fortunately, there are few useless units among garden equipment. And in order for the purchased device to become a really loyal assistant, and not an expensive pile of metal and plastic in the corner of the shed,you just need to choose the right device. Let’s talk about how to choose a garden chopper — a device that is very useful for the owner of a suburban plot of any area.
Mulcher, shredder, chipper — or just a garden shredder
first-information for those who do not yet suspect that such a unit is simply necessary for them. Any gardener knows that the vegetation in the garden requires periodic cutting and pruning (for sanitary purposes, for forming plants, seasonal pruning, decorative cutting). As a result, a lot of plant remains are formed, to which a lot of vegetable tops and flowers are added in the fall.
Gardeners treat these piles of branches in different ways: someone puts them in compost, others burn them in the spring. There are also those who, taking advantage of the proximity of the site to the forest or ravine, act on the principle of “out of sight”, simply throwing plant debris over the fence. These methods have a number of obvious disadvantages.
- In the composter, large branches are processed for a long time and take up a lot of space. There is a variant of the device from brushwood of high warm beds, but this method is finite: plant debris after seasonal pruning can be much more than necessary for beds heated with biofuel, especially if the garden is adult or it is necessary to clear a neglected area.
- Incineration is not the right way to dispose of it. First of all, ash is a good source of potassium, but properly processed organic matter contains much more useful for plants. Secondly, tormenting others with a smoke screen is not very neighborly. And third, the incineration of garbage on the site must be carried out on a specially equipped site, otherwise the arsonist can expect a fine.
- Stations for receiving and processing garbage, where you can bring including garden waste, have become a common phenomenon. And throwing felling residues over the fence, as well as burning, violates the rules of the hostel and existing laws. The owner of the forest plot, on the contrary, is obliged to create a fire-prevention zone, and not to clutter up the territory behind their possessions with combustible garbage.
All these disadvantages can be avoided — and even get advantages if you buy a garden shredder for recycling branches. Otherwise, this device is called a shredder or chipper. Sometimes you can find the name mulcher, although this term is more correct to refer to other equipment. But it is in this function — the production of mulch — and hides the main advantage of this unit, in addition to the original purpose (disposal of branches and stems).
We will not talk about the benefits of mulching, although some for this purpose even buy wood chips and crushed bark for quite a lot of money.
But even if you do not use mulch for garden paths, flower beds with perennials, for decorating tree trunks and shrubs, or do not improve the structure of clay soils by adding wood chips, you will still appreciate the benefits of the shredder. Ground wood residues embedded in the composter are more compact and quickly turn into useful humus.
And if you don’t have a compost heap, wood chips thrown out in the undergrowth behind the site will no longer be attractive to firefighters who want to punish you with a fine, will not spoil the view and will be very useful to the forest community. And it is easier to transport crushed organic remains than an armful of firewood.
Now that you are convinced of the benefits and indispensability of this device for the summer resident, we go to the main thing-choose a garden chopper. To do this, you need to know what they are, what is the difference between them, and what else you should pay attention to.
Classification
There are several ways to classify devices for grinding plant residues.
As intended
Shredders vary depending on the amount of work and materials being crushed. Household appliances-units with a capacity of up to 2 kW, capable of crushing tops, branches no thicker than 20 mm. Middle-class models (semi-professional) are suitable for owners of large gardens with Mature trees. Their power is higher-2.5-3.5 kW. The higher rotation speed and efficient cutting mechanism allow you to handle branches up to 50 mm thick. Professional equipment capable of processing branches up to 100 mm in diameter is used in Park farms and companies engaged in urban gardening.
According to the type of engine
Professional and semi-professional equipment is equipped only with gasoline or diesel engines, and household appliances can be either gasoline or electric. Electric shredders are less noisy and easier to operate, but, understandably, require electricity. There are also units designed to work from the power take-off shaft, for example, from a tillerblock.
By type of cutting equipment
Perhaps this is the most important difference to pay attention to when choosing. Household units can have 1 of 5 varieties.
- Flex-a-Line
The Flex-a-Line cutting system is similar to a trimmer: chopping is done with a fishing line. Naturally, such a device is unsuitable for recycling branches — and thick-stemmed weeds, too.
- Knife disk
The knife disk cutting system is a disk with fixed knives. The axis of rotation of the cutting disc is at an angle to the direction of feed of the material being crushed. Shredders with this type of cutting work well with thick weeds, shrub branches, and young tree shoots.
Types of cutting equipment for shredders. 1-hammer, 2 — milling, 3 — turbine, 4-knife disk.
- Milling
Shredders with cutting cutters do not so much cut or chop branches as grind them. Therefore, they can handle thicker branches than disk branches at the same engine power. Devices equipped with two milling cutters rotating towards each other are particularly effective. These shredders are less noisy and are ready to grind dry branches, but they can cause difficulties with fresh leaves: they are not crushed, but crushed and wound on moving parts.
- Turbine
In turbine grinders, the cutting elements are not arranged in a plane, but as turbine blades. These are the most versatile cutters, suitable for both thin and flexible branches, as well as for dry and thick ones.
- Hammer
Hammer units are crushed using a package of toothed disks attached to the shaft. With thick and dry branches, this type of shredder can not cope, but it is suitable for crushing fruits and grains, so it is most often used for preparing feed.
Security and other useful features
In addition to the type of cutting elements, the type of engine and power, additional functions of the unit are important for the gardener, primarily related to safe use:
- accidental activation lock — when the device starts working only after two buttons or toggle switches are activated sequentially or simultaneously;
- turning off the engine when jamming (if the chopper is hit by a stone, if the knives are wrapped in grass or branches are too hard);
- disconnection in case of overheating. The function will not allow you to work for a long time, turning off the engine in time for cooling — the chopper will make sure that you not only work, but also relax in the garden with a Cup of coffee;
- the possibility of reverse rotation. Switching the direction of rotation of the knives allows you to release the cutting mechanism if something gets stuck in it;
- the limiter is the thickness of the branches. The receiving funnel may have restrictive holes for entering the crushed material, which will not allow you to put into the device what it cannot process, and also protect you from injuries to the operator’s hand.
When choosing a chopper, you should pay attention to the design of the device, the strength of the body and the receiving funnel, and stability. The unit should be moderately light (for ease of transportation on the site, many models are additionally equipped with wheels), but at the same time should not jump and fall when working. A nice bonus will be a complete set of standard capacious container for collecting the finished product. If the function of mulch production is especially important for you, then ask about the size of the fraction of wood chips obtained when buying.
Perhaps this information is enough for orientation in the world of garden shredders, and the choice of a specific brand and price will be left to the personal discretion of users. Purchasing this device will be the right and important decision in your garden life.