I want to buy a garden mulcher. I have in mind a big powerful brute of a
thing that I can use without calling for male muscle power to start it by
pulling the start cord or needing help from Him in the His Shed to help move
around the garden.

That means it must operate by electricity (and I do have hugely long power
cords and external power points) and it must have wheels and be tiltable and
moveable a bit like a wheelbarrow.

I want to shred general garden crud for composting or putting in the chook
run for them to turn and poop on and I also need to shred branches up to
perhaps 3 inches across. Of course I have no idea whatsoever of what size
motor I need or any of the techie type stuff I should know or think about
before buying.

Him in His Shed will not be helpful in providing any answers as it's not one
of the things HE would want to buy. I won't be using his money so need some
neutral male (or techie female) input.

Any comments on the following ones I'm looking at?:
http://tinyurl.com/nx8laqw
http://tinyurl.com/lh9qzef
http://tinyurl.com/lth73ay

And if none of these appeal, what should I be asking/thinking about please?

Farm1 wrote:
I want to buy a garden mulcher. I have in mind a big powerful brute
of a thing that I can use without calling for male muscle power to
start it by pulling the start cord or needing help from Him in the
His Shed to help move around the garden.

That means it must operate by electricity (and I do have hugely long
power cords and external power points) and it must have wheels and be
tiltable and moveable a bit like a wheelbarrow.

I want to shred general garden crud for composting or putting in the
chook run for them to turn and poop on and I also need to shred
branches up to perhaps 3 inches across. Of course I have no idea
whatsoever of what size motor I need or any of the techie type stuff
I should know or think about before buying.

Him in His Shed will not be helpful in providing any answers as it's
not one of the things HE would want to buy. I won't be using his
money so need some neutral male (or techie female) input.

Any comments on the following ones I'm looking at?:
http://tinyurl.com/nx8laqw
http://tinyurl.com/lh9qzef
http://tinyurl.com/lth73ay

And if none of these appeal, what should I be asking/thinking about
please?

The 2nd one has the most power at 20 hp vs the others 7 - but not the
highest price . I think I'd be researching that one , customer reviews etc .
More power means you don't have to work it as close to it's full capacity ,
and unless the motor is complete junk it should last longer .
--
Snag
out in
the shop

Farm1 wrote:
I want to buy a garden mulcher. I have in mind a big powerful brute
of a thing that I can use without calling for male muscle power to
start it by pulling the start cord or needing help from Him in the
His Shed to help move around the garden.

That means it must operate by electricity (and I do have hugely long
power cords and external power points) and it must have wheels and be
tiltable and moveable a bit like a wheelbarrow.

I want to shred general garden crud for composting or putting in the
chook run for them to turn and poop on and I also need to shred
branches up to perhaps 3 inches across. Of course I have no idea
whatsoever of what size motor I need or any of the techie type stuff
I should know or think about before buying.

Him in His Shed will not be helpful in providing any answers as it's
not one of the things HE would want to buy. I won't be using his
money so need some neutral male (or techie female) input.

Any comments on the following ones I'm looking at?:
http://tinyurl.com/nx8laqw
http://tinyurl.com/lh9qzef
http://tinyurl.com/lth73ay

And if none of these appeal, what should I be asking/thinking about
please?

I doubt very much that an electric motor mulcher will do what you want, they
just don't have the grunt, the biggest are about 3hp from memory. I have
tried them and they jam on anything much thicker than your finger.

The first and third you list are 200cc, 7hp petrol engine with electric
start, the second is 480cc 20hp electric start. Electric start means you
don't have to pull the cord like a small mower just hit the button like a
ride-on. On the face of it the more power the better. They weigh in at 70
to 110kg so you won't be lifting them and dragging them about by hand would
be a pretty heavy wheelbarrow. It looks like they have a hitch that might
go on a ride-on mower or maybe a tractor which would be very handy
especially on a hill. The TANSTAAFL law applies, if you want strength and
power it isn't going to be light. In any case some weight will be good to
stop it jumping about if you stuff a big branch in it.

My inclination is to go for the big one (the second) as it has plenty of
power and a good set of accessories and spares come in the box but first try
to find somebody local who has one and see what they think. If the vendor
is proud of his product he may supply a list of purchasers. Also talk to
your local chainsaw/mower bloke about the brand, whether he can get parts
and maintain it etc.

D

Farm1 wrote:

most power cords can't push through
enough juice to get a 3 inch branch shredded.

go with the 20hp and electric start, make
sure it has a hitch to move with the garden
tractor.

around here i would have liked a shredder
at times, but it is turning out that burying
materials works better and is much more
peaceful.

woody chunks get buried deeper than branches
or small pieces, eventually the worms and fungi
take care of them all.

larger pieces left on the surface get colonised
by ants or beetles, the chooks would break them
apart going after the bugs eventually.


songbird

Excellent comments. Thank you kindly to all who provided input. I've now
got a good basef rom which to work.

On Sun, 15 Sep 2013 11:10:41 +1000, "Farm1"
wrote:

I want to buy a garden mulcher. I have in mind a big powerful brute of a
thing that I can use without calling for male muscle power to start it by
pulling the start cord or needing help from Him in the His Shed to help move
around the garden.

That means it must operate by electricity (and I do have hugely long power
cords and external power points) and it must have wheels and be tiltable and
moveable a bit like a wheelbarrow.

I want to shred general garden crud for composting or putting in the chook
run for them to turn and poop on and I also need to shred branches up to
perhaps 3 inches across. Of course I have no idea whatsoever of what size
motor I need or any of the techie type stuff I should know or think about
before buying.

Him in His Shed will not be helpful in providing any answers as it's not one
of the things HE would want to buy. I won't be using his money so need some
neutral male (or techie female) input.

Any comments on the following ones I'm looking at?:
http://tinyurl.com/nx8laqw
http://tinyurl.com/lh9qzef
http://tinyurl.com/lth73ay

And if none of these appeal, what should I be asking/thinking about please?


I'm coming late to this thread but, here's my 2 cents worth.
First of all, IMO, unless you are only shredding leaves, electric
won't do the job.
Shredding garden waste doesn't require a lot of power but, chipping
large branches does. When it comes to chipping branches, more power is
always better, so the 20 HP sounds like the best deal. But, with a
listed retail price of $3250.00 being sold for only $729.00 it seems
almost too good to be true.
I have a 10 HP Troy-Bilt chipper shredder, purchased about 20 years
ago, long before the Troy-Bilt name was purchased by MTD and the
products cheapened down. At 10 HP, shredding all the garden waste is a
breeze but chipping large branches is more of a chore even though I
regularly sharpen the chipper blade.
Like many other products these days, this Hungry Beast may be made in
China and sold under various brand names with widely varying list
prices. In my experience the cutting edge hardness of Chinese products
like chainsaw chains leaves a lot to be desired and they tend to dull
very quickly.
Also, the stated weight on this machine seems to be on the light side
compared with some others in the same capacity range.
Try to check with the owner of one of these machines and get an honest
opinion of their value.
Good luck.

Ross.
Southern Ontario, Canada