Hi,

Has anyone any views or experience of the Parkside garden shredder
that Lidl has on offer this week for 79.99? Seems to be quite a
powerful model for a cheap price.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/index.nsf/p...arden_Shredder

2500 watt motor with motor brake
Switch-plug combination device with an overload protector and
restarting interlock
Cutting device with interchangeable knives made from hardened special
steel for extra-fine shredding material
No tools needed to open shredder for maintenance and repairs
Safety loading funnel for branches of up to 4cm diameter
Made in Germany

Thanks,
Ian

Ian wrote:
Hi,

Has anyone any views or experience of the Parkside garden shredder
that Lidl has on offer this week for 79.99? Seems to be quite a
powerful model for a cheap price.

Yes I have, don't bother!
We bought one of these, and the fist decent sized stick we put in it
came flying out of the side of the machine!
Basically the inside is only plastic, no metal sheath, and it couldn't
take the impact. Luckily, it came out the side _away_ from the
operator! Also, the safety catch was badly glued and came away, so we
couldn't even get it to work till we took it to bits and reglued it!

I guess if you're only ever going to shred privet trimmings it might be
okay, but anything remotely tough I wouldn't recommend.

Of course, we might have just been unlucky, but it seems with Shredders
you get what you pay for.

Regards

Herald

Are we talking about the same shredder? I bought a Florabest FLH2500/7 silent shredder from LIDL last September to deal with a huge pile of Holm Oak branches after a 'crown raising' of a 200yr old tree. I had been quoted £300 to remove the branches, and decided to use the timber above 2" diameter for fuel, and buy this economical shredder to deal with the rest, not caring if it 'died' after the process. In fact it coped with everything I stuffed into it, and I was quite cruel... Large chunks of hardwood to the throat limit, some of it dead & dry. All I would say is take off the end plate (4 Allen screws) and grease the bearing there if you punish it hard for days like I did.

Anyhow it is still alive and well, and has been eating pruned apple branches & other garden debris this week. A tough & useful bit of kit. Much better & quieter than the Alco machine I had (& broke) before.

Regards,

Terry Gee

Herald wrote in message ...
Ian wrote:
Hi,

Has anyone any views or experience of the Parkside garden shredder
that Lidl has on offer this week for 79.99? Seems to be quite a
powerful model for a cheap price.

Yes I have, don't bother!
We bought one of these, and the fist decent sized stick we put in it
came flying out of the side of the machine!
Basically the inside is only plastic, no metal sheath, and it couldn't
take the impact. Luckily, it came out the side _away_ from the
operator! Also, the safety catch was badly glued and came away, so we
couldn't even get it to work till we took it to bits and reglued it!

I guess if you're only ever going to shred privet trimmings it might be
okay, but anything remotely tough I wouldn't recommend.

Of course, we might have just been unlucky, but it seems with Shredders
you get what you pay for.

Regards

Herald

Thanks for the feedback - I think I'll stay clear. In fact, the more I
think about it, the more I am inclined to just hire one for a weekend
to see how I get on.

Cheers,
Ian

Ian wrote in message
. ..
Hi,

Has anyone any views or experience of the Parkside garden shredder
that Lidl has on offer this week for 79.99? Seems to be quite a
powerful model for a cheap price.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/index.nsf/p....p.Garden_Shre
dder

2500 watt motor with motor brake
Switch-plug combination device with an overload protector and
restarting interlock
Cutting device with interchangeable knives made from hardened special
steel for extra-fine shredding material
No tools needed to open shredder for maintenance and repairs
Safety loading funnel for branches of up to 4cm diameter
Made in Germany

Much better to get a shredder that has a worm drive to pull the material
in and crush it rather than knives. I changed and have never had to stop
my new shredder due to a blockage, but was regularly stopping and
clearing out the first one.

Mike
www.british-naturism.org.uk

On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 00:43:17 +0100, "Michael Berridge"
wrote:

Much better to get a shredder that has a worm drive to pull the material
in and crush it rather than knives. I changed and have never had to stop
my new shredder due to a blockage, but was regularly stopping and
clearing out the first one.

Can you recommend a make please Mike?
I've heard similar advice.

Pam in Bristol

Pam Moore wrote:
On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 00:43:17 +0100, "Michael Berridge"
wrote:


Much better to get a shredder that has a worm drive to pull the material
in and crush it rather than knives. I changed and have never had to stop
my new shredder due to a blockage, but was regularly stopping and
clearing out the first one.


Can you recommend a make please Mike?
I've heard similar advice.

Pam in Bristol

Mine's a Bosch 2000 and I can heartily recomend it. Quiet, efficient and
powerful. My garden's starting to look a bit bare as I'm gettting
strangely addicted to shredding!

bigboard wrote in message ...
Pam Moore wrote:
On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 00:43:17 +0100, "Michael Berridge"
wrote:


Much better to get a shredder that has a worm drive to pull the material
in and crush it rather than knives. I changed and have never had to stop
my new shredder due to a blockage, but was regularly stopping and
clearing out the first one.


Can you recommend a make please Mike?
I've heard similar advice.

Pam in Bristol

Mine's a Bosch 2000 and I can heartily recomend it. Quiet, efficient and
powerful. My garden's starting to look a bit bare as I'm gettting
strangely addicted to shredding!

I know that feeling, I have a Bosch 2000 as well and I find myself
considering coppicing some of the small trees along my boundary just
to provide material of the right size. Its some how so satisfying
feeding those branches in to it and getting loads of mulching material
out! Maybe I need a holiday.......

Is there any argument for or against petrol or electricity?
I would only use one at my allotment, however quiet! Garden too
small! So I'd need a petrol-driven one.

Pam in Bristol

"bigboard" wrote in message
...
Pam Moore wrote:
On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 00:43:17 +0100, "Michael Berridge"
wrote:


Much better to get a shredder that has a worm drive to pull the material
in and crush it rather than knives. I changed and have never had to stop
my new shredder due to a blockage, but was regularly stopping and
clearing out the first one.


Can you recommend a make please Mike?
I've heard similar advice.

Pam in Bristol

Mine's a Bosch 2000 and I can heartily recomend it. Quiet, efficient and
powerful. My garden's starting to look a bit bare as I'm gettting
strangely addicted to shredding!

Do you put out all the shredded stuff immediately as a mulch? If so, do you
water it with a bit of nitrogenous fertiliser to overcome the nitrogen
shortage which this is supposed to cause?

Franz

Franz Heymann wrote:
"bigboard" wrote in message

Mine's a Bosch 2000 and I can heartily recomend it. Quiet, efficient and
powerful. My garden's starting to look a bit bare as I'm gettting
strangely addicted to shredding!


Do you put out all the shredded stuff immediately as a mulch? If so, do you
water it with a bit of nitrogenous fertiliser to overcome the nitrogen
shortage which this is supposed to cause?

No, I compost all my shreddings, mixed in with grass clippings to supply
the nitrogen. I freely admit my gardening is purely to supply my
composting addiction!

(Mark Fawcett) wrote in
om:

bigboard wrote in message
...

Mine's a Bosch 2000 and I can heartily recomend it. Quiet, efficient
and powerful. My garden's starting to look a bit bare as I'm gettting
strangely addicted to shredding!

I know that feeling, I have a Bosch 2000 as well and I find myself
considering coppicing some of the small trees along my boundary just
to provide material of the right size. Its some how so satisfying
feeding those branches in to it and getting loads of mulching material
out! Maybe I need a holiday.......

No - just more stuff to shred...

I have the same shredder as you, but I don't always get to use it - because
it's the one piece of garden equipment I get my husband to make serious use
of. :-)

Not just fun feeding stuff into it though - the result is fabulous as mulch
and for composting.

I always thought I was just crap at composting till I got the shredder. My
heaps never got really hot, and took AGES to break down and were always
full of twigs.

Now my heaps are simmering away. I finished a heap 2 weeks ago, and I
think I shall be able to use the stuff this autumn - it's SO HOT!

And gorgeously crumbly.

No, I compost all my shreddings, mixed in with grass clippings to supply
the nitrogen. I freely admit my gardening is purely to supply my
composting addiction!


LOL

I have plenty of stuff that needs pruning and shredding at school....feel
free to contact me if you run out of stuff at home ;-)

Natalie

On 11 Sep 2003 05:48:23 -0700, (Mark Fawcett)
wrote:

bigboard wrote in message ...
Pam Moore wrote:
On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 00:43:17 +0100, "Michael Berridge"
wrote:


Much better to get a shredder that has a worm drive to pull the material
in and crush it rather than knives. I changed and have never had to stop
my new shredder due to a blockage, but was regularly stopping and
clearing out the first one.


Can you recommend a make please Mike?
I've heard similar advice.

Pam in Bristol

Mine's a Bosch 2000 and I can heartily recomend it. Quiet, efficient and
powerful. My garden's starting to look a bit bare as I'm gettting
strangely addicted to shredding!

I know that feeling, I have a Bosch 2000 as well and I find myself
considering coppicing some of the small trees along my boundary just
to provide material of the right size. Its some how so satisfying
feeding those branches in to it and getting loads of mulching material
out! Maybe I need a holiday.......

............. or some new furniture and banisters.
--
Martin

Natalie wrote:
No, I compost all my shreddings, mixed in with grass clippings to supply
the nitrogen. I freely admit my gardening is purely to supply my
composting addiction!



LOL

I have plenty of stuff that needs pruning and shredding at school....feel
free to contact me if you run out of stuff at home ;-)

Natalie


Don't tempt me, I'm sure I could compost desks!