Shredding
Type of materials for which the shredder was originally designed.
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Leaves only. In this case, we mean shredders designed for all types of “soft” and wet garden waste: leaves themselves, thick stems of herbaceous plants, freshly cut branches of small thickness, etc. Typically, these models use a knife or line chopping system (see below). Many units for this purpose can cope with coarser dry waste, but this mode of operation is still not recommended, because. it increases the wear of cutting elements, leading to rapid blunting and failure.
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Branches only. Shredders designed to work with coarse materials — primarily large dry branches with a thickness of several tens of millimetres (for more details, see "Maximum diameter of shredded material"). Usually, roller chopping systems are used for such work (see below). Aggregates of this type without much difficulty "eat" and medium-sized soft debris, however, the quality of its processing is much lower than in specialized models for leaves. Therefore, it hardly makes sense to use this type of shredders for "non-native" material.
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Branches and leaves. Models that process both types of garbage described above with equal efficiency — both soft (leaves, freshly cut thin branches) and hard (dry thick branches). Some models have separate modes of operation for both, while others have separate holes for hard
...and soft materials (see Features). Anyway, such shredders are the most versatile, however, their cost is higher than that of specialized ones.Shredding system
The design of the tool used to grind the garbage entering the unit.
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Knife. The main element of such systems, as the name implies, are special knives. Their design can be different: triangular blades with sharpening, rotating discs with several blades, etc. Anyway, this option is considered optimal for working with leaves, because. it ensures thorough and uniform processing of such waste. But with solid large branches, knife systems are less compatible; see "Crushing" for details.
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Valkovaya. Also, such systems are called milling. Their action is based on the use of gears with large teeth, which, when rotated, “bite off” and crush pieces of the processed material. This allows you to effectively process thick dry branches, besides, the gears themselves draw the debris inside, in fact, providing automatic feeding (see below). But roll systems do not work well with leaves and other “soft” debris. Therefore, models of this design are usually intended purely for branches (see "Chipping").
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Turbine. Turbine systems use a cutting element in the form of a cylindrical or conical drum with blades located horizontally. Their design is such that the shredder is able to cope equally effectively with both leaves and thick branches (see "Chipping"). The main disadvantage of "turbines" is the high cost.
— Leskovaya. As the name implies, systems of t
...his type use a fishing line that rotates at high speed during operation. They are designed to work exclusively with leaves (see "Crushing"), and it is the leaves that the scaffold unit processes in the best quality. But with other types of garbage — even with thick grassy stems — such shredders can have problems.Max. shredded material diameter
The largest thickness of debris that the shredder can handle normally. This parameter will allow you to evaluate how a particular device is suitable for a particular situation.
Note that the maximum diameter of the crushed material is important for models that allow working with branches (see "Chipping"). But in specialized aggregates for leaves, it is usually not indicated at all: the thickness of the garbage processed in such grinders is, by definition, small, and creating a design that works normally with any “soft” materials is usually not a problem.
Material throughput
The maximum amount of material that the shredder can process per hour. Note that in this case, the possibilities for perfect conditions are usually indicated: homogeneous garbage fed evenly, no interruptions in work, maximum speed (see “Adjusting the speed of the shredder”), etc. In addition, for universal models (see "Crushing"), the throughput is usually indicated for the most "convenient" material — leaves. Nevertheless, this parameter quite clearly characterizes the performance of the grinder.
It is worth choosing a model for throughput taking into account the volume of the proposed work. At the same time, it does not fit to take a certain margin, but it should not be too large — after all, high performance requires appropriate power, which, in turn, affects the dimensions, weight, price and "voracity" of the unit. Specific recommendations on optimal performance values for different situations can be found in special sources.
Shredder speed
The speed of rotation of the cutting tool of the chopper (see "Crushing system"). Variable speed models (see below) usually have a maximum RPM value.
In general, the general pattern is as follows: with equal engine power, the higher the speed, the lower the torque (see below), and vice versa. In addition, high speed improves performance (see "Bandwidth"). At the same time, this parameter in most cases is more of a reference value than a practically significant one: manufacturers select the rotation speed in such a way that it provides the claimed throughput and at the same time maintains the torque at a sufficient level for efficient processing of materials that were originally calculated design. Therefore, in some models, revolutions may not be indicated at all, and when choosing, it is worth focus on moments that are closer to practice.
Torque
The maximum torque provided by the chopper motor. This parameter can be described as the force applied to the working tool. The higher this force, the easier it is for the unit to cope with complex materials, primarily hard and thick branches, the larger, usually, the maximum diameter of the crushed material (see above). However to ensure high torque and power, you need the appropriate one. Therefore, this indicator is selected by manufacturers taking into account the specialization of the chopper: for example, a model for leaves simply does not need the same high effort as a professional unit for branches.
Garden shredder speed adjustment
The ability
to change the speed of rotation of the working element of the grinder. This gives additional options for adjusting the unit to suit the situation. For example, for a simple material, you can set a high speed so as not to spend a lot of time processing it. But when working with large thick branches, it is better to reduce the speed — firstly, to provide higher torque, and secondly, in order to reduce the risk of overload and breakage during jamming and provide more time to react in such situations.
Collector type
The type of container for the collection of processed mass, provided in the design or delivery set of the grinder.
— Hard. Capacity in the form of a rigid container. Such collectors are very reliable, they carry any kind of debris without any problems — from soft crushed leaves to sharp hard pieces of wood that could pierce soft tissue; in addition, they are more convenient to unload than soft bags. On the other hand, hard boxes are bulky and take up quite a lot of space; in some models, this drawback can be partially compensated by various technical solutions (for example, using a container as a transport case for the upper part of the unit), but this does not change the essence of the problem.
— Soft. Capacity in the form of a soft bag, fabric or polymer. Such collections are extremely convenient in storage and transportation — a rolled bag takes up very little space, moreover, it is usually lighter than a rigid container of the same capacity. On the other hand, soft containers tolerate contact with large sharp particles worse, they are less convenient for unloading, and in many cases it is more convenient to use disposable garbage bags instead of reusable bags (see below for more details).
— Is absent. Absence of any collection in the chopper design/set. This option involves the use of external containers — most often, such models are designed for garbage bags, however, some units are more convenient to use with hard boxes, buckets, etc. On th...e one hand, the absence of a collection implies additional efforts to find it; on the other hand, finding a suitable capacity is usually not a problem, moreover, the user can choose it himself, depending on the specifics of the situation. For example, for recycled leaves, you can take an inexpensive garbage bag, and for wood chips left after thick branches, a box made of solid material is better; for large volumes of work, collections of the corresponding volume are usually required; if the crushed material is intended for export, you can immediately pour it into packaging for transportation (for example, bags), etc.
Waste container capacity
The capacity of the garbage collector provided in the design or delivery set of the grinder.
The larger the container, the more recycled material the collector can hold and the less often it will have to be emptied. On the other hand, it is not always convenient to carry a large amount of material, and a large container takes up a lot of space — and if for soft bags (see "Type of collection") the latter is relevant only when fully loaded, then rigid containers are bulky by definition. Therefore, when choosing, you should proceed from the optimal compromise between capacity and convenience.