[dgd]

Hello - I'm looking for recommendations for chipper/shredder/mulcher type machine.  7 acre small holding with plenty of hedges so needs to be reasonably sturdy.  Does anyone have a machine they been using reliably for this kind of thing?

[kingnigel]

hi dgd
we use this one and it works fine as a chipper shredder, we paid £600 second hand for it. its not in  constant use but i think it would cope better than i would.
kn

http://www.tracmaster.co.uk/CAMON-Chippers-Shredders/CAMON-C150-Chipper-Shredder.html

[suziequeue]

We forked out and got a Makita GSP5500 Petrol Garden Shredder.

It wasn't cheap but electric shredders are just too underpowered for us.

I coppice some woodland and need to get those little branches sorted out.

Produces the most lovely wood chipping pile. Haven't used it yet but we moved it (the pile) a few months ago and it was full of the most ENORMOUS earthworms

Susanna

[Norfolk Newby]

I've got a chipper/shredder which attaches to the back of my Countax lawn tractor. So i have a little experience of these devices.

All I would add to the suggestions is to get yourself a hard hat with mask and ear defenders like people use with chain saws. The seasons for this are that the machine is very noisy and it throws bits of twig and wood chips back at you some of the time.

The ear defenders may leave you feeling a bit cut off from the world but after an hour or so, you will still have some of your hearing. Without them, you will be 50% deaf for a week!

The wood chips make a good soil conditioner. They attract worms (as already noted) and breakdown slowly (1-2 years) in the soil improving its structure (better drainage etc.).

The shredded greenery seems to compost faster provided it is a good mix of dry and green material. But be careful with blackberry vines as the shredder pulls them in very fast and you don't want to get pulled in as well or have the thorns shred your hands and arms.