REVIEW Earthwise 15 AMP Electric Chipper/Shredder
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2020
- This video is a review of the Earthwise 15 AMP Electric Chipper and Shredder. I have been using this machine for over a month. During this time, I have put this chipper/shredder to the test with various different sizes and types of material.
If you're looking to purchase an electric wood chipper, the main thing you probably want to know is "Does it work?" Simply put, yes. It does work.
However, you might want to think one step further and ask yourself what kind of material will you be putting into this machine.
This machine, like any chipper, has certain material that is chips and shreds wonderfully, and other types of material that it doesn't do too great with.
The Earthwise 15 AMP Chipper/Shredder is fantastic at handling dry, woody material. It chips it up into small pieces that are perfect for my application of compost material as well as a light mulch around plants in my garden.
But, this chipper doesn't do too well with thin twigs as they are just too small and pass through the blade system.
I cover all of this and more in this video.
If you have any question, please don't hesitate to ask down in the comment section.
Really helpful video that I watched when deciding to buy this chipper:
• DIY yard cleanup tips:...
Amazon link: amzn.to/2Qi4en4
I have used a number of these small electric chipper shredders over the years with various results. I currently have a SunJoe unit that I purchased about 3-4 years ago. The common problem with trying to use them is the way the blades work to chip and shred. The realistic maximum size of branch that can typically be chipped modestly well is about one inch. Stalling of the motors are typical with anything larger. However the stalling can be mitigated by judicious feeding of the branch with control of the infeed rate. That is usually accomplished by just listening to the sound of the motor. As far as the accumulation of chips in the bin, you can simply tilt the whole unit instead of stopping and manually repositioning the chips. One of the suggestions I would make as far as another video would be to show how to change the blades. That is one of the factors that can make or break a decision to buy a unit or not. I have plenty of experience in replacing blades on these types of shredders as well as grinding and renewing blade sets. If you do grind blades keep in mind that as the blades get smaller the gap between the blade cutting surface and the opposing anvil surface gets bigger. It also changes the dynamics of the cutting action. Replacement blades on these small chippers are not cheap so regrinding helps make them more economical. Also a sharp blade will cut the material a lot more efficiently and make the shredder last longer. When the chips start showing burn marks, it's time to change the blades.
UPDATE:
After 6 years of use my SunJoe 602 finally died. The motor burned up. I have decided that I will go back to gas chippers since the durability of the electric models seems to be beyond my particular demands. For light duty these are fine.
Wow thanks! So much great information!
Excellent comment 👌 my identical model chipper arrives tomorrow. I also want it for smaller chip composting. Fertilizer is going through the roof! It won't be long before the poo bin at the dog park gets raided ill wager. I grow veggies, so it won't be me.
If the blade is nearly $100.00 then I will just buy another brand new machine!!!!!!!!!!
@@synthesizerisking2886 You can get a blade set of 2 for about $11.
@@VeganHorseman oh, I thought I saw someone say the blades are expensive. Well, then, yes where is the video to show how to replace the blade when it becomes time to!!???😁😁😁
Just a quick tip for electric motors: Leave them running to help them cool down. Electric motors only produce heat when under load, so if if you leave them running without a load they will continue to flow air and cool off much faster than if you stop it in between each batch of twigs. If you turn the motor off the air stops flowing and stores all that heat up over time. Hope this helps!
Thanks!
I'm pretty sure he understands that but for video purposes and mainly because the thing is damn noisy
@@nelsonfeliciano9717 I'm guessing you didn't watch the full video and missed the part in his summary where he specifically says that if it is being used for long periods that that it should be turned off in between branches to let it cool down. For reference 28:30
Just put mine together and was looking for a video on how to use it. Thank you! Great video! Looking forward to watching more of your gardening videos.
Thank you for keeping the machines sound!
Very informative, I appreciate the no-nonsense and straight to the point style.
Was looking to buy one that I seen at a pawn shop but glad I watched your videos first. Thanks for the info needed
You're very welcome!
REALLY valuable video. Thank you. I appreciate your detail on all the things that could occur.
wow. really thorough review! thanks super helpful
Great review, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the device.
Thanks so much Micah. This is the info I was looking for.
You're very welcome Emma!
Micah, good vlog! You sold me. I assembled it last night.
I think based upon a thorough review verses 2 Sun Joes….this one is your winner. I have not purchased one yet, but this one is best and cheaper than the big Sun Joe!!! It shreds finer than sun Joe…it would help if you separate different types of branches first before feeding this machine, and not to overload it too quickly like a paper shredder!!!! I love that solid bin. Also regular maintenance and blade maintenance is important depending on how much you are shredding on a regular bases!!!! I will be buying this one!!!!!! It is better than all the electric Sun Joes plus the Tacklife and the handy wood chipper!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A few websites say you have to check or change the blades after 25 hours of use??? I also just learned that you should prune back your vegetation during winter ( Nov - March ) so now is the time to prune your trees and shrubs!!!!! Also do your insect treatment now and seal up gaps, cracks and vents outside and inside before they start hatching and invading!!!!!!
Okay, I finally used the Earth-wise and let me just say, this little 15 amp chipper is a mini beast!!!!! I separated different sized sticks and branches and set all the very thick items aside. I personally think it shreds more than an inch because I was feeding in both holes and it was gobbling everything that I fed through!!!! I was able to chop and shred 2 and 1/2 bins of mulch. I did not have a single stuck branch, but it did get clogged once because basket got full. I found out that periodically you just need to remove top chute, and unlock the lower top and clear out the clogged packed mulch and check that the blade area is clear, I leaned the machine sideways against the removed bin over tarp and got every crumb out. The dust never bothered me. It worked beautifully. It must have really been hungry because it ate everything including branches small sticks, leaves and mulberries!!!!😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣😄😄😄😆😆
Excellent review!
Thanks!
Nice review!
WELL ENJOYED VIDEO😉.... I like the pyramids in the back too
Thanks Micha! I ended up buying the machine - I'm really happy that this machine is available - first - small gas motors pump huge CO2 into the air. Second - very cheap - wowee! We've been putting off getting a chipper for both reasons - how relaxing it is to buy this little shredder.
Great product review
Yours Jennie
Thanks for the kind words!
The trick to using a chipper is to put larger pieces in and pull them up a bit when the motor starts to bog down, even the large self feeders reverse the feed while they are working to let the motor regain speed. do not let the material dry out and get hard. thick branches have to be split to chip them you should use a log splitter that fits in a common electric drill from $5 on Amazon.
Sir, your yard is very beautiful…..😁😁😁🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲
I have a 110 volt chipper which tends to break limbs into short chunks which commonly is still attached by strips of bark. My Kobalt 80 volt mower can process the 1 inch chunks and the short thin sticks into sub 1/2 inch chunks. Most of it is closer to powder. It is ready for fungi, bacteria, worms and other soil critters to start composting. I think I will buy a new blade when it's time to get serious about grass again. I'm still searching for the right solution. Places with 220v mains can get much better electric mulchers. I have seen a video for a 36v battery chipper by Stihl. It looks pretty but it doesn't seem to be available in the US. I know from the results of using my mower that this is a solvable problem. I believe a much smaller version of a drum mulcher could be designed for battery operation. I am learning to place limbs carefully in the right sport for chipping. I also need to alter the outlet chute to flare out a bit. It had some "fins" further limiting the exit of mulched material. I cut out the fins, but I need to use a saw to cut up the exit chute. What were they thinking?
I actually purchased this thing not long after doing research on different chippers. I actually ended up removing the cone top and removing the flaps and most of the plastic around the three entry holes that feed directly into the shredder. Just opening up direct access to the chipper blades made using it 100x better, stopped it jamming all the time, and stopped kickback that can hurt your hands if you're not careful. Since I removed all the unnecessary plastic I can now easily feed smaller debris into it without having to try and cram it through the three small holes and larger branches don't get stuck at small knuckles anymore. I highly recommend doing this!
Oh, wow thanks for this information. I'm wondering, do you feel like removing the top of the machine makes the blade mechanism more dangerous?
Thanks for sharing. I think this might make it better for leaf shredding. 27:52
Thanks really helpful!!
I use one of those little single handed battery powered chainsaws to trim those side shoots off. Cut in the direction the side shoots grow.
I cut so much bramble in my garden i now dont know what to do with it, i think this would be a perfect solution. Especially with the roots, i can't wait to get started
Best of luck! this machine does well with small to medium sized woody material.
thanks man!
For the branches over 1", mine seems to work much better if I let the branches age a few months.
You use more electricity by turning it on and off. Motors once in motion use far less power. It also seems that you might be able to finesse the piece in more gradually without it bogging down. I might use this for mulch, but my main purpose is reducing the wood for ease of disposal--so I don't care about twigs remaining (although they're fine in mulch). And you're right--the bin seals the deal--super convenient just like on a paper shredder.
It might be difficult to finesse them gradually. The spinning blade grabs on and pulls whatever it touches into itself with a decent amount of force. The only things I use my own force to push it into the blade are small twigs. Anything larger than a small twig get gripped and pulled in by the force of the spinning blade.
Perhaps you could apply some pulling force to slow down the grip of the blade on anything larger than a twig but I'm not too confident that this would work.
electric motors, 300% on start up..........
Good info. Thank you for posting this. I am looking at this to take large quantities of kitchen scraps and leaves (most of the stuff) to make compost. You mention jamming; does this happen with inputs besides limbs/wood? Thanks!
Hi, I'm not so sure kitchen scraps will work well in this specific chipper/shredder. And leaves don't really get chopped up much at all.
What I have found with this machine is that it is really great for chipping up small limbs and sticks. If you're looking for something for to shred up kitchen scraps and leaves I can't recommend this one.
Put your kitchen scraps in a blender real quick! Your chipper will get sticky quickly if you put them through it. Alternate dry and freshly cut limbs.
The blades are also reversible so you get one extra use out of the backside before you have to grind or replace
question on input material: can I use the larger chips from arborist and feed it to this machine to get smaller chips? this is my main application, and want to know if this is appropriate machine. thanks for sharing the knowledge.
I haven't tried this, but in my experience I don't think it would work very well.
Why? It might be a bit hard to explain... basically, I think that the lack of length for the individual large chips won't provide any stability when they come into contact with the blades. Because of this, they will likely just get thrown around inside the blade chamber. I have had this happen, not with larger chips specifically, but with broken off pieces from a twig or stick that is similar to what a larger woodchip would be. Eventually, after bouncing around inside the chamber, the piece does make its way down into the collection box, but usually, somehow, it's still a larger chip than what the machine usually makes with a normal stick, thick twig, or small branch. Hopefully this makes sense...
I actually have some larger chips from an arborist right now. I might try to pass some through just to find out for sure today or tomorrow... I'll let you know.
Great vid. I bought a giant 15 ft christmas tree and wanted to dispose of it quickly and efficiently do you think this would work for reducing the branches to small bags?
Yes. I think the branches of a christmas tree would do well in this machine assuming they aren't too thick. I'm thinking it's possible that for a 15 foot christmas tree some of the lower branches might be pretty thick but that's just me making assumptions. I would assume that surely most of the branches if not all would fit into this machine.
Keep in mind that thin twigs don't really get chipped up too well, they mostly stay intact but I don't think that would be too much of an issue in your case.
Could you dump them back in again after to make them chopped up even smaller? Or would it just plug?
I haven't tried but i'm fairly sure it wouldn't do much other than just get clogged up. The way this machine is designed - it seems to be specifically aimed at being really good at making small sized chips from small to medium sized twigs/sticks and small branches. It you toss already chipped up material into the machine, I'm fairly certain that most of it will just fall into places where it will just get caught before it passes through into the bucket without ever being touched by the spinning blade. Some of it may get chopped up but I can't imagine it would be worth having to open up the machine to clear out the stopped-up material over and over. This machine is really good at chipping certain sized woody material, but not much else.
When you demonstrated this, how long had you had the unit and been using it? Days, weeks, months? My unit is new and it never stopped like yours is doing, but that branch is huge!!!! I didn’t put nothing that thick in there!!!!!! And I used manual clipper to cut that long long branch down.
It was relatively new when I made this video. And yeah, the motor stalling has to do with the size of the branch but also the type of wood and how long the wood has been dead - basically, just the hardness of the wood.
How does a chipper like this work on green material? I’m thinking of corn stalks or my tomato vines when it is time to clear them out of the garden. Also, kitchen scrapes are sometime too big for the compost pile, what about those?
This specific machine is not going to do well with green material. If the tomato vines are dried out, then it might work well for that. It doesn't do well with light material. It works really well for dense material like medium sized sticks and small branches.
Twelve gage is recommended. But, keep in mind the distance from your house outlet to the chipper. The longer the extension cord is, the larger the gage wire should be. I have a 10 gauge/100 foot extension cord and prefer using that over a 12 gauge wire (smaller numbers are larger gauge wire). Look up OHM's law and loss of amperage over long runs of wire.
Since you already have an extension cord there, consider getting a Sawzall to limb the debris first, then run it through. This will save your hands from having to use the dreaded clippers! Thanks for the video review, Micah!
Thanks for the advice!
I did get my chipper and it's working great. I have used two extension cords, both 10-gauge wire and it chips down 1.75-inch limbs with no problems. 150 total feet of extension cords. 10-gauge wires are the way to go! It costs more but is worth it.
12 gauge would be ok for up to 50'.
Thanks Micha! I use this machine for two years and mostly works well until recently. The motor suddenly stop running after I turned it off to cleanup and turn it on again. The blade wheel can rotate without obstruction and I tried the breaker switch too. None of those work. I still can't figure out the problem. Did you tried to open the motor part before? Please post a video to show me how. I even got replacement blades from eBay for a much better price.
Did you check to see if a wire came loose? Or lost contact..?
Also I read they won't turn on if to much dust gets in the safety switch...so you would have to clean it out ...
I'm curious if it can handle pine cones that are small enough to fit through the hole.
I haven't tried but I'm sure it has the power to break them up. However, I don't think it will do a very good job of it because what happens with pieces that are short in length is that the spinning blade will chop them once or twice and then all the pieces just bounce around inside the blade chamber and don't really get broken down any more.
EXCELLENT PRESENTATION! Thank you for your effort. I am buying this. One question you did neither pose or address is how it chops green branches and dead plants! What has been your experience?
Thanks for the kind words.
So, branches with green leaves on them will go through as long as they aren't too thick. However, the green leaves contain water, and over time, this will likely clog the system. Which, being clogged isn't a huge deal, you just have to open up the blade compartment and unclog it, it's just a bit of a nuisance having to do that every so often.
If you're referring to green branches as in branches that are freshly cut and thus still have a fresh cambium, it's a similar story as with green leaves. Yes, the branch will still be chipped up provided it isn't too large, but you'll be unclogging the system more often than if it was just a very-dead, dried out branch.
As for dead plants, if they are brown and dried out, you'll be able to pass them through. However, in my experience, you won't be too amazed at the chipping that occurs. The problem seems to be that the blade system in this machine just doesn't do a very good job with fibrous, flimsy material.
Dried out limbs, branches, and twigs within a certain thickness get chopped up beautifully. But most other things, even if they pass through the system fine, probably won't be chipped or shredded very well.
@@4thbrooker Thank You for your reply! I will try to put it to work. My plan is to incorporate the dying plants of the fall onslaught in the raised beds that the plants grow in. So.. needless to say.. there will be lots of green material. Based on your video, I shall let them dry-out more before shredding them!
My chipper bogged down on some magnolia limbs with a lot of green leaves. It is best to break off the smaller limbs and process them with the mower.
How does it handle cardboard? Specifically that high density cardboard found when unpackaging a dishwasher for instance? Thats the hardest cardboard im aware of. Any other cardboard should be easy if it can handle the hardest stuff..
Actually, I attempted to run some cardboard through it not too long ago. It didn't do too well. It just ended up getting clogged up. Perhaps if the cardboard is rigid enough it might work but the less rigid stuff, in my experience, is just going to get clogged and not really get shredded.
I doubt you'll see this as the video is almost 3 yrs old.... but I'm hoping to shred small branches and limbs and such but I was wondering if it would do other stuff. I tend to grow indeterminate tomatoes that grow 6-7ft tall. By the end of the season the base of the trunk is almost 2in in diameter. Would this be able to shred material such as that? Some of the brassicas; broccoli and kale, also develop these huge trunks by the end of the season. They don't readily break down in the compost pit. I'm hoping to use this shredder to break these things down in size to compost it. Also since it has a good sized hopper could you run the material through a second time to hopefully shred the twigs?
I have used this machine to shred big, thick okra stems after the season and it worked fine. However, I would let things like this dry out a good bit before putting them through the machine. If they are too wet, the machine is likely to jam up and even if that doesn't happen, it just creates a big mess all in and around the blade that is not too fun to clean up.
You can put twigs back through but it's unlikely to do anything. The issue with twigs is that they just bounce off the spinning blade. Now, if you have a bunch of twigs, it might be possible to put them through the machine at the same time and perhaps this would help further break down some of them but I doubt it would work anywhere near perfectly.
Hello. Is this still working out for you? I clicked on your Amazon link and was suprised to see bad reviews...I've also watched other videos on it and people liked it. So was suprised to see people saying it was breaking. Stuff about the top chute coming off and also it not turning on after getting dust in some safetu switch...and one guy was on his third one. Thank you for any response!
I haven't used it this winter. But I used it many times last summer and fall. It works great for chipping up small to medium sized sticks and branches. Not great at much else. So if you're looking for something to chip up a big pile of sticks, it should be fine.
Have you put shipping boxes through this to shred the boxes?
From my experience it doesn't handle cardboard very well. The way the blade is designed, for it to cut effectively, the thing it is cutting need to be rigid. It would just toss the cardboard around inside the blade chamber. It might cut it up a bit but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't shred it very well.
I am having a problem taking out the blades. I can only get to the outer bolt up front and the inner bolt through the back hole in the rotator plate guard, but either way, the bolts are in there rock solid and I cannot get them loose and I don't want to strip out the heads. Recommendations?
I'm not too sure. I don't recall the bolts on mine being too difficult to remove but you could always try using something like WD-40 to help loosen the bolt.
@@4thbrooker Finally got them loose. Had to soak them for a couple days with WD40 and scrape around them with a pick to get any sap out of the space between the bolt edges and the rotator plate surface. Then I had to use a screwdriver slipped into the handle of the Allen wrench handle for extra leverage. That did the job.
@@nyrainman4897 Oh, wow! Happy to hear you worked it out!
I kinda want to know how it mulches , ie breaks up kitchen waste for my kitchen composter.
I do not recommend this specific machine for mulching kitchen waste. The blade mechanism is definitely much more suited for chipping up wood - e.i., sticks and small limbs.
My unit appears to work much better. Have you rotated or changed your blades yet?
Hi Chuck,
No, I haven't changed or flipped the blades yet. I've been thinking about doing that. Although, it's possible that your unit is just really good! Or maybe the wood I used in the video was just a harder wood than what you've been using. Not sure.
Would this work for shredding plastic?
Well, I don't think so. I haven't tried it but I just can't imagine it working very well for plastic unless the plastic is long and thin like a stick or branch. But even then, I'm still not too sure it would shred it very well.
You might have sold me w the compost bit
If you're in need of brown material for a compost heap, it's helpful to have a chipper like this that produces small pieces. A gas powered chipper generally will produce larger, chunkier wood chips which can be composted but will take longer since they are larger.
I will say thought that wood chips probably aren't the best brown material for composting. Even the small chips I get with the Earthwise machine take longer to break down than, for example, leaves that I collect during Fall.
Willl this handle pinecones? I have a gazillion of them in my yard
In short, no. Unless they are skinny, they won't even fit down into the shoot that guides to the blade. Even if they are skinny, they will likely just get tossed around down inside the blade enclosement.
Will it do leaves in fall.?
It's quite difficult to do leaves in this machine. You can shove a whole bunch down into the hole with the included handle-shover thing, but once they are down where the blade is spinning, there's nothing really pushing them into the blade itself. So, they just kind of accumulate and stuff up the area where the blade is. This will lead to frustration has you will need to very often stop the machine, open up the blade housing and clean it out.
Perhaps a machine that is made specifically for shredding leaves would be a better choice but I haven't tried any. I think just a regular lawn mower would be better at shredding leaves than this machine.
Privet hedge will be the test
Does anyone know if there's anything electric available that's roughly twice as powerful as this? Thanks.
15A is about as high as you will get for a small consumer unit. Anything bigger would require a bigger motor and a 220V power supply. So this is about as powerful as you will get.
The Bosch AXT series if you can find one
@@tricia-hj8bd The Bosch AXT is for 220V circuits as in Great Britain, Europe and Australia. The higher voltage allows greater power.
Does it chip/shred gumballs at all?
Good question. I dont have any gumball trees near me so I have tried. However, I think they likely would just bounce off the blade without really getting shredded or chipped very well.
@@4thbrooker You're probably right. They are pretty tough little structures. My current solution is working decently--30 gallon burn barrel and burn them to ash. Last evening we used the heat from the gumball coals to heat dinner.
Why didn't you chip some of those commercial chips?
They would only get thrown around and clog up the mechanism inside the machine. This machine is really, really good with sticks. Not so good with small chunks of things like woodchips.
Well it shredder a aluminum can?
No, I do not think it would shred an aluminium can.
Watched at 1.25speed
Why would you cut down apple trees?
Good question.
The two trees we removed were grown from seeds from apples bought in a grocery store. If they produced any fruit at all it would have most like just been crab apples.
Also, they were too close to the apple tree in the center. And finally, because I had ordered 6 fruit trees to be planted in the yard. I planted them in January of this year (2021) and two of them are apple trees. So I removed two not so great apple trees and planted two really good apple trees from a really good nursery.
Hi this is me the maintenance has one too they bought from Amazon me no way I wouldn't buy them from Amazon because I'm not allowed 🚫 to operate them they are not safe for us I hope that helps.
Se. Continui così come a 22.20 bruci il motore in pochissimo tempo!
Seems way too underpowered!
Holy crap, don't do that with a towel hanging around your neck like that. I cringed every time you'd lean forward and the towel gets close to the chipper.
It isn't possible for the towel to make it to he blade in this machine.
It was painful watching you work.
1). It’s harder on the machine to constantly turn it on and off a whole bunch of times. I couldn’t figure out why you were doing that.
2) Either bring the pile of sticks to the machine or bring g the machine to the pile of sticks. Stop wafting time going back and forth each time
3) stop jamming the branches in so hard all the time. Gheeze
These things are junk. Mine lasted maybe two hours, fire flew from the motor and it was done. I burned it up.
Please please please don't use that shredder with the towel around your neck. You're crazy my guy. Take some OSHA classes and use some common sense. Safety first man. Wish you well.
You lost me at I chop down my apple trees
what about vines like star jasmine with the sticky white sap? I also have a few Kumquat shrubs that I trim with a hedge trimmer. Will it handle those green clippings?
It probably won't be too friendly with sticky white sap but I'm not sure because I haven't tested it with something like that.
As for your green Kumquat clippings: the machine does really well with dry sticks and limbs thicker than a thin twig but smaller than 1.5 inches thick.
It doesn't do much to leaves and if a lot of green leaves are passed through, they will likely eventually clog the system (it's relatively easy to unclog). And it doesn't do much to thin twigs. They just pass through without really getting chipped up.