Chipping vs Shredding, which is better suited to you?

Wood chippers and wood shredders are large outdoor power tools that are designed to reduce the bulk of parks and garden waste and make disposal easy.

They are especially useful to gardeners, landscapers and arborists (tree surgeons) in areas where it is illegal to dispose of garden waste by landfill dumping or open burning. The output from wood chippers and shredders can be recycled and used to pave walkways, line flowerbeds, and create compost.

Wood Chipper or Wood Shredder?

Understanding the differences between wood chippers and wood shredders is an important first step in making a purchase. If you are buying a wood chipper or shredder for commercial use, make sure they are built of heavy-duty materials – these will be more durable than those that are purchased for home use. Also, think about how often the machine will be used and where it will be stored.

1. Wood Chippers

A tree chipper or wood chipper is a machine used for reducing wood (generally tree limbs or trunks) into smaller woodchips. They are often portable, being mounted on wheels on frames suitable for towing behind a truck or van.

Wood chippers come in many different sizes and styles, but their basic function is always the same. Wood is fed into a chute, and the blades inside the chipper break the solid pieces down into chips that can range from one to three inches long. The chips are then ejected from the machine. Some models are equipped with a bin to catch the wood chips. A wood chipper will work equally well on both fresh and dried wood. Branches can be fed through with the leaves still attached. The size of logs and branches that can be fed through the chipper will depend on the size of the wood chipper and the type of components it has inside.

2. Wood Shredders

At first appearance, wood shredders can look just like small wood chippers. They have a chute for feeding material in and an opening for the material to be ejected out. Inside, wood shredders have semi-blunt blades, called flails, which are used to break down small pieces of organic material. Many shredders have the option to choose what size the finished pieces should be. This flail system mashes and shreds items, producing small pieces that can then be composted or used as mulch.

Due to a small engine size and the fact that the flail is mostly blunt, wood shredders do not have the power or energy to break large branches down. They are most useful for small open spaces, home gardeners, and people who have leaves and small branches to shred. The smallest types of wood shredders have nylon cutting string inside instead of a metal flail.

Shredders work the same way that a weed whacker does except that the strings are vertical and attached to a central drum. They are only made for leaves and other soft material and are most often referred to as “mulch” or “compost” shredders. They are not considered wood shredders since they cannot handle hard objects of any kind.

Take a look at our extensive range of Chippers and Shredders. 

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