Bosch AXT 2000HP Silent Garden Shredder

It is one of the quietest - far less noisy than impact shredders which use a high speed spinning disk cutter. You can happily use the Bosch on a Sunday without disturbing the neighbours and ear defenders are not necessary. The Bosch is not prone to blocking up as easily as others and the motor is powerful enough to shred almost anything that will fit down the feed slot. The helical screw action, like a food mincer, produces a relatively fine mulch for composting or mulching. This speeds composting time to weeks rather than months. Other quiet shredding systems on the market use intermeshing gears which, while powerful, produce a much coarser mulch.

The first Bosch I tried had to be returned for replacement almost immediately because the plastic casing broke on the feed slot. This was because a branch being shredded was slightly too thick at a knot, and cracked the case as it was pulled through. This is symptomatic of all plastic cased shredders - especially in winter when plastic gets brittle. The Bosch feed slot is also too narrow. An alternative attachment would be a good idea, a tall conical feed shoot like on the Viking and Lawn Flit shredders.

On both the Bosch shredders I have used, the supplied attachments to push material through the feed slot were faulty. They are simple a length of metal rod, bend at 90 degrees at one end and screwed into a handle at the other. They were both screwed in too loose which made the metal rods slightly too long and able to be pulled into the helical screw. Very dangerous and likely to ruin the shredder.


Everything I hoped for   June 10, 2005
David
65 out of 65 found this review helpful

Having used a borrowed "impact" shredder for long enough to get RSI in my arm and damage my hearing I knew I did not want one of those. The quiet shredders like this Bosch are more expensive, but should probably be called "mincers" because they are really a different kind of tool altogether. The Bosch minces into pieces about 2cm long, whereas an impact shredder really does produce shreds, which then rot very fast into a wonderful fine compost. However, the noise and effort and cost of blades means that these are more suitable for a small garden with very tolerant neighbours. Whereas I have a huge amount of scrub and small trees to dispose of; which is where the quiet shredders excel, producing a great mulch for large, less formal areas (similar to chippings from industrial machines). This is the only quiet shredder I have used, but I cannot fault it. With any product at this kind of price you are going to have to be careful how you use it to avoid breaking the feeder etc. We have been amazed at the size of branch this machine can handle; just pop in the thick end, step back and watch it disappear; fabulous! I found this web page a useful guide: http://www.fredshed.co.uk/boschshredders.htm


Excellent, impressive bit of kit.   September 1, 2005
amadou (somerset)
48 out of 48 found this review helpful

This is the first shredder I've ever owned so it's a bit difficult to make objective comparisons. However, I'm very impressed so far. 'Silent' is a bit of an exaggeration unless you are stone deaf but compared to other shredders I've heard it is quite quiet and can be used in a built up area without too much impact on the neighbours. Certainly a lot quieter than those mowers that only seem to work on Sunday mornings!!
'Shredder' is also a bit of a misnomer. It 'chunks' rather than shreds the woody elements into 2cm pieces which, I guess, will lengthen the rotting process a little. Overall I'm really pleased with my "Bosch Quiet Branch Chunker" its very sturdy and looks like it will last for years. (See http://www.fredshed.co.uk/homepage.htm for further rave reviews)


Pet Pleaser!   August 17, 2005
AngelaThorne (UK)
39 out of 39 found this review helpful

I have never had a shredder before so I can't compare mine with anything. However, I am most impressed with my Bosch AXT2000HP. It seems able to shred almost anything I put in it - it can't do VERY big branches, but then I don't expect it to. We all have our limits! It is fast and reduces the branches to lovely little pieces about half an inch long, which seem to rot down quickly in the compost bin. One thing that surprised me was the noise, or rather lack of it. Any cat owners out there will know how panicked most cats get at the sound of noisy domestic appliances. Well, my most nervous cat wasn't frightened by the shredder at all. She just tucked herself up about 2 metres away from it and watched it working with great interest. (The other cats wandered off, equally unbothered.) Which shows how quiet it must be!
All in all, I would say that this is a wonderful purchase, well able to cope with anything you might give it to do, and invaluable in a small to medium garden with lots of small tree prunings to dispose of.


slow but effective shredder   August 21, 2005
AndrewL94 (Plymouth, U.K.)
38 out of 40 found this review helpful

This type of shredder deals with the prunings you get from overgrown hedges, shrubs or small trees. It's best for twigs over 6" (15cm) and with a max diameter of about 1 " (3cm). It will take smaller softer cuttings if mixed with longer ones.

I can't pretend it's quick, as you have to feed the twigs in sequentially. But the result is excellent mulch or compost fodder. It IS quiet (about the same noise level as a chugging washing machine).