The HH has a new toy, a DR Chipper Shredder PRO 400 and let’s just say I feel confident we’ll have all the mulch we could ever use from here on out. 😉
He’s been using it for two days straight now and is VERY happy with his purchase. If only we had this during my barktopia period a few houses back, we could have saved some serious money.
The only real complaint he had was that it took a month from when he placed his order, to when it arrived {even though the website said 8-15 days for delivery}. He paid $1,150 for the DR Chipper Shredder PRO 400 {manual start, the electric start option was $250 more} and said putting it together was very easy, the directions were straightforward and it was packaged extremely well.
He also mentioned that if you’re thinking about getting one, you might want to wait for a sale because the price is now $1,349 {$1,599 for a electric start}. Other than that, the chipper is doing everything it’s supposed to do .
Fact: Shredding the limbs from pine trees gives off a nice scent and make it smell like Christmas time. 🙂 So far, those are my favorite branches to shred.
Just look at those wood chips! Aren’t they beautiful? At this rate I’ll have all my garden beds mulched and all the wood chips I could possibly want for my lasagna garden in no time.
Also, when fall rolls around and there are leaves everywhere, clean up is going to be a snap.
Look how fine the leaves get! Even I was impressed when I saw that. Apparently the shredder can handle branches up to 4″ in diameter and shred material to 1/12 of its original volume.
I like that it has little safety flaps on the top and the bottom of the chutes so nothing comes whizzing out.
And, the HH likes that it comes with wheels and it’s easy to move from one spot to another. It was a good purchase! And I’m so glad he bought one.
So there you have it. Our new wood chipper! Yee-Haw!
This should keep him busy for the rest of the summer. 😉
Have a great weekend everyone, enjoy the sunshine.
~Mavis
P.S. Do you have a wood chipper/shredder? If so, do you have any tips or tricks you want to share? And what are you doing with all your mulch? Curious minds want to know.
Susan H. says
If you have poison ivy at this home be careful you don’t shred any branches that has vines on it. You may spread it in your garden let alone expose yourself to it while shredding!
Cheryl says
Reminds me of the movie Fargo
Sydelle says
That’s where my thoughts went 🙂
Jennifer says
Do I see bags of mulch being sold at a roadside stand at the end of your driveway?
Mavis Butterfield says
That is an excellent idea!
Elle says
It is my understanding that pine is quite acidic and not vegetable friendly. Am I misinformed?
We’ve rented a shredder on occasion. We use the mulch in our garden beds 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
The pine mulch would be great for the row of blueberries I plan to plant next year.
Elle says
Ah, something we can’t grow on the high desert 😉 Yea you!
Kim says
Thanks for sharing!!!!! Old Santy might see one of these on my hubby’s wish list.
He also wanted to know if leaves need to be very dry to be shredded. So, maybe this fall, your HH can report on that.
Mavis Butterfield says
Will do!
Carolyn Rust says
HH needs to build a platform that the shredder can be rolled up on. Then you can put a bin under the discharge to collect the mulch for spreading and dumping.
TC says
We have had a DR shredder for a few years, they are good, my HH only complains that if the branch isn’t really straight it is harder to get it in the machine. We use a tarp to put the mulch on and then pick up the corners and put it in the wheelbarrow. I use it to muclh my beds too, I need to get him to shred all our CA live oak leaves because they take forever to mulch down and we have a ton of them. We also have a DR Bush Mower that he uses to mow the mustard, fennel and thistle on our 6 acre steep hillside every year to prevent fire. He says those two weeks are his workout for the year. HA, HA
linda says
I have read that you should not put fresh chips on your plants as mulch as they will pull nitrogen out of your soil in trying to break down. Instead let them sit in a pile and water that pile so it will heat up. Turn the pile or stir it so you can water it more. When the heat has stopped it’s ok to use around your plants. We are in Wisconsin, and make a pile or 2 and let it overwinter and in the spring it is ready to use anywhere in the yard/garden. The leaf mulch can be used right away, as it’s already no longer green. Good luck!
Linda T says
This is TRUE! The year we got a shredder the mulch almost killed my plants.
I was going to post that myself.
Lindsey says
My husband bought me a chipper/shredder for Christmas about a decade ago, after hearing me hint for years that I wanted one. The worst thing was that for the first couple years, I was always looking for stuff to shred, and even went to a neighbor who was cutting down brush to see if I could shred it for him! I finally calmed down but it reminded me of when the husband bought me a laminator (another item hinted for) and I spent the first year laminating anything that stood still long enough. I was a laminating fool. I love gadgets!! But what I really, really want, although I have absolutely no use for it, is one of those white boards you write on and then you press a button and out comes a piece of paper with all the stuff you wrote on the board. I briefly worked for a place that had one in every meeting room and I spent many a lunch hour just drawing and printing press to get the paper copy…weird, I know. Luckily they cost over $10,000, so I know Santa won’t be bringing me one of those.
Julie K says
Has it held up? Still recommend? I notice it’s currently on sale… 😉
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, it’s very well made. He’s actually out there using it right now. 🙂