Bosch Garden Shredder AXT Rapid 2200

I live in southern Portugal where we have 2000sq metres of "garden" with all kinds of trees that we have had to cut back hard since moving in last year ... from palms to figs, typical hedge type bushes, pines and some quite hard and knarly olive trees. Everything I have thrown at this thing has been shredded in fine style, and believe me, we have thrown A LOT through it in the short time we have owned it ... dry dead wood, soft leafy stuff, even the palm branches go through it as long as you feed them in nice and steadily (well, all except the first 20-30cm which is too thick to go in the hopper). Previously our land was strewn with overgrown trees, or dead bits of branches and twigs, and each time I thought of cutting something back I was wondering how I would rid myself of all the excess without having to burn a fire all day ... not any more. The thicker stuff is piled up drying for the log burner next winter, and the thinner and leafy stuff is being used as mulch under our trees. Use of this thing is simple and very quick, it does slightly self feed, but the design of the hopper combined with the use of the paddle that comes with it makes life simple. As long as it goes in the hopper (which will take a decent sized branch easily larger than the dimensions quoted in the specs), then this thing will turn it into chippings in no time. Woody stuff gets chopped into nice small pieces, leafy green stuff shredded with ease ... some of the leaves come through, but they will compost down in no time. I was considering the more expensive Bosch shredders, but to be honest I am VERY glad I chose this one. At the price Amazon charged me for this machine plus a spare blade and the paltry amount for delivery, I also have more change in my pocket than I would have had I bought the cheapest "home brand" strimmer here in Portugal, which I am certain would have lasted me no time at all. Tips - I use one of those large rubbery, double-handled style garden waste buckets underneath it to catch all the shredded material in ... if you have one you will have no need for the accessory bag that can be purchased for this machine. - One time I thought I had dulled the blade, but after quickly removing the cover and taking the blade out (which is a 2 minute job) and clearing all the build up of mulch that I could find, it started shredding again as if it was new. UPDATE: Sadly the alloy feed mechanism which covers the blade area has developed a fault (it has "chunked" and chipped away leaving too much gap) which means that wood is being shredded more like a paper shredder than chipped as it should be. Seems it could be a design fault :/ Amazon are replacing it without any quibbling and all shipping totally free of charge (another reason to use their fantastic service), which is great, but will the next one do the same? I sincerely hope not as I was really happy with it until this happened.

Tried this out at the week-end. Worked very well for 2 hours of shredding, small, medium sized branches (apple, brambles, laurel bush, leylandii and other twigs etc) and easy to use. There is a plastic flap / guard across the opening which is better than other models I've used before. The red plastic 'pusher' works well too. Got caught out once though as I had my gloved hand knocked by a small twig which was rotating v fast, wasn't pushing down with my hand but it was several inches above the opening and the twig hurt my finger. Do wear heavy duty gardening gloves. They do warn you about this as well as things flying out. I was told by son who was in the house that it's not too noisy, but difficult for me to assess as I was wearing ear protectors. It is not too heavy so I could carry it from the house into the garden. It chopped up branches about 350mm (~1.5") diameter not sure though if it can cope with larger / wider branches . There didn't seem to be any guidance on this. It was handy that once you put in the longer, smaller branches eg bramble, leylandii and laurel which had some side shoots and leaves, it pulls them down into the shredder which was nice feature. I folded some of them over too so the side shoots were taken in and chopped without too much difficulty. The shredded wood came out in small chips. The leyandii leaves were broken up in small sections or they may have been torn away from the wood so should be OK for mulching / composting I think. However the result for the laurel leaves was not so good. I've never found anything to chop these up, but the good news is that the brown leaves (rather than still a bit sappy, they take ages to die off) did seem to get torn up a bit. It may be because the bag was getting full. I didn't put in a lot of waste at the same time think you need to be careful about not overloading it. I did not have a clear collection bag so it is not easy to see when it gets full but this was obvious when the chips went onto the ground! I've given it a 4 star though because one of the wheels kept coming off. It is fastened by a plastic 'bung' which you have to hammer in place but it kept slipping out, luckily I didn't lose it, otherwise not sure how one could fasten the wheel. Also I couldn't open the cover to store the alan key, which is advises in the instructions. These are pictorial so some people may find it difficult to follow. Asked my son what some of the diagrams meant. However, it seems to be better than previous more expensive models I've tried in the past but it is early days. It did not get clogged although I used fewer green waste, works better with dry / dead material I'm sure and I left in running some of the time while I cut off more branches. You need a hammer and a screwdriver to assemble it. It arrived the day after I ordered it,, brilliant. Well done amazon. Would recommend it.

I purchased this through Amazon (UK) several months ago and shipped it down to Spain where I live. Have only now got round to using it over the last week, and thought a review appropriate. First great point is that the Amazon UK price is just about half what the DIY shops are charging here for the same product. The machine was very easy to assemble, taking ten minutes at most, and requiring a Phillip's, screwdriver and a small (preferably rubber) hammer to knock the wheels onto the axles. As usual with Bosch, instructions were very clear and comprehensive. I have used it intensively over the last week to do about 20 hours total shredding of a mixture of woody and green plant material (which I intend to compost).. I have to say that overall I am delighted with the machine. I clearly has a ver robust mechanism, including the motor, since it coped well (though see below) with almost everything I threw at it. Produced finely shredded material which is just right to go on the compost heap. I don't think I could have shredded this material finer, if I done it by hand (which would have been far more arduous). Inevitably, the machine clogs from time-to-time - mostly from operator error (feeding too much at the same time, and not paying attention to the output), also occasionally because a branch which is exactly the same size as the gap between the cutting blade and the rotating arm gets jammed between the two (and the usual sign of this is a smell/signs of burning wood). It is when the machine does jam (and cuts out automatically) that the clever design comes out. Disconnect from the mains (for absolute safety), unscrew the cover (which ale isolates the electrical supply), and it is really easy to then unclog the machine - simple and non-time-consuming process. A few hints for really successful operation : - if you're shredding a lot of green material, it tends to clog more easily - mix in as much woody stuff as you can - keep an eye on what is coming out at the bottom - this is usually (absence of) a sign that things are getting clogged up, and best to go through the simple cleaning routine described above rather than let it overload and then cut out. - also watch your output bucker/container - if it builds up back into the machine, it will contribute to clogging. - inevitably, and with the best will in the world, a few nasties (stones mainly) tend to get into the mix. You can pick them up quite quickly through a relatively high-pitched "rattling sound" - stop the machine as soon as you can and clean them out - I had a few stones, but nevertheless I reckon the blade continued doing its job perfectly for the first 2-3 hours. Signs that it's lost its edge are when large pieces of hardwood are going through with no cutting. Time to (first time) reverse the initial blade, which again is a simple five minute operation if you follow the instructions exactly, and specifically the blade alignment to allow for easy extraction/re-insertion. i had anyway purchased a replacement blade, and fitted this after the second 2-3 hours with the first blade. Having examined the first blade, which appears mainly to have suffered from the odd stone, and a couple of pieces of really hard wood, I think I will be able to largely re-grind the blade on my bench grinder - may not last as long as the original, but worth doing as the replacement blades are (inevitably) relatively pricey - will let you know how I et on with the regrinds. Overall, a high-quality, strong and well-built machine, which does (more than) what it's supposed to, and is easy to nurture and maintain even if you abuse it slightly. Well done Bosch

Fast strong and efficient shredder. Only clogs up if you cut loads of greenery without feeding it branches in between, but this isn't a problem as it gives you a break from operating it and only takes a couple of minutes to open the front, and clean all the shavings out. The main reason that I like this is that is cuts everything into cornflake sized bits, which compost or burn really well. The smaller pieces also take up much less space than the Ryobi version which cut into larger pieces - great for chip wood applications. The Bosch design is far more logical than the Ryobi and can be taken part with a single large knob that auto magically cuts the power off when it is slightly un-done. - Handy child safety lock as you can store it with the knob partly undone and thus will not start until you do it up. - Not an obvious requirement to someone who is un-aware of this feature. The Start-up is also safety featured, as the instinctive thing to do is to grip the knob and turn it to II position, but this will not start it unless you hold the knob gently, without pushing it in. (Pushing it in creates an instant emergency stop action.) Shreds up to 50mm branches, if you place the branch in the right hand side of the slot. Before you start using it for the first time, open the machine up and look at the way it works. This will help you to understand the best way to feed the machine. The blade is two sided, with only one side doing the cutting and so when it dulls, simply turn it over and use the other edge. Replacement genuine Blades are available from Amazon. I have just finished shredding 560 feet of 4ft high and 3ft wide Hazel Bushes along with 24 young, but 15foot + high Ash trees, and it is still working as well as day 1 on the first side of the blade. It loves thick Bramble bushes, cutting 30 foot long branches in seconds and it shreds them, unlike the Ryobi which just crushes them. The safety features, the speed and the ease of use makes this a perfect machine. You don't need to but a shredding bag, I use my Mountfield power mower's collection bag, or you can use a large box.

Well I must admit I was sceptical to say the least. Liked the idea, seen the reviews but still not sure in practice how efficient this would be, it's not something many people have, so they're isn't really a good opportunity to see one in action. Plus who knows if 2200 Watt is enough power, I havn't the foggiest!!! First it's "simples" to assemble and in 5min you're ready to shred! My garden's a mess so thought, well if I have the right tools, I don't mind doing it myself. Plug it in, starts up quickly and is spinning at it's full rev's in about 1/2 second, there's no wait time. Well I chucked everything at it, and believe me this thing chopped ever branch, bunch of leaves into tinny chipped pieces, it was amazing. You might think that with the bigger chunks it would slow down and I guess with time when the blade bluntens a bit, it might, but for now it's didn't even seem to bat an eyelid and I was putting some pretty hefty branches down there. The red plastic tool for shoving down those last bits is essential and works a treat. The best part of this, is I was able to clear a whole section of my garden and didn't feel I have done anything, in terms of effort. It makes a huge difference having one of these and is quick!!! No faffing around with small clippers and bagging it all. Plus the other thing I remember was that the garden bags don't tear, which used to be a real pain, when shoving in those branches, but when it's all chipped into small pieces, you just don't get that. Also some advise, I don't think you need the optional bag underneath to catch the pieces, I have plastic garden sacks with the handles and they are just the right size to wrap over the handles on the side and sit beneath the shredder, plus then you don't have to empty the sack, just remove and tie it up. All in all I can't recommend this enough. Also people talk about noise. I don't know what they're on about, it's hardly noisy, I mean you're doing gardening, you're neighbours will probably be pleased you're sorting out the mess, and is alot quieter that an lawnmower.

If you put entire branches in straight down (as shown in Amazon product photo examples), it absolutely minces them into sawdust which is perfect for large straight branches that are all in one piece. Great. However smaller pieces (20cm long or less) turn sideways on their way in, and just fall straight through, maybe with a chunk of bark stripped off if you’re lucky. This means that if a stick didn’t quite shred the first time, you can’t put it back in and shred it again. Ironically, it did its best work when it was clogged and the bag was full. When none of the branches were able to escape from the bottom, it basically minced everything inside into powder and then eventually grinded to a halt (as I was continuing to put stuff in without realising it was blocked). This was probably quite a big fire hazard! The little shovel it comes with is fantastic, it doesn’t get damaged by the blades even when you push it in all the way. The on off switch is bad though. It has 3 settings, labelled 0, 1, and 2. I expected them to be different power settings but in reality: 0 = off 1 = off 2 = on, but then it goes back to 1. And also it won’t start unless the top is on properly (it doesn’t tell you that though, you’re just left to figure out why it won’t restart on your own). Assembly felt a bit cheap too. The screws are plastic? Why not metal? Also the wheels are a nightmare to get in, you will need a hammer to get the caps in. It also came with an Allan key which I’ve yet to discover what it was for. Opening and closing the unit could have used a clip on mechanism rather than a screw, because it takes like 5 minutes to open it and then another 5 to close it again. So if it jams, you’re out of action for 15 mins or so. Also a side note, the way it’s designed makes it feel like a big toy, not a tool. The bright colours and big chunky rounded edges to things makes it feel like it was designed for children as a play toy. This personally degrades the experience for me a bit but also could be dangerous if children mistake it for a toy as well. Overall, I wasn’t expecting much from the cheapest named brand chipper I could find and also the mixed reviews. I’m going to keep it because it does just about get the job done, and I don’t have the money for one of those mincers that just powders anything you put in the funnel. One day, maybe! PS: don’t buy the Bosch bag this gets recommended with, buy a different unnamed one - they’re so much cheaper for literally better quality.

In 2008 I said: Nicely made, happily chips everything up to 40mm and anything bigger than that we use on the fire anyway. Rarely jams and not too noisy. Chips are suitable for mulch. (Just seen Argos have it on at £99, drat!) Had it about 4 weeks and it's eaten apple trees, hawthorn, elder and even dried wood -- it looks more robust than most other similarly priced models I looked at. I've now had it for over 3 years and I've found it to be quite temperamental! It was great to start with and got a lot of use (we've about half an acre). When working it's still good (the blade has lasted well and I'm still using the original one, albeit I have turned it over to use the second side) but by the end of the first year (just outside the guarantee period of course!) it started cutting out after just a few minutes and then stopped working. There are few user-serviceable parts within but the fault seems to be with the microswitch/safety switches and some judicious use of electrical contact cleaner seems to help get it going again for a short while. As it's designed to shred wood, I'm disappointed that after not that long and with proper use it's failed. I'll probably have to get replacement soon and am unsure I want another one like this but most reviews still rate Bosch as the best bet.

Easy to assemble; though when the body was attached to the leg frame, it was lopsided; only a little, but it should have sat uniformly on the frame; the manufacturer had not drilled the screw fixing holes uniformly into the metal legs; anyway no matter; that's just me. 40mm is the rated maximum diameter for shredding; a bit optimistic because to shred that diameter unless the branch is very soft will stall the motor. So the best method, for example when in my case shredding conifers is first to lop the branches into handlable lengths then snip intermediate branches again so that you are feeding single branches into the machine and best not to exceed 18mm diameter and of course note the icon on the feed opening; feed from the righthand side. I put a bog standard plastic bucket under the hopper and when filled; either loaded it into a flexible trug or directly onto the garden and this worked very well indeed. To start the shredder; simply turn the large red start knob fully clockwise and release and away you go; don't forget the ear defenders and I suggest a perspex face guard; not that anything kicked back; just commonsense and protection....just in case. I also wear red rubberised gloves to protect hands from any sharp splinters. To stop the machine, either press the center of the large red knob once and this is the emergency stop; works well or turn the red knob fully anti-clockwise; to the left to stop and release the knob. Regardless of the comment about not shredding maximum diameter branches; best to cut these up for burning or disposal in the bin. My overall thoughts on this shredder is good I thoroughly recommend this machine for garden shredding including in my case conifers; excellent machine, no known problems todate and it shreds pretty quickly if you use some commonsense and don't attempt to go to maximum size shredding. I would buy one again if necessary. As soon as you put a branch into the shredder the automatic feed takes the material down so keep fingers away from the feed area and don't hold onto the branches; if the branches stops, then use the push stich provided; works very well indeed; the machine will take it through. Good machine, recommended and value for money and it's made by a well known company Bosch

article de bonne qualité, robuste et puissant pour branchage vert ou sec jusqu’à 40 mm sans soucis. (Pas fait pour les feuillages). réduction des déchets en petits copeaux pour le paillage. Peu bruyant je recommande.

Great for reducing garden waste and then using it for compost. Saves time cutting the foliage up. Perfect for my personal needs.

La prise pour le branchement de l'appareil n'est pas française, et l'adaptateur n'est pas fourni

جهاز لطحن اغصان الاشجار يعمل بشكل جيد ولكن إمكانياته محدوده حيث يستوعب فقط الاغصان الصغيره وفتحة تغذية الجهاز بالاغصان تسمح بإدخال كميات قليله مما يتسبب في ابطاء انجاز العمل .

Après seulement quatre utilisations le broyeur est déjà tombé en panne et je dois le faire réparer.