Bosch make 4 types of garden shredder, ( 1 Rapid and 3 Quiet types)

There are 6 models currently in production

The Rapid type is simple but noisy and better for softer material

The  quiet types (not silent) self feed and crush woody material

The new TC models crush and cut both woody and green material

Unfortunately the model numbers are similar and very confusing

(many retailers don't have a clue )

Also the rapid shredders have been improved but old versions are still for sale

Which one is best? Fred-in-the-shed explains

Bosch rapid shredder

My old 2000 - 8 years ago

Bosch  AXT 180 , AXT 200, AXT2000, AXT2200 Rapid  Shredders

These use the spinning blade -(like a heavy duty food processor)

 Not so long ago shredders were very expensive and the cheapest ones were appalling to use due to noise and jamming up or breaking. As shredders have become more popular the economies of scale of mass production has reduced the prices further.

Some of the cheap shredders are still total rubbish and should be avoided. There are a few cheap, but good ones available around the £150 mark.

The Bosch AXT RAPID impact shredders were introduced in 2004 and were designed to take soft foliage as well as woody branches up to  38mm. These machines have double (reversible) blades unlike the single "razor blade type" of many cheap shredders.

One unique and innovative feature of the AXT rapid shredders is the wide paddle that is used to push material into the top of the machine. Other shredders give you a metal rod or stick which is not as good.

A replacement blade that fits all the Bosch rapid shredders costs about £15 and takes me 5 minutes to change.

Some of my readers reported rapid blade wear ins some machines bought form Argos and in response Bosch have developed a new improved blade made in Switzerland. (SEPT 06).

I strongly recommend that if you are buying a Bosch rapid shredder or replacement blade that it is the new Swiss made one.

Bosch  AXT 1600 HP , AXT 2000 HP and AXT 2200HP Quiet  Shredders

(all discontinued)

This is the older range of Bosch shredders that are also branded ATCO since Bosch owns the  ATCO brand.

Like most equipment you get what you pay for and these Quiet shredders are more expensive as they are well engineered and contain more components than simple spinning blade shredders.

These are German made machines and in normal use will last years. However eventually if you do a lot of shredding even this machine will need new parts, (most probably the cog, or screw, bearings or plastic roller)

Unlike spinning blade type shredders the Bosch AXT1600HP and AXT2000 HP are unique as they use a spiral screw to crush the branches and pull them in. A replacement spiral screw costs about £80 and is quite a job to replace. Although these machines are good quality they are most prone to problems so I prefer to recommend other machines and would advise Bosch to discontinue them.( which they are!)

The Bosch AXT2200HP uses cogs to crush the branches which although more robust than a spiral screw are still expensive to replace compared to spinning blade. The crushing cog shredders are the toughest and I have had the least complaints about them.

Many complaints about shredder failure are due to misuse, (I would say about 50%). The rest are mostly about worn spirals and this is why I no longer recommend the Bosch AXT2000HP (also I know it will soon be discontinued)

Reversible double edged blade to fit all Bosch Rapid Shredders

One size fits all!

This is a simple blade as found on Bosch Rapid or cutting type shredders. . This Bosch one is reversible and has 2 cutting edges on each blade. Many cheap shredders  have only 1  blade with two cutting edges- that's one reason they are cr#p.

To replace a blade on a Bosch rapid shredder is easy.

Open the top and the Allen key required is sitting there in its little slot!

Avoid soil in your shredder to prolong blade life.

Also wire, stones and knotty wood.!

The AXT2200HP crushing cog type blade and bar

as found on some Bosch Quiet shredders

This is the more complicated cog and drum mechanism of the crushing type shredders. These are reliable and well tested, they cannot be sharpened and are relatively expensive to replace if you wear one out.

However the cog can be accessed by removing 4 hex bolts on the front of the shredder and the cog can be removed and cleaned or replaced in minutes.

Simple razor blade type shredder blade as found on cheap "impact shredders"

As you can imagine these blades literally "take a lot of stick" and go blunt very quickly. Also some manufacturers have increased motor power without upgrading the blades, so they fail even quicker! On top of this most "pile em up - sell em cheap" retailers will not sell blades, or know where to get them.

The helix or spiral cutter from the AXT1600HP and AXT2000HP machines.

These spiral cutters make the machine extremely quiet and self feeding. However the edges can be damaged by stones and wire so take care what you put into this type of shredder. As a result I recommend buying a rapid shredder or the new models with cog or turbine cutters.

The paddle will help you push in stringy material but the shredder is better at long thin branches.

Be very careful not to get any soil in your shredder!

Due to the high speed even a small amount can blunt a blade in seconds

The spinning blade shredders work like a food processor and can handle soft stems and green foliage as well as long thin woody stems.

This is fine until your blades become blunt,  then the cutting efficiency is reduced and blockages occur and the "shreddings" become long thin and stringy..

The blades can be sharpened but only a couple of times. Typically replacement blades cost between £10 and £15 a set.

Wet green material often blunts blades very quickly, also dead hard wood. Try to shred material whilst still soft and shortly after pruning.

The crushing cog type shredders are fantastic at pulling in big woody stems up to 38mm wide as long as you trim the bottom side shoots off first.

However , crushing cog type shredders are not so good at handling soft stems and green foliage, as some may pass through uncut. Which is not really a problem as it will rot down quickly anyway.

The shredder shown above is the AL-KO SP5000 which is similar to the Bosch AXT2200HP but more expensive.

If you would rather buy an AL-KO shredder mail me for a competitive price - please include model number and your location.

Another similar shredder is the Wolf SDL 2500. This is also a Chinese copy of the Bosch AXT2200HP but has a smaller crushing cog and did not perform as well in my tests.

I tested the Flymo and although it worked ok it was not as good as the Bosch AXT2200HP , but it is cheaper and the feature of folding into the inbuilt collection box is a clever space saving idea.

AVAILABLE NOW - FOR BOSCH  RAPID SHREDDERS

 IMPROVED SWISS MADE LASER CUT BLADE

Upgrade your Bosch Rapid Shredder with the new laser cut blade made in Switzerland

lasts up to 70% longer

£14 approx plus delivery

(MY RECOMMENDED Budget shredder)

or same shredder with 200w less power

I also seriously recommend the special collection bag as these new rapid shredders really spit out the waste and  make a mess of your garden- £8 approx

My favourite silent shredder was the Bosch AXT 2200 HP which uses a cog mechanism and is the most robust and heavy duty of the Bosch shredders.

 In 2009 this model has been replaced by new versions known as the AXT22 D and AXT25D that have built in collection boxes.

  There are still some retailers clearing the old AXT 180 and 200 models and you can spot these as they don't have a Swiss flag on the box.

Also if you see a Bosch shredder for sale at prices significantly lower than you see on fredshed it is highly likely that they will be graded (second hand) machines. There may be some good ones about and if you find one good luck to you.

Whilst some products are ok when graded I don't think shredders are one of them due to the high stresses placed on the components.

Shredder repair tips

I have taken apart and repaired a number of shredders.

If you buy a shredder with my  links I am happy to share my repair tips with you. Let me know the model and date of purchase.

I may also have some used - recycled Bosch shredder spares.

.For Bosch repairs call 0844 736 0109, they do a collect and inspect service, give you a quote and will dispose of it if it is not viable.

Hello Fred

Thank you again for your advice on the Bosch "silent" shredder 2000.  Basically, it is a good shredder.  It is not really silent but it is reasonably and tolerably quiet.  The neighbours haven't complained although I was shredding rhododendron branches for two 2-hour stretches last Sunday - unavoidably near their windows!

One of its selling points for me is that it pulls the branches in once the end engages which saves me a lot of energy.  I wish that it would take larger branches as I had to cut off some of the large ends of the branches and knots which would go in the slot but could not be cut [I had to reverse them out]  but I imagine that would require a much larger and more expensive machine.  As you may know, rhododendron branches, if they are not regularly cut which mine were not, become quite curved and twisted when they seek the light and I was glad to find that the machine can handle twisted branches - they just turn back and forth in the slot as they are pulled down.

One warning for other buyers is to watch the collection bag to make sure that there is still space for the cut up branches to exit the machine.  I didn't watch and at one point the machine stopped and when I investigated I found that the cut up materials had packed up and jammed inside the machine because they couldn't exit.  Easily solved, however, I just tilted the machine up and pulled out the jammed materials and subsequently paid attention.  The machine does work very fast and the collection bag fills up quickly.

I was a bit disappointed at the size of the cut-up pieces which I had expected to be smaller.  I had intended to use the cut branches as a mulch but the rather large chucks of wood don't look like a very good weed-preventing mulch.  Could you tell me whether or not I have to compost the wood for a year or so before I can use it for an effective mulch?

Sylvia Mann - Tonbridge Wells, March 05

Answer to question, I don't but I think some wood like conifers does leach acidic residue.

Reader feedback

Hi Fred,

I was interested to read your shredder review. I have owned a Bosch AXT2000 cog-type crushing shredder for around eight years now, and I'm very impressed with it.

It has done a lot of shredding and still works as well as it did when new. Obvious good points are that it self-feeds and is pretty quiet. Less obviously, it is fairly tall, so there's room for a very large bucket under the chute, which is handy when you shred as much as I do.

It is not too good at dealing with soft growth - as it can get choked up with mush - but to be fair, that's not what it is designed for.

The build quality is amazing; it really is made to last, and that goes a long way to justify its fairly steep initial price. Although spare parts must be rather expensive, the AXT2000 has never required any repairs at all. Over eight or ten years the TCO is very reasonable.

Regards,

Mike. (Micheal Bishop -May 2005)

 The Honest Truth -

Do I know of any problems with Bosch Shredder?

Yes - but mostly small ones -

The silent shredders have been in production for many years and remain unchanged. The problems that have occurred are largely down to users trying to put oversize branches, wire, soil or stones in the machines. Most problems occur with the AXT2000HP. The AXT2200HP is virtually "bullet proof".

The cheaper AXT rapid shredders were introduced in 2004 and are solid and robust. I have abused one constantly in my testing and as long as the blades are kept sharp it performs very well. Initially some were shipped with factory induced faults, and became blunt very quickly. A new Swiss made blade is now available that Bosch claim lasts up to 70% longer.

Getting the blade off an Bosch rapid shredder is easy if you make sure the spinning part is locked in place with a thick screwdriver or bar before you try to undo the hex bolt. The Allen key supplied is a bit small and will probably need a bit of encouragement with a hammer.

The Bosch websites do contain a lot of information but are hard to navigate. I have pointed this out to them and some improvement resulted.

You can also ring the Bosch Garden customer care line on

0844 736 0108

Bosch Service Centre Robert Bosch Ltd.
P.O. Box 98
Broadwater Park
Denham, Middlesex
UB9 5HJ

Any machine in mass production will occasionally suffer from manufacturing errors. In my experience these are very few in the case of Bosch shredders and more importantly I don't know of any design errors.

My research has discovered the following problems..

AXT200 rapid - a batch sold in Argos had blades that were not tempered properly and were too soft - Bosch replaced them for my readers and gave advice on forum webpage. Some readers have complained of blades losing sharpness after very short periods of use.

NEW SWISS LASER CUT BLADES NOW AVAILABLE

AXT200 rapid - faulty switch from new-manufacturing error

batch of blades not hardened properly - now obsolete

AXT 180 - reader broke the plastic top cover- this was caused by trying to pull through too large a branch with a hard knot - solution - cut of knots and tough protrusions before feeding onto shredder.

Both the above machines now replaced by new models made in Swizterland

AXT 1600 HP Quiet Shredder-  reader damaged blade with wire that was attached to branch - my advice - take care when feeding branches  - also do not eat glass, nails carpets and other items that may damage your stomach.

AXT2000HP Quiet shredder - clogging caused by bucket under shredder filling up and not allowing "shreddings" through. solution - empty bucket.

damage to spiral blade -probably wire or stones.(most common problem)

damage to plastic cover - caused by thick knotted branch

faulty switch mechanism

AXT2200HP - breakage of £16 plate that presses on cog - unknown cause, most likely oversize and knotty wood. Some later models had motor fans poorly fixed, No other known  faults reported.

You will notice that the pieces are quite large and some soft green leaves got through relatively unscathed.

If you shred woody material these large "chunkings" make excellent weed suppressing mulch that will take ages to rot down. If you want small chippings to compost quickly then best get another type of shredder.

My personal opinion is that it is more environmentally friendly to let soft material rot naturally in a well made compost heap- if you have the space. Just shred the woody stuff and keep anything over 40cm thick for firewood.

Chunkings from Quiet Shredders

My top tip is to shred material shortly after pruning and try not to stuff too much in at once.

Impact shredders will give stringy "shreddings" if you put too many twigs down together, or the blades get blunt.  If you want fine, even shreddings, then single long stems are the best provider of this.

Finer chippings  from Rapid Shredders

A bit of preparation is essential for fast, easy shredding.

Firstly have loppers and secateurs at hand to trim off side branches and knotty wood. This will not only make shredding faster and easier but will help to prevent unnecessary strain on your shredder.

BEST LOPPERS TO  PREPARE BRANCHES FOR SHREDDING

These Wilkinson Sword Powegear  Anvil loppers are very robust and reliable loppers and have the added advantage of a gear mechanism to give more cutting power. The slight downside is that you have to open them wider than standard loppers.

Made by Fiskars in Finland the simple gear mechanism  makes cutting easier on thick stems.. If there were trees on the moon these would be the loppers used by NASA! They cut branches up to 45mm which is also the maximum for a domestic garden shredder.

  They are made of a new lightweight, but super strong material called "fibrecomp" and give a clean cut up to 45mm.

If you want telescopic loppers my recommended ones are from Wolf Garten. I have owned and tested dozens of loppers in the last 15 years and these are my favourites as they give me reach and a great cut.

The Wolf Telescopic loppers are made in Germany and like all the best loppers have oval section handles for ultimate strength.

What sets them apart from cheaper telescopic loppers is the durable and rapid sliding handle adjusters. I have owned this pair for 10 years and given them a lots of use - and only lightly sharpened the blade a couple of times. They cost £40 and if you cant afford that go for the Bulldog made Alan Titchmarsh loppers. They have a ratchet mechanism too so require less strength to use

My recommended secateurs for shredding are these strong and cheap Aluminium ratchet secateurs from Bulldog Tools and Alan Titchmarcsh.

They will cut through large branches easily and  reduce your risk of RSI.

Use the links below to buy at a great price and also a little , 2 sided, sharpening stone to keep them honed and razor sharp.

 The Wolf Loppers are approx £39 in delivery

please use the link below

Available with  Anvil or Bypass type blade

 buy Fred's favourite telescopic loppers

As used by Vern in his Technicolor dreamcoat!

Gloves, goggles and even ear protection should be used when shredding.. Make sure your goggles are clean and your gloves fit properly.

If you have long hair tie -it back  You could end up with a very bad haircut or unusual mulch!

Make sure you clean and sharpen blades on impact shredders regularly.

Empty the bucket that collects the "shreddings" frequently and don't allow material to back up into the lower shute.

Be a real shredding fanatic and fit an outside power socket!

Long stems shred easily- do one at a time to prevent clogging

Hope you liked my page?

Let me know if it can be improved.

Spare Parts for Bosch Shredders another garden machinery

By law manufacturers electrical equipment must supply spare parts for 10 years.

Many companies who source their products from China do not and cannot meet this requirement. This includes some household names.

Bosch  keep this promise and provide operating manuals and  parts diagrams for all models and a dealer locator on their website .

Click here for all Bosch Shredder parts lists

I'm not saying the parts will be cheap or even that a repair to your product is viable, ( skilled labour is expensive) but all parts are available.

                     Call 0844 736 0109 for repairs and technical advice on your Bosch shredder