Tidy Up Your Lawn: Let's Search for the Best Electric Wood Chipper

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Tidy Up Your Lawn: Let’s Search for the Best Electric Wood Chipper

Tidy Up Your Lawn: Let’s Search for the Best Electric Wood Chipper

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There’s nothing more satisfying than grabbing a handful of small stuff and other debris!

Once you toss it into a wood chipper, it’s so rewarding to hear that buzzing sound and see that nutrient-rich garden mulch!

Indeed, yard cleanup is easy with the best electric wood chipper!

Curious to know which one we recommend the most? You’ve come to the right place! We’ll help you narrow down your choices.

The 5 Best Electric Chippers of 2021

Patriot Products CSV-2515 Electric Wood Chipper/Leaf Shredder - Best Overall

BEST OVERALL

KEY FEATURES

This one should make it to your shortlist if you’re looking for the BEST electric wood chipper!  Rated ‘Best Buy’ by the Consumers Digest magazine.

What Makes It Stand Out:

  • It is a QUIET yet powerful tool.  Did you say quiet?  Yes, you heard that right. Operates quietly compared to other electric counterparts.
  • Although it is a big shredder, this one plugs straight into your power source
  • It’s so easy to move around on its large, sturdy wheels. 
  • This best wood chipper has enough power to chop tree branches up to 2 ½ inches in diameter. It turns it into coin-shaped chunks! That’s much more versatility than you’ll get with smaller wood chippers.

The best electric wood chipper shreds larger branches than other models. But it still has its LIMITS. When the bag is full, STOP the machine to keep it from clogging up.

PROS

CONS

Earthwise GS70015 Electric Chipper Shredder - Best Value

BEST VALUE

KEY FEATURES

This is the BEST electric wood chipper in terms of VALUE because of its outstanding intermediate shredding requirements.

It’s COMPACT enough to work well with limited space, but it will handle branches up to 1¾ inches thick.

What Makes It Stand Out:

  • The MAJOR advantage of this design is the integrated compartment. After catching the shredded material and pulling out the drawer, your mulch is ready to go!
  • It comes with a detachable leaf chute making it EASY to load in foliage.
  • It has a HANDY plastic tamper to push moist leaves into the cutting area.
  • The safety switch prevents the shredder from starting while the hopper is open.
  • With LARGE wheels, it’s light enough to move around.
  • It’s pretty QUIET so that you won’t annoy the neighbors.

PROS

CONS

Sun Joe CJ602E Electric Wood Chipper/Shredder - Best Budget Pick

BEST BUDGET PICK

KEY FEATURES

It may look LOW-KEY but don’t be fooled when it comes to performance.  It is every bit as dynamic compared to other wood chippers.  

It comes in a classic green or soft grey color which matches the environment.

Reduce, reuse and recycle with the Sun Joe electric chipper/shredder.  Quickly turn your yard trimmings into your own mulch!

What Makes It Stand Out:

  • You’ll be PLEASANTLY surprised by its low price point.
  • This electric wood chipper draws the wood in while it chops, making it easier for your hands.
  • This wood chipper is designed for LIGHT JOBS. You can cut branches up to 1.57-inches thick.
  • It’s a COMPACT and lightweight shredder with six-inch wheels.  It’s so easy to move around your garden.
  • It features a locking knob as a safety hopper stop. It automatically engages when you open the hopper.
  • It’s so easy to assemble and maintenance-free.

There’s a stand that keeps it in position. It makes it difficult to fit a separate container underneath. This is why there is no debris bag with this one.

You’ll either need to shred on a spot you want to mulch or buy a container for the yard waste.

PROS

CONS

WEN 41121 Rolling Electric Wood Chipper And Shredder

OUR TOP 4

KEY FEATURES

This cheerful-looking shredder won’t be hard to find on a cloudy day – it’s bright orange and black.  It’s EASY to assemble, even without referring to the instruction manual. 

 

What Makes It Stand Out:

  • The BEST FEATURE is the two reversible seven-inch blades that are easy to sharpen.  Treat them with care, and you’ll never need to replace them.  It chops up all your leaves, twigs, and grass cuttings.  
  • Shreds and chips your garden waste IN SECONDS. The power makes an impressive 130 cuts per second!
  • The shredder comes with a collection bag. It has a decent amount of space at the bottom to collect shredded material.
  • Since the whole thing is on wheels equipped with a push paddle, you can move it around.  
  • You can replace many parts, and it offers excellent value for its modest price tag.

PROS

CONS

PowerSmart PS10 Electric Garden Chipper/Shredder

OUR TOP 5

KEY FEATURES

This bad boy looks so cool in a striking red and black finish.   But if you’re planning to perform serious tree surgery, this won’t be your best option.

What Makes It Stand Out:

  • It is a lightweight shredder, so it works well for smaller branches.
  • It has a POWERFUL motor blade that spins at 8,000 revolutions per minute.  It will chop up your garden waste down to size in seconds!
  • It’s a very affordable machine.
  • Portable and easy to move around with its seven-inch wheels and a push paddle.
  • COMPACT and easy to store, so you don’t need a large shed to find it a home.
  • It has a safety feature where you can’t operate the shredder while it’s open.  It prevents any accidents.
  • Excellent customer service.  They commit to responding to queries within 24 hours.

PROS

CONS

What Is a Wood Chipper?

Yard maintenance is a tedious and slow-paced process. Sometimes it feels like it’s not worth the effort.

You’re left with plenty of fallen leaves, tree branches, and the dreaded task of cleaning up your grade. EVERY. SEASON.

The simple solution is to invest in the best wood chipper, an environmentally friendly way of disposing yard waste.

Its main function is to reduce garden waste by shredding it.  Electric chippers are one of the most productive garden tools in your arsenal.

Shredding leaves while turning them into beneficial compost! What a total MULTITASKER!

The Advantages of Owning a Wood Chipper

Makes Yard Waste Disposal Very Easy

It converts wood into smaller pieces of wood known as wood chips. After chipping wood in one pile, the area is CLEAN, and you can use the wood chips for other purposes.

 

Environment-Friendly

It is an environment-friendly alternative to getting rid of wood. Reducing the harmful emissions and unpleasant odors produced by burning chemical-treated wood.

Produces Useful Materials

Use wood chips for:

  • Mulching- spread it around or over a plant to enrich or insulate the soil. It regulates the soil temperature and absorbs water. It seeps into the plant and contributes to plant growth.
  • Biofuel- a lucrative renewable energy resource. It fuels machinery or even cars.
  • Pressed Wood – creating various profitable carpentry projects, like furniture making.

Guide to Buying a Wood Chipper

There are many features built into these chipper shredders. It can either make your life a whole lot easier or a whole lot harder.

Let’s go over the things to consider before you buy:

A Tip on Brands

Chipper shredders are one of the more expensive purchases you’ll be making for your home. 

There are a lot of reputable brands to choose from. Try to resist buying the cheap models. 

Consider the heavy-duty Patriot Products CSV-2515 Electric Wood Chipper/Leaf Shredder. This one stands the test of time. You don’t want to keep buying a new one every season.

Reduction Ratio

The reduction ratio will tell you how small the pieces are after shredding them.

These range from 10:1 to 20:1, which means they can cut the volume of your debris down to 5-10% of its original volume!

The Sun Joe CJ602E Electric Wood Chipper/Shredder has a good reduction ratio at 17-1. The PERFECT mulch around your trees and flower beds!

Wheels

Wheels are actually not necessary if you decide on a light, electric shredder. The larger electric shredders usually come with wheels.

They range from small wheels to medium-sized wheels for light transport purposes. There are also road-ready wheels for the large models.

The small PowerSmart PS10 Electric Garden Chipper/Shredder has seven-inch wheels! It’s highly portable and moves around with ease.

Weight

The weight of your shredder determines how often you want to move it around your property. The heavier models are, the more powerful but less transportable, and vice versa. 

Looking for a lightweight wood chipper?

The WEN 41121 Rolling Electric Wood Chipper and Shredder is the one for you! It is compact and very lightweight at 23 pounds.

Feed Capacity

This determines how much yard debris or leaves you can fit into your chipper shredder at one time. 

The best low-capacity machine is the PowerSmart PS10 Electric Garden Chipper/Shredder. It cleans up twigs and small leaves.

But if you want to chip thick branches, go with a heavy-duty model. The Patriot Products CSV-2515 Electric Wood Chipper/Leaf Shredder is an EXCELLENT choice!

Safety Features

Safety is key for outdoor power equipment. Since you’re going to need an extension cord for some, there’s a chance of overheating.

That’s why a lot of these machines have auto-shutoff safety features.

These electric-powered wood chippers offer more than just overload protection. Locking knobs on the safety hopper so the motor won’t accidentally run.

Number of Blades

The more blades your chipper shredder has, the longer each blade will last.

The WEN 41121 Rolling Electric Wood Chipper and Shredder has reversible blades! You’ll NEVER have to worry about dull blades!

It’s EFFICIENT because you don’t need to sharpen or replace your blades daily.

Maintenance

Electric chipper shredders are easier to maintain than gas models with moving parts. But you may still need to replace or sharpen blades and belts once in a while. 

Wood chippers don’t come cheap, so make sure to check the after-sales maintenance.

The WEN 41121 Rolling Electric Wood Chipper And Shredder have available parts. They offer replacements in case you ever need them.  

Noise

Electric-powered chipper shredders are not as noisy as gas-powered ones.  But there’s a tradeoff… they are not as powerful. 

If you want one that’s less noisy (for the sake of your neighbors), go for the high-powered electric models.

We recommend the Patriot Products CSV-2515 Electric Wood Chipper/Leaf Shredder! It is heavy-duty but quiet. Everybody will appreciate you for not disturbing the peace!

Convenience

There are so many choices for chipper shredders that come with features to make life a lot easier. 

Features like:

  • Self-sharpening blades
  • Tow bars
  • Electric starters instead of pull starters
  • Tiltable hoppers

Storage

Consider where you are going to store your chipper and how much room you have in your garden. Chipper size varies.

The compact PowerSmart PS10 Electric Garden Chipper/Shredder is smaller than a wheelbarrow.  On the other hand, commercial-sized chippers are often the size of large trailers.

Mobility

Mobility is part of the design of wood chippers.  For lightweight domestic use, you can get a small machine that will fit in your garage or shed.

The PowerSmart PS10 Electric Garden Chipper/Shredder is perfect with its 7inch wheels!

For commercial-sized machines, start looking at chippers with tow bars for better mobility.

Warranty

The chipper’s warranty speaks a lot about the quality of the manufacturer. A LONGER warranty is a STRONG option for the best wood chipper. It gives you confidence in the machine you’re buying.

Most good-quality chippers come with a two-year warranty.

How to Use a Wood Chipper Safely

Wood chippers are BENEFICIAL yard work tools. People have been using them for YEARS. A lot of horror movies feature them, and rightfully so.

This yard tool is VERY DANGEROUS. You have to know the following safety precautions before you use it:

  • READ the manufacturer’s recommendations on how to use your specific model.  UNDERSTAND all the functions before using your wood chipper.
  • Make sure to WEAR hand protection, eye protection, and hearing protection AT ALL TIMES.  It’s also a wise idea to have a hard hat to protect your head from stray pieces of wood.
  • Don’t force stubborn branches in the blade when you feed it into the wood chipper.  Let the machine pull them in and avoid flying debris by staying on one side.
  • Don’t ever stick ANY PART of your body (including your hands) ANYWHERE near the blades.  Accidents can happen, which might result in severe injury or death.
  • Make it a habit to ALWAYS disconnect the power and the spark plug before doing maintenance.  This is to make sure the machine doesn’t start while you are anywhere near the blades.

Chipper Shredder Maintenance Tips

Buy a Powerful Machine

The purpose of a chipper shredder is true to its name… to DESTROY everything you feed it.

The blades and motor are under a lot of stress when you feed it large yard debris and wood pieces. 

Although they are powerful tools, you SHOULD NOT push them beyond their limits.

We recommend that you get a higher-powered machine if you can afford it.  If you get the heavy-duty one, you’ll never max out its ability or stress it out. 

It’s going to be worth every penny.

Shred the Right Materials

Do yourself a favor and avoid shredding wet clumps of small debris like leaves or grass. Manufacturers will say that their machine can handle this type of debris.

But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Think of how a chipper shredder really works.  When the debris hits the blades and flails many times, it breaks up all the debris as much as possible.

 

What Do You Think Will Happen With Wet Material Clumped Together?

 

It forms ONE LARGE PIECE of debris. 

This can get STUCK on the blades or make it through your machine unscathed. That’s the opposite of what we want. 

We want them shredded, right?

Have a Maintenance Checklist

Whatever type of chipper shredder you have, there are universal rules to caring for them:

Always Keep Your Blades Sharp

The duller the blade, the more your motor has to work.  This SHORTENS the lifespan of the motor. 

Most shredders come with extra blades and sharpening tools, so don’t be afraid to replace or sharpen them!

Don't Leave It Outdoors

It may be an outdoor machine, but please don’t leave your machine outdoors!  This will shorten its lifespan and degrade the parts quicker.

Use the Right Cord

Get the CORRECT type of extension cord.  Use a voltage drop calculator to avoid voltage drops.  A large gauge extension cord will help prevent that.

Conclusion

We’ve come up with the following so you can make your decision:

Best Budget Pick: Sun Joe CJ602E Electric Wood Chipper/Shredder

This one is easy on the budget if you’re looking for something that won’t break the bank. It’s compact, lightweight, yet POWERFUL. Very easy to assemble and has amazing safety features. 

Really worth your money!

Runner up/Best Value: Earthwise GS70015 Electric Chipper Shredder

This ticks all the boxes when it comes to:

  • Reduction ratio
  • Safety
  • Portability
  • Feed capacity
  • Price point
  • Noise

We like it because it’s COMPACT and all you need is an electric wood chipper. It’s not that expensive.

It’s great at handling small to intermediate shredding. You would want to get your hands on this AWESOME machine!

Winner/Best Overall: Patriot Products CSV-2515 Electric Wood Chipper/Leaf Shredder

You want your chipper to stand the test of time.  So get a HEAVY DUTY electric wood chipper!

This is THE BEST WOOD CHIPPER you can find! It is a high-quality brand that offers good value for money.

What we LOVE about it is that it’s QUIET. Not something you expect out of a powerful machine with a large feed capacity.

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