DR chipper shredder for gardening

[@Rickyp0123]

I have this exact same chipper/shredder. I actually use the shredder way more than the chipper. It works perfectly for the smaller, leafy branches you get from pruning bushes, shrubs, and small trees. They wouldn't make good wood chips anyway, and the shredder turns the wood and leaves into soft, fluffy organic material. I also use the shredder to take care of bundles of vines removed from the property, including thorny ones. It turns even thorny vines into soft fluff. I use the chipper for larger branches and small tree trunks. Some comments are afraid of putting wet material into the shredder, but it is honestly pretty robust. After feeding lots of green material, if green material becomes slow to discharge, just throw in a dry 1/2in stick or two and that will get things moving.

[@russwentz3957]

I appreciate your advice. I just purchased the DR 300 and really like the compact yet robust design, plus being an established American manufacturer ensures replacement parts will be available.

[@Dave88LX]

Glad to hear that it works well for thorny vines. I have a creekside I'm working to clear out, and have tons of vines and brush.

[@waynegauthier155]

Evan, I had a chipper/shredder on my mini farm and I must have shred 5 - 6 hundred bags of leaves each year, the leaves never did clog up, basically because they were dry, put thru in the fall after the leaves had fallen. I used them in my garden on newpaper between rows to control weeds,

[@bevnelson3678]

You are getting everything sorted. If it makes it easier for you that’s good.

[@dougvanderhoop8012]

I Just got one and it is a serious performer. It eats it all really fast. I am very satisfied for the Dollar value.

[@youngjet63]

How’s yours holding up after 3 years?

[@drfix2020]

There's something very satisfying turning weeds/unwanted trees into something useful/wanted!.. I use my drill/driver to start my chipper much easier!

[@krazypolak1820]

Oman you killing that. Lol. I just got one thanks for video. I was looking forward to getting one thanks too your video I got it. Ty again

[@BRI33NOR]

Take the chipper to the heap of stuff you are going to chip. Spread a sheet onto the ground to let the stuff collect in. Bring all four corners of the sheet together, you have most of it ready to move. Way back in the olden days, When I was a lad starting work, we used this method to catch the “chaff” that came over the end of the threshing machine when threshing in the stack yard. Yes before combine harvesters !. Any one else given this dirty unpleasant jib as a youngster ?. But it will save you a lot of carrying.

[@funnyfarm5555]

Go to a fishing bait shop or on line and get you some Texas Red wrigglers for your compost pile. Don't need many as they are prolific breeders. They love eating all that stuff and like it where it is hotter in the pile, I now have thousands in my manure/compost pile. 20 feet long x 5 feet wide. Need some for that day off fishing, just go turn over a spot and pick em out or put a board against the pile and they will congregate under it, They will go down into ground if your pile dries out in summer but come back up with fresh stuff to eat and rain in the fall. If you let your chickens find the pile they will eat the bugs an few worms while scratching and turning your compost. When I let my chicken out of their pen they run through barn and to the pile. (Master Gardener)

[@felixyusupov7299]

I have that chipper shredder. The shredder is good for dry leaves and small dry material. I use it all the time in the fall. You can run the chips through the shredder to produce smaller material.

[@billylane6665]

I bought the pro 410 model about a year ago. Had less than 10 hours on it when the drive shaft broke. Took 4 months to fix. Had less than 3 hours on it when the fly wheel came loose. Been in the shop for 3 months with no idea when DR will ship parts.

[@001SapoBBQ]

thanks for the information. I'm assembling mine soon and start spreading and chipping!!!

[@stevew3978]

I also have this same 9.5 DR chipper/shredder. It chips great as long as you're not too greedy feeding large limbs into the chipper chute. Its major shortcoming is the VERY NARROW bottleneck in the shredder hopper. The narrowest part of the bottleneck is only 2"x6." This abysmally small throat is unable to accept most garden prunings without clogging up the bottleneck, requiring frequent stops to unclog it. The clogging got so frustrating I stopped using this chipper/shredder.

[@priayief]

I'm wondering if you ever got around to shredding leaves. Thanks for posting.

[@keithblackwelder1751]

I just bought one of these, it’s a little beast.

[@youngjet63]

How often do you use it and is it still working good? I’m thinking of buying one...

[@FineFlicks342]

I have a 55 foot tall coastal live oak to take down. The large branches, of course, will be cut to fireplace length. The smaller branches and leaves, though, could bankrupt me if I were to load them up to take to the waste disposal site (this is California where a full sized dumpster will set me back $1200/day). I got my DR300 chipper/shredder five months ago to reduce the volume of those small limbs and leaves so I could use all of the barely used green bins in my neighborhood. The chipper works pretty good for moderate sized branches but it shreds more than it chips. The top hopper--for leaves--has little value. The chute narrows down to an opening that is way too small. You can only feed small amounts of leaves in at a time or it will back up. If the leaves are fresh (still green), the shredded material can quickly clog the chipping area requiring the removal of 26 bolts to disassemble the unit so it can be cleaned out. This happens so frequently with me that I put together a tool kit with the right sized wrenches and I even made some specialized tools where I can reach in and try to dislodge obstructions. If the leaves are old and very dry, it doesn't clog but the dust it kicks up turns my backyard into a something that looks like a Saharan dust storm. I made the mistake of keeping the door to my kitchen open and the inside of the kitchen was filthy with the dust (from 40' away). The real value of a chipper/shredder like this is that it reduces the volume of the debris so you can pack more into whatever container used to dispose of it. I use the large green can I pay for and borrow my neighbors' cans when they're empty. I can pack between 175 and 200 pounds in each can and some weekends I've had as many as 7 cans sitting at the curb. It might cost me $400 in disposal fees but because I'm reducing the volume and using the cans I've already paid for, I've so far disposed of perhaps 15 tons of material without incurring any additional fees.

[@jamesedwards6589]

Just a little tip for those who will need too chainsaw off limbs. If you part saw the limbs then they feed all at the same time. Thus saving extra work. Chipping

[@RCPSU4]

Any chance for a 5 year update with your chipper/shredder? Also, if I was using one would it be a good idea to put a bucket or tote underneath to catch the material?

[@hailnohero]

You can try it with fall leaves, just make sure they are completely dry first. Would be nice to see a video on that!

[@shannaciano1804]

I'm sitting on the fence about whether to purchase or not so I called the company and asked them how it does with fall leaves. She told me to put newspaper strips in with the leaves and that keeps it from clogging.

[@jamesedwards6589]

I wonder if you shoveled the chippings through the shredder it would make it smaller

[@TrippKnightly]

The bear cat maybe other brands has additional grates for this to keep the chips inside the chipper until small enough to fly out. Kind of a mulching action.

[@gaylerobison9518]

The shredder is generally for dry leaves, from what I've heard. Leaf mulch is GREAT in the garden as a soil amendment either on the surface or mixed in. Wood chips are only good as mulch and should not be mixed into soil.

[@joemar9234]

I used to own a 5 acres lot - Got a hold of some gardeners through Craig's list - told them to allow me to keep their wood ships ( come to find out they spend $100 + per trip to the local disposal place ) got them to dump their trailers filled w/ nothing but wood ships -

[@thefirewooddoctor]

Would you recommend stepping up to the bigger 11.5 DR chipper for my land clearing project? Lots of pine tops with a 2-inch stem. Anything over 2-inch is firewood. Am clearing a 100ft by 200ft area plus a trail through the woods and fire danger reduction by trimming up all the dead branches off of the pine trees.

[@CountryViewAcres]

Jeffrey Beyer for land clearing yes, I would recommend larger. This one isn't bad for a few smaller trees a year and storm debris. This one does best on 1.5" and smaller, it slows down on larger branches.

[@willyjilly9684]

Bought mine for $649 from DR directly. Only issue I have is it doesn't like 3" branches unless it's 100% dried and dead. I tried a live piece of maple at around 3 inches diameter, it couldn't shred it. It would merely shave the end, wouldn't catch into the blades.

[@tonyhussey3610]

I will say as a carpenter, maple is one of the hardest timbers.. probably harder than oak...just saying..

[@4sh024]

Would earthworms speed up the compost process?

[@pennington5355]

Would this thing shred palm tree branches well. You think

[@lawrencelawrence3920]

I tilled the wood chips into my garden and I got mushrooms growing.from that

[@suffolkshepherd]

Thanks for posting. Does this self feed or do you have to push each limb through ? Also how is it holding up? Would you buy it again

[@CountryViewAcres]

suffolkshepherd, it self feeds most of the time. it is really a gravity feed. if it has resistance from branches you have to push it in. And yes I would buy it again, but I have lots of branches I can process. I probably wouldn't buy it if I had a yard in town. you really need at least 25 trees to get good use out of it.

[@lupusk9productions]

I love the farty sound it makes.

[@Autistic-Uhbuddy]

Lol😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@khanhh4147]

Can you shred wet leaves, thanks

[@nunyabiznis817]

The small twigs go in the hopper.

[@johnzink3309]

thx

[@ramirozamora8117]

Hi thanks for this vid. What's the model ? Is it the 300 or the pro 400 ??

[@CountryViewAcres]

Looks like the 300

[@darrickhock]

Just found your channel! I love your content. Wish there was more updates but good. What state is your homestead in ?

[@CountryViewAcres]

We are very busy with the cabin build. It is an exciting but stressful time.

[@Copper.Cowboy]

Aren't you better off using a mower to cut / shred the grass and leaves?

[@bobjake7440]

that is why they invented lawn mowers to cut grass.

[@afctaylor12]

Mark Conde grass is the most difficult thing to get rid of putting it in shedder reduce the amount by half.

[@jamesedwards2726]

@@afctaylor12 unless you use a mulching mower

[@Ry_Smok3s]

would you recommend this shredder for homeowners with a lot of trees

[@dougvanderhoop8012]

8-bit millionaire Absolutely yes.

[@nunyabiznis817]

The motor sounds a little weak. Try something with a heftier motor if you have a lot of trees.

[@MrBurnz-cu6xj]

The chipper works good, but the shredder keeps clogging up.

[@jerwils85]

Have you had a chance to use it on leaves yet??

[@CountryViewAcres]

Jeremy Wilson, actually no I haven't. But maybe this fall.

[@pumpkineater_69557]

@@CountryViewAcres that was two years ago. Have you done dry leaves yet cause I'm thinking of getting one

[@Yurek-c6z]

👍

[@markpolstra8739]

just watched your video, thanks. i noticed you said you were going to put the wood chips into the clay soil. please do not do this as the wood chips will rob the nitrogen in the soil. instead you should just add the wood chips and mulch to the top of the soil. please see "back to eden" on youtube. best wishes

[@riekstuiela7105]

Thanks forvideo. Like.

[@TUTORIALECUDETOATE]

like

[@jameswordenjr.7628]

Always wear tight fitting gloves, ear protection and safety glasses when using this type of equipment.

[@jgbelmont]

Nice unit except for the Broke n Stranded motors.

[@jamesedwards2726]

Briggs and straton always start even after being in a damp shed on a mower for 2 years without ever been run in that time lol

[@anguselliott7073]

Price

[@Roncourtney03]

I have a electric wood chipper

[@MrBurnz-cu6xj]

I’ve got the same model, and the shredder is not worth two cents.

[@youngjet63]

Why not? I’m thinking of buy it...

[@MrBurnz-cu6xj]

It keeps jamming up, and you have to keep stopping the machine and cleaning all the vegetation out of it.

[@rondacharlie4489]

You wanna cut the grass too long