STIHL GHE 355 chipper - shreds by a thousand of cuts

[@jenspetervonkries6780]

Thanks for your excellent report and recommendations

[@cometahyakutake9375]

Very useful thank you. I have got slightly smaller branches and amount to mulch so it should work. Thanks again.

[@tjk355]

I have a 6hp Forest Master petrol shredder. Its quieter than the Stihl in my opinion and provides more power at roughly the same price. It will mulch leafy branches up to 50mm diameter.

[@ZaarsShed]

Sure, petrol is the powerking. But I specifically wanted the electric one.

[@triantako]

@@ZaarsShed The Forest Master comes as an electric version as well. Even quieter than the petrol version.

[@ZaarsShed]

@@triantako It does, but not in Australia. The issue in AU that all plugs are limited to 10amp current while the Electric Forest master is 15amp@220v. So even if I had ordered one from UK, I also had to route a specific 15A socket. The intricacies of DownUnder..... Effectively general purpose outlets here are limited to 2.4kw which is essentially 3HP - not much for chipping.

[@triantako]

@@ZaarsShed I know nothing about the Australian electricity mains. So I can only tell that is a shame as you would have enjoyed that machine. You look as if you struggled a lot in that video. A different experience with the Forest Master.

[@garethdavies791]

Great review, living in the UK I bought the Viking GE 355 exactly the same as STIHL GHE 355 but half the price it comes with STIHL blades the two things to keep in mind with this chipper perseverance and blockages. I know it’s a safety feature but it could do with a quicker release system to open to clear blockages.

[@ZaarsShed]

I thought STIHL rebranded Viking to become STIHL... N/M. Yes, those knobs take forever to undo. I ended unplugging the chipper and tilting it to get my hand all the way to the blades - helps with minor blockages. Make sure you wear very thick gloves if you do that. If I were in the UK I would have been very tempted with ForestMaster 4hp electric chipper.

[@garethdavies791]

@@ZaarsShed hi, yes they did rebrand and sold off all Viking at very reduced price, I had my eye on the GHE 355 so when I saw the Viking at the price it was, it was a no brainier instead of shopping around for an alternative

[@lordbaby100]

Great video and thanks for this honest review. I was thinking of buying the smaller brother ghe 260 but it seems they are not much better than a 200-300 chipper and cost more than twice as much + sharping the blades.

[@niemakonca4168]

Dziękuje za fajną recenzję. Mam Vikinga GE260 3f 2,9kW z 2014r i patrząc jak kij posuwasz góra dół by rębak nie stanął to z mojego doświadczenia, też to robię, ale tego kija co Ty posuwałeś, to 2,9kW by przemieliło bez posuwania. Potrzebuję takiej maszyny ale 1 fazowej by w terenie pracować z miękkim materiałem i zasilanej z przenośnego powerbanka Fossibot F3600 i myślałem o GHE 355. Na grubsze gałęzie mam rębak frezowy. Jakie mam spostrzeżenia do GE260, jak stanął to zmieniałem mu kierunek obrotów (maszyna ma wtyczkę 3f z fabrycznym rozwiązaniem - śrubokrętem można obrócić miejscami dwie fazy), ale było to angażujące czas bo zmieniłem obroty by ją odblokować i ponownie zmieniałem by zaczęła ciąć. I myślałem o takiej co ma przełącznik lewo prawo co by mi usprawniło działania i GHE 355 to ma. wg producenta GE260 nie jest przystosowany do pracy ciągłej (S6-40%), czyli powinien mieć przerwy w pracy. To zamontowałem do niego w obudowie termometr cyfrowy z czujnikiem na stojanie silnika. Czyli jak wkładam gałęzie to widzę jaka jest temperatura silnika. I założyłem że jak osiągnie 70 stopni C, to zrobię mu przerwę. Ale pracując nim stale kilka godzin nie doszedłem do 70 stopni C, najwięcej widziałem 67 stopni C. Poruszany w komentarzach model FM4DDE na złą recenzję:

[@quantaloop4002]

extremely useful review

[@ZaarsShed]

Thank you! I'm glad it helped you.

[@krisztiankun5509]

Szeretem a stihl termékeket de ez a termék nem győzött meg arról , hogy megéri az árát ennyiért benzinmotoros Hecht 6208 as gépet lehet venni.

[@ZaarsShed]

Nope, if you are a regular heavy user, this chipper (as well as any other Stighl chipper that uses such an over-complicated blade system) will highly dissapoint IMHO.

[@markcurtis7504]

Fantastic review...very helpful....many thanks! Not sure if I want to buy a machine that needs all its blades sharpening for every 4 hours of work :(

[@ZaarsShed]

By "work" I mean of actual chipping of course, which is quite a lot for a home warrior. But yeah, I'm not sure I would've bought it again today :)

[@the_real_hislordship]

I've sharpened the blades once in 18 months. Granted I don't use it every week. I bought the GHE375 with 3 phase motor. Has fantastic torque so it chomps through nearly anything. It has issues with long fibrous material like cannas which wrap around the blade.

[@sleepinglabradors]

I just got mine earlier this week, not the same model I think it’s the previous model, been using it and got soaked with grass & weed juice.😂 I have to say I’m disappointed, a lot of mucking around to get it all the way through & finding the correct spot. I was close to buying the Hansa but it’s like $5k and I don’t have that much waste to do constantly, it’s more the initial cleanup then ongoing maintenance. It’ll do but if I could do it again I’d buy something else.

[@OliverCardonaPhoto]

I just bought the Hansa C3e, it’s $1500 not 5000, still a lot more than the Stihl. All that plastic on the Stihl will not last with my trees. Blades are very difficult to sharpen compared to Hansa. Hansa is a tank, but I think they are lowering the quality of their motors to compete.

[@ZaarsShed]

@@OliverCardonaPhoto This one was AUD $850. I looked at Hansa C3e but it's AUD $1400, and has just 2HP motor vs 3HP for Stighl. On the bright side it has just one blade with one edge to sharpen (which is a relief compared to Stihl). However with just 2HP motor, double the price and no reviews at the time I couldn't risk it. I wouldn't worry about the plastic build of Stighl - it's very sturdy, and has thick aluminum guide inside - you can see it at the end of the vid. I'm also not worried of chipped paint or rust. And I store under deck that gets small drizzle any now and then and, again, don't have to worry about rusting metal. On the wishful thinking side I wish I could get a Forest Master 4HP chipper they sell in the UK.

[@the_real_hislordship]

Thank you for the video. I'm going to buy the three phase 375 model in January. Just need a three phase socket now but I can do that easily.

[@ZaarsShed]

I really hope it has more juce than this one.

[@the_real_hislordship]

@@ZaarsShed so I bought it and it seems to handle the big items more easily. Doesn't sound so strained. Here is a brief video on my other account kzbin.infoHuJwUg_Tjrg

[@ZaarsShed]

So did you buy one eventually? How do you find it?

[@the_real_hislordship]

@@ZaarsShed I did and it is amazing. Three phase means it doesn't often struggle with what I throw at it. Very happy with the machine. Check out the video link I posted above.

[@ZaarsShed]

@@the_real_hislordship Thanks for sharing. I can't find any link though.

[@Mike_from_Canmore]

does it not self feed? I would rather be getting the next bundle ready to put into the machine than pushing the current bundle in.

[@ZaarsShed]

It kind of does once you get the branch into going, but you need to control the feeding for anything beyond 15-20mm thick branches - otherwise it will big down and get stuck.

[@cjengtoh9338]

1.what are the signs that blades need sharpening? 2. do the vertical blades need more sharpening than the horizontal chipping blades? 3. hansa 3e is now 2000W-please comment. 4. after 1 year use what is your opinion

[@ZaarsShed]

1. You'll feel over time that it takes more effort to push branches through. When blades are sharp itsl pulls them in very happily. 2. Couldn't tell really. I usually sharpen the whole set. 3. Have no idea. From my research the only hassle-free electric chippers are custom made ones that ppl make in EU from 3-phase motors. 4. It still works fine. After processing that huge amount amount of initial branches I now only have an armful a month to feed it. For these tasks it's convenient to have electric chipper that starts every time and requires no maintenance. My wife uses it too so it's a double win.

[@cjengtoh9338]

@@ZaarsShed Thank you so much for your honest comments Mr Hal.

[@jeremymarshall7381]

I have this garden shredder too

[@ZaarsShed]

And what's your experience?

[@pokemorris]

nice video. just wondering how did you sharpen the blades and was it difficult?

[@ZaarsShed]

Sharpening is time consuming. I use WorkSharp Kenonion Edition which has tiny belts to get into the tight spots of thes blades. With 24 edges to sharpen, it takes 1-1.5 hours if they are dull and you want to sharpen them all. Good sharpening is enough for 2-4 hours of continuous shredding work depending on the material.

[@MsChristian1955]

We think we trust a well-known brand, but in fact the product is very poorly researched. In the plant direction, the crusher immediately blocks as soon as plants are added. hence the obligation to open the whole thing to remove everything!! As far as the branches are concerned, it's not much better, because already the grinding diameter is more than optimistic, and you have to be able to position the branch at the place of the knife, otherwise it's useless, we just rubs on the disc, slows it down and the machine stalls for nothing! Moreover, there can be very dangerous rebounds, you should never put the branches in the oven by putting yourself in front of your mouth, because sometimes it bounces very violently, only the horizontal knives work and you have to dismantle the whole thing to sharpen them and in addition they cannot be returned, the others given their shape it is very hard to sharpen them with a sharpener like Tormek only one solution, even retired you have to take your time this shredder does not live up to its claims and even less its price more than 800€, even if it means seeing an electric shredder it is not worth paying for the Stihl Vicking brand, this product is far from fulfilling its functions.

[@MsChristian1955]

On croit faire confiance à une marque connue, mais en fait le produit est très mal étudié. Dans le sens végétaux, le broyeur se bloque tout de suite dès que l'on met des végétaux. d'où obligation d'ouvrir l'ensemble pour tout enlever!! En ce qui concerne les branchages, ce n'est guère mieux, car déjà le diamètre de broyage est plus qu'optimiste, et il faut arriver a positionné la branche a l'endroit du couteau, sans quoi ça ne sert à rien, on ne fait que frotter sur le disque le ralentir et l'engin cale pour un rien!!de plus il peut y avoir des rebonds très dangereux, il ne faut jamais enfourner les branches en se mettant devant la bouche, car parfois celle-ci rebondit très violemment, seuls les couteaux horizontaux fonctionnent et il faut démonter tout l'ensemble pour les affûter et en plus ils ne sont pas retournables , les autres vu leur forme c'est très dur de les affûter avec une affûteuse genre Tormek une seule solution, même retraité il faut prendre son temps ce broyeur n'est pas à hauteur de ses prétentions et encore moins de son prix plus de 800€, quitte a voir un broyeur électrique ce n'est pas la peine de payer la marque Stihl Vicking, ce produit est loin de remplir ses fonctions.

[@ZaarsShed]

100%

[@forceflic9711]

Would you have preferred to buy the most powerful electric one GHE 420?

[@ZaarsShed]

If I had a 3 phase power on my property then... still no. They don't sell them in AU and will probably going to be expensive - and GHE 420 will only have 3000 watt of power! (which is so little) and the same cumbersome blades. Unfortunately after doing some reasearch, if you have 3 phase power then better DIY something with 7-10kW motor is the way to go. Many guys in Eastern EU build one from a high-power motor and old joint plainer blade set. All brand name electric chippers are hopelessly underpowered :(

[@anthonygebala1198]

Check out the forest master machine they are very good and made of steel

[@ZaarsShed]

@@anthonygebala1198 they are indeed, but not available in Australia.

[@Pasdidentifiant00]

I don't see a very big difference with the ghe 150 witch is very cheaper

[@Μιχάλης-χ7ε]

Πέτα το στην θάλασσα

[@alessandromontebuio932]

Questo biotrituratore è un ravatto

[@jarkkolouhe11]

Any idea why it would sometimes stop?

[@ZaarsShed]

Stop as in "get stuck", or just engine cut off?