Bosch AXT Rapid 2200 Review
Best Impact Garden Shredder 2019, 2020, 2021
Read our Bosch AXT Rapid 2200 review. In our opinion it is still the best impact garden shredder you can buy today. It combines a great combination of shredding performance, build quality and price
Judging by the Amazon reviews the Bosch AXT Rapid 2200 is just about the most popular Electric Garden Shredder in the UK. It has received over 1700 customer reviews with a star rating that remains well over 4 – that’s more reviews than all the other shredders sold on Amazon put together.
As one of the reviews puts it – “This Machine is the best one I have had”.
A Which review in November 2007 claimed it was, “the most efficient garden shredder we have ever tested”. For me the fact that this shredder has been on sale since 2007 is also a testament to its popularity and reliability. If it wasn’t any good Bosch would have pulled it off sale long ago.
So that’s it then? With reviews like that there is no choice to make – this is the only electric shredder worth buying?
Not quite. It’s great value for money but it there are now several other models that have good ratings and are cheaper. Let’s find out if the 2200 Rapid is right for you. Read the rest of our Bosch AXT Rapid 2200 Review to discover why.
Let’s consider the good and the bad points. To get started we’ll take a look at some technical details.
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Technical Details
| Feature | Value | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Throughput | 90kg/hr | |
| 2 | Motor | 2200 Watt Bosch 'Powerdrive' | |
| 3 | Shredding Mechanism | Rotary - impact cut | Unique, reversible blade gives extra life |
| 4 | Max diameter that can be cut | 40mm | |
| 5 | Collection box capacity | Not supplied | The purpose made collection bags work really well with this shredder |
| 6 | Cable length | 4m | Not bad but you will still need a heavy duty, outdoor extension lead so you can easily move the shredder to where you want to do the shredding. |
| 7 | Other features | 3,650rpm cutting Leads to operating noise in the 103dB to 106dB | It rotates faster that most impact shredders. That's why it works do well. It really is noisy though. |
| 8 | Weight | 12kg | |
| 9 | Guarantee/Warranty | 2yrs parts and labour | Extendable to 3years when registering the shredder |
What’s good, what’s not
The Good
The AXT copes with a very wide range of garden waste. Even pretty big branches, right up to the claimed 40mm upper limit, are efficiently chopped into 1mm chips ideal for composting. We’ve fed it a mixed diet of laurel, leylandii, apple, bramble, elm, plum, beech, rose, holly and pyracantha. Everything gets chopped up neatly and efficiently. Even the thorny stuff like brambles, holly and the particularly vicious pyracantha are reduced to such small pieces that the thorns are no longer an issue and the shredded waste is safe to handle.
The blades spin so fast that blockages are few and far between. It will happily run for a couple of hours pretty much continuously and the only time we had blockages was when we fed it heavy, dry branches. Luckily the blockages are easily cleared so you can continue your shredding pretty quickly.
Other users comment that the Bosch AXT Rapid will block more quickly as the blades become blunt. Keeping the blades sharp is an obvious requirement for maintaining optimum shredding efficiency. The reversible blades mean that you can be back up and running quickly even once the blade becomes blunt.
However, the blades are not meant to be re-sharpened. As you can see – the Bosch blade is quite chunky. To stop vibration the blade needs to stay balanced. Sharpening, unless done professionally, is likely to unbalance the blade. Using an impact shredder with unbalanced blades create vibration and increased noise levels.
We know of plenty of people who have happily resharpened the blades. Just be aware, Bosch say not to do it.
Once you have reversed the blade it will need replacing at a current cost of £38.73.
Ear defenders are very much recommended – sound levels from this shredder are around 103-105dB. This is well into the danger zone. Obviously it gets noisier while it is chopping wood. You might like to consider a quieter model if you have particularly sensitive neighbours.
There’s practically no assembly to do so you will be up and running in next to no time. Most users claim they have the shredder out of the box and in use within about 5 minutes.
One of the most common questions we are asked about garden shredders is “what power rating should I go for?” Motor power rating is only one consideration when comparing shredders but there is no doubt that this shredder is more than powerful enough. The 2200 Watt Bosch ‘PowerDrive’ motor and that high rotational speed cope with most things that you are likely to throw at it. Even with pretty large branches being fed the shredder doesn’t slow down that noticeably.
We’ve already mentioned that the Bosch AXT Rapid has been around for a while. It was designed and constructed to last – a particular Bosch trait. Where problems do occur Bosch’s customer service is second to none. You really can’t go wrong.
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The not so good
About the only thing regularly criticised about this machine is some people complain about short blade life. There are a minority of users that claim it is only fit for light duties and the blade will still go blunt far too quickly.
Looking after the blades is the key to getting good performance from any impact shredder. You need to take care to avoid any abrasive material getting into the shredder (soil or small stones etc) as these will blunt the blades very quickly.
The Bosch comes with a “double sided, laser-cut precision blade that delivers approximately 7 times more cutting power than conventional blade shredders”.
No idea what this means other than the double sided bit. That means that you can turn the blades over and get twice the cutting life out of them.
When customers have complained to Bosch about any problems they all seem to have had their shredders replaced quickly and without question. Bosch is renowned for their customer care.
Cable length is an unimpressive 4m. For most practical purposes you are likely to need to use an extension lead. Remember, that 2200W motor uses a fair bit of current. You will need a heavy duty, 13amp fused, outdoor extension lead. It’s a minor inconvenience but an inconvenience nevertheless.
Unlike the crusher style shredder the AXT 2200 doesn’t suck branches in – you need to feed them in by hand. While this is not a major problem it can be a little slow and frustrating to use. Remember, as with all electric garden shredders, the feed slot is pretty small.
Bosch provides excellent customer service. Complaints are dealt with quickly and several users comment on getting replacement models very quickly when they reported problems.
Conclusion – Is The Bosch AXT Rapid 2200 Impact Shredder Right For you
Should you buy it?
Possibly the only questions are “Is your garden waste predominantly woody” and, “Do I want a quieter self feeding model?” If so, take a look at our current, overall garden shredder of the year – Bosch Garden Shredder AXT Rapid 2200 (2200 W, 230 Volt System, Cutting Capacity 40 mm, in Carton Packaging)
- Sharp: durable, laser-cut precision blades with high cutting performance.
- Practical: fast feed hopper and practical plunger for easy filling and fast material throughput.
- High-speed Bosch Powerdrive motor with the highest torque in its class
- Material throughput approximate 90 kg/h
Our view
With the overwhelmingly positive reviews it would be difficult to advice anyone not to buy the Bosch AXT Rapid 2200. It remains our best pick impact shredder for the time being. It is now looking a bit expensive and some of the newer competition is getting positive reviews.
Take a look at our roundup review of The 5 Best Impact Garden Shredders 2021.
Here are a few you could take a look at on Amazon now.
There are some truly great offerings – many at substantially lower prices.
Take a look here if you would like to see our pick of all the best electric garden shredders.
Last update on 2024-12-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API