The 5 Best Quiet Garden Shredders
Welcome to our roundup review of the Five Best Quiet Garden Shredders you can buy right now. Quiet shredders, often falsely called silent shredders, are designed to dispose of predominantly woody branches and clippings. As such, they fill a different niche to their noisier brethren – impact or rotary shredders – which are designed for softer, green clippings and thin woody clippings.
In this review we will provide a brief description of:
- The top contenders in this category
- The Definition of Quiet Garden Shredders
- How Quiet shredders work
- What to look for when evaluating a quiet garden shredder
- Our review of each Garden Shredder
- Our pick of the Best Quiet Garden Shredders you can buy right now.
We know that reading product reviews may take too long. Just in case that’s you, here is our pick for…
Best Quiet Garden Shredder of 2020 and 2021…
No products found.
No products found.
Note: clicking on images in this article may take you to see that Shredder on Amazon UK. As an Amazon Associate, gardenshredderreview.co.uk earns from qualifying purchases.
Best Budget Quiet Garden Shredder of 2021
The Tacklife also takes our recommendation as the best budget Quiet shredder too.
Highly Recommended
The Makita UD2500/2 is very close in overall rating.
The Shredders in This Review
| Bosch AXT 25TC |  | Included for completeness. Our garden shredder of the year 2020. Not included in final review as it is in a category of its own. |
| Bosch AXT25D |  | Our 2019 quiet shredder choice. Can it hold on? |
| Draper 23321 |  | Family run, UK Business |
| Makita UD2500/2 |  | Does Makita’s impeccable hand tool reputation carry through to their garden shredders? |
| Tacklife PWS01A | No products found. | New kid on the block. Is it a real contender? |
Update – Feb 2021
Just a quick update, we have recently reviewed the Ryobi RSH3045U Silent Impact Garden Shredder. At least that’s what it is called on Amazon.
On first looks, it is a contender for Quiet Garden Shredder of the Year but is let down by poor marketing – it is anything but silent, and on price. It is well worth a look
- Powerful 3000W impact shredder
- Two reversible, hardened steel blades shred branches, brambles, and shrubs to a fine mulch
- Integrated handle and large wheels for easy movement around the garden
- Large container holds up to 55L of shredded material
What is a Quiet Shredder?
These shredders were all designed to cope with larger, heavier, woody branches and clippings. To do so they use low speed, high torque motors and gear trains to drive the cutters and crushing mechanism.
Lower rotation speed automatically reduces noise levels. Quiet shredders are simply quieter than impact shredders.
There is no clear definition of what makes a quiet shredder. It is simply a marketing buzz phrase intended to pique your interest.
In our experience – sound levels differ from as low as 82dB right up to 95dB. That’s quite a range. For this garden shredder review we are going to take a quiet shredder to have a operating noise level of less than 100dB.
The decibel (dB) scale is pretty weird – an explanation is well beyond this review – but an increase of about 10dB doubles the perceived volume.
A change of 18dB from quietest to loudest will be felt as a 4x increase in in volume. It easily moves you into a zone where hearing protection is strongly recommended.
If you take a look at our table comparing garden equipment sound levels you will see that even the quietest of these shredders is nothing of the sort. 82dB is squarely in the range described as the equivalent to “Heavy traffic, noisy pub, power lawn mower”. In all honesty, this is not that noisy but it is long, long way from the title “Silent Garden Shredder”.
Quiet Shredder Shredding Mechanism
Quiet Garden Shredders use variants of a low speed roller and drum/plate arrangement to shred garden waste.
Impact shredders use the energy from high speed impacts to chop and chip away at the clippings you put through it. In contrast, Quiet shredders rely on brute force (torque) to cut and crush clippings.
There is lots of information on the Garden Shredder Review about how quiet shredders work. We are not going to repeat everything here. If you want more in-depth explanation you might like to check out the following articles:
Quiet Shredder Mechanism – Quick Description
Here’s the short description based on the Bosch mechanism above. All quiet, roller/crusher shredders have a similar mechanism.
As branches enter the shredder they meet the teeth on the roller. As the roller rotates its teeth push the branches or clippings against a fixed side plate. Further rotation causes the teeth to first crush then penetrate and cut the clippings or branches.
The action of the teeth digging into the cuttings and continuing to rotate pulls the cuttings into the machine. All quiet shredders have powerful self-feeding action. See the video for what this means.
Build
Producing the level of force required to shred woody waste at low rotational speeds, requires more sophisticated power trains. Containing and using the forces produced needs much more solid and heavy casings. All quiet shredders are much heavier than the equivalent impact shredder.
Costs
The increased sophistication and robustness of the Quiet Shredders also comes through in the cost. These machines tend to be expensive – typically around twice the price of an impact machine.
What to Look For When Choosing a Quiet Garden Shredder
Before choosing any garden shredder, we always strongly recommend you start with analysing your garden. Here is a comprehensive article on assessing your garden and garden shredder needs.
As always, when considering which shredder to buy, we tend to ignore the marketing features and concentrate on how well it does its job.
Quiet Shredder Usability Features:
- Throughput – kg/hr – higher is better
- Ease of use
- Quality of shreddings
- Resistance to jamming
- How easily jams are cleared when they occur
- Ability to cope with softer, green materials
- Waste collection – built in collection box
Technical Features/Other Considerations
There are many other factors/features too as well as how well it does the job. We also consider:
- Power rating
- Sound levels
- Length of cable
- Collection box
- Safety Features
- Weight and manoeuvrability
- Warranty period
- Customer support and availability of spares
The Contenders
Bosch AXT 25TC
- The AXT 25 TC quiet shredder – the first universal shredder for both soft and hard materials
- High torque high-performance 2500 W motor
- Patented block release system allows blockages to be loosened easily without the need to remove the hopper
- Effortlessly shreds woody materials up to a maximum diameter of 45 mm thanks to extremely high torque of 650 Nm
The Bosch AXT 25 TC has been our garden shredder of the year for many years now. A title that it retains in 2021. We are not going to provide too much more information here – there are in-depth reviews elsewhere on the web site.
Not only is the AXT 25TC comfortably the best all-round electric garden shredder – it is also extremely quiet at 82dB. On every one of our test criteria, the Bosch AXT 25TC comes out on top. All apart from one.
Cost.
It is expensive.
To be fair to the other quiet or silent shredders, we are going to exclude it from our final rankings.
Performance
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Does it do its job? | Excellent | |
| Throughput | 230kg/hr | Works well right up to max branch sized. Can’t verify the throughput levels but it certainly handles everything we can throw at it. |
| Maximum branch size | 45mm | The AXT 25TC is the only electric shredder that we believe is capable of readily shredding right up to its quoted maximum branch size. You need some robust tree loppers to prepare material of this thickness. |
| Woody waste shredding | Excellent. No other electric shredder comes close | |
| Soft/green waste shredding | Good. Better than any other quiet shredders | |
| Ease of use | Very easy to use. Provided plunger helps feed softer waste through the hopper | |
| Collection Box | 53l | Collection box and hopper pack into each other for compact storage |
| User satisfaction | High | A few complaints with the shredder jamming with green waste like weeds. No Garden shredder is designed to deal with weeds! |
Technical Features
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Turbine cut | Turbine cone rotating in ‘drum’ |
| Power | 2500W | |
| RPM | 41 | |
| Noise level | 82dB idle -90dB | Very quiet at idle. Ear protection not needed. Still quite noisy in use |
| Cable length | 6m | Good cable length. In almost all gardens you will still need a heavy duty, outdoor extension lead, outdoor extension lead |
| Weight | 30.5kg | V. heavy |
| Wheels | Yes | Large wheels – help manoeuvrability but is heavy to move around the garden |
| Warranty | 2 yrs | Can be extended to 3yrs when registering the product. |
Verdict – Still the Best Electric Garden Shredder. A bit expensive.
Draper 23321 2500W 230V Quiet Garden Shredder
- Low noise operation
- Suitable for shredding foliage with a maximum twig thickness of 40mm diameter
- Features: Fully hardened steel roller blade, overload safety device for longevity and restarting protection
- Supplied with wheels, transport handle, push stick, canvas collection bag, 3M (approx.) cable and approved plug
Performance
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Does it do its job? | Good to poor | |
| Throughput | N/A | When working well this machine gets good reviews. |
| Max branch size | 40mm | |
| Woody waste shredding | Good but can struggle at larger sizes | |
| Soft/green waste shredding | Passable. The Draper manual states that ”material that is less fibrous (i.e. limp) will not shred properly” | |
| Ease of use | Not the easiest to use. Angles of hopper and shredding mechanism limit the ability to feed larger branches | |
| Collection Box | N/A – open chute | We don’t find the lack of a collection box much of a problem. The outlet chute must remain clear and there are many reports of needing to continually clear it. |
| User satisfaction | High | Reviews are polarised. People either love it or loath it. With a number of reports of machines not working or breaking this does not get out recommendation. |
Technical Features
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Roller/drum crusher | Toothed roller rotating in ‘drum’ |
| Power | 2500W | |
| RPM | 46 | |
| Noise level | 97dB | Getting to be noisy. Ear protection needed. |
| Cable length | 3m | Very stingy on cable length. Not really an issue as you are going to need an extension cable for pretty much all electric garden shredders. |
| Weight | 19.5kg | Compared to other quiet shredders, the Draper is pretty lightweight. |
| Wheels | Yes | |
| Warranty | 2 yrs | All Draper tools have a lifetime warranty. Interestingly, this is the lifetime of the tool. For power tools this is 24 months. |
The Draper 23321 is very much at the budget end of the quiet garden shredder market. For some users it seems to work very well. Unfortunately, there are too many negative reviews for us to recommend it.
Draper are a family run business with a great reputation for customer service. We do find their definition of ‘lifetime guarantee’ misleading but you will get good customer service. Parts are readily available in the UK
Verdict – take a look if you are on a tight budget.
Makita UD2500/2 Electric Shredder 2500W
- Easy-to-use control panel with automatic anti block system and forward / reverse switch
- Handholds on both sides allow firm hold while in use as well as easy transportation
- Easy transportation with large, rubberized wheels
- Container fill level easy visible through cut-outs
Performance
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Does it do its job? | Good | |
| Throughput | N/A | Works well right up to max branch sized. Can’t verify the throughput levels but it should be around 180-190kg/hr |
| Max branch size | 45mm | |
| Woody waste shredding | Good. There are a few more reports of jamming than we would like for a high-end, quiet shredder | |
| Soft/green waste shredding | Average. People say it doesn’t shred green, soft materials cleanly | |
| Ease of use | OK | |
| Collection Box | 67l | Large collection box with the obligatory safety interlocks |
| User satisfaction | High | Quite a lot of complaints about the shredder jamming with softer, green clippings |
Technical Features
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Roller/crusher | |
| Power | 2500W | |
| RPM | 46 | |
| Noise level | 93dB | Reasonably quiet. Ear protection is recommended. Would be compulsory in a working environment. |
| Cable length | 10m | Good cable length. There are some reports of shredders being supplied without cables. We hope this has been fully resolved. |
| Weight | 27.6kg | Heavy |
| Wheels | Yes | Large, rubberised wheels. Wheels, together with handles both sides of this machine, help manoeuvrability. |
| Warranty | One year | Extends by 2 years (3 years in all) on product registration. |
We are left with mixed feelings after reviewing the Makita. Like many other people – we expected Makita’s great reputation for hand power tools to transfer over to the Garden Shredder. For a significant number of users this was not the case with reports of dead machines and components breaking quickly.
It doesn’t help that a batch of machines were supplied without power cables.
Like just about every other quiet shredder – it doesn’t cope well with soft, green clippings. This shouldn’t be an issue – all roller/crusher, quiet shredders are designed to deal with large volumes of woody branches and clippings – not soft, green clippings.
When used for its design purpose, the Makita UD2500/2 performs well, with few problems, and produces clean shreddings.
Verdict – Recommended
Tacklife PWS01A Garden Shredder, Wood Chipper, 2500W P
No products found.
Performance
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Does it do its job? | Excellent | |
| Throughput | N/A | Works well right up to max branch sized. Can’t verify the throughput levels but it certainly |
| Max branch size | 45mm | Another shredder for which you would need a good tree lopper to prune branches for shredding. |
| Woody waste shredding | Excellent | |
| Soft/green waste shredding | Good. Few complaints from users. | |
| Ease of use | Good | |
| Collection Box | 60l | Good size – towards the larger available. Usual safety interconnections that work well. |
| User satisfaction | Very High | Shredder does its job with no reports of jamming |
Technical Features
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Roller/crusher | The valleys between the teeth on the roller are deeper than on other shredders. See our Tacklife PWS01a review to see what we mean. They are also angled more. Seems to work well and avoid jamming. |
| Power | 2500W | |
| RPM | 40 | |
| Noise level | 92dB | Reasonably quiet. Ear protection is recommended |
| Cable length | 6m | Good cable length. In almost all gardens you are doing to need an additional extension lead. |
| Weight | 29kg | |
| Wheels | Yes | Large wheels help maneuverability but is big and heavy to move around the garden |
| Warranty | 2 yrs | You get “1x 24Month warranty card powered by Tacklife brand service” |
The Tacklife PWS01A ticks all the boxes – follow the link for an in-depth review. It shreds hard woody waste well. Like all quiet shredders, it doesn’t deal too well with softer waste but there are few reports of jamming.
There have been a couple of reports of motors jamming. In each case this has been quickly resolved via replacement machines or via refunds. While we had not previously heard of TackLife Tools, the experience with customer service has been good.
Verdict: For the money this is a definite best buy.
Please note:
The Tacklife PWS01A is our recommended quiet shredder for 2020. Unfortunately, just after writing this review, we noted the PWS01A has been removed from the TackLife web site. We have written to ask for confirmation of when it will be back
Bosch AXT 25 D Quiet Shredder, Cutting Capacity 40 mm
- Automatic feed and low noise levels for extremely convenient shredding
- Collection box with 53 L capacity for easier collection of the shredded material
- Removable hopper for easy filling and convenient shredding
- Tool only works when the collection box has been inserted. Cutting capacity, max. diameter - 40 mm. Cutting speed - 41 rpm
Performance
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Does it do its job? | Average | |
| Throughput | 190kg/hr | Works well right up to max branch sized. |
| Max Branch Size | 40mm | |
| Woody waste shredding | Good when working properly | |
| Soft/green waste shredding | Very poor. Often not shredder at all | |
| Ease of use | Good | |
| Collection Box | 53l | Collection box and hopper pack into each other for compact storage |
| User satisfaction | Average | There are too many complaints about failure to shred softer waste and the machine jamming |
Technical Features
| Feature | Data | Additional |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Roller/drum crusher | |
| Power | 2500W | |
| RPM | 41 | |
| Noise level | 82dB | Very quiet. Ear protection not needed. |
| Cable length | 5m | Good cable length. In almost all gardens you are doing to need |
| Weight | 31.3kg | |
| Wheels | Yes | Large wheels – help manoeuvrability but is heavy to move around the garden |
| Warranty | 2 yrs | Can be extended to 3yrs when registering the product. |
For several years the Bosch AXT25d has been our recommended quiet garden shredder. It had great customer reviews, shredded larger, woody waste brilliantly, and, it enjoyed Bosch’s excellent reliability.
Now, there are simply too many negative reviews for it to keep that position.
Most of those negative reviews relate to the shredding of soft, green waste. It doesn’t really matter that the AXT25D is only designed for large volumes of woody waste. Other shredders in this category manage soft waste better without jamming.
The Bosch AXT25D also stands out as expensive in this roundup.
Verdict – Works very well if you are only going to use it for woody branches and clippings.
Not recommended as a general use shredder
Conclusions
If you are willing to stick to using these for woody waste they will all do a job for you. They are not designed for softer, green clippings but many users will continue to feed them exactly this sort of waste.
Machines that constantly jam under this sort of ‘normal’ usage cannot be recommended. This narrows the field of recommended buys considerably
Best Quiet Garden Shredder of 2020…
No products found.
No products found.
Best Budget Garden Shredder of 2020…
The Tacklife also takes our recommendation as the best budget Quiet shredder too.
Highly Recommended
The Makita UD2500/2 is very close in overall rating.
Petrol Garden Shredder Chippers – An Alternative to Quiet Shredders?
For many years we have concentrated on electric garden shredder reviews. In recent times, partly fueled by the Covid pandemic, there has been a move away from city living and into the countryside. Many people find themselves with large gardens for which electric shredders may not be appropriate. if this is you, you might want to consider buying a petrol shredder chipper.
Take a look at our article on getting started with the top petrol shredders too.
Last update on 2024-07-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API