Best chipper shredder mulcher for composting review [2022]

I love gardening. I also like to reuse and recycle on site (at home) be it garden waste or food waste composting.

If you have a lot of garden debris, for example, because you have a lot of trees or shrubs that you prune or that lose their branches, you may want to buy a wood chipper shredder mulcher to turn it into wood chips and compost.

There are a range of benefits from buying and using a chipper shredder mulcher. The main benefit is that they can turn all of your garden waste, such as leaves, twigs and small branches, into woodchips, mulch and or compost. Then you can use that on your garden. It is a kind of on-site, personal recycling in your garden.

Let’s cut to the chase. The best chipper shredder mulchers for composting are:

• Best electric: Patriot Products CSV-2515.
• Best gas: Earthquake 9060300 Chipper Shredder – 205cc

Adding woodchips or mulch onto your garden can have a range of benefits. These include helping to keep down weeds, keeping the soil moist and insulating the soil from frost and cold temperatures in the winter or heat and dehydration in the summer. Of course, your garden plants love all of these things and will reward you with a healthy, thriving, low maintenance garden.

I hope that you find this article helpful. Please consider sharing this with others. You can help others benefit from the information. Lets help people learn how to recycle, reuse and enjoy the benefits.

Best gas powered wood chipper shredder mulcher for composting

The best gas powered chipper shredder for composting is the Earthquake 9060300 Chipper Shredder – 205cc 4-stroke with Briggs & Stratton Engine. This is a very powerful machine. It’s powerful 212 cc gas engine and can handle large branches, up to 3 inches in diameter.

This machine is so powerful it will chip almost anything! 

This chipper is easy to start. It is really convenient that it is powerful enough to do all my garden waste, not just the small stuff. Almost everything just goes in and turns into chips or mulch that is perfect for composting.

There is another thing that you may want to consider, it is so powerful you must be very careful when operating it!

The shredder bucket is nice and sturdy making it difficult to break when you bash it around with sticks and branches.

Because this chipper comes with a Briggs & Stratton engine it is very reliable and will usually last a lot longer than the cheaper types. This model gets a 5-star rating from me!

Specifications:

• Size: 27 x 23.5 x 34.2 inches
• Weight: 107 Lb.
• Engine type: 212cc 4-stroke
• Engine brand: Briggs and Stratton

Pros	Cons
Heavy duty: can handle up to 3 inches branch diameter	Expensive
Can handle small and large garden waste	Super powerful so BE CAREFUL!

Best electric wood chipper for composting

Most electric wood chippers are only suitable for light use. Typically electric chippers have flimsy plastic parts and break easily. However, the Patriot Products CSV-2515 is more heavy duty compared to other electric models so it can be used for more than just small twigs. With this model you can chip branches up to about two & a half (2.5)  inches in diameter.

This means that you can handle most normal garden chipping and shredding work with this machine.

Another major benefit of being electric is that it is much quieter than a gas powered model. Furthermore, you don’t need to worry about messy gas and the potential problems that come with a gas engine. The major drawback however, is that you need to be in range of a power socket (or use a long power extension cord).

Specifications:

• Size: 37 x 24 x 35 inches
• Weight: 126 Lb.
• Engine type: Electric motor

Pros	Cons
Low maintenance electric	Expensive
Can handle small and medium garden waste: up to 2.5 inches in diameter	Requires corded power

Benefits of a Wood Chipper Shredder mulcher

The benefits of owning a chipper are many here are a few:

Cheap woodchips and mulch

Instead of going out and buying woodchips and mulch you can make your own. Turn on your wood chipper and toss in your garden waste.

On-site recycling

Instead of needing to find a way of disposing of your garden refuse that can be costly and time-consuming, like taking it to a green waste disposal center, you can process your waste at home and use it for a beneficial purpose at home.

Tidy garden

Because it is easier to process your garden waste, you don’t need to leave unsightly garden debris around. It will make your garden neater and tidier. You will feel that your garden is a more attractive place to go and relax.

 

Healthier garden

Woodchips and mulch are great for your soil. You will find that plants grown in soil with a higher organic matter (organic matter is your plant waste), will grow better and be healthier.

Less garden water use

Gardens with mulch and woodchips retain water better in summer months meaning that you do not need as much water on your plants.

Low maintenance garden

The mulch and woodchips will keep the weeds at bay. This means that you will need to spend less time pulling them out or using nasty chemicals to kill them. It will also mean that your garden will look nicer (without the weeds) longer between maintenance.

Compact machine

There a number of wood chipper shredder mulchers on the market these days that are suitable for home use and are quite compact and can easily fit in your garden shed or garage with your other gardening tools.

Portable machine

Most home use wood chippers are lightweight and have wheels and can be easily wheeled around by hand to where you want to do your chipping and shredding.

Electric corded or gas powered options

Chipper shredders mulchers that are suitable for home use comen in either electric corded or gas-powered models. Each type have their advantages and disadvantages.

Electric corded chipper shredders mulchers for composting

With electric corded models, you don’t need to worry about messy gas and the engine issues that can trouble gas-powered engines. However, electric wood chipper shredders are usually lower powered and are limited by the size of materials that they are able to shred effectively. However, for most chipping & shredding jobs that a homeowner would do the power of a good electric corded shredder will be sufficient. The major limitation, however, is that you can only operate it within range of a power cord. So if you have a big block and want to do some shredding far away from a power outlet you may be out of luck with an electric model.

If you decide to go with an electric model I recommend the Patriot Products CSV-2515.

Gas powered chipper shredders mulchers for composting

With gas powered chipper shredders mulchers you are going to be able to get models that are more powerful than electric ones. This means that if you want to chip some larger branches (up to 3 inches in diameter) then you can get a good gas model that will handle this. They can still handel small branches, twigs, leaves and other debris and due to their extra power are able to be fed the debris quicker than a lower powered model. Some like the Earthquake 9060300 Chipper Shredder – 205cc are quite powerful can scare some people. They also can be messy with gas, oil and the potential problems that come with gas-powered engines (gas-powered engines are not as low maintenance as electric engines).

NOTE: all chipper shredders should be treated with respect and safety precautions followed. They are not toys and for safety reasons should not be operated by children or when your capacity is impaired (when tired or after consuming alcohol or taking certain medicines).

If you want to read more about the models recommended here you can read my review of the best wood chipper shredders for home use. In my review, I cover the key features, pros, and cons of these models. I also provide a buying guide to what is important to consider when buying a wood chipper shredder.

Is a chipper shredder the same as a garden leaf shredder?

Yes, a chipper shredder is the same as a garden leaf shredder. The machine can chip wood chips and shred things such as leaves. Generally the large hopper opening is used for buly but softer materials like leaves and the smaller shoot is used for harder materials like branches.