The Eco Shredder ES1600 Electric chipper shredder is designed to chip or shred yard and garden waste such as leaves, branches, dead plants, and bush trimmings. This process greatly reduces their size and also creates useful mulch to be used in gardens or flower beds. The ES1600 features an electric 14 Amp, 2.5 horsepower motor that produces 2800 RPM max speed and a 10:1 reduction ratio.
The unit includes an overload protection switch, that protects the motor if it should happen to become jammed. A top hopper can accept twigs, branches, and leaves while the small side chute can take sticks up to 1 3/8 inches in diameter. A triple action cutting system features a V-type blade, and an extra set of blades is included. The ES1600 has two 7-inch wheels and a pull handle for portability, and weighs 70 pounds.
Eco Shredder ES1600 Chipper Product Specs
- 14 Amp, 2.5 horsepower electric motor
- 2800 RPM max speed
- Triple action shredding/mulching with V-type blades
- Overload protection switch
- Top hopper loading and a side chute
- Seven inch wheels and a pull handle
- Weighs 70 pounds
What the reviewers said…
Assembly and Portability
The Eco-Shredder ES1600 Electric Chipper is easy to assemble. The unit comes mostly assembled in the box, and all that’s left to do is attach the wheels to the base, as well as attach the upper plastic hopper. The ES1600 is a bit on the heavy side (70 pounds) when compared to other electric chippers/shredders, but the 7-inch wheels still give it great portability, although a little wobbly on rough terrain.
Quiet and Convenient
As with most electric chippers/mulchers, convenience and noise output are much better on this unit than the gas powered models. Definitely a big plus to not have to worry about filling gas tanks and yanking on pull start cords. Its compact design makes it easy to store away inside a small shed or in the corner of a garage with no problem.
Chipping and Shredding Performance
The Eco-Shredder is made to handle light-duty work, and it does that well. Small twigs and branches an inch or less are chipped easily turning them into a good looking mulch. It helps to do a little prep work on the sticks before running them through, such as snipping off any large knots, and splitting the Y-shaped sections. Leaves are also easily shredded into a fine mulch, and are very handy for composting operations. It will take a good amount of time to shred large quantities of leaves due to the smaller size of the hopper, but with a little patience and work it can be done one handful at a time.
Feeding Material into the ES1600
As with most chippers/mulchers there is a learning curve for loading material into the hopper and chute. It will take some time to master how much and how fast you can feed the material through. The ES1600’s max diameter for chipping is rated at 1 3/8 inches, and it can handle sticks that size, but the likelihood of the blades jamming goes way up when working the larger sizes. It works best and the fastest on branches that are fairly straight and less than 1-inch (about thumb size). Wet material such as freshly cut plants or wet leaves tend to clog up if they are fed through the hopper too quickly. With material like garden plants and fresh trimmings you’ll have to feed it in slowly to avoid clogging.
Jamming Out?
This unit will almost certainly jam up at times, but the overload switch protects the motor from damage. It’s also fairly easy to open up the Eco-Shredder ES1600 to get to the cutting system and clear out the clog or jam, although it can be a little time consuming. You just have to loosen 5 thumb screws (doesn’t require tools) to detach the top part from the bottom where the cutting system is located. It helps to take it slow at first just to get an idea of what the motor sounds like when it’s chipping or shredding like its supposed to. That way it makes it easier to identify when the motor is strained later on and possibly prevent jamming before it occurs.
THE GOOD
- Works really well at chipping small sized sticks (1 inch or less)
- Mulch produced is great for gardens, flower beds, and composting
- Compact, portable, and easy to store
- Much quieter and more convenient than gas powered models
THE BAD
- Cutting system is finicky and tends to jam on large or wet material
- Small hopper size increases the time it takes to shred large amounts of leaves
Bottom Line
The Eco-Shredder ES1600 Chipper/Mulcher handles many light-duty jobs with ease and gardeners especially will find many uses for it. It won’t be able to handle some of the larger heavy-duty jobs. With some effort, practice, and the occasional clearing of jammed blades, it works well for light yard and garden cleaning while recycling all of that waste into useful garden mulch.
Have you used or already own the Eco-Shredder ES1600 Chipper? Let us know about your experience with this product by leaving a comment below.
