Hi. This post is called best electric leaf mulcher. A heap of leaves in the garden can take up to two years to break down into a fine matter, but you can clean up those leaves a bit quicker than nature does (although she does a good job of it in the end).
An electric leaf mulcher or electric leaf shredder can turn a whole heap of leaves into an easy to manage bag of leaves in almost no time at all. It’s hard to keep a garden clean and what do you do with all the leaves that fall to the ground? Leaves shed in Autumn usually have a low nitrogen content and are often very dry. So do you burn them? Get a huge truck to cart them away? Or mulch them for easy disposal or for re-use as a ground coverage?
Autumn leaves are often collected as part of normal gardening chores. Luckily leaves can be very useful in the garden. Molding or partially decomposed leaves may not be high in nutrient content, but it does make a great humid soil conditioner, because of its ability to retain moisture and provide a good growing medium for seedling roots. Plus it’s also just about keeping the yard looking tidy.
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Worx WG430 Electric Leaf Mulcher
I am first going to take a closer look at the Worx WG430 Electric Leaf Mulcher, which has a fold-down compact design. It has an 11:1 mulch ratio – think in terms of mixing a glass of Ovaltine – 11 parts water to 1 part Ovaltine. Or maybe I’m mixing metaphors now. Take a look a the picture below to see what this mulcher is supposed to be capable of.
So as you can see this leaf shredder can mulch a lot of leaves and when mulched a surprisingly big amount of leaves can fit into a surprisingly small bag. The fold down design means it can be assembled and disassembled rather quickly and won’t take up a lot of storage space in the garden shed either. Now let’s look at some electric leaf mulcher features.
Quick Tip : Mulched leaves can be re-used in your garden where it will aerate the soil and increase water retention, resulting in reduced watering time and garden water-bill savings. |
Features and Specs
- Shreds up to 53 gallons of leaves per minute
- Bladeless system uses a thick trimmer line to achieve the specified 11:1 mulching ratio
- Tool free assembly
- Dust-reducing air motor cooling system with no-fuss start-stop switch operation
- Oversized mouth accepts leaves and small twigs
- 3-year manufacturer’s warranty
Questions and Answers
Size and weight please?
The Worx WG430 leaf mulcher shredder weighs about 25 Lbs and its dimensions are roughly 22.6 x 22.6 x 13.2 inches.
Can the trimmer line be replaced if it wears out? I’ve got a heck of a lot of leaves to shred.
Yes, you will be able to replace trimmer lines. One fine feature of this electric mulcher is hassle-free tool-less cutting line replacement. The system operates with a heavy-duty grass trimmer line instead of a metal blade (much safer). Over 20 replacement trimmer lines are supposed to ship with this leaf mulcher shredder, which means you’ll probably run out of leaves to mulch before you run out of line.
Can I shred more substantial garden waste with this electric mulcher?
This electric mulcher can unfortunately not be used for heavier branches, brush or sticks. It is best suited to dead leaves and twigs. which it will reduce to 1/11th of its starting volume. One doesn’t want to damage the device by trying to crush and mulch hefty branches, the trimmer line it uses, though heavy-duty, probably not suited for that big of a job.
Does the unit come with its own leaf bag?
No, but its universal bag holder accepts both plastic and paper bags, so chances are you’ll be able to easily find a suitable bag to use with it.
Possible PROS & CONS
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Check out the Worx Leaf Mulcher on Amazon.com. |
Notes on Quality and Operation
The WORX Leaf Mulcher basically consists of a mulcher, base and stand. Also included is 24 replacement lines and of course the universal bag holder. It is a compact design that is quick to put together or take apart, plus it doesn’t take up a lot of storage space.
Putting your garden leaves through this leaf shredder will stop you having to lug bags and bags of leaves to the curb for collection. Instead with this leaf shredder you’ll likely be lugging only one bag. If you want, you can also re-use much of the mulch for composting or garden coverage. Got mulch?
SUN JOE SDJ616 Electric Leaf Mulcher
The next electric leaf mulcher I am taking a look at is the SUN JOE SDJ616 Electric Leaf Mulcher. This electric leaf shredder has a 8000 rpm, 13 amp electric motor capable of mulching up to 12 gallons (46 Liters) of garden leaf collections a minute. It features a 16 to 1 shredding ratio. Pretty powerful stuff!
Features and Specs
- 16 : 1 mulch ratio
- Lightweight at 13.4 pounds
- Product size (in inches) : 21.3 x 21.3 x 49.2
- Low dust motor cooling system means less dust clouds during operation
- Easy to use shredder settings for dealing with both dry and wet leaves
Questions and Answers
Is it easy to take apart for storage?
Yes, it is not that hard and once disassembled it takes up very little space in the garden shed.
Does this have a blade that cuts the leaves?
No, I think it operates with a spinning nylon or cord line. So this will not be able to handle sticks and stones so to speak, mainly leaves and smaller twigs plus stuff like grass clippings and pine needles.
Possible PROS & CONS
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Check out the SUN JOE Leaf Shredder on Amazon.com. |
Notes on Quality and Operation
The SUN JOE SDJ616 electric leaf shredder offers a lightweight, compact and easy to use mulching machine with a good mulching ratio and a powerful motor.
Some users do complain that the nylon shredding line doesn’t last as long as one would like, but replacement lines usually ship with the unit and they are also available for purchase as aftermarket items.
Best Electric Leaf Mulchers – Final Thoughts
Both the SUN JOE SDJ616 Electric Leaf Mulcher and the Worx WG430 Electric Leaf Mulcher offer good design elements and powerful motors.
When looking at the leaf shredding volume per minute – the WORX WG430 beats the SUN JOE SDJ616 on this point (53 gallons per minute vs 12 gallons), although the SUN JOE boasts a better mulching ratio strangely enough.
The WORX WG430 is bigger and heavier than the SUN JOE, so will need slightly more muscle to manhandle. Both offer an on/off switch and work with nylon wacker lines.
Don’t forget to invest in a leaf blower either.
Thanks for reading my Best Electric Leaf Mulcher review. I hope you find the best electric leaf mulcher for you! |