Sun Joe Electric Leaf Mulcher/Shredder, Outdoor 13 Amp 8,000 RPM Machine - Mulch up to 55 Gallons per Minute, Adjustable Control Dial, SDJ616

I had a whole bunch of weeds come up after the rains in the areas that were mulched. With intermittent rain, I could not get to them till last week, by which time they were all about 1½ feet tall! After pulling them out by the roots, I decided to use my Patriot Shredder to grind up this stuff. I have had the Patriot for several years, and it has been great for chipping and shredding broken branches and after pruning the hedges. It gets through dry and wet branches with ease, as long as I don't "choke" the machine with too much stuff at one go.Well, I put the fresh, long weeds through the top hopper, and it just would not suck the stuff down. I then used the chipper opening, and there was nothing coming out of the discharge chute. The machine bogged down and stopped. I found the entire flywheel, hammers, and chipper blade coated with wet green "mush". The machine just could not handle this stuff. It took me about an hour just to clean out the Patriot.I was looking for an alternative, so read some reviews, and decided to go with the SunJoe Shredder. Most reviews were negative regarding "wet" stuff, but I was willing to give it a try, especially with the price being less than $100.00.I used the cloth bag from my Patriot Chipper and it was a perfect fit! I would strongly recommend you use some sort of "cloth" bag. Plastic bags tend to get ripped if there are stems or twigs. Paper bags tend to rip when you are trying to secure them, and it is hard to get the right size. The elastic cord is very tight, and in the process of pulling the bags to fit around the bottom flange you will end up ripping the bag.The Patriot bag is a heavy gauge synthetic material and is "breathable" so as the bag fills up, air can be pushed out. The bag can also be reused for many years. The bag is expensive, about ½ the price of the shredder, but I think it would be worth the price if you are planning on doing a lot of shredding. It is available here on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Products-888000100-Shredder-Collection/dp/B004W5YKBE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1437233760&sr=8-3&keywords=Patriot+Shredder.The bag has a cord which cinches the opening of the bag. The bag is an almost an exact fit for the bottom of this shredder. I hook one edge under the bungee cord, and then work my way around the bottom rim with the bag. Then I just cinch up the bag with the built in tie. The bag works well with dry or wet material. I already had the bag, so it wasn't an issue. This bag has held up for several years, chipping branches so should hold up with shredding leaves. If cost is an issue, I would suggest you look for other re-useable "cloth" bags. It makes it a lot easier to use this machine.Back to the review of this machine: I was apprehensive about how this would perform, but with care, and slow feeding, it ground up all the fresh weeds and stems without an issue. It does get clogged up after about 10 minutes. It is easy enough to stop the machine, and reach in from the top and scrape off the accumulated "mush" and push it down through the opening into the bag. It never tripped the circuit breaker, but I was careful about how much I put in. I filled up 4 bags of this mushy green ground up weeds, and all of it went straight into my composter!I changed the "string" on one side because it was becoming short. I wish they had put the blade that cuts the string our further, so that the string could reach a little wider in the hopper. As it is, there is about a ¾ inch gap between the end of the string and the sides of the hopper, and this is where stuff builds up. Not a big deal, but an annoyance.I am very pleased with the way this made short work of grinding up this wet stuff. As a bonus, it was ready for the compost! If you work within it's limitations, it is a great machine. I cannot vouch for it's longevity, but it has already been worth it. My only advise is to get a cloth bag, unless you really need to put stuff in paper bags for disposal. If you have a composter, you would not need to worry about disposal either.Guide to images (for some reason the order of the images changed after it was posted and I can't change the order, so follow the numbers to the right image):5. Weeds growing in front of hedging - looks like tall grass3. Sun Joe Shredder with Patriot cloth bag attached1. Shredder, cart with weeds to be shredded. Please note the gloves, goggles, and ear protection - makes quite a bit of noise2. String and internal blade that cuts string to length. The gap between the outside of the blade and the hopper is where stuff builds up4. Size of shredded material. Note: one or two long stems get through unscathed6. Composter with material from three cart loads of weeds (please refer to picture #3 for "one" cart load). Nice reduction in volume.

I bought the Sun Joe leaf mulcher because I have leaves that were almost knee-deep and I really did not want to bag them to take to the landfill. The mulcher is lightweight. I can move it by myself when I’m finished with it. I can put it back in the same box and store it .Mulches leaves quickly. I can move it where I want to it is electric so I have to have an extension cord, but that’s not much of a problem. Although I don’t like the legs, they seem to be flimsy, but I can fill leaf bags quick, and use them for Insulation over my plants and small trees so the mulcher has saved me money several different ways. I actually think I got more from my money than I thought I would. I am a senior citizen now and the fact that this can be moved by just me is a winner.

I first discovered this machine, late last year, but didn't purchase it until this spring. At the time, the much -dreaded task of bagging leaves in the fall was looming large and I had finally had enough. To close out the year, I made one big pile of leaves by using a heavy-duty tarp and picking one area of the property. Fast-forward to Spring of this year and I took the plunge. Largely, I based my purchase on others' reviews, most of which were positive.Last month, I was still skeptical before I saw the Sun Joe in action. Let's face it.....who really wants to grapple with a gigantic pile of leaves?In just over 6 hours, spread over 3 May weekend afternoons, I mulched an entire season's worth (60-70 30-gallon bags). The compression ratio of 16:1 is fairly accurate and the drier the leaves, the greater the ratio. For all considering this purchase, here's how I approached this and lessons I learned:-Assembly is as easy as pie.-Safety is of the essence: safety glasses, long pants, head covering. As fast as this machine revs is how much even a tiny particle can hurt when propelled at high speed.-The drier the leaves, the better off you'll be. However, the Sun Joe will still mulch wet leaves-- it's just that the clogging factor gets higher. With dry leaves, there is none.-If you have a large pile, divide the work into smaller sessions.-Give the machine a rest at regular intervals. You don't have to, but why not? If you have wet leaves in the mix, you will have to unclog the machine, anyway.. Also, the shorter the strings get, the less they will mulch. So... you'll have to stop and unclog.-Sticks and twigs are not your friends. Try to make sure they don't find their way into the mulcher.-Replacing the strings can be done in two minutes total, using a pair of needle-nose pliers. For the record, the length of the string is 13". If you run out, you can use regular string-trimmer line. *Personally, I am only on the 4th set, and I finished the entire pile.-Make no mistake that this is not tremendously easier on the back than bagging leaves. In fact, I plan to get a back supporter for this and other repetitive yardwork, but it comes with the territory.-*No more bagging leaves! I used the mulched leaves around tree bases in the back of the property.Like others, I experienced a leg that wouldn't snap into place and it became a nuisance at times. I plan to call Sun Joe for a replacement. Even so, I think that the QA could have been a little better with that.Overall, this is a happy find and it paid for itself already. Cleanup of this magnitude costs in the neighborhood of 400-500 dollars around here.