Electric Leaf Shredder Turns Leaves Into Mulch
“I wasn’t happy with the small electric leaf shredder I was using to shred leaves down into mulch for my garden. The weed whacker line on it would often break, snag or wear down, never mind all the dust. So I made a heavy-duty, high-volume shredder that handles big piles of leaves without any problems,” says Joseph Parducci, Hampshire, Ill.
The shredder consists of a 12-in. long, 3-in. wide rotating blade mounted inside a 20-gal. galvanized metal garbage can, which bolts onto a plywood frame. An electric motor bolts on under the platform and is used to direct-drive the blade. Five 3-in. dia. pvc tubes correspond with holes drilled into the bottom of the can and extend down through the plywood past the motor’s air intake. The shredded leaves fall through the tubes and onto the ground or into a container.
The 115-volt, 3,450 rpm electric motor came off an air compressor that Parducci already had. He mounted an extension to the motor’s 1/2-in. dia. output shaft to hold the blade. The extension came off a buffing wheel and consists of a 1/2 by 20 shaft that’s threaded on one end and a 1/2-in. sleeve that slides over the motor’s shaft. Set screws secure it to the motor shaft.
“I use it to make mulch for my 1/2-acre vegetable garden. It works great,” says Parducci. “The shredded leaves are dime-sized when they come out of the tubes so they’re lightweight and easy to spread. They’re the perfect size for vegetable plant mulch. I store the shredded leaves in my barn during the winter in plastic bags.
“The blade is made from 1/8-in. thick metal and is sharpened on all 4 sides so I can reverse the blade if I need to. I use an on-off switch mounted on the plywood to start and stop the shredder.
“Later on I built a tilting metal stand for the shredder and mounted it on wheels so I can move the shredder as close as possible to the garden. When I’m done working for the day I blow the motor out with compressed air.
“I paid about $11 for the buffing wheel adapter, which I bought at Grainger (part no. 6L104) and $18 for the garbage can at Menards.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Joseph Parducci, 17N895 Harmony Rd., Hampshire, Ill. 60140 (ph 847 683-2519; mmp11842@yahoo.com).
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Electric Leaf Shredder Turns Leaves Into Mulch FARM HOME Miscellaneous “I wasn’t happy with the small electric leaf shredder I was using to shred leaves down into mulch for my garden The weed whacker line on it would often break snag or wear down never mind all the dust So I made a heavy-duty high-volume shredder that handles big piles of leaves without any problems ” says Joseph Parducci Hampshire Ill The shredder consists of a 12-in long 3-in wide rotating blade mounted inside a 20-gal galvanized metal garbage can which bolts onto a plywood frame An electric motor bolts on under the platform and is used to direct-drive the blade Five 3-in dia pvc tubes correspond with holes drilled into the bottom of the can and extend down through the plywood past the motor’s air intake The shredded leaves fall through the tubes and onto the ground or into a container The 115-volt 3 450 rpm electric motor came off an air compressor that Parducci already had He mounted an extension to the motor’s 1/2-in dia output shaft to hold the blade The extension came off a buffing wheel and consists of a 1/2 by 20 shaft that’s threaded on one end and a 1/2-in sleeve that slides over the motor’s shaft Set screws secure it to the motor shaft “I use it to make mulch for my 1/2-acre vegetable garden It works great ” says Parducci “The shredded leaves are dime-sized when they come out of the tubes so they’re lightweight and easy to spread They’re the perfect size for vegetable plant mulch I store the shredded leaves in my barn during the winter in plastic bags “The blade is made from 1/8-in thick metal and is sharpened on all 4 sides so I can reverse the blade if I need to I use an on-off switch mounted on the plywood to start and stop the shredder “Later on I built a tilting metal stand for the shredder and mounted it on wheels so I can move the shredder as close as possible to the garden When I’m done working for the day I blow the motor out with compressed air “I paid about $11 for the buffing wheel adapter which I bought at Grainger part no 6L104 and $18 for the garbage can at Menards ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Joseph Parducci 17N895 Harmony Rd Hampshire Ill 60140 ph 847 683-2519; mmp11842@yahoo com
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