Eliet maestro

[Andrew Reed]

As a small and occasional operator I have had one for a few years now for private and business use. It has its uses and limitations. It is certainly well built and is a good price for a sturdy bit of kit. Pro's: It fits through narrow gates and can be lifted through houses. I can move it about on my own no problem and it does not add too much to my vehicle load weight. It shreds to its size limit on branches very well. It can be run with a chute (or tape up the micro switch) to drop the output onto the ground, or keep it neatly bagged up. It shreds plants with roots and soil on, veg waste and dry leafy materials. It has an option for a larger size grid which could be useful for mushy stuff and wet leaves. Sharpening the blades in situ is fairly easy with a smallish hand grinder. Cons: wet leaves clog up the standard grid, it needs to have leaves mixed with wood stuff. You need to have a stick handy to push stuff down the chute. The tires are tubed and can be punctured by spiky bits of shrubs on the ground. It is top heavy when moving it about, care needed on bumps and curbs. I reckon it is at its best when: a) You want to shred pruning and plant waste as you work your way around a very large garden (or difficult access) and just want the shredded material left in the same area as a mulch or b) when the hedge or small tree arisings you plan to produce would be too much to fit in one small ish vehicle load by the end of a working day, so it is best to use some of the load space to have the shredder to dramatically reduce the waste cubic metres on the load space. On my own I find I can easily cut, drag and fill my caged trailer in a long morning of hedging/pruning. So anything larger than that and it is worth having the shredder on board which means I can fit a full 900kgs weight of waste in the trailer. You need to offset the saving in time to tip/transport waste against the time spent feeding the shredder. In some cases providing nicely shredded material back to the customer on their borders is a value add to the service. I have even had customers request that I put the output on their compost heaps and not take it away. I think its use and benefit is marginal at this entry level size machine, unless you have a very specific requirement matched to it's size.

[L200]

Got it and quite like it.

Shreds branches nicely, have to be slow though with leafy branches as these can stall the engine.

Anyway I'm glad I got it.

Already help me with one job ( terraced house where it had to be taken through the house )

Recommended.

[Gnome]

I've got the major pro. Nice bit of kit. as long as you don't push them to the limits.

 

A couple of jobs and your one will pay for itself.

 

Lucky find.