Bosch AXT 200 Rapid Shredder

3 years old and only just out of guarantee. Motor has burned out and Bosch want £90 to repair it - i.e. over 50% of the cost of a new one!!

Would have to be mad to pay that - belief in a good brand is gone for good.

Do not buy one of these!!

Principally used for taming a large garden and dealing with tree branches up to 40mm in diameter. (Would suggest you are wasting your time if you are hoping to chop up wet leaves or soft foliage.

Otherwise I can honestly say the equipment has been severely abused and I have frequently thought it has to break soon. Well it finally has, after about 4 years and I think it has offered good value and far out performed my expectation.

The reviews that state "must have a sharp blade" are correct. The infuriating part about this is a new blade does not look that different to a worn blade? However the difference in performance is quite marked.

When putting through large branches (40mm)it is wise to let it take the branch in small steps otherwise it will jam and always let it get back up to full speed.

So what killed the one I currently own? - The switch has given up.

Will buy the same or similar if I cannot get spares for a reasonable cost.

I have had the shredder for 2 years but have only used it on 3 occasions, always making sure that I did not try to shred anything too large. I am still using the original blade although the blade has been turned over which shows how little I have used it. When in use it worked very well and I would put the shredded material straight onto to the flower bed as a mulch. While using it on the 3rd occasion, the motor started slowing down and then started smoking. Now it won't start up. A new motor is £115 so I will not be buying one, instead I will hire a shredder in the future as and when the need arises.

I bought this machine to complement my AXT 2000HP as it kept jamming with thin and soft materials. The Bosch AXT 2000 RAPID was OK to start with but kept jamming. I carried out the following modification and it hasn't jammed since and now shreads without effort.YOU DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND PROBABLY INVALIDATE YOUR GUARANTEE, now that's out of the way here goes. Remove the blade as per the instructions, place a washer over the motor shaft about 1-1.5mm thick now replace the blade. Ensure that (a) the blade engages with the motor shaft (b) it does not touch the upper alloy casing,turn by hand to check. This does two things (1) it ensures that anything that touches the backing disc is cut by the blade and (2) reduces the gap above the blade which helps the cutting process and prevents soft stems passing over the blade and not being cut. I was amazed at the difference that made although I would not put any stems over about 8mm or 10mm if soft into the machine as I think it would damage the blade.

What a heap of junk used it 5 times and motor burnt out, kept jamming wrapping material up in blades rather than cutting it. spent more time clearing blockages than using it. P W

I bought theis machine in 2009 and used it about half a dozen times before it finaly gave up and broke. It was constantly jamming and struggled even on quite small branches and the shreding function was poor at best stripping the wood rather than chipping it.

I would recommend anyone considering a serious garden shreder to look elsewhere as the Bosch AXT2000-RAPID Electric Shredder is not adequate for anything bigger than small twigs.

this is a fantastic machine for the money, i dont know what the other reviews are on about it tells you you have to replace the blade and i have had one of these for 4 years now yer its loud but it cutts well and the blades are only 12.50 each which i change once a year and resharpen on a stone myself in minits cuts well and is a great little shredder for light work it has a push board for manual feed because its a maual feed shreeder auto feeds are a lot more expencive, i have just borght a new shredder for larger materal but will keep my bosch for smaller jobs as its a joy to use, and quite quick for a little machine.

it wheels easyly and light weight and slim for shed storage and bldes are easy to get and take mins to fit.

top marks bosch

Purchased 19th August 2010. Taken back to B&Q for refund 31st August 2010.

Worked perfectly for about an hour. Even towards end of first session of use was struggling to deal with stuff, even though I was being very careful not to overload it.

It simply isn't up to the task, it strips branches rather than shredding them, leading to constant jamming. Can't deal with branches of 15mm, let alone the 35mm it's quoted as handling.

This machine is a waste of time and money.

Granted, this was not built for major jobs but I have a small garden and this shredder works like a charm; the amount of time it's saved me is huge.

It takes fresh & dry branches and leaves and turns them into nice confetti. In one bag I can fit what would take 4 or 5 (bags AND hours) if I were to do it by hand.

One word of advice, keep the blade sharp and you won't have problems with it jamming.

The Bosch AXT 200 Rapid Shredder works great for a while but mine frequently jams with the "greener" twigs. As one of your other reviewers noted after relatively light use a burning smell and the machine will no longer work (out of warranty of course). Reckon this worked out at about £10 per session maybe the tip would be cheaper and I'll just buy my compost - not very "green" but more economical.

Initially I was very pleased with this machine but the frequent jamming and later complete breakdown mean I was very disappointed overall.