Shredders

[Bill]

The recent thread about paper destruction reminds me of my problem. I've retired from my business, but have tons of paper to destroy as it passes the however many years you have to keep it for the taxman.

I have 2 'friends'. One worked at a top secret base that intercepted all sorts of confidential data. This is probably being read by one of his old colleagues as I type. Another runs a banking related organisation.

On the last angry dismantle of both my Staples shredders, I asked both what shredders they used. Both said "Don't talk to me about shredders".

Here, I shred, dismantle poke out the bits, shred, dismantle poke out the bits and so on ad infinitum. The shred receptacle, which was a tiny box has been replaced by a reasonable sized bin and I put the output on the compost.

My compost doesn't seem to compost very well either, so a lot of it looks still like long paper strips.

I noticed last time I was in Staples that a sign said something like medium duty shredder, 5 sheets an hour. Ridiculous.

Does anybody successfully use these things without getting mad?

[Derek G.]

You need one about 4 times the size costing Ca.175 quid at Costco / Staples

My wife has 2 of them, sits in the middle and alternates between them at 20 mins intervals.

Don't get mad get even.

Derek

[Steve Firth]

No.

For large volumes of paper it's better to use a hammer mill.

[Tabby]

Usually fire makes more sense than a little document shredder.

NT

[dom]

For a one-off, consider a document disposal service. I dare say they're expensive, but it's a legitimate business expense.

[Steve Firth]

Yes, and most of them are incredibly careless with the documents they collect. There's little reponsibility on their part and no way for a small business or private individual to force any document destruction organisation to comply with the terms of their contract.

[Dave Liquorice]

I wouldn't use a 3rd party unless they came with the shredder in the back of a van and I watched all my documents go through their shredder.

[chris French]

In message , Bill writes

Then it's needs to be hotter (make a big pile up in one go of a good mix) or just leave it longer, it will rot down. To rot down quickest paper needs a fair amount of greenery mixed with it as well. I also dump mine ina bucket of water, or pour some over it in the bin as it's pretty dry stuff.

The cheap shredders are really just designed for people shredding a couple of letters or a few receipts etc. at a time. Ours is a Rexel, bought before the cheapy cheap ones came on the market everywhere. It's works pretty well but shredding lots of stuff is tedious, but then that's not what is designed for.

Either buy a decent through put shredder, or as discussed in another thread 'Destroy it yourself', just burn it.

[chris French]

Ours has a reverse, which helps, especially if run in reverese and the left to run forward until it clear (you can here buy the sound) but it does seem to collect stuff underneath the cutters, instead of falling into the bin which does sometimes need clearing by hand.

Low duty cycle, but then if shredding much, we (or rather the kids) soon get bored anyway. So just leave the pile buy the shredder and do a few minutes now and then.

[pete]

I've got a little cross-cut shredder that I've had for years (more than 5, less than 10). These days it's only really used to shred correspondence that has my name/address on it. However, in the past I've been faced by the same sort of issues: shredding maybe 50 sheets at a time.

For those those shredding binges (and even now, occasionally) I'll spray a sheet of paper with lubricating oil before starting the shredding session. That seems to keep the shredder happy and doesn't gum it up with an oil/dust mixture.

I do tend to only serve it one sheet at a time, which slows things down a lot, but it does the job when needed.

[A.Clews]

Thus spake Bill ( [e-mail]) unto the assembled multitudes:

I bought a shredder in Lidl two or three years ago. The make is 'Lervia' (you can sound like Barry White if you say it right ;-) and it's pretty sturdy. It cross-cuts, producing strips about 1" long by about 1/8" wide, and can also shred CDs and credit cards (one at a time). It has quite a large capacity bin. It handles up to 5 sheets at a time, but I rarely need to shred too much stuff at a time anyway. It only cost about 15 quid and I've been very pleased with it. Unfortunately Lidl only seem to stock stuff like this every few months and for one week at a time - often in 'themed' promotions such as office equipment, gardening tools, or motorcycling accessories - so I've no idea when it'll appear again.

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , Steve Firth writes

$ORK uses a mobile service which comes to you, and are happy for you to watch the stuff being shredded.

Coincidentally, they are visiting today and I'll be going along to watch the fun, as I have about a million floppy discs to get rid of as well as paper.

[Tim Watts]

Yes - I own a decent medium duty that does what it says it does.

A reverse switch is a must though for releasing the odd jam.

[dennis]

They are like most things, you get what you pay for..

You can get fast, cheap, secure but not at the same time.

Cheap ones don't have powerful, continuously rated motors and are typically five minutes every hour or similar. They also only handle a few sheets at a time.

Spend some cash and you can get a continuously rated diamond cutter but they are not cheap. They are so not cheap that most shops don't stock them and they are order in items in Staples.

Most people use a cheap one and use it till it trips its thermal protection and then do something else while it cools.

The really cheap ones tend to jam easily which, IME, doesn't happen as much on the higher priced ones, I don't know why this is but its probably sloppy fitting parts trapping the paper.

They all wear out, paper can be very abrasive, especially inkjet paper which is frequently coated.

[funkyoldcortina]

Where can I buy the sound? was that supposed to be a link to a sound effects store?

[Bill]

In message , [e-mail] writes

Thanks to all who replied. 15 quid makes this the most attractive answer. I'll keep an eye on Lidl.

I think my problem is not just quantity, but putting things through like receipts that were screwed up in my pockets in the '90's before being filed.

Both machines here have reverse, but if something catches going forwards, it often seems to leave bits behind in reverse. Then the next normal sheet jams, twists and out comes the screwdriver. (Why don't these things clip together?).

Might try spraying the odd sheet with oil, as suggested.

It was the friend from the base where they used high power, probably American, shredders, and who said they were hopeless and always jamming that made me think I was not alone.

[Mike Barnes]

Bill :

Yes. SWMBO has loads of confidential material to shred. After some frustration with budget models we bought a Fellowes SB-85C

it has behaved flawlessly, taking a continuous stream of ten-sheet wodges for as long as we're prepared to feed it. And the local council has conveniently started accepting shredded paper in the recycling bin. Shredding is *fun*!

[Andy Dingley]

Yes. Once had a shredder that could do the aluminium backplates on

1/4" tape cartridges. That one worked fine. Another lesser though, they're a nightmare.

I burn all mine, just on the fireplace. Rolled A4 in bundles burns fine, especially with a bit of hot wood already burning beneath it. Then pulverise the ashes through the grate afterwards.

For CD-Rs, a few seconds in the microwave will reticulate the data layer without even toasting the plastic.

[mike]

We got one from Lidl the last time they had 'em in and it's definitely a step up from the standard shed cheapie it replaced. Shreds DVDs/ credit cards too which isn't something you want to do often but is strangely satisfying.

In fact they've got them in again next week:

've even managed to make a 5-minute video seem like it lasts an hour.

[The Natural Philosopher]

whenever I run over anything like a compost bag in the ride on, it turns to highly mulchable stuff. same for all hedge clippings. I leave em on the ground and then run the mower over them.