Hyundai HYCH2800ES Garden Shredder Review

As soon as I opened up the big box that the Hyundai HYCH2800ES came in, I knew what I was getting myself in for. It’s remarkably similar in design to the Ryobi RSH3045U impact shredder, so I was excited to make an informed side-by-side comparison.

An impact shredder employs a large diameter rotating blade that spins relatively slowly but with high levels of torque. The blade edges pass close to an adjustable counterplate inside the machine, and chew up sticks, branches, and grasses into uniformly sized bits.

Unboxing and assembling the HYCH2800ES was a straightforward process thanks to the thorough and clearly illustrated manual provided. All I needed to do was flip the legs up, attach the axle and wheels, and it was ready to go. There’s a spanner and hex key included in the set, so I didn’t need to reach for my tools. It took no more than 10 minutes from start to finish.

Decked out in blue plastic, with a silver tubular steel frame and rolling on 180 mm diameter plastic wheels, it’s a good looking piece of kit. The real kicker for me isn’t mentioned in the manual, but there even appears to be a pair of cup holders built into the body of the shredder. Maybe Hyundai have taken a leaf out of their car design and realised that gardening is hot and thirsty work!

Weighing in at precisely 20.8 kg this isn’t a lightweight garden tool. Unless you’re feeling strong, it’s not something you want to pull up a flight of stairs, but the wheels make it easy to manoeuvre on the flat. Once you’ve tipped it up it moves like a sack trolley which is really useful. And the 10 m bright orange power cable gives you plenty of flexibility and visibility in the garden as well.

The mechanical parts of this garden shredder sit on top of a removable 60 litre plastic bin that collects whatever you’ve put through the blades. It’s great because it catches all the debris and makes disposal a piece of cake. It’s made from tough but flexible polypropylene that won’t shatter or break any time soon.

Something that might be a problem for some people is the size of this shredder. If you’ve only got limited storage space, the big bulk of this tool might be a problem. With a footprint of 45 cm x 60 cm and an overall height of just under 90 cm, it’s not going to fit in a tiny shed or underneath most workbenches.

I think Hyundai have missed a trick when it comes to making this shredder a bit more compact for storage. It’s delivered with the legs folded away and the motor section stored inside the collection box. If they made the wheels easier to take off, you could fold it away when it’s not being used. It’s not the sort of tool you use every day after all.

One thing I’m not keen on is the plunger tool that comes with it. It’s a thin piece of polypropylene plastic with a handle on top. It’s not quite beefy enough to push down thin branches when they get stuck inside the hopper. It doesn’t quite reach far enough into the shredder to push through stubborn chunks of wood either.

Seeing as I’ve already reviewed an impact-type shredder, the phenomenal Ryobi RSH3045U, I knew this tool had a fight on its hands. Compared with more cost effective high rpm shredders, this tool uses a slower but more powerful mechanism to chop through sticks and branches with brute force and razor sharp blades.

The internal cutting mechanism is made up of seven blades on a wheel that spins round at 60 rpm. The blade can spin in both directions; forward does the shredding and reverse is for when sticks or branches get stuck. Thanks to the high torque motor, I didn’t need to use the reverse though. I can see how it would come in handy if some stringy leaf material became wrapped around the blade.

If the blade does get fouled up, it’s quite easy to remove the back cover with the included hex key. It’s held in place by four hex bolts that when removed give you fill access to the blade. You can even remove the whole thing and replace it if you need to.

If the blade doesn’t seem to be cutting through the sticks or twigs being fed in, it’s probably the counterplate that needs adjusting. It’s a chunk of metal that sits next to the spinning blade that the garden waste is crushed against. You wind it in and out using the adjustment wheel on the side of the shredder. It needs to be kept as close as possible to the cutting blades to work properly.

The grunt that this impact shredder puts out is thanks to the 2,800 Watt motor sitting on top of the collection box. Although it’s 200 Watts less compared with the Ryobi RSH3045U shredder, I’ve not managed to stall this one yet. It’s dealt neatly with all the wood I’ve managed to shove into it without complaining.

The low speed, high torque motor runs round at a solid 60 rpm. It doesn’t matter whether it’s palm fronds, handfuls of grass, or dried conifer branches, it hasn’t slowed down and chewed through them all hungrily.

The idea of a “quiet” power tool is quite ambitious for any brand to put on their products, but to give Hyundai credit, it is quieter compared with the similar type of shredder made by Ryobi. The noise level of 92 dB is roughly equivalent to a home lawn mower. It’s not hugely loud, but prolonged exposure may still result in hearing loss.

As with any power tool, it’s essential to wear the correct level of personal protective equipment (PPE) whenever you use it. Getting, and wearing, a decent pair of ear defenders when you’re working in the garden can help to prevent hearing loss in the long term.

The good thing about this garden shredder’s noise levels compared to something like a lawn mower is that the noise level only peaks when during shredding. Running the machine with nothing in the blades puts out a much more manageable 75 dB.

The only thing that makes this a noisier machine is the overrun on the motor when you switch it off. The electronic brake doesn’t engage very quickly, so from powering off to silence is at least four seconds. It’s nit-picking but compared with the Ryobi it’s a noticeable difference.

If you compare this type of impact shredder to a high rpm one like the Einhell GC-KS 2540, the noise is a lot easier to deal with. It’s nowhere near the 106 dB put out by the Einhell, which is better for your hearing and the relationship you have with your neighbours!

Hyundai have put a lot of thought into making this the best garden shredder in terms of safety that I’ve come across so far. There are several features included in the design that make it difficult, if not impossible, to hurt yourself during use.

The first clever safety feature is the locking mechanism on the collection box. You cannot turn the machine on unless the collection box is fully inserted, and the lock is slid into place. This means you can’t run the machine continuously until there’s a dangerous pile of debris under the shredder.

The other important feature that should help to keep you safe is the safety switch. It’s an overload protection system that will automatically turn off the shredder if it detects that the motor is under too much strain. If this happens, a circuit breaker is triggered that protects you and the shredder.

To avoid accidental start-ups, the ON button is a soft switch. This means you can’t accidentally leave it in the ON position when you unplug the shredder. Although I found the forward and reverse switch to be a little fiddly, it should also help to avoid accidental start-ups as well.

This isn’t the cheapest garden shredder on the market, but it is one of the most affordable impact shredders available right now. The motor is more than powerful enough to deal with all the branches and sticks you can fit in the feeder hopper, and it’s got plenty of capacity in the collection box.

Having a robust shredder in the garden is a real time saver. If you’ve got a big garden and a lot of debris to work with, I can’t think of a better way to break it down into manageable chips. And if you want to make your own garden mulch, you’ll be saving yourself money and trips to the tip too!

If most of the waste around your garden is soft grass or fibrous material like palm fronds, you’re better off with a high rpm shredder. They’re not as good at dealing with the big stuff though, so it depends on the work you have in front of you.

In comparison with the Ryobi impact shredder, it might not be quite as slick, but it does almost the same job for a bit less money. If you need to take down a tree in your garden, this is one of the best shredders for the price.

This heavy duty garden shredder is a powerful piece of kit. If you’ve got lots of trees and bushes on your property, it’s an unbeatable way to turn trimmed branches and sticks into useful mulch. Even though it’s big and heavy, it rolls around easily on its big wheels, and the power more than makes up for the bulk.

Unfortunately, this type of garden shredder has a big flaw as far as I’m concerned. It really doesn’t deal well with the most common types of debris in most gardens. It struggles to chew up grass and weeds. The much cheaper high rpm shredders do a much better job of that.

Even though this isn’t the most versatile or easily stored shredder, it’s great at chewing up branches. So, if that’s what you’ve got planned, this is one of the best garden shredders you can buy. It’s not as slick as the Ryobi, but it’s less expensive for anyone who’s a bit more budget conscious.