5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for garden clean up

A.C. · October 18, 2022

I give this machine five stars for general purpose shredding, chipping, and mulching of garden waste and tree trimmings. This is NOT a commercial/industrial/heavy duty machine, but seems to work well for a medium to large garden that has fallen branches, shrub and tree pruning material and leaves for disposal preferably -- as mulch material or for composting. Years ago I owned 30 acres in Virginia, I would have wanted something a lot "heavier" to deal with what I had there. In those days we just made a big bonfire!The machine is well constructed, and is heavy/durable enough for what it is designed for. It was delivered within 48 hours of ordering (remarkable!), well packed, and had all the nuts, bolts for assembly. Very easy to assemble. It started easily. The engine is more than powerful enough for what it is designed for.The operating guide is good on operating and maintenance, but has nothing on how to actually use it (this could be easily added by the manufacturer).Here is what I found out: (1) Chipping: (a) when chipping it is best to close the "gate' of the mulcher/shredder component - less noise (b) the chipper feed is supposed to accept 3" diameter sticks - it will only do this if the stick is straight and has no side branches or side stubs - a 1 " stick with long stubs will not be accepted - so these need to be trimmed off first. Sticks with distinct bends will not be accepted - no wiggle room! (c) the chipper does a good chipping job. (2) shredding/mulching: (a) when using the top hopper for mulching/shredding, the feed rate seems much improved if the chipper feed inlet is closed with the supplied cap - this appears to improve the suction at the shredder inlet (b) don't try to feed too much stuff at one time - little and often works well (c) it shreds leaves well, again feed little and often. I shredded about 60 gallons of leaves in about 15 minutes. (d) a 30 " 1x1' piece of wood used to poke stuff in the hopper is helpful (e) at first, I thought that the hopper could have been designed larger, but in fact it matches the feed rate capability of the shredder (f) don't feed mushy green stuff like tomato vines (g) the machine shreds well. (3) I did not buy the leaf vacuum attachment, but I would agree with another reviewer that it is probably best to rake the leaves together and feed into the shredder hopper (4) collection bag: (a) The zipper at the end of the bag, that when unzipped is used to empty it, is for 3/4 of the opening, and consequently does not empty easily - the material gets stuck. Better to have a full length zipper. (b) I imagine most of the time one would not use the bag. (5) mobility: It has two largish solid wheels, and weighing 125lbs is light enough to pull around the garden (I am 84!). I like the fact that the side chute is small and can be folded down allowing for access through small doors and easy storage.Overall, I am surprisingly pleased with the machine as it meets my needs.I have had this machine for more than a year and still like it and it continue to work well. The two "cons" remain: (1) the zipper on the bag needs to be full length , not 3/4 (2) unless the branch is dead straight it will not take a 3" diameter piece - you must feed in straight pieces, unless they can bend

4.0 out of 5 stars Complaint about packaging, but AMAZING customer service

R. · June 26, 2018

Given the very high rating from my fellow purchasers, I had high hopes when I made the purchase of the Great Circle Chipper Shredder. I was particularly pleased when the package arrived a day early. My enthusiasm was quickly dampened, however, upon inspecting the box and even more so when I started to unpack and eventually assemble the device. Here is my story in the order of my disappointments:SHIPPING PROBLEMS1. The package was delivered by UPS. It doesn’t look like they were particularly careful in shipping as the box was canted in the truck and the driver complained about the weight (130#). He had no dolly nor automated lift so I offered, and he accepted, my help in carrying the box to my garage. When I opened the cardboard box I found that several of the wood packing slats had broken, the chipper had broken free from its restraints, and there was visible cosmetic damage to the unit.2. The shredder hopper had several dents and one corner was dinged pretty badly with a shard of steel protruding from the side of the hopper. Presumably this is related to the shipping.3. There was packing material (wood and plastic wrap) jammed inside or bolted into the exhaust manifold. It wasn’t clear that this was related to the shipping. Perhaps when the unit was packed this occurred. There is no way to tell for certain.PRODUCT PROBLEMS4. There was a steel bracket suspended from the air intake filter box but attached to nothing else. The other end was near the oil plug so I even tried removing the plug to see if I could make the bracket connect there. It didn’t fit. Why is this engine only partially assembled? To leave this bracket in place, it will only rattle and possibly cause damage. It serves no functional purpose in its current configuration.5. The assembly kit was short one nut. The chipper cone was to be attached to the chipper body, but there were only two nuts on the three threaded studs. I looked everywhere for the final nut, but was unable to find it.6. One of my biggest surprises was the fact that the axle on one side didn’t even have a cotter pin hole. How exactly am I supposed to attach the second wheel? How does something like that get overlooked? This, along with the other complaints above, really make me question the quality and workmanship of this product.At this point, I can’t speak about the performance of the unit. I’m afraid to start it without first talking to the manufacturer. I also fear that should it start, the second wheel may fall off (not secured) and create new problems or void any warranty. I also want to remove the wood and plastic packing materials stuck in the engine manifold after talking to Great Circle.Assuming that I can edit this review, I’ll report back after talking to Great Circle tomorrow. For now, I’m sorry to report, buyer beware!UPDATE (Tuesday, 6/26/2018): I spoke with Great Circle today. They said that they are going to send a replacement unit and it should arrive in the next 5 days. Will update you and the review when chipper #2 shows up...UPDATE (Tuesday, 7/3/2018): As promised, Great Circle shipped a replacement unit and it arrived a day early. There was still extensive damage to the packaging and minor damage to the product. I maintain that their shipping protection is substandard given the weight of the chipper. As others before me have found, the air filter was damaged and I ended up duct taping it which worked adequately.The reason for the bump up from 1-star to 4-stars is related in part to the amazing customer service in which they shipped a replacement right away. The other reason is the performance of the product. I gave the chipper its maiden voyage today and it worked like a charm. It was pretty simple to get it started and it ripped through the branches and brush pretty readily. The resulting chips/mulch was much finer than I expected, and I suspect that will make it perform better where I placed it on bare soil. The large branch feeder (<3") worked best, though the branches had to be pretty straight to fit. The small branch hopper (<1/2") was more difficult to feed and it sometimes took a bit of work to get the blades to engage with the branches and pull them into the chipper.All-in-all, I'm happy with the purchase and, once again, tip my hat to Myesha and the Customer Service Team for addressing my situation so promptly.

5.0 out of 5 stars Working great so far...

G. · July 19, 2025

We've had it about a week. It took about an 1 1/2 hrs to assemble. I'd watched videos online so it wasn't that hard. Might have been faster if I hadn't been watching a movie at the same time.After gas and oil, it started right up on the first pull. First use was a pile of branches that was over a year old, so pretty dry and they shredded easily. About the worst thing I can say about it is the output - it really could use a longer output thingy.Oh, be careful with the "3 inch" rule. And remember that "3 inch" means the absolute widest part of anything going in the chute. Anything over 1 inch should go in the chute. 1 inch and under will work best in the big hopper.

Wow, it really works.

P.M. · August 23, 2021

Heavy Guage steel construction. I was impressed before I started it. Put the oil on before you install the round shute, you will remove it to oil up and a funnel will help. Re-read the switches so you don't flood it. After all the rookie mistakes corrected it started and wow it chips. I used an electric one a few years back, this one seems strong enough to shread that chipper. I had a big pile of branches that have been sitting fir a while, I was going to cut them up by hand and put them in our green waste, never got around to much and that pile is gone now. I didn't use the bag, thought I would try without first. My wife wasn't impressed when it showed up, she thought we could do without it. When she saw the pile gone she said we should work on the rest of the trees. Happy wife....It doesn't seem to like being shut off and restarted a few minutes later so plan. Cut "Y" branches pile with the thick ends in one direction, two people might help if you can work together. I am very happy, ask again in a couple months, but wow at this time I am very happy. Buy one, electric will chew thin branches, this thing eats 20' long branches soooo easy and it spreader anything I could fit down the round shute. The big hopper takes car of the bits and pieces, take it a bit slower so the don't clog up and you too will be happy.

Their Support is Horrible

A. · June 16, 2025

The product stopped working after about 8 times running it. It had oil and gas. I had to pull it all apart to fix it. The support line was closed and never returned calls left. I actually don’t believe that they even make this product, but just put their sticker on it. The product broke again… this time the drive shaft clean broke off. It’s made with white metal…

Excellent machine has been well used better than expected

M.M. · October 17, 2022

I have had this chipper shredder for several seasons. The machine is very well priced. It came well packaged, and I found assembly was straight forward. The engine is well powered for chipping and shredding. The engine always starts surprisingly easily. The engineering was well thought out. It is a quite simple but efficient design. I was amazed how efficiently the chipper went through large piles of branches and the shredder through masses of leaves and dried grass. The bagger function has been very helpful in collected the shredded vegetation, which I use for chicken bedding. This is an excellent and efficient tool to manage our acreage, which as a sizable woodlot and several gardens. It is particularly appreciated when pruning berry bushes and our orchard.

Ok. Edit: YIKEs!

S. · June 23, 2021

FOLLOW UP: The loose bolt caused some other issues, destroyed some threads. We were able to run it for another hour until everything came loose, and stayed loose. This chipper is now destined for the scrap pile, or, the machine shop to get retooled. Our budget chipper is quickly turning into a very expensive purchase. Buyer beware.Does the trick, but its got issues. The bolt holding the shredder actually came RIGHT OUT during use. Lots of banging and smacking, had to get our mechanic to take a look at it and fix it up.If you buy, highly recommended to not trust the fit and finish from the factory. Take it apart, tighten bolts, add loctite. You'll be thankful you did.

This Chipper is of very low quality, broke down after a very short time.

C.E.K. · May 31, 2024

The Chipper stoped working after only a few min. The machine shook so badly that the nuts and bolts came off.