This is a quick review of the sun joe 15 amp chipper and shredder model cj602e
in red; however if you like to color coordinate your lawn tools, no worries! It's also available
in the traditional sun joe green and even gray. As always please see the information section below
to jump to a specific point in the video. Here are the top five things I like about this tool.
Number one. With a reduction ratio of 17 to 1 the tool does a good job reducing whatever gets
stuffed into the hopper. Whether it's limbs twigs or even what I call "weed salad," at 15 amps this
26 pound red devil chips and shreds everything into a not-too-chunky, spreadable mulch. You can
see some twigs and leaves make it through, but the end result is definitely going to break down
faster than anything I could do with a pair of loppers. I shredded rugosa roses, which are beach
roses, invasive bittersweet vines. I chipped limbs from lilac, hydrangea, rose of sharon, and even
tulip trees. It's best to let the fleshy stuff sit for a few days although it's not necessary
if you have dry branches on hand and you'll want to alternate between fleshy limbs and dry branches
to keep the blades clean. Unfortunately for my demo there were no maple or oak trees around.
I'd like to have tried those with leaves on them, but unfortunately there were none
on hand. I'd avoid pine branches since it's likely they'll gum up the blades
Number two. Maintenance is simple enough. Just clean things off inside and out. The blades are
reversible, which is great, and replacement blades are available from sun joe and other retailers.
The tool that removes the bolts to change the blades is also included. Number three.
The tool comes with Sun Joe's standard two year warranty but you can get an additional 90 days
if you register it online at snowjoe.com. Snow JoE does take the warranty seriously and I know this
because my snow joe shovel broke last winter and they had me a new one in just a few days. Because
they stand by their products I also invested in an additional two year warranty for this product.
I think it was like a modest 20 bucks. It's worth it though. There's a lot of plastic on this thing.
Kind of feels like a toy. Four! Assembly is easy and the instructions are clear which I always
appreciate. You attach the axle, the wheels, you screw in the stand, and it's ready to go. You'll
be ready to chip in less than 10 minutes. Number five. For what it does I think this tool is a good
value especially when it's on sale. I ordered it from Amazon. It was on sale for roughly $118
and then I had it shipped to the beautiful state of Maine. We're actually
here on vacation at the moment, but since i don't know how to relax I figured I'd do a review.
Now for the top five things I'm not so crazy about.
Number one. Chipping and shredding with this thing is a slow, painful process. Because the opening of
the hopper is so small and narrow I did hours of prep work. I trimmed down funky branches. I even
organized the trimmings. Part of that was for purposes of this video, but it took me five to
six hours to break down all these piles. Awkward limbs can get stuck in the hopper or jam up the
blades so just because something fits into the hopper doesn't mean that the chipper can actually
handle it. The specifications say the cutting diameter is roughly an inch and a half, but really
depends on the density of the wood, the moisture content, amount of foliage on it. And there were
times this thing was working pretty hard with branches that were only an inch and a quarter.
Number two. So when something gets clogged, unclogging this bugger
is a time suck. The hopper's locking bolt is so long it takes, I don't know,
40 or more turns to open and close it. Not sure why they didn't make access a little easier.
I think a latch would have been a better option than a bolt with a lot of threads,
but impressively I only experienced one clog and that was at the end of the day. I was
pretty tired at that point and I got a little greedy. I was stuffing all kinds of stuff in
there just to see what would happen. Once I got it open though, the jam was actually easy to clear.
And while I had it open I figured I'd use the blower to clear out the sawdust.
Number three. Rated at 15 amps this thing uses a lot of electricity. It's intended for residential
use, so light duty, but I can only imagine the impact running this thing at full throttle for
six hours is gonna have on the electric bill. Gas powered tools may require maintenance,
but they also get the job done faster and probably cheaper. Time is money.
Four! Similar to a gas powered chipper this thing is loud.
Not as loud as a gas powered chipper, but it's still loud... especially when
tackling thick branches. Definitely wear hearing protection and safety glasses. Check this out...
Number five. Lastly, the paddle works well for pushing debris into the blades
but the tether's dangerous in my opinion. I'll likely end up removing the strap.
There were a few times the strap got wrapped around limbs and it could have pulled the paddle
into the hopper. Not sure what that would have looked like, but probably wouldn't be pretty.
Uh and the side clip for holding the paddle? It's useless.
A few other things I'd like to point out: Be sure to use the appropriate gauge extension cord to
avoid overheating the motor, remember this thing uses a lot of juice; only plug into a gfci outlet;
and don't use the tool in wet conditions. Electricity and water make for a deadly
combination. When it comes to reducing the small, fleshy stuff like rhododendron clippings just use
the lawnmower. It's easier. And for thick branches reach for the sawzall and turn it into firewood.
To wrap up... For light duty, residential work, I like this tool. While the prep work and
feeding the hopper is not only exhausting but time consuming, the results far surpass any reduction I
could do with a pair of loppers. So, it's a keeper in my opinion. Then once I was done I spread it
all out so that it'll eventually break down and return all the nutrients back to the gardens.
Let's have a look. Nice! Now that I'm done with this video
I can get back to our family vacation. Perhaps take in a beautiful sunset...
or not. If this video has been helpful please do me a favor and like it. More
importantly please subscribe as that always helps me out. Thanks so much for watching.