Shredder for four seasons

Efficient processing ensures proper compost mix

In the green professional's sometimes extensive and diversified fleet of machinery, the wood chipper is traditionally considered a seasonal piece of equipment. During spring and summer, it sits in the back of a corner, only to be taken out of the shed in the fall when the leaves fall and the woody material needs to be processed. At least, that's the assumption. ELIET's developers disagree.

"If you look at the material the garden contractor has to deal with throughout the year, the proportion of bulk green material is much higher than that of branches and logs," said Frederic Lietaer, CEO of ELIET Europe. "Moreover, spring and summer often involve a mix of both. All too often you see that pruning residues are then loaded and integrally disposed of. The reason is that many garden contractors have a wood chipper (chipper) that is less suitable for hedge and shrub trimmings. Most garden professionals would actually be better served by a green chipper (shredder)."

ELIET's patented chipper system, known as 'the Chopping Principle' and a fixed component of all ELIET chippers, is therefore aimed at processing both wood and green waste in the most efficient manner.

Natural weakness

"First, our machines take advantage of the natural weakness of the wood," Lietaer explains. "Unlike chippers, which cut across the wood, the blades in our chippers first split the wood along the length of the fibers and then cut it at an angle. The system therefore experiences much less resistance and will consequently work more efficiently." 

An additional advantage, according to Lietaer, is that a little wear on the blades does not immediately impact efficiency. "This not only means that maintenance can be reduced, but equally that small contaminants that often end up in the machine along with leafy material - think pebbles or bits of gravel - do not immediately cause major damage."

Open system

At the same time, the ELIET rotor, with its blades mounted in the fiber direction, is much more versatile for processing the non-woody fraction such as leaves, conifer trimmings, ornamental grasses, ground cover... 

"The special blade arrangement creates an open system into which this material can penetrate very easily. Leaves and other green waste will then be intensely shredded and mixed due to the high chopping speed, until they disappear from the grinding chamber. For this purpose, the shredding system is combined with a high-performance discharge system, which uses, among other things, a strong and permanent air flow. This cleaning effect virtually eliminates the risk of blockages."

Tailored to the composting process

The word "waste" has come up several times, but it's a term Lietaer actually prefers not to use. "The great advantage of a shredder is precisely that you can put branches, leaves, hedge clippings, and so on, back into useful use, for example as compost. Knowing that a good composting process can only be maintained through a balance between brown, woody and green, moist material, so with a four-season shredder you're already one step ahead."

The ELIET chipper system also has its advantages in this respect, by the way. "Because branches and logs are split in the fiber direction and then subjected to a salvo of up to 50,000 cutting movements per minute, the wood chips are intensely bruised and frayed. This creates countless nooks and crannies where the microorganisms that control the composting process can find access and settle, speeding up the decomposition process. But even if you want to apply the wood chips as a ground cover, it has a big advantage, particularly that the chips hook together nicely and leave plenty of room for air, turning the mulch layer into a breathable Gore-tex blanket, so to speak."

Entry-level

ELIET's extensive range of professional chippers will have a little brother this fall. "With the ELIET Vector 4S, we are launching a new professional entry-level model at Agribex," Lietaer hints. "The machine has been developed to suit the private garden and we expect it to be standard in the van of many garden contractors - all year round."