Great machine

This machine is great. It powers through dry leaves so fast. If the leaves are wet it takes a little more time but still tears them right up. It would be nice if they designed it for thicker trimmer line though because small sticks cause the line to wear out really fast. It's best not to feed any sticks in the machine or you have to change the line more often.

[Rewarded Review] Worth it for me

Easy set up and easy to use. I also bought the collapsible bin to use to fill and dump leaves into machine. This worked great! I used contractor bags to hang and collect the shredded leaves.

The Worx Leaf Mulcher It is easy to assemble, light weighted. I measured that the reduction ratio of dry leaves is at least 4:1. It should be noted that: (1) It requires an additional power cord to connect to the device from the wall socket. (2) It is not easy to align the position if it is connected with a paper yard waste bag. (3) The noise and dust are very loud when it is running, so it is best to wear a mask, glasses and a hat. (4) The plastic string used to crush the leaves is a consumable item, and it needs to be replaced with a new one almost every 4 bags of dry leaves. In short, it is still an effective tool and worth its price. I am satisfied with this product.

Works well, even with damp leaves. Shredding dry leaves will provide about a 11 to 1 reduction and larger damp leaves like Maple or Oak about a 8 to 1 reduction.

Based on my experience this fall with both dry maple leaves and oak leaves, this mulcher has performed exactly to my needs. The mulching is continuous and does not clog. I have filled six 42-gallon bags with leaves. I wear goggles for eye protection while leaf mulching. The replacement line I use is generic .80, fits well, lasts about 30 minutes. I'm using a new Suncast 26" double-tine rake with detachable hand rake. This keeps my hands from the work area and allows me to guide large bunches of leaves into the funnel. I have used it for three weeks now, am almost at the end of leaf fall season on the US shoreline of Lake Erie. The purchase process with HD was easy, the box arrived UPS in short order, damage-free. Assembly was easy for me, instructions fairly clear. I have a leaf vacuum with a metal impeller, a Toro model, but the oak leaves in particular have wiry stems that clog the narrow throat of a shoulder-slung portable mulcher. Now I need only use the Toro for final cleanup. Using the Worx appliance is like feeding a toddler: a lot of leaves may scatter, it's hard to be entirely neat. However it is now my primary tool for leaf removal and disposal. I am a male, seventy years old, in reasonably good shape. Wish you the best experience as well

Simply Outstanding machine

This thing is outstanding. BUT forget about using paper bags..at least not right under it.. two reasons. the paper leaf bags are too tall for the stand.. But even if you raise the stand on stones or higher support. the paper bags are too small to wrap over the rim,. and the orange interior belt they give you to keep the paper bag open is useless.. SO..Plastic leaf bags are the answer, they are big enough to flip over the rim of the sand thus causing a sealed vacuum effect.., and man, is this thing ever fast and efficient. I estimated one filled mulched leaf bag with this machine, is the equivalent to almost 4 bags filled leaves by hand. YES its outstanding. I filled one paper leaf bag by hand and then dumped it in this mulcher, I was able to add three more hand filled leaf bags in that first bag. Best when leaves are dry of course. and avoid dumping twigs in there..doesn't cause harm, but strong twigs tend to break the plastic wires cutters sometimes, same as an edger line would break. But these lines are very strong and don't break that easy.. I would use the plastic leaf bags for the mulching collection and then I emptied some of them into paper leaf bags since I had so many...

I am actually using this to chop hay up for my senior horse. It works great! Pretty quick as long as I don’t put too much in at one time, and chops into the same size as a bag of commercial chopped hay. I do have to replace the cutting string fairly frequently doing this, but I bought a roll of weed eater line and just cut into the same lengths as the stuff that comes with it and it works fine. This is going to save me so much money chopping my own hay instead of paying for commercially chopped hay

[Rewarded Review] Worx works but a better design is called for.

I bought this leaf mulcher to chop hay for my elderly horse with dental problems. The mulcher does the job, but the machine has to be stopped frequently to remove clogs. The cords have to be replaced after chopping a 1/2 bale or so.The cords break off going into the chopped hay, and they cannot be easily found. It takes me about 50 minutes to chop a bale of hay. I wish it was a faster hay chopper that does not clog and does not have plastic cording.

Shredder string keeps breaking

This works ok if you have only leaves with no sticks. Sticks will break the string. It's a pain to replace the string. The machine sends up a cloud of dust so you must wear a mask. Expect to be covered with dust. It's an enormous amount of work to pick up the leaves and then stuff them into the small hole. We donated this then piled the leaves onto the lawn and ran over the pile multiple times with our lawn mower. So easy. 1/10 the work. And the lawn loved the clippings.

This machine is a real workhorse. I ground up over 10 oaks worth of fallen leaves last year and never did this product give me any trouble. It'll do wet leaves although best if the majority is dry. Use a good quality string to avoid having to constantly change it and use needle nose pliers if they are a tight fit. The machine will sit on top of a 32 gal. Brute can for easy dumping. Very pleased with this mulcher.

Better than with mower for mulching

This shreds leaves into very small pieces ideal for mulch. To get the leaves this size with my mower, I have to pile them on the driveway and make several passes. I prefer mulching with the Worx machine over the mower because I don't have to cart the leaves around as much and the mulched material is more consistent in size. I use two small rakes, one under each arm, to lift the leaves from the pile into the machine so that I don't have to bend down repeatedly and don't breathe in much debris. Small twigs can clog up the maching, but it's easy to stop and unclog.

Very loud. Goes through string fast. Very dusty. Not hard to clog if you’re too generous with what you’re putting in it. But it works. I use it to chop up hay for an elderly horse that can’t chew regular hay. It was easy to assemble. It’s easy to use. The string is easy to replace and it comes with a whole package of spare string. This would be 5 stars if it were not for the noise and dust.

Good mulcher

I have used this mulcher for leaves for the past two months on multiple occasions. It does a very good job of mulching leaves and even small sticks/twigs, with minimal clogging. I've used the mulch on garden beds in some areas, and in others it just makes the waste much more compact.

A Yard Game-Change For Me

I have a yard with a LOT of Oregon white oak, and they produce a lot of leaves each fall. I just got my leaf mulcher a month or so ago and have been using it regularly on leaves I bagged up in the fall (knowing I wanted to keep them for mulch). There's some work to do to be sure you're not including larger sticks, rocks, acorns, pine cones, etc. (all of which end up in my leaf bags), but I'd say that 3 or 4 brown tall leaf bags get reduced to shredded leaves occupying the space in about one brown leaf bag. The shredded leaves produced make a pretty good layer of mulch, and I've been successfully using them as part of my "browns" for compost too.

Simple, Effective, Meeting Expectations

The unit I bought was used and in useful shape. Bit dirty/dusty but I would have made it look that way in the first day anyway and it was about 40% of new price. I also bought a set of 48 replacement lines - which you will need. They are 13" long so make sure you get the right ones. My unit came without instructions, no surprise, so I was happy to find there was very little assembly. Base was assembled, body, and hopper complete the parts. Lightweight to carry around to reposition, easily placed on leg stand, no need to secure. Being a string trimmer (think edger) it is going to wear out quickly if you make it deal with wood - clean the twigs and larger out as you go. When line shortens through wear it leaves a big ring of mulch around the inside edges and slows down your progress considerably. First time or two I removed the circular line mount to replace the line. Then I realized it was really not that awkward to just replace inside the hopper and never go through the difficult removal of the plastic flathead bolt which was getting chewed up. I just used a large cardboard box that happened to fit just inside the width of the legs to catch my mulch. Slide out, slide in. Easier than bagging. About a dozen loads in the top, empty the box around the base of a tree.I've got about three hours on the motor now and showing no signs of fatigue. About another 10 hours to go this season so if anything changes I'll let you know! Wish list - if there was a larger target for dumping leaves in the top - say half a cone that you could attach like a backstop above the hopper - I'd get it. May have to try and come up with a home made version.

A good machine but

The downside of this machine is the plastic line. Three to five minutes of mulching and the line is worn allowing passage of untouched leaves. Contact with the smallest twig will result in a broken line. I coped for years with measured precut lines and could change lines in one minute but the result was a lot of plastic line waste and time wasted. The machine was working ok but my acre of trees dropped truckloads of leaves every fall and mulching them for pickup was becoming extremely tiresome. I tried something. With some hardware I retrofitted the spool that held held the trimmer line to hold a lightweight metal blade. Dimensions: 14-1/4 inches long x 1 inch wide x 1/16th inch thick. For the next 1-1/2 seasons I never changed a line and cut my mulching time roughly in half. As long as leaves were fed slowly avoiding clumping of leaves the motor would slow slightly but resume full speed quickly. I had the perfect mulcher and I ran it for hours at a time. Constant use generated heat and the plastic spool arbor wore. Also the constant heat and prolonged use caused the motor to fail. Safety precautions were used - full face head protection, clothes, etc. I think the Worx mulcher could have been engineered to run with a metal blade and at a price less than $300.00 would have sold. My alternative was to buy a gas chipper/mulcher with the associated gas, filters, oil maintenance.

I'm very pleasantly surprised at this tool. I shredded about 20 bags of leaves from a 100x100 yar...

I'm very pleasantly surprised at this tool. I shredded about 20 bags of leaves from a 100x100 yard (oak bumper crop, dry but already 6" deep) into a 12 foot dia, 2 ft deep mulch pile, last week. I went through 3 pairs of trimmer strings in the process, but they're very cheap (you can also use 13" pieces of standard .09" weed-eater string) and it takes about 1 minute to swap them out, no tools required. I let the first set go too long - when they get short the shredder starts clogging (there's your clue) and it shreds less well. BEFORE you start, get a grabber tool and pick up ALL limbs and sticks bigger than your finger. Sticks eat the strings prematurely. 33gal bags fit perfectly in the frame but get heavy duty plastic bags for this, unless you're taking them to the curb for disposal. I recommend a big pair of leaf claws as well. it's easier than trying to lift them with rakes. Ignore the '6.8 in' - you can drop about a 5 gal bucket's worth into the funnel at a time. If it clogs, just bump the pile with a rake or a stick a few times and it'll eventually 'flush' - unless the bag's full. It gets dusty. Wear a hearing protector and a dust mask. I washed out the filter and vacuumed the motor compartment this morning. It takes 5 minutes and should be done at least 2-3 times a season.

You definitely want to use a larger gauge extension cord and don't leave the excess coiled becaus...

You definitely want to use a larger gauge extension cord and don't leave the excess coiled because this thing draws some power. You also want to use eye protection, gloves and hearing protection. Sometimes the strings break when a stick or a pine cone gets into the hopper and if you're not careful, your fingers WILL be hit by the string. Sometimes debris will fly up when the hopper is nearly empty and that's where the eye protection is essential. The hearing protection is also important if you want a good reason to ignore your wife (But honey, I had the machine "on" AND earplugs in so I couldn't hear you yelling about your mother needing a ride home!). But seriously, if you don't wear ear plugs, your ears will be ringing after extended use.