7 Best Garden Mulchers, Wood Chippers, and Shedders | Australia 2023

What is a Wood Chipper?

Wood chippers are large, free-standing, power tools that process timber into mulch by crushing or shredding branches into mixed sized garden clippings. 

Do You Need a Wood Chipper?

Wood chippers reduce garden waste by creating mulch which can be used all over the garden to help retain moisture in the soil, and improve soil structure over time. 

By breaking down trees and shrub cuttings as often as possible you reduce your council waste collections, improve your own personal impact on the environment. By not having to drive to dispose of your timber, or burn it, you create a much more circular environment in your garden too.

For shrubs like Camelia and rhododendrons, they love being mulched with their own leaf and wood mulches so by creating your own mulch you are improving the health of your own plants too.

Different Types of Wood Chippers

Wood chippers are often sold as wood chippers, mulchers, or garden shredders, but there is a slight difference with each. While mulcher is a general term, it usually refers to a shredder, which breaks down materials as small as possible so they break down faster, while a chipper is designed to crush timber.

The two main types of wood chippers are explained in more detail here:

What is a Wood Chipper for?

Wood chippers are for breaking down branches as quickly and efficiently as possible. The more expensive the wood chipper, usually, the bigger the branches it can handle. 

You should never put general garden waste in a wood chipper as they are not designed for shredding, and have blunt blades designed to rip and crush timber rather than neatly cut it into pieces, and the blunt blades can easily be clogged by soft fibrous materials.

What is a Garden Shredder for?

Garden shredders are great for small branches, softwood, and leaf litter, and can even help break down grass clippings so they compost even quicker.

Garden shredders should never be used to break down large branches though as they will quickly have their blades blunted by hardwood, or timber too thick for their blades.

What to Look For When Buying a Wood Chipper

When you’re looking for the best wood chipper for your garden there are a few basics to consider that will help you with your decision. Firstly, how often are you planning on using it?

Don’t spend thousands of dollars on something you only need once, when you can rent a wood chipper. Second, how big is the tree you need to break down? 

If you’re just buying a wood chipper for general garden maintenance, a good quality shredder might be enough. And lastly, what fuel do you need? 

If your garden is huge there’s no point carting around an extension lead every time you use a wood chipper, so it's probably best to invest in a petrol wood chipper.

Capacity of Wood Chippers Explained

When you’re looking for the best wood chipper or even a basic garden mulcher, you’ll come across a figure called ‘feed capacity’ or sometimes just ‘capacity’. All this means is the width of the branch your chipper can handle.

Most garden shredders can handle branches up to 40mm wide, but only the best wood chippers can break down branches over 100mm, so for professional tree surgeons you should be looking at wood chippers with a capacity of at least 100mm, and ideally, 120mm if you can find it.

Wood Chippers Safety Guide

There are some pretty obvious health and safety considerations for using a wood chipper or garden shredder. First and foremost, never put your hand anywhere near the blades.

Some shredders are self-feeding, meaning they will continue to pull whatever they are cutting further in. Some shredders come with automatic shut-downs so when you let go of the switch they turn off, and others do not. 

Get to know your machine before using it to make sure you know what to do in an emergency.

• Always wear goggles
• Always wear thick gloves
• Feed slowly, one branch at a time to prevent clogging
• Wear a mask when cutting down any timber (wet or dry) to prevent dust inhalation

1. Rover 40mm (1.5") Petrol Chipper Shredder Vacuum

Leaf blowers, mulchers, and shredders all tend to come in separate packages, so I’m thrilled with this 40mm petrol chipper from Rover. It comes with a generous catch bag, sturdy hose, and wheels along like a lawn mower. 

Of all the wood chippers we’ve reviewed recently this stands out as something really quite special for gardeners at any level. It’s not going to tackle big branches, but if you’re looking to clear an area of scrub, it’s just perfect.

2. Michigan Ravenger Petrol Wood Chipper and Garden Mulcher

The Michigan commercial petrol wood chipper, the Michigan Ravenger, is capable of branches up to 120mm across, cutting them down with a twin blade system that makes even finer mulch than most domestic leaf chippers.

There is no world where a domestic gardener should need to buy a Michigan Ravenger, but they’re a great choice for rentals for big DIY jobs.

And for professional landscapers and tree surgeons these are pretty much the only choice for big jobs especially when used alongside a wood splitter to break down the bigger material first.

Be sure to check our buying guide and product review on the best log splitters for 2023. 

3. Michigan 2500W Electric Impact Garden Shredder

Michigan’s electric mulcher is ideal for domestic gardens, with a surprisingly generous 75mm capacity, meaning it can tackle most small branches from annual pruning, and creates a gorgeous fine mulch that can be directly applied onto gardens.

The quiet operation of this small machine makes it perfect for smaller gardeners without annoying the neighbours, and it’s incredibly easy to store too.

4. Rover 80mm (3") Briggs & Stratton Petrol Chipper Shredder 

Rover’s garden shredder comes with a 250cc Briggs & Stratton petrol engine, making it durable and powerful. With an 80mm capacity, it can tackle overgrown branches that haven’t been touched for years, and makes light work of turning mountains of garden waste into compact piles ready to compost, or winter mulches.

5. Rover 50mm (2") Briggs & Stratton Petrol Chipper Shredder

The 205cc Briggs & Stratton motor makes this Rover chipper a super reliable garden tool. Ok, so there are more powerful chippers out there, but for something compact enough to store in the garage, or wheel onto site, it's perfect for domestic gardeners and commercial landscapers looking for a compact shredder tool.

6. Sun Joe CJ603E Electric Silent Wood Chipper & Garden Shredder

This electric wood chipper by Sun Joe is a surprisingly powerful tool. Like most in its price range, it handles branches up to 40mm, so it’s never going to work through fully mature trees, but for standard garden maintenance, it’s a good choice with really durable blades.

There are cheaper options, but the durable build of this machine means it’ll last longer so in the long-run probably save you money on a replacement shredder.

7. Michigan Raptor 900 2-in-1 Portable Wood Chipper & Garden Shredder

This is the professional choice. You will not find a better wood chipper, shredder or mulcher online for this price.

Ok, so it’s ten times the price of any other mulcher or chipper on review here, but that’s because this is a serious machine for professional tree surgeons, capable of shredding down branches up to 76mm so it’ll handle most semi-mature trees and shrubs.

The only word of caution with this is that it's designed for chipping timber, not mulching fibrous materials, so shouldn’t be used to break down general garden waste.

The best wood chipper for domestic gardens has to be the Rover 40mm (1.5") 70L 159cc Petrol Chipper Shredder Vacuum. Above all else, it’s convenient and easy to store, but it's also a really clever design that reduces the number of tools you need to keep your garden tidy.

From leaf vacuuming to small branches, and even lawn tidying, this shredder is the ideal way to create instant compost material to speed up decomposition, and it makes it look easy.

No wood chipper is going to break down a tree trunk, but the Michigan Ravenger Petrol Wood Chipper is as close as you can get, making light work of 120mm branches so all you’ll be left with is a trunk to cut down.

Michigan are the best wood chipper brand, with dozens of models, but their latest Ravenger range is their best wood chipper yet and is specifically designed for professional landscapers and tree surgeons.

The best value wood chipper in 2023 is the MICHIGAN 2500W Electric Mulcher Crushing Garden Shredder Chipper. It's a small chipper, but it packs a big bite, with a 75mm capacity, meaning it can tackle most freshly pruned branches from fruit trees, or hedge thinnings without breaking a sweat.

The generous hopper underneath keeps everything compact and lightweight too, making it ideal for smaller spaces with limited storage space.

Wood Chipper Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a wood chipper and a garden shredder?

Wood chippers are designed to break down larger branches into mulch (usually 40mm+) while shredders are designed for branches under 40mm, leaves, and fibrous materials.

Wood chippers can often get clogged by fibrous materials and grasses so make sure you use the right tool for the job.

Can you put pallets in a wood chipper?

Most pallet timber is over 75mm across, so should only ever be fed into a professional wood chipper that can cope with at least 12mm.

It’s also incredibly important to take out any nails, screws or fittings from the pallet and no chipper is designed to work through metal fittings.

What is better, compost or mulch?

Compost is great for adding nutrients to your soil, while mulch serves one very simple purpose; moisture retention. By adding a wood chip mulch from a wood chipper, you can increase water retention in your soil and improve the overall soil health without affecting the pH or nutrition of your garden.

Can you put grass clippings in a wood chipper?

Grass, hay, and leaf litter are all fibrous materials and can quickly clog wood chippers. Garden shredders are better tools for breaking down general garden waste and will likely be more useful for most home gardeners.

For more gardening tool reviews related to tree and wood chopping, see our list below: