Leaves-Leaves-Leaves

2.    Shredding Leaves: A Few Quick Tips. Not only do shredded leaves make an excellent compost ingredient, they're wonderful mulch, doing a bang-up job of slowing erosion, helping retain soil moisture and blocking weed growth. They also return nutrients to the soil as they decompose.

We're happy to say that all Patriot mechanical products, from our multipurpose lawn vacuums to our wide range of chipper shredders, make short work of leaves of all types, reducing even large piles by a ratio of at least four to one in minutes. But there are a few things that you should keep in mind while shredding leaves, to maximize your unit's effectiveness and save yourself time.

·         Allow the leaves to cascade smoothly and slowly down into the hopper to avoid clogging.

·         To minimize repetitive bending, use a tool like our Gator Grabber to pick up the leaves and dump them into the hopper.

·         Don't bother to separate any twigs or short branches less than 1.5 inches in diameter—our units can handle them with no problem.

Leaves work best as mulch if you convert them into leaf mold over the course of a winter. This isn't composting per se—you don't want them to break down that far—but the process is similar.

Just spread them in a bin in layers 12-18 inches thick, topped by a sprinkling of a nitrogen-rich material like bone meal or grass clippings. Then wet the layer down and mix it thoroughly (one of our digging or border forks would be ideal for this task). Repeat until your bin is full, then let it percolate over the winter. By spring, this light, fluffy, nutritious mulch will be ready for spreading. Don't worry if you see white stuff on the leaf mold: this is a kind of benign fungus that just adds to the nutrient value

How to choose a chipper Part 2

2.    How to Choose the Right Wood Chipper Shredder, Part II. In the last entry, we introduced the most important question that you must answer when choosing a wood chipper shredder: what you plan to use it for. In this installment, we'll look at three other critical questions. 

First, how big is your work area? If it's small and you can easily bring the material to the unit, then the size of the chipper doesn't matter much. If your work area is large, a more portable unit like our CSV-2515 electric model, with its large wheels and built-in handle, would be desirable—assuming such a lighter model can still serve your needs in terms of reducing the material you have to clear. Otherwise, you'll need to ensure that the chipper has provision for attaching a tow bar, so you can haul it around with a riding lawnmower or other small vehicle.

Next, consider the question of gas or electric power. Electric models like the CSV-2515  have a number of advantages: they run cleaner than gas-powered units, and you don't have to mess with oil and gas. But they also tend to be lighter and less versatile than gas models. Gas chippers are more practical to move around, because you don't have to worry about an electrical cord getting in the way. Plus, 100 feet is the practical limit of an extension cord, limiting the area you can cover.

Finally, consider your budget. This is very much a case of "you get what you pay for," so you need to purchase the most chipper shredder you can afford based on your other needs. Don't buy a lighter unit when what you need is a workhorse that can handle the big jobs day in and day out. On the other hand, there's no need to purchase one of our heavier models when all you need is a little lawn clean-up a few times a year.

Choose the Right Chipper Shredder

2.    How to Choose the Right Wood Chipper Shredder, Part I. Our Patriot wood chipper shredders are well-known and highly regarded for their power, performance, and reliability. But with so many excellent models in our line-up, how do you choose the right one?

There are four basic questions to answer before you even start shopping. This is a big topic, so we'll consider it across two entries.  

First, and probably most importantly, what are you planning to use the unit for? If you've got a large area to clear or need a chipper for commercial purposes, your best bet would be one of our gas-powered models, such as the 9 hp Model CSV-3090H or the 10 hp CSV-3100B. The higher the horsepower, the stronger the engine and the more you can get done. Both will happily mulch tree branches up to three inches thick and shred as many leaves as you want to toss into the hopper, all day long.

They make short work of other plant debris, too, including pine cones, acorns, and nuts. The CSV-3090H offers a quiet and reliable Honda engine combined with durability of Patriot. The CSV-3100B is ideal for wooded lot property owners, and easy to maneuver at only 139 pounds.

If you've got a smaller property and you're mostly worried about twigs, leaves, and the occasional small branch, a lighter model such as the 1.5 hp CSV-2515 electric model or the 4 hp CSV-2540H gas chipper shredder will do the trick. Both of these units can handle branches up to 2.5 inches thick, and shred leaves and other vegetative matter with ease.

For limited yard use, you might want to go with one of our versatile gas-powered lawn vacuums, which will not only clean up and mulch your leaves and yard waste, but can handle branches up to two inches thick and will blow any hard surfaces clean in a jiffy with their powerful airstreams.

To see video clips of our products in action, just click here.

Patriot Lawn Vacuum

2.            The Versatile Lawn Vacuum. We may be a little biased here at Patriot Products, but we happen to think that our lawn vacuums are among the most versatile gas-powered gardening tools on the market today. After all, they're more than just vacuums: both the CBV-2455H and the CBV-2465B can double and triple as power blowers and mobile wood chippers/leaf shredders as well. That 145-mph airstream will clear hard surfaces with ease, and if you come across a branch less than two inches in diameter, just run it through the chipper cone and it's gone!

We also have customers who use Patriot lawn vacs to clean up large parking lots, because they're so much more effective than traditional hand blowers and make short work of picking up dirt, paper, cigarette butts, and other trash.

Our vacs are great for picking up grass clippings from that lawn you just mowed, too. Not only does this leave the lawn neater, it helps you avoid the nasty lawn condition called thatch, in which a layer of organic debris builds up between the soil and the lawn, blocking air, water, and nutrient transfer.  

Whatever you run through our vacuums, it's shredded by the special Y-flail blades in seconds, reducing the volume significantly. While you'll want to discard any parking lot debris, any clean organic material from leaves, branches, grass clippings, nuts, pine cones, dead garden plants, and similar sources makes an excellent addition to your compost pile, and can often be used as-is for mulch.

Chipper Knife maintenance

The single best thing you can do to ensure a long life for your Patriot Chipper is to keep your chipping knives sharp.  A sharp knife slices the material and a dull knife chops the material.  The chopping of the material with a dull knife creates vibration.  Vibration is the enemy of all mechanical equipment.  Excessive vibration can cause metal fatigue.   This fatigue normally shows up at a bent in the metal or a weld.

The knives should be sharpened every six to eight hours of "chipping time".  Processing old dried branches may require you to sharpen the knives more frequently.  Another signe that the knives are getting dull is when the chipper loses its self feeding action.

The model CSV-2515 electric chipper, CSV-2540H and the new CSV-2450B all have one knife.  All of our other current and past gas model chippers as well as all CBV lawn vac models have two chipping knives.

The chipping knives can be removed from your machine without disassembling the housing.  You can find instruction in your owners manual.  You can down load a manual for free in the Product Support section of our web page. http://www.patriot-products-inc.com/support.htm  Simply remove the chipping cone to expose the rotor.  Gently spin the rotor until the knife aligns with the opening.  Each knife can be removed by  using a 3/16 Allen wrench to remove the screws.  For damaged or hard to remove screws you can get tips for removal in the product support section of our web page.  http://www.patriot-products-inc.com/downloads/chipperknifescrewremoval.pdf

Hot Tip:  If you have trouble removing the screw with a 3/16 Allen wrench, purchase a 3/16 Allen head socket for your socket set.  The socket set wrench will allow you to get much better leverage.

The knife can be sharpened using a wet stone, file or grinding wheel. Sharpen the knives evenly at a 30 degree angle.  A homeowners bench grinder with a fine grit stone will work, but because the knives are specially treated, too much heat will make them brittle.  Grind only a little bit at a time and allow them to cool.  Slow-speed, water cooled grinding is preferred.  For best results, see your local machine shop specialist or lawn mower repair outlet.

Sharp chipping knives allow you to chip smoother with greater efficiently.  You can purchase replacement knives on our web page in the accessories section of our web page. http://www.patriot-products-inc.com/access.htm

Shredding and Chipping for Mulch

2.        Shredding and Chipping for Mulch. The coin-sized wood chips and shredded leaves that all Patriot chipper shredders and lawn vacs produce don't just make yard clean-up and waste disposal a lot easier, they're ideal for mulching.

Mulch has to be one of nature's most perfect garden products. In fact, it's been called the "gardener's greatest ally." Mulch is 100% organic, and it's the nearest thing you'll find to the natural humus layer in a deep forest. When spread around your garden plants, shrubs, and trees, mulch can: 

·         Cool the soil in warm weather.

·         Warm the soil in cool weather.

·         Limit evaporation, helping the soil retain moisture.

·         Act as a weed barrier.

·         Reduce erosion, especially when spread between garden rows.

·         Add nutrients to the soil as it decomposes.

·         Deter insects, in some cases (depending on the material used).

·         Provide a protective border around your plants, so you're less likely to damage them with your lawnmower and other garden tools.

As with just about anything, there's a right way and a wrong way to use mulch. First of all, you should only use mulch made from plants that you know for sure aren't diseased so you don’t accidentally spread the disease to other plants.

Second, don't spread the mulch too thick. A layer more than four inches deep may block water from reaching your plants, provide a place for fungi to take hold, and interfere with the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Welcome to the Patriot Products Blog!

If you’re already familiar with our line of rugged lawn vacuums, wood chipper shredders, and ergonomic gardening tools, our aim is to answer your questions and help you have a fantastic looking yard while saving time and money.

If you’re new to Patriot Products, here’s a little background. We launched The Patriot Company in 1992 to build a better wood chipper at a lower price than any other on the market. Our idea took off, and within a few years, we’d sold more than 20,000 chippers and lawn vacs.

In 2000, we moved to Pewaukee, Wisconsin, expanded our product line, increased our retailer list, and launched our website. Along the way, our products garnered wide recognition, including Consumer Digest magazine Best Buys and top honors from National Home Gardening Club testers, scoring several of their Member Tested and Recommended Seals.

Today, we offer two models of lawn vacuums, five models of wood chipper shredders (including an electric model), high quality gardening tools, and a variety of accessories.

In future blog posts, we’ll discuss not only our products, but helpful subjects pertaining to the use of our tools, some of which you may not have considered before. If you find what you read here useful, please join us here regularly. Even better, subscribe to receive the Patriot Products blog by email or RSS feed. Our subscription signup is in the lower right column of this blog. If you have any questions or comments, please let us hear from you!