Powershred® 2127M Micro-Cut Shredder
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Solid, No Frills Shredder, Meets Our Needs
Use: Busy Home Office, Light Daily Use, Very Heavy Use 2-3 Times a Year. Some Personal.
I have worn out a few shredders over the years. I was purchasing "medium duty" shredders for a few hundred dollars that were well suited to the daily shredding needs of the office, but a couple times a year we do a document purge that requires the shredder to "go hard" for extended periods over the course of 2-3 days.
I decided a continuous duty shredder, sized for our office, that wouldn't break the bank, was likely a better investment than overworking and replacing another "consumer duty" shredder.
I researched several models and manufactures and choose the Fellowes 2127M because it had the features I needed, at a reasonable price, and the 30 year guarantee on the cutters speaks to durability.
- Out of the box the quality is excellent and the unit has a solid feel.
- Rated paper capacity is accurate. Will shred 8 sheets of 20lb copy paper (won't shred 9), and will shred 10 sheets of 15lb.
- Specs don't claim jam proof, but shredder stops and reverses if you insert too many sheets. Might not be jam proof, but certainly jam resistant.
- Excellent sheet feed rate, I was hard pressed to keep up with the shredder for "continuous" shredding.
- dBa is not rated so I tested it in our office, During shredding the operator is subject to 80-85dBa, and at my desk (approx. 3 meters away) I was subject to 60-65 dBa. This is not an "official" test rating, but it is fair to suggest anyone within a 3 meter radius will be subjected to between 60-85 dBa. Not offensive, but a bit noisy. Placement of the unit within the office should be considered.
- Micro Shredding is consistent and delivers the security level promised. No "perforated clumps" present in the cuttings
- Shredder does not have a bin but uses a wire hanger to suspend a bag inside the cabinet. This is a nice feature that reduces spillage by eliminating the need to transfer cuttings from bin to bag. Standard 76x84cm (30x32in.) garbage bags fit perfectly. Despite this feature there are fugitive cuttings in the cabinet that end up on the floor when bag is removed.
- A few bags and a bottle of cutter oil are included in the box.
- Large flat top surface area on cutter head accommodates a stack of 8.5x11 paper for ready access.
- 34" unit height eliminates stooping when using shredder.
- One downside. The unit started running continuously after about 20 minutes of shredding. I tried cleaning the paper sensors as per the manual, but unit still runs continuously. Not a deal breaker for me, but an indication the paper sensors may be a weak spot on this shredder.
Overall I'm very impressed with the capability of this shredder, and I'm confident, for the duty cycle this shredder will see in our office, this will be the last shredder I buy.
I would recommend this shredder for use as advertised, 3-5 person office.
February 24, 2013