Electric Shredder Mulcher for Wood branches, Plants and Garden Waste (FM4DDE-MUL)
Mulching and composting just got a whole lot easier and more effective with our patented (GB2100107.8) 4HP Electric Shredder Mulcher.
New August 2022 Design Update: We’re always striving to improve our machines to make them the best they can be and to meet our customer’s high expectations which we’ve built over decades of forestry experience. Our August 2022 update features a newly designed exit chute which combats and prevents blockages when mulching and chipping.
Compact, Lightweight, Powerful and Robust are the best words to describe our brand-new and innovative machine. The first of its kind, the electric shredder mulcher is capable of intaking any waste you can throw at it and processing it into precious mulch, crucial in creating effective black gold (compost) for your garden. Plants, leaves or any other garden waste can be fed into the machine and the garden mulcher will provide you with invaluable material for your compost bin in an instant. Our mulcher has been stress tested with anything you can think of and it’s yet to meet garden waste it can’t handle. Wood older than three days may produce sawdust.
What gave us the inspiration for the machine? For years we have received customer enquiries asking if we had a suitable machine for such tasks as well-known competitor brands have tried and failed at this attempt, often falling at the first hurdle of being able to process wet green waste such as grass and ivy. Our machine is a tried and tested one-stop shop for all your mulching needs.
Not sure if you require a garden mulcher or a wood chipper? This is a question of the past as the FM4DDE-MUL is perfectly capable of also chipping wood into wood chips that are 10mm and below. If you’re mulching material that is particularly wet or likes to stick to the chute, the machine is designed in such a way that you can simply hose down the chutes to clear out any excess material.
How is the FM4DDE-MUL Electric Garden Shredder, Mulcher and Chipper better than competitors? Well, our machine is designed and produced using a steel design. You’ll find that the majority of garden shredders available on the market feature a plastic design. Why is steel better than plastic in this instance? The steel design is what allows our machine to be robust and powerful. Plastic designs can damage easily and cause issues down the road. Buy a machine – buy it once, is our motto. 95% of our machine is recyclable metals.
Prefer a petrol engine? not a problem! We also have a full range of petrol mulchers on their way – ranging from 6HP right the way up to a massive 18HP.
Want to learn how to put this machine to the best use? Check out our gardening category within our blog and find out everything you need to know about creating compost. We cover every topic from mulching to creating your first compost pile, preparing your garden for the winter, creating leaf mould from scratch and finding the perfect mixture of household waste for your compost. We provide all the information you could ever need, and if that isn’t enough, we’re just a message away to help you understand anything you may need.
Internationally Protected (PCT/IB2021/054494)
KENNETH A. (verified owner) –
Build at outlet needs watching, unclogging not too hard.
Beverley M. (verified owner) –
The service is excellent and the questions I had for the technical staff were answered in English I could understand (not having a degree in engineering). The mulcher works really well, some difficulty with wet greenery but easily solved when I add sticks and small branches to it. I do find it heavy, probably because I am in my 70s. All in all I recommend this machine to all gardeners with the never ending problem of disposing of garden waste without having to waste it. It makes superb mulch.
Crawford (verified owner) –
Easy to assemble and use
alan earle (verified owner) –
Sorry not a shining review, even with the outlet set a little towards the horizontal position it tends to block very quickly and you have to keep moving the machine around to keep clearing it, further-more the outlet is so low you cannot get anything other than put a sheet on the ground to collect the mulch. One other point is the restriction to a ten metre cable length, living on a large plot which was the idea behind the purchase of this machine, with such a short lead it means fetching all the cuttings to the machine rather than take the machine to the cuttings, not an ideal situation, so have had to purchase an industrial extension lead with according to the Pat test a drop of only seven volts over a twenty-five metre run at 2900 watts. It remains to be seen if this will ease the problem, or I may still request a price for a petrol engine! Other than all the afore-mentioned the actual machine seems a good solid build.
Herve jean M. (verified owner) –
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Patrick K. (verified owner) –
Poor design for assembly and maintenance – adjusting the feed/discharge angle is impossible as one of the nuts is so tight up against the motor housing that loosening the 3 nuts does not work. Moreover, trying to move the shute angle has resulted in the discharge shute coming out from under its bolt – which cannot be remedied without removing one of the wheels – a real chore. So, I have not been able to use the device at all so far. P Kimball-Smith CEng
Esther G. (verified owner) –
Nice & robust. Doesn’t solve all my problems as doesn’t cope with say stringy creepers but good with firm stuff – long thin plants/ branches & suspect will be a lot better than my previous Bosch chipper for the hedge & so I’m glad that I bought it. I’ve been using it on a plastic tarpaulin & moving it about. I’m not sure I’ll need the chipper discharge attachment. Possibly would be needed if doing a lot a lot of chipping & to save moving it about? The mulcher discharge chute gets blocked easily with moister matter so have to switch it off to clear it frequently, with my own stick with a hook on. Would be good if this had been supplied with the device. Possibly a wider or shorter discharge chute like my Bosch ? I now realise why the chute is at this angle – to facilitate gravity. The EU reg screws at the bottom of the chute get in the way of the chippings coming out, so I will remove those. Can’t see how they improve safety, other than if anyone was determined enough to stick a very long arm up. The manual needs a re- write as I’d have put it together a lot quicker if I hadn’t had to keep re-reading & trying to work out what applied to my product & the petrol version & trying to identify what was what on diagram. You need decent spanners/socket set to put together, but it was doable even for an unmechanical female. The motor is pretty heavy to lift. I was flummoxed at the 1 st instruction. It says 2 x 16 mm washers for the wheels. There were 4 x 18 mm internal diameter washers in the pack – didn’t know if it meant those. I just hoped it did as I wouldn’t have been able to remove them again easily. They weren’t mentioned anywhere else so used x 2 & left with 2. The pics would also be better as photos or a “ how to assemble video.” I was also left with 2 x part 55 serrated washers. What are those for? Not mentioned anywhere & neither parts 49 = now where on the exploded diagram/ parts list. Others have mentioned moverability. I don’t have a problem as there is a curved rim at the top of the feed hopper to wheel it about & the electric version is fairly manoeuvrable . I’m 5 ft 1 so perhaps taller people have had to bend.
Forest Master (store manager) –
When the machine returned to us and was examined by our engineer department, the only issue found was a blown fuse and the mulcher had very clearly seen use. While we understand the frustration, our equipment is not for rent and the machine can no longer be sold as a new product. Money was deducted from the refund in accordance with the amount of use the machine had sustained.
paul h. (verified owner) –
Best thing I’ve bought in a long time.
ELIZABETH Lawes (verified owner) –
We have not tried it yet as it only arrived a couple of days ago, but my husband has wanted one of these for years and it looks strong and robust
Alexander Ross (verified owner) –
Good robust machine works well. Delivered quickly. Happy with purchase.
David H. (verified owner) –
The chipper/mulcher was ordered as self build, it arrived in 2 boxes 1 reasonable weight the other extremely heavy so if you’re not up to it I would suggest getting the pre constructed version.
Construction was relatively straightforward, started using it right away and was very pleased with the way it handled everything up to 30/35mm. Anything too bushy has to be cut back to avoid blockage which is easily cleared.
Overall this machine is all motor with no frills, 10 out of 10.
matt (verified owner) –
the mulcher looks great although I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet. it arrived a bit damaged – the nut (57) that fixes on the hopper was bent but I found a replacement, and the flange tat the chute locates onto was bent out of shape. the mulcher obviously had quite a serious knock while in transit – looks like it was dropped. It seems to run ok – I think the bearings are fine on the engine and mulching unit.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Stephen B. (verified owner) –
I have only used the machine for a couple of hours; the results are encouraging, it certainly gets through most material quickly, it does jam occasionally and getting it apart to sort it out involves the use of a spanner which is a nuisance. The ‘safety features’ make the machine almost unusable, in particular the size restrictor in the feed funnel means only straight branches with no limbs will pass through and shrubs don’t tend to grow like that. The power cable is only 1.5m and given the warnings they give about not using extension cables, in most situations, you have no choice; but I had no issues using it with a heavy duty 5m extension.
The attitude of the company is however very disappointing; I placed an order for the machine and spare blades on the Forest Master site one morning, that afternoon I noticed Arrows-uk.com was selling the same machine and blades with £66 discount. I called Forest Master to cancel my order, only be told Arrows are a sister company (and even have both names on the gates of their premises) in view of this I asked if they would honour the prices and give me a part refund, they said maybe, and then no (and to cut a long story short) they suggested I wait until it arrived, return it, get a refund and place an order with Arrows, given that shipping costs both ways would almost certainly have been more than £66 this would have been crazy. They clearly have some management issues within or between the company’s they need to resolve, and putting these issues above customer satisfaction is very poor.
So good product that would benefit from a few changes, and a change of policy would avoid negative reviews
Craig Chamberlain (verified owner) –
Item is largely capable and powerful but severely hindered by the safety features. For example it is very hard to slot green waste into the very small holes in the guard at the top of the hopper which is more effective at making sure you don’t put a great thick branch through but makes loading leaves physically painful and slow. Similarly the rubber mat under this is great at stopping large chips flying back out but means it is very hard to fix any kind of blockage without dismantling the top, blockages can be common with green waste. I bought this primarily as a green waste mulcher not a wood chipper. It is better at small twigs but does get through hedge clippings when you get a system down. Less powerful machines like the bosh do have a pushing stick for green waste which does not feed through as effectively as harder stuff. I would like to see an insert for the hopper which can replace the chipper guards that better suits the job of mulching garden waste. For example this could be another hopper with a smaller exit port onto the cutting surface and less funnelling to prevent clogging.
Robin Rottier (verified owner) –
The safety features of input hopper protection plate and the lower half of output shute have to be removed to make it usable. But then its great. Mulching seems to work with anything green and fresh cut (even handled windfall apples, so long as you have some woody stuff to drag it thru)
Its unavoidable with a shredder to not try to push it to see how much it will handle …it doesnt like dead hard wood, and its easy to block it with trunks within stated size capacity but you just push in too quickly
Also it wont auto-feed and certainly wont drag in loose material by itself, so you need to be careful with your order of shredding and always leave some nice branches to help clear out the hopper.
Really like fact you can wash it thru with water to clear it all out.
Definitely needs a handle on the top somehow and maybe one lower down for when you need to pick it up with two hands.
Could also do with an easier way to rotate drum by hand…maybe some sort of plastic push on knob for the axel, to help with (frequent) need to unblock.
Tom H. (verified owner) –
Good mulcher, deals with small branches super quickly. Not so great with older (drier) wood, or larger branches.
roy carpenter (verified owner) –
5 stars
Christian Pichler (verified owner) –
Great engine
Robert Gray (verified owner) –
Steven Harris (verified owner) –
Super piece of kit. Quiet, when not actually chipping, compact size and fast in action. No problems with fuses blowing or using a long extension lead. I bought the upper discharge chute chipping accessory which works well. I powered through a huge pile of small branches, mainly ash from a fallen tree, in a few hours.
Martin Parker (verified owner) –
Be in no doubt, this is a serious piece of kit. Build quality and weight confirm it. Comparative internet research with popular models by Bosch, Ryobi, Einhell, etc, including online videos, left me in no doubt that despite a considerable price premium, this model will earn it’s return with robust dependability in the (many) years to come.
Forest Master were the epitome of internet suppliers at their very best. Ordered one day, delivered (assembled) the next! Not tried yet but as I’m now putting the garden to bed for the winter, I’ll certainly be shredding and chipping for the new compost bin with some regularity.
My only wish as someone with a disability is that the company might find some way of incorporating a handle or handlebar arrangement into a future design to assist movement and make better and full use of the wheel arrangement.
Forest Master (store manager) –
Hi Martin, Thank you very much for your very kind words. We do in fact offer an additional handlebar attachment which can be found here: https://forest-master.com/handle-attachment-chippers-shredders/
Unfortunately, it’s currently out of stock but you can register your email to be informed once it’s back available.
Daniel (verified owner) –
Gutes Preis-Leistungsverhältnis, kompakt, einfaches robustes Gerät. Nach dem ersten Einsatz gibt es eine 5
Stuart Serdet (verified owner) –
Arrived damaged and have to agree with past reviews that the safety features make it less easy to use. That said, it’s a tough little beast, well put together and the small size of the material produced rots down very quickly or can be used directly as mulch in the case of a leaves as they primarily belong on the soil. Every shredder I’ve ever used gets blocked but as long as you rotate the soft with the woody you should be fine. A simple, small, welded handle on the hopper is needed, not the extra paid part and this machine would be very nearly everything a large garden/small business would need to sustainably process their own garden material. Very good.
André (verified owner) –
Some small errors…We have to place 2 16mm flat washer on each en of the axle. It’s impossible to place the 2 M3X60 bolts at the end of the discharge chute because there are no holes. But overall OK.
Armelle Vérité (verified owner) –
will review when delivered
Ed (verified owner) –
Vary happy so far. Demolished huge pile of winter prunings varying from small branches to shrub cuttings. Would be nice if the cable was longer as I had to purchase a 10m heavy duty extension cable
Trevor (verified owner) –
Peter Rushton (verified owner) –
Jean Jacques Leplat (verified owner) –
Good machine, but there is a problem of depossing the blades for sharpening. It is impossible to unscrew the bolts of the blades. If it impossible whithout your socket as you explain it in thé user guide, the socket must be sale whith th machine.
Valter Calcagno (verified owner) –
I used the shredder for a long time over the weekend.
I am satisfied with the purchased product.
Olivier (verified owner) –
Ce broyeur de végétaux est exceptionnel il broie les branches et les feuille avec une grande facilité
Je ne pensais pas qu’il serait capable de broyer des gros diamètres mais conformément à la documentation il avale mes branche de chêne même en 50mm et les branche de ma baie de laurier n’ont pas réussi à boucher la machine
J’ai mis longtemps à trouver la machine qui vas bien pour ne pas être déçu comme avec mon ancienne broyeuse de gsb
Une fois le travaille finit je jette le broyage au pieds de mes plantations ou dans mon composteur et c’est parfait
juan palazón giménez (verified owner) –
Montaje realizado y puesta en marcha correcta triturando una pila de poda de 3 m2 con un máximo de 2-3 cms. de diámetro. Todo ok. Utilizo cable de 10 metros con 3 hilos de 2´5 mm.
Christopher B. (verified owner) –
Seems robust and work well so far.
Hugh (verified owner) –
excellent machine, Why would you buy one of those plastic things your competitors make, with a tiny little hole on top which you have to try to fit your clippings through?
This machine takes everything! and so simple to set up and use.
Julien (verified owner) –
Peter K. (verified owner) –
Excellent test run with dry wood wet conifer cuttings, and green cuttings. Yet to us in earnest but looking forward to get through huge piles of both dry and wet cuttings. Would be 5 stars but assembly instructions could be clearer.
John N. (verified owner) –
Very powerful machine.
Robin (verified owner) –
Works very well, as expected.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Jackie S. (verified owner) –
Fantastic …can’t believe how quickly it reduces a huge pile into a small amount. Getting far more in our garden wheelie bin. Would recommend to anyone. Excellent service. Fast delivery. Well worth paying that bit extra to have is delivered ready assembled. Its fab.
Nicholas Jeans (verified owner) –
I was a bit disappointed with the assembly instructions, which don’t explain either of the alternative modes of use. here I presumed that the “baffle” plate in the entry chute is supposed to be removed for shredding herbaceous waste? Otherwise impossible to stuff down the small hole in the plate. And I found that it kept choking till I removed the bottom length of the delivery funnel, after which it worked well.
Jeffrey Addison (verified owner) –
A superb piece of well engineered kit. Outstanding performance and it’s made in Britain! Have only one reservation: it’s a little difficult to manoeuvre – perhaps a bar to pull/push?
Robin Farnworth (verified owner) –
My issue was that if you had it upright you can’t catch the pieces in a bag/ container. If you raised the bottom it hurt my back leaning to put the waste in.
I also found the rubber guard stopped the soft items going in and then down to the blades.
Stephen D. (verified owner) –
This is a chipper/shredder/mulcher that is robust and I believe of much higher quality than others designed for garden use, so very happy with it. Having read many reviews before buying it I’d agree with much of what has been written. It’ll pretty much deal with anything, very rarely gets clogged up and is easy to clear when it does, and whilst I obviously can’t recommend it, works even better without the various safety features.
David S. (verified owner) –
Simple to put together and works like a dream.
Roland Butler (verified owner) –
I only used it for 1 day so far but it seems effective and bulletproof. The top safety guard is a nuisance but that is H&S for you. The outlet chute is a bit too close to the ground, even when adjusted to the highest setting, but I suspect that is also a H&S matter.
It effectively chopped anything I fed into it but I had to learn how to avoid clogging the inlet chute when feeding it with budlia and laurel branches.
Kevin B. (verified owner) –
Alexander B. (verified owner) –
Machine works well, solidly built. Assembly instructions are overly complicated for the electric version as they are really for the petrol version. No moving handle for a machine that costs £470 is just not acceptable. The entry chute is very restricted by the plate that you are meant to put materials through. easily removed though.