$50 Paper Shredder Gives Peace of Mind

My husband decided we needed a paper shredder. He is really worried about identity theft, and felt we needed to be shredding all the credit card offers we seem to get on a daily basis. I was a little hesitant, not wanting another machine in my office (which is already small), but after using this shredder, it has become second nature now, and is viewed as a office staple in our home.

Product Profile

The Fellowes Powershred P-55C is a confetti-cut shredder, that is built to shred paper, staples, and credit cards. It is not meant for stronger metal, such as paper clips. Nor should it be used for shredding adhesive labels, transparencies, newspaper, cardboard, continuous forms, or plastics (other than a credit card).

It looks like a medium sized waste basket with a lid, colored black. The Fellowes Powershred measures 15.5" high x 14" wide x 10" deep.

Specs

The P-55C will shred up to 8 pieces of paper at once

Paper shredded size is: 5/32" x 2"

Maximum paper width: 9" entry (229 mm for you Europeans!)

Daily capacity: 160 sheets of paper

Shreds 11 feet per minute

Waste basket: 5 gallons

Maximum running time: 5-7 minutes

Cool down period: 10 minutes

Voltage: 120V/60Hz/2.0A

Using The Shredder

Set up is simple. There are no tools required for set up, there are only two parts - the basket and the Head. The top (head) of the shredder is quite heavy, and it sits on top of the paper receptacle. The unit will not work if the head is not placed in the proper position. Fellowes sells plastic garbage bags (#36052) to go with this shredder, but they are not necessary. We use standard small garbage bags.

This machine has an automatic sensor. When the control switch is in the automatic position, the shredder will start running as soon as paper is fed through it. After the paper is completely shredded, the machine will continue to run for just a couple of seconds to be sure all paper is extracted from the cutting blades, then it will shut off automatically. (This is a self-cleaning process).

After you are finished shredding, there is a "safety lock" feature. Simply push down the center black button and slide it to the red dot, this locks it. To unlock, press black button down and slide back to the green dot. We always keep this locked when we are not using it, and this way children cannot accidentally turn it on. Having a daycare in my home, this safety feature was very important to me. It is quite hard to unlock without pushing the button down first - it can be done, but most likely children would not have the strength to move it.

Maintenance

The manual states that the shredder should be oiled on a monthly basis, if you are using it to it's full capacity. We do not, so we oil it every few months. Fellowes sells a special lubricant, but also state that you can use a non-aerosol vegetable oil. I appreciate the fact that I don't have to purchase a special oil.

Problems

The only problem I personally have had with this shredder is partly my fault. Note how the manufacturer stated not to shred adhesive labels? Well, sometimes we get credit card offers in the mail, and I was shredding the whole envelope, contents and all. Once the offer contained a plastic card that was glued onto the paper. The glue did gunk up the cutting blades, and formed a jam. I reversed the blades hoping that would help, but it didn't. I followed the instructions and alternated the control switch between reverse and automatic, to no avail.

I ended up having to carefully (they are sharp!) pull the paper from the shredding teeth, and I finally did get it working again, but the machine doesn't seem to work as well as it did before. (The manual states that if you use the shredder for the items they warn against, it can cause irreparable damage.)

Since then, I always open the junk mail and if there are any glues on the offer, (you know, the tacky kind of glue that you can roll off), I remove them first.

Precautions To Take

While operating the shredder, keep hands, jewelry, hair, loose clothing, and any hanging objects away from paper entry.

Keep children and pets away from shredder.

If the shredder is over worked, it will stop. You will need to let it cool down, at least 10 minutes, before trying to use it again.

Warranty

The cutting cylinders are warranted for 3 years, all other parts are warranted for 1 year.

My Thoughts

This shredder is fine for home use, but I wouldn't recommend it for an office. If several papers are shredded at the same time, this machine bogs down quite a bit. It really chugs along slowly when attempting to shred credit cards, but it will complete the job. It is also fairly noisy.

The front of the shredder is open so I can see how full the waste basket is getting. When it's time to empty it, lift the handle in front and remove the top. Place it aside and empty the basket. The top (with the cutting mechanism) is a little bit heavy - but nothing most people can't handle. The opening will allow you to use this shredder as a waste basket, since the opening is 3" x 7.5".

Some shredders have a full bag indicator, but this does not. Although it is fairly easy to see when the basket is full, so such an indicator is probably not really needed.

When emptying the basket, all of the paper fed through this shredded was thoroughly shredded, I did not find any large pieces, so it does the job well. Nobody is going to be gleaning any personal information from our garbage!!

If you are considering the Fellowes P-55C, check around. I have seen prices as high as $90, and as low as $50 (what we paid).