pilotpat's Full Review: Fellowes Powershred® PS-65C (Confetti-Cut) Sh...
INTRO
The PS60C-2 replaced the PS60CC we bought nearly 7 years ago that is still running strong after extremely heavy use. We have used it to shred everything from bank records, personal documents, junk mail, credit cards, and basically everything else that has any semblance of personal info on it. Same quality innards, different shell. If you are looking for a home-use shredder for most people, this is the one for you.
THE BASICS
With the nature of work I've done and still do, I've got some expertise with shredders. This is a quality unit that cuts material into 5/32 by 1 3/8" pieces, enough to frustrate most identity thieves, and definitely better than ribbon-cut machines which only make you feel better. If you are very high-risk for identity theft, corporate espionage, or other crimes, I would recommend a much finer-cut shredder (preferably one qualified by the gov't for destruction of classified materials), but for the vast majority of us, this size is great.
A shredder is a relatively simple machine. It consists of an inlet, the blades, motor/drive device, a collection recepticle, and some sort of switch and/or other device to actuate the mechanism. So here's the basics on the Fellowes 60C-2.
Inlet
The inlet is about 9" wide and about a half-inch tall, enough to shred up to 7 (the number its rated for) standard and legal-sized pages without folding. Anything wider, you'll need to fold and feed in 3's. By the way, our old 60CC was rated only for 6 pages, and I don't see where they've changed anything... I'm bad about counting anyhow - I usually grab "about" 6 pages and feed it in. If it jams, I reverse it, pull some pages, and feed it again.
Blades
This is what made me spend the extra bucks on this shredder - the blades show it means business. Most "bargain" shredders use thin razor-sharp (at first) blades to cut paper. These dull, bend, and nick easily when you forget to pull staples, try to shred too much, etc. Not so on this bad boy. The blades are interlocking, 5/32"-thick, steel gears that serve as both the paper feed device and the cutters. They are beefy and will tackle heavy staples and credit cards with aplomb. They cut by intermeshing with each others, which makes sharpening pretty much not a factor. They do need frequent lubrication, or they'll start to squeak. You can use the standard shredder lube, but I'm a big fan of using Finish Line Teflon Grease (the same stuff I use on my bike). I just coat a sheet of paper with a few beads of grease on both sides, run it through the shredder, and then after the motor stops I run it in reverse for a few seconds.
One problem is that strips of paper tend to build up at the far ends of the blades, which can hamper their movement and require you to pull them out occasionally.
Motor/Drive
The motor is substantial and relatively quiet for a shredder running such massive blades. It has an overheat and overload sensor that stops it should you do either of those things. I've overloaded it several times, with no problem backing it out. I have yet to overheat it, even during year-end "shredding parties." The motor runs the blades via gears, so you have no belts to replace or break.
Switch/Actuator
A three-position switch allows you to select "On," "Off," and "Reverse." In the "On" mode, an electro-optical sensor in the center of the inlet detects when you've fed paper, and runs the motor in forward until a few seconds after the sensor is clear. Selecting "Reverse" runs the motor continuously in reverse and works well to clear jams (or lube). Tabs on the recepticle feed into slots in the power head to actuate the safety switches which prevent the shredder from operating if it's not attached properly.
Collection Recepticle
The collection recepticle is moderately sized - about the size of an office wastebasket - and for us seems to hold about a couple week's worth of shredding. We use normal plastic garbage bags to collect the clippings.
OVERALL
This is not the cheapest crosscut shredder by a longshot, but it is a quality machine which likely will outlast 2, 3, or more of those "bargains." Not super-high security, but does an adequate job of significantly reducing your risk of identity theft or similar fraud.
Recommended:
Yes
Purchase Price (if leased, monthly payment): 129 Machine age (Months in use): 80
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