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Fellowes Powershred 8 MC, 8 sheets, security level P-4, 14 liters review
First impression:
Fellowes Powershred 8Mc: We tested the Fellowes Powershred variant with micro-cut 8MC (approx. £70) with a maximum of 8 sheets of simultaneous shredding, 14-liter collection bin, security level P-4 with a particle size of 4x10mm (means one single sheet = approx. 2000 snippets), child lock, and continuous operating time of up to 5 minutes, whereby credit cards and staples can also be shredded without any problems. Included in the delivery is 56 pages, a multilingual user manual, which explains the handling of the Fellowes 8MC well and contains further instructions and restrictions. The shredder is designed for the target group “One user in the home office”, with daily processing quantities of 50 sheets and 5 credit cards. According to the manufacturer, the Fellowes 8MC can handle up to 8 sheets of 70 g/sqm paper.
Fellowes Powershred 8Mc
After switching on, the shredder is ready for operation (green LED), but the 8MC does not start running until the sensor has detected some paper. On the other hand, in the case of a paper jam, the rewind does not start automatically – you have to switch it.
Fellowes Powershred 8Mc Product information:
Shredding performance in the test:
Before buying, you should bear in mind, that this is a shredder for private households, but one that places a lot of emphasis on data protection! This is more than fulfilled (a single sheet becomes about 2000 confetti with 4x10mm shred size). The 100% recoverability of the documents seems impossible.
According to the description, the Fellowes 8 MC should be able to handle a maximum of 8 sheets per pass. However, it already runs slower with 3 sheets (but already under 2 m/min), with 6-7 sheets it already has a hard time, but just makes it, with the 8 sheets one “gets pity” because of the “yowling choking”. We would therefore not want to subject the Fellowes 8MC to a permanent load of 8 sheets. If you want to cut more than 6-7 sheets at a time, we recommend a larger model.
According to the description, the Fellowes 8MC can only shred for 5 minutes continuously! We set up a marathon test course and shredded 200 sheets with mini-breaks. The Fellowes 8MC heated up considerably BUT did not switch off. It should be said that we only ever put in a maximum of 4 counted sheets when shredding. With 4 sheets it lasted nearly 9,5 minutes. So it is possible – and our test seems to be closer to reality than if you have counted blocks of 8 sheets.
What strikes us as positive:
(+) Processes staples and bank cards. So you don’t have to worry so much about finding and separating everything. Fellowes support assured us, that the shredded bank cards are no problem for paper recycling (+) Clear viewing window, where you can see the fill level from the top 50% of the collection container
(+) The simple and unobtrusive design fits into any office environment.
(+) Power consumption: Standby = 0.6 watts / switched off = 0.2 watts.
What we find negative:
(-) The description of the collection bin, which is advertised as holding “up to 330 A4 sheets”, is not accurate! We had to empty the 14L bin after just under 200 sheets and several times of firmly pressing down the snippets, otherwise, the 8MC would pull the cuttings up out of the bin.
(-) The cutting head unit is placed on top of the bin – so a few snippets fall out of the roller onto the floor during emptying, more often than not.
(-) We like the idea to separate waste better, so, we put a lunch box in the bin while shredding bank cards.
Final remarks:
The manufacturer recommends oiling the shredder with aerosol-free vegetable oil, after each emptying of the collection bin (no specific manufacturer’s oil is needed!). We have also had good experiences with Amazon-Basics oil paper.
Should the Fellowes Powershred 8MC switch off due to overheating (red LED), which happens automatically, the cooling down process takes a total of 28-29 min (green LED). It is therefore advisable not to work “always to the maximum”, but to give the 8MC a short break now and then. You can then work through it better yourself instead of having to wait for a stupid 30 minutes.
Conclusion:
The Fellowes advertising department has set the technically possible maximum (8 sheets per pass) as the standard in some places – this is probably due to the fact that they have to advertise with superlatives, i.e. maximum capacities. We recommend the Fellowes 8MC to anyone who attaches great importance to increased data security and has sporadic and/or little shredding to do (according to the manufacturer, 50 sheets per day) and “usually” no more than 3-4 sheets per pass in a continuous mode (see our shredding marathon above). For the home office it is perfectly adequate, we are rather a little proud that the Fellowes Powershred 8MC managed the marathon of continuous 200 sheets (for comparison – a folder contains 600 pages as standard).
For daily use in a home office or in a 3-5-person office with “increased security needs”, the price-per performance ratio is absolutely sufficient. The micro-cut standard is usually reserved for higher-priced shredders. This is where the Fellowes Powershred 8MC finds its niche.
The Fellowes Powershred 8 model is available in different, similar-looking versions:
– Micro-cut (Fellowes 8MC) at around £70
– Particle cut (Fellowes 8C) at around £55
We put the Fellowes Powershred 8MC through its paces for you.
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