Fellowes 99Ci 18-Sheet Jam-Proof Shredder

Sturdy, quiet and well built.

>> 1/14/2015
Just got this 99Ci to replace a 15 year old low grade/snail speed over a waste basket shredder. Have a lot of paper to shred and a local shredding company wants 10 moola for each shopping bag full, I figured I’ll shred myself and get something out of it in the end.

I was debating between this model and the AmazonBasics 24-Sheet Cross-Cut, finally decided on this, mainly due to the 100% Jam Proof, SafeSense, 10 FPM speed (no speed info on the AmazonBasics) and the larger 9 gallon bin features, plus it just looks more well built with better features that the AmazonBasics.

Pros
– Well built, feels solid for its price range.
– The casters were easy to install by myself (this is a man’s job)
– Instructions were clear and easy to understand (this is also a man’s job)
– The bin slides in and out easily.
– The capacity indicator is pretty cool, handy if trying to insert too many pages, which prevents jamming.
– The SafeSense feature, good for safety, plus if you keep your hand on there for more than 3 seconds, the machine actually turns off completely.
– First tested with 20 pages of 20lb copy paper, it was too thick and the capacity indicator was in the red, shredding would not even start, until I got down to 18 pages, then shredding went through without any problems.
– My first real batch of shredding completely filled a 12″x12″x8″ box, lots of old invoices and statements, took about 25-30 minutes, almost ran it continuously. The shredder finally overloaded right when I finished, went into cool down mode, but I noticed that the overload red light went off about 15-20 minutes later, but the motor felt pretty warm still. I have many more of those boxes of paper to go.
– Within the 25-30 minutes of shredding, only one jam due to too many pages, hit the reverse button to back it out a little, then forward button to finish shredding it.
– When shredding lots of pages, you can tell that the sound of the motor is stressing, but just a little though, still pretty quiet and will shred the 18 pages quickly, does not really slow down much at all.
– 10 feet per minute seems pretty fast for this level of shredder, compared to my old snail shredder.
– Junk mail: I luv it that I can just throw the average junk mail (unopened) right into the shredder.
– Did try to insert stacks of paper in crooked, so that it’d fold during shredding, but it never got jammed once.

Minor Cons
– Even with a 9 gallon bin, because the shredded paper is pretty fluffed, it gets full pretty quick, even though the paper gets distributed in the bin pretty evenly by itself. Within the 25-30 minutes, I filled two bins and had to pad down the paper around 4 times per bin and oiled the blade at least twice per bin. If you are using a bag to hold the paper and you pad down the paper as much as possible, when you pull the bag out, the inside part of the bin window have cornered edges, which will rip the bag, but of course this will most likely not happen if you do not pad down the paper.
– You have to insert the paper about 2-3 inches into the slot before it’ll start shredding, but you’ll get used to it quickly.

Miscellaneous
– Instructions state that it should be turned off when done shredding, not a big deal with a simple push of the on/off button.
– Since the bin gets filled pretty quick and you are supposed to oil the blade with every emptying of the bin, make sure you get yourself a nice big bottle of shredder oil, or vegetable oil (non aerosol) and get an applicator with a long nozzle.
– This model does have the Energy Savings Feature, it’s not stated on Amazon, but it’s on the manufacturer’s site.

Conclusion
– As long as it last for years to come, am very happy with the purchase. I believe I read about a plastic gear that was used in the previous model SB-99Ci, hopefully the issue with that is now fixed with this current model.
– Now that I have a much better shredder, shredding is “ALMOST” fun.

BTW: I’m just kidding with the being a man’s job comments, I believe in complete equality. You go girl!

>> UPDATE 1/21/2015
Just out of curiosity, I just had to find some DVDs to shred, which I found about 10, threw each one into the shredder, one after another, no problems at all, it was actually fun and enjoyable, at least this first time.

I was also curious about the shredding oil, so I called Fellowes to get more info, here is what it comes down to:
– Any vegetable oil will work.
– Typically, one found at super markets will have a smell to it and one found at office stores will not. The ones with the smell is for cooking, the only difference is that it has a smell, but both work the same. I prefer no smell, so I guess I’ll have to pay a little more for that one.
– The manual suggest that every time the bin indicator lights up that it’s full(without padding down the shredded material), you should squirt some shredding oil on the blades. But, if you want to pad down the shredded material every so long, to prolong when it is actually completely full, so that when the bin is finally truly full even by padding down the shredded material, you can then squirt some shredding oil on the blades, so that you do not have to oil it as often.

I luv this shredder, so far.

Trabaja muy bien, silenciosa y rápida, Completamente satisfecho con el producto, la descripción del mismo es adecuada el tamaño es perfecto para una oficina.

This is a big improvement on all the shredders we have had before. Just wish to bin was slightly bigger to hold more waste.