What is the Fellowes Powershred LX220?

It’s a micro-cut shredder from Fellowes, meant to sit by a desk at home and turn the paper you’d rather not throw out whole into confetti.

I went through a Fellowes reseller’s store and both Amazon listings. Mostly I wanted to know how big a pile it gets through in one sitting, and when the smaller LX210 is enough.

What’s the LX220 like to use?

The LX220 keeps going for 30 minutes before it wants a 15-minute break.

It takes up to 20 sheets a pass. I love the Efficiency Meter, which shows you the ideal number of sheets as you feed it, so you aren’t guessing how thick a stack it’ll take.

Drop paper in and it starts on its own, then stops when it’s done. Fellowes sells it on what it calls a 100% Jam Proof System. If that holds up, it takes the most annoying part of shredding off your hands.

There’s also SafeSense, which stops the shredder when a hand or a paw touches the paper slot. That could matter more than any spec if a toddler or a cat shares your office.

What comes out is tiny, micro-cut pieces just 5/32 by 1/2 inch. It’s rated P-4, and it handles paper, staples, paper clips and credit cards.

The 8-gallon bin has a light that tells you when it’s full.

At 11.75 inches wide, it fits a narrow gap by a desk.

What are the LX220’s downsides?

It’s heavy, so you’ll want a hand getting it out of the box.

Amazon takes the LX220 back within 30 days, so put a full stack through it the week it arrives. After that, you’d lean on the warranty, 2 years on the machine and 7 on the cutter, the part doing the hard work.

Who should skip the LX220?

For a shared office with a whole team feeding it, I’d look elsewhere. It’s rated for one to three people, and a 30-minute run with a 15-minute break won’t keep up with shredding all day.

Is the shredder one piece of a home office you’re still putting together? My picks for the desk, the chair and the lamp are in the Work Nook.

Should you get the LX220 or the LX210?

Get the LX220 if more than one of you feeds it, or the pile is usually big by the time you get to it. Next to the LX210, it runs 10 minutes longer, takes 4 more sheets a pass and holds 2 more gallons, so you stop less and empty it less.

If it’s just you and a handful of mail a week, the LX210 is the one I’d order. It makes the same tiny pieces with a smaller pull-out bin and a shorter run. It’s also a little more compact, which helps under a low desk, and it costs less at Clary Business Machines, too.

Questions people ask