Echo Bearcat Shredder Blade Replacement

About two and a half years ago I bought an Echo Bearcat SC3305 3" chipper/shredder. It has been a great machine and is a vital part of my composting. From time to time the machine needs a certain amount of maintenance - oil changes, air filter cleaning/replacement, and blade sharpening. Sharpening the chipper blades is pretty straight forward, and there is plenty of information available online about how to get the blades out and bring them up to snuff. But, it is not at all obvious how to remove the shredder blades, let alone sharpen them.

There is one video on YouTube that tries to explain the process of removing the shredder blades on Echo Bearcat chipper/shredders. Unfortunately, the person that made that video had already done the job, and in the video he just gives a description of what the process involves, moreover, he leaves out the most confusing parts altogether. Comments that viewers added fill in a lot of the details, but, it is still less than obvious how to do this task.

After 2.5 years of heavy use, my shredder blades are, well, shredded. I purchased Echo's "Shredder Knife Kit #70973" for "all 3-inch chipper/shredders." Fortunately this kit comes with instructions. Unfortunately the kit is very expensive; I bought mine at the local shop where I originally got the shredder. The price, with taxes, was US$188.00. I have seen it online for about $30 less, but still, this is an expensive rebuild kit, and a lot of people are likely to choose to sharpen the knives rather than purchase the kit [note too that I have not found the knives for sale - only the whole kit.]

The shredder blades on my Echo Bearcat SC3305 before replacement

So, to help out anyone that may be wanting to replace or resharpen the the shredder blades on their Echo Bearcat shredder/chipper, I have produced a video showing the process.  It can be found on YouTube, here:

Please note that I am demonstrating the process for newer units. There is a different process for units with serial numbers earlier than #11010. Go figure.

Here, in PDF format, are the instructions provided with the rebuild kit Echo Bearcat Shredder Knife Kit Part #70973.

Hydrocotyle moschata

This is another very specialized post that will only be of interest to a very small number of people. However, I hope that it might help those that are interested in such things to identify this plant.

A couple years ago an attractive little ground cover showed up in my garden in Oakland, in among the Mazus reptans that I had planted. I knew that anything that shows up on its own is probably a weed, but, it was very attractive, didn’t appear to be moving very fast, and didn’t seem to throw seeds. So, I left it until I could find out what it was.

I took samples of the plant to a number of local nurseries, but no one was able to ID it. They all asked what the flower was like, but, as far as I knew I had never seen it in bloom. Well, this year I caught it flowering (the flowers are almost microscopic), and I identified the plant (though not from its inflorescence.) It is Hydrocotyle moschata, a somewhat invasive non-native from New Zealand. Here are some useful links for further info:

• Calfora Taxon Report 4280
• New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

The following are photos of the plant, its leaves, stolons, and of the inflorescence taken using a microscope at 40x. I hope this is useful for someone.

Hydrocotyle moschata sprigs showing leaves, flowers, and stolons

Hydrocotyle moschata sprig with flower head

Hydrocotyle moschata flower under microscope at 40x

Hydrocotyle moschata flower under microscope at 40x (another view)