Dahle 20813 Departmental Shredder Review

Dahle's 20813 is a multi-user, high-volume shredder that is designed for use in a busy office setting. In the following review, we take a closer look at the 20813 and list for you what we consider to be some of the machine's strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

1. There a lot of shredders out there with a lot of different levels of capabilities. The 20813 is one of the tougher machines, seeing that it is rated to be used on a continuous basis, and can shred a rather impressive 2,000 to 12,000 sheets of paper in a typical day's use. For a machine that is designed to be placed in a common area and used by several different people per day, this machine would be a great fit.
2. The 20813 also features a sixteen inch paper feed that is capable of accommodating not only letter and legal sized pages, but wide computer printouts too. If you are going to be destroying larger documents on a regular basis, you'll find that the larger feed opening will save you the trouble of having to fold or cut your sheets before feeding them through. Plus, it will also help to cut down on misfeeds and jams that occur when your sheets aren't aligned properly before you feed them into the shredder.
3. We found that the bin capacity was impressive, at around 35 gallons. Another nice feature for a multiple-user machine.
4. The cutting mechanism of the 20813 is one of the finest on the market. Utilizing a gear and chain system, this virtually guarantees slip free operation and durability. The cutting shafts are German steel and appear to be of the highest quality. This is also a machine that we found handles staples and paper clips with ease, and with absolutely no harm to the cutters. This is a great time saver that your users will almost certainly appreciate.
5. It's unusual these days to say that an office machine is attractive, but the 20813 is. It is a well designed machine that will look good in any office setting, and that's a fairly rare thing these days.
6. Dahle offers a nice two year warranty on all working parts of the 20813, and a lifetime guarantee of the cutting heads.

Weaknesses:

1. One thing that a lot of potential users are not aware of is that office shredders need to be oiled on a regular basis. The 20813 is no different. Keeping on top of maintenance like this can be especially difficult when you are talking about a machine that will be used in a high volume environment. Some manufacturers have included self-oiling devices on their machines, and unfortunately the 20813 is not one of them. Dahle does, however make available an add on automatic oiling system that you can purchase and attach to many of their models, including the 20813. It does add a fair amount of expense to the purchase, however, and we'd like to see Dahle including them on their machines rather than having them as an add-on.
2. With a weight of about 180 lbs, this shredder is not a small unit. Be prepared to move the shredder off a truck and into your office when it arrives at your location.