Overheating Shredders

An overheating shredder can be really frustrating when you’re in the mood for a giant shredding session! Here are some things to bear in mind:

Duty cycle of your shredder

Paper shredders have duty cycles which dictate how long you can continuously shred before you need to let the machine cool down. Basic shredders may only be able to shred for a matter of minutes before a cool down period is required. Check your shredder manual (or go online) to see how long your shredder model’s duty cycle is. Some machines have much longer cycles and some can even shred non-stop without the need for a cool down period - but it’s all down to the spec of your shredder.

Spreading the load

Rather than save all your shredding for a mega shredding session, try and shred your documents frequently, in smaller batches. This is better for security too as any confidential information that is no longer required gets quickly shredded. Also, if you’ve consulted your shredder manual and know what the duty cycle is, you’ll know how much shredding you can continuously do in a single shredding session.

Thermal overload protection

Many shredders have a thermal overload protection feature - and some may even have a light indicator to show that the shredder has overheated and has now been put into a cooling down phase. This is handy as it stops you from accidentally overusing the shredder. Make sure you allow the shredder to fully cool down before using it again – otherwise your next shredding session may get cut short.

So the main consideration with an overheated shredder is the duty cycle on your particular model. However, it may just be that your paper shredding needs have outgrown the capability of your current shredder, so consider purchasing a new one that allows you to shred for a longer period of time.