By Jimmy Bua - Southern Beaches Community Garden

How the SBCG came to need our Red Roo CMS 100 is an interesting story. A long story. Almost 12 years in the making (https://www.southernbeachescommunitygarden.com/a-long-time-coming/), actually. But the point is, part of the garden’s successful growth was becoming a bit of a laborious chore. 

In particular, when it came time to turn and rotate our six compost bins. The problem was simple. Our expanding garden was accumulating too much green waste. And far too often, it wasn’t getting chopped small enough. At least, not small enough to get everything to break down as quickly as we needed.

After quite a bit of research, the Red Roo CMS 100 mulcher/chipper/shredder looked to tick all the boxes. Beefy enough to handle a wide range of jobs but still at a price that would agree with grant review members overseeing the funds distribution from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund.

And just like that, the SBCG was the owner of a brand new Red Roo CMS 100 chipper/shredder/mulcher.

Better still, a good two months in, the honeymoon is still in full swing. In short, we love our Red Roo and can’t imagine that sentiment changing any time in the near future.

So that said, we give you our 10 reasons we love our Red Roo CMS 100.

It’s made in Australia. Oi, Oi, Oi! Nu" said. Right? If not, don’t worry, there’s more. Plenty more.

There’s no assembly required. Setting up involves two things. One, pulling a single pin to lower the chipper hopper into place. Then, two, adjusting the discharge area’s rear flap to the angle of yourchoosing. That done, the CMS 100 is virtually ready to be put to use. Just check the oil, add a bit of fuel and you’re in business.

It’s mobile and built to last. You won’t need to load the CMS 100 to get her home because the machine is set atop a sturdy two-wheeled axel and is easily towable. There’s even a spare tyre convenientlymounted on the back of the top mulching hopper. Simply hook your Red Roo to your towing bar and that’s it. Anywhere you need to set her up, she’s good to go. And if your backing skills aren’t up to snu" and you accidentally bump into, say, a tree, check the tree for damage. The CMS100 is built tough. At 650 kilos, she’s not a lightweight. Keep that in mind and definitely use two hands when you’re loweringthe side chipper hopper into place.

The instruction manual’s concise and easy. At a total of 14 pages, this manual is far from Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’. And a!er a brief scan, you’ll quickly understand why. There’s the page and a half of CMS 100 drawing diagrams to help youquickly pinpoint vital components. A page and a half detailing proper loading of the machine as well as how to avoid and deal with possible overfeeding issues and clogs. A half-page discussing possible troubleshooting issues. And, then, of course, there’s the obligatory section of safety.

But to be honest, unless you’re inclined to sticking forks into power points, juggling revving chainsaws or swimming in croc infested rivers and creeks, getting up and running can really be boiled down to two pages.

This being the manual’s step by step ‘Start Up’ and ‘Shutting Down’ page. Read it a couple times and it quickly becomes almost second nature. But just in case you need a quick refresher, Red Roo has been kind enough to mount a convenient storage container atop the chipping hopper. A cylindrical tube with a screw on top to keep both the manual and set of ignition keys dry, secure and close by.

All which segues perfectly into the next reason we love our Red Roo CMS 100.

It’s virtually idiot-proof. At a single glance, the CMS 100 simply makes sense. There are two feeding chutes or hoppers. The chipper, o" to the side for larger material up to 100mm (4 inches) in diameter. And a top feeding hopper for smaller material up to 50mm. Mulched and shredded material is discharged at knee level from the back of the machine. It’s hardly rocket science.

But it’s the CMS 100’s relatively new external clutch bar that really deserves high praise for taking the cost out of human error. The bar was designed and incorporated to circumvent expensive maintenance repairs resulting from operators overzealously loading the hoppers simultaneously. In the past a burnt out standard internal clutch meant a close to four-figure repair. Make the same mistake with the current external clutch bar and you’ll only be set back less than $50 for a new belt.

Customer service are patient and helpful. Yeah, I know, it’s virtually impossible to find a business web page that doesn’t put this claim front and centre. But due to a Victorian public holiday and some mixed messaging on our part in regards to the pick-up procedure, we put Red Roo’s Sales Management team to a true test. A test which involved a phone call to Red Roo’s Victorian warehouse and a couple prompt text messages. All from a sales manager out of the office, at home during his day ff. On the Queen’s birthday, no less. It was our mistake and yet, the Red Roo team didn’t leave us hanging and helped sort our issue immediately. And we were extremely grateful.

It was to be the first indication our decision to go with Red Roo was a good one. It’s powerful and reliable. According to the CMS 100 literature (https://www.redroo.com/commercial_environmental_equipment/chippers_shredders_amp_mulchers/display/5-cms100- chipper-mulcher-sh), the heart and soul of the Red Roo CMS 100 is a 31 hp V- Twin Briggs & Stratton Vanguard petrol engine. If you just read that sentence and felt your pulse race, I dare say you’re far more mechanically inclined than I am. For those, like me, needing a bit more explanation, the Red Roo website has a three-and-a-halfminute video (https://www.redroo.com/commercial_environmental_equipment/chippers_shredders_amp_mulchers/display/5-cms100- chipper-mulcher-shredder) explaining everything. All about the cutting-edge technology and cra!smanship that goes into every Briggs and Stratton design.

But all you REALLY need to know is this: the CMS 100 starts the first time, every time. And better still, it’s a hungry beast that doesn’t flinch in the face of a substantial load.

It’s versatile. As for those substantial loads, we’ve given our Red Roo a real baptism by fire. Tree and bush branches, twigs, sticks, vines, clumps of shrubbery, palm fronds, piles of leaves, small timber o"cuts, newspaper, paper cups and plates and cardboard. The CMS is an equal opportunity mulcher/chipper/shredder. So much so, chances are good you’ll find yourself constantly on the hunt for more items to feed it. Or, as the case may be, those items will probably find you. See below.

     You’ll make new friends. The same way bringing a puppy to a social gather will tend to make you the life of the party, breaking out your Red Roo CMS 100 is guaranteed to draw a crowd. Inquisitive stares will give way to initial tentative questions. All of which will lead to unavoidable friendly banter. Especially once you’ve turned the ignition key and set the V– twin loose on the neighbourhood. The word will be out. Pruning jobs will never be the same and trips to the tip will be a thing of the past. Like ute drivers the world over have been doing since time immemorial, you may have to learn how to politely say ‘No’.

Maintenance is minimal. You shouldn’t have to know how to strip and rebuild a combustible engine just to do a serious bit of mulching, chipping and shredding. Thankfully, Red Roo would agree. And the preventative maintenance required for their CMS 100 proves it.

There on the next to last page of the Operation Manual, you find everything you need to keep your Red Roo happy. A full third of a page, to be exact. A measly third page dealing with the location, timing requirements for the grease and lubrication points of the CMS100.

All four of them. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

So, from the SBCG, we say Happy Mulching!

(Grease gun not included).