Well, this is a first (glad nothing caught fire)!

[usagora]

I have an Amazon Basics shredder (this one here) that I've owned for a few years. Recently, it started NOT auto shutting off sometimes when in auto mode after shredding something. I thoroughly cleaned it, but it still failed to auto shut off from time to time. Well, when I came home from work just now, the shredder was running full speed ahead! I know for a fact no one else was in the house (I have a Ring Doorbell, so I would have been notified if anyone came) - the shredder literally just started on its own! I have no idea how long it had been running, but it was VERY hot.

I guess I'll have to be sure to keep the switch on OFF (not AUTO) from now on. That was pretty freaky.

 

[0128672]

I have an Amazon Basics shredder (this one here) that I've owned for a few years. Recently, it started NOT auto shutting off sometimes when in auto mode after shredding something. I thoroughly cleaned it, but it still failed to auto shut off from time to time. Well, when I came home from work just now, the shredder was running full speed ahead! I know for a fact no one else was in the house (I have a Ring Doorbell, so I would have been notified if anyone came) - the shredder literally just started on its own! I have no idea how long it had been running, but it was VERY hot.

I guess I'll have to be sure to keep the switch on OFF (not AUTO) from now on. That was pretty freaky.

Woah! That's is freaky. Glad you caught it. Are you missing any books? Did it burp after?

I have the same shredder but always switch to off.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Wow. I have the same shredder and have been keeping it set to auto. Maybe I should take heed and set to off when not in use.

 

[KaliYoni]

The posts in this thread reminded me of this:

"Last year, a report by CNN flagged several Amazon Basics shredders as potentially dangerous because they had three or more owner reviews that included words like “unsafe” or “fire hazard.” Although incidents of shredders causing fires or electrical damage are rare—we found 34 reviews for our budget pick mentioning “fire” and 14 mentioning “hazard” out of more than 11,000 reviews—we’ve added a care and maintenance advice section to help you keep any shredder in top shape and reduce the risk of overheating."

The Best Paper Shredders

We tested top shredders for use at home and in small offices and found easy-to-use workhorses that can help protect your identity.

www.nytimes.com

I also own an Amazon Basics shredder. I don't leave it on Auto (I think it's because the switch has always felt flimsy but I don't really remember why I started doing so) but, like all shredders I've owned, it does heat up pretty quckly whenever it is running.

 

[usagora]

Last year, a report by CNN . . .

That article even mentions exactly what happened to me: "Paper shredders turned on by themselves, according to multiple consumers . . ."

I've decided I'm not only going to keep mine switched off from now on, I'm going to also keep it unplugged. I had a dehumidifier I had to replace just a few months ago because the compressor started running without the fan going. I turned the unit off, yet the compressor continued to run (?!). I had to unplug the unit from the wall. Apparently it's a bad ground from what I read online, but it was already about 7 years old, so I just bought a new one to be safe (unlike a paper shredder, I obviously can't keep a dehumidifier unplugged, as that defeats its purpose).

 

[0128672]

That article even mentions exactly what happened to me: "Paper shredders turned on by themselves, according to multiple consumers . . ."

I've decided I'm not only going to keep mine switched off from now on, I'm going to also keep it unplugged. I had a dehumidifier I had to replace just a few months ago because the compressor started running without the fan going. I turned the unit off, yet the compressor continued to run (?!). I had to unplug the unit from the wall. Apparently it's a bad ground from what I read online, but it was already about 7 years old, so I just bought a new one to be safe (unlike a paper shredder, I obviously can't keep a dehumidifier unplugged, as that defeats its purpose).

Unplugged is a good idea. I always unplug my toaster after use.

 

[A.Goldberg]

You should definitely report that to Amazon. It sounds like they might want to recall those units if it’s a widespread problem, which possibly seems to be the case. I’m going to guess their motors are not built or tested to ensure continuous running won’t cause overheating a potential fire.

Having spent countless hours of my early pharmacy career working in pharmacies filling prescriptions, I still have mild PTSD from those stupid things jamming from the adhesive prescription labels that had to be destroyed and cleaning up the subsequent mess of sticky shreds of paper. The easy solution to this was burn boxes (locked gaba the cans that have the contents burnt).

It sounds like Amazon sent you a paper shredder-burn box combination unit.

 

[usagora]

You should definitely report that to Amazon. It sounds like they might want to recall those units if it’s a widespread problem, which possibly seems to be the case. I’m going to guess their motors are not built or tested to ensure continuous running won’t cause overheating a potential fire.

I don't believe any consumer-grade shredder is designed to run continuously. In fact, most say to lubricate the blades after every 30 minutes of run-time.

 

[A.Goldberg]

I don't believe any consumer-grade shredder is designed to run continuously. In fact, most say to lubricate the blades after every 30 minutes of run-time.

I would highly doubt it. And I doubt they would be designed specifically designed to fail in a “fail-safe” manner that would ensure there isn’t a fire. It sounds like Amazon (or rather whoever makes the shredders as Amazon inevitably does not design or manufacture these) needs to take a look at their switch design.


In my experience the switches that activate the automatic on function are pretty flakey, but usually fail in a fashion where they don’t automatically turn on the shredder. In my experience commercial-grade shredders (those that cost many hundreds of dollars) forgo the automatic function all together, instead using a big ON/STOP button like a piece of machinery.

This is actually a good review to see because one of my offices has been looking for a new, lower-end paper shredder. We don’t do a ton of shredding but the existing shredder’s automatic function stopped working years ago and the manual switch (reverse/off/on/auto) doesn’t reliably turn the unit on anymore. While I’m sure a handful of companies make 90% of the shredders out there and brand under many names, I’ll be sure to take a closer look at the reviews and probably avoid Amazon for the time being

You’d think excessive operation of the motor and gear mechanisms could lead to overheating, and overheating could subsequently fire (especially since a bin full of paper shreds is effectively a tinder box). This risk would be increased by failing to oil the shredder, which evidently should we be done relatively frequently. I would be my life 99.99% of people have never oiled their shredder, let alone been aware of such requirements/protocols. With all that in mind, it seems reasonable for manufacturers to design products with these hazards and human factors in mind.