Powershred LX210 Cross-Cut Shredder (Black)

The LX210 is the middle model in Fellowes' LX range, and the reason to choose it over the LX200 is time rather than capacity: twenty minutes of continuous running against ten, alongside sixteen sheets a pass instead of twelve. This is the black finish.

The bin did not change. At 6 gallons it is the same container fitted to the LX200, so a machine that runs twice as long will fill its bin at the same point. That is worth knowing when you are deciding between the LX210 and the LX220, which pairs a thirty-minute cycle with an 8-gallon container.

Key Features

• Twenty minutes of continuous running, double the LX200, with a 15-minute cool-down if you exceed it.
• Sixteen sheets per pass on 20 lb paper at DIN 66399 P-4.
• Fine 5/32 x 1/2 in cut (4 x 12 mm, about 48 mm² per particle) — the same head as the LX200 and LX220.
• Nine-inch (230 mm) paper entry.
• Shreds paper, credit cards, staples, paper clips and unopened junk mail.
• Six-gallon pull-out bin in a 21.06 x 11.69 x 14.13 in cabinet.
• 26.9 lb, drawing 120 V, 60 Hz, 4.8 A.

A word on the term micro-cut. Fellowes markets the LX200, LX210 and LX220 as micro-cut shredders, and the cut is genuinely fine at 4 by 12 mm. Under DIN 66399, though, micro-cut begins at P-5 and a particle ceiling of 30 mm²; 4 by 12 mm is about 48 mm², which is P-4. Both statements are true in their own terms, but if a policy names micro-cut and means P-5, none of the LX models will satisfy it. We classify by the standard so the machine files correctly.

It will not shred CDs or DVDs. Fellowes' manual for the LX200, LX210 and LX220 excludes optical media explicitly, along with adhesive labels, continuous form paper, transparencies, newspaper, cardboard, laminates, file folders, X-rays and plastics other than credit cards. That is a real limitation of the LX range and it is worth checking against your waste stream before you buy: several cheaper cross-cut machines do take discs, and none of these three do.

Specifications

Sheet ratings are Fellowes' figures for 8.5 x 11 in, 20 lb paper at rated voltage. Fellowes describes the acoustic design as quiet operation but publishes no decibel value for the LX range, so no noise row is shown.

What's in the Box

Shredder with 6-gallon pull-out bin and power cord. Fellowes specifies its own non-aerosol vegetable-based shredder oil, part 35250, applied each time the waste bin is emptied. Aerosol lubricants must never be used in a shredder.

Who Should Buy This — and Who Should Not

Buy the LX210 for a home office or a two-person workspace that shreds regularly rather than occasionally. Twenty minutes and sixteen sheets are enough to work through a folder without stopping, and the fine cut gives you a materially smaller fragment than a conventional cross-cut machine at the same DIN level.

Do not buy it expecting the bin to keep up. Six gallons is the same container as the LX200 and it will fill well inside a twenty-minute session; if that will irritate you, the LX220 adds an 8-gallon bin, four more sheets and another ten minutes of run time. Do not buy it if you need discs destroyed — the LX range does not accept optical media. And if a policy names P-5, none of these machines reach it; the Microshred 225Mi does.