Powershred LX210 Cross-Cut Shredder (White)

This is the white LX210, functionally identical to the black 5015201 and chosen for the same reason anyone chooses a white appliance: because the machine has to live somewhere visible. Sixteen sheets a pass, twenty minutes of running, a 6-gallon bin.

Within the LX range this is the model that gets the balance right for most home offices. The LX200 runs for ten minutes, which is short if you save paper up; the LX220 is a noticeably larger cabinet. The LX210 sits between them at 26.9 pounds and just over 21 inches tall.

Key Features

• White finish — the same machine as the black 5015201.
• Twenty minutes of continuous running, with a 15-minute cool-down if exceeded.
• 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).
• Nine-inch (230 mm) paper entry for legal and A4 unfolded.
• Shreds paper, credit cards, staples, paper clips and unopened junk mail.
• Six-gallon pull-out bin, 21.06 x 11.69 x 14.13 in, 26.9 lb.
• 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 white LX210 for a home office, a study or a client-facing room where the shredder is on show. Functionally it is the black machine: sixteen sheets, twenty minutes, a fine 48 mm² particle and a materials list that covers cards, staples, clips and junk mail.

Do not buy it if the 6-gallon bin will be the annoyance. It is the same container as the smaller LX200, so a full twenty-minute session means emptying it more than once; the LX220 in white (5015501) carries 8 gallons and runs for thirty minutes. Do not buy it if you need CDs or DVDs destroyed, because no LX model accepts them. And if you have been asked for P-5 in writing, this machine is P-4 and will not satisfy that requirement.