Powershred LX220 Cross-Cut Shredder (Black)

The LX220 is the largest of Fellowes' LX shredders and the only one in the range where the bin grows with the duty cycle: thirty minutes of continuous running and an 8-gallon container, against twenty minutes and six gallons on the LX210.

That pairing is what makes it a small-office machine rather than a desk one. Twenty sheets a pass through a fine 4 by 12 mm head, half an hour of running and a third more bin capacity mean a genuine clear-out can be finished in one sitting. This is the black finish; the same machine is sold in white as 5015501.

Key Features

• Thirty minutes of continuous running, the longest in the LX range, with a 15-minute cool-down if exceeded.
• Twenty sheets per pass on 20 lb paper at DIN 66399 P-4.
• Eight-gallon pull-out bin — a third more than the LX200 and LX210.
• Fine 5/32 x 1/2 in cut (4 x 12 mm, about 48 mm² per particle).
• Nine-inch (230 mm) paper entry for legal and A4 unfolded.
• Shreds paper, credit cards, staples, paper clips and unopened junk mail.
• 23.25 x 11.75 x 16.50 in cabinet, 34.2 lb.
• 120 V, 60 Hz, 5.8 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 8-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 LX220 for a small office of three or four people, or for one person with a real backlog. Twenty sheets a pass, thirty minutes of running and an 8-gallon bin are matched to each other, which is not true of the smaller LX models, and the fine cut makes it a defensible choice for genuinely sensitive paperwork.

Do not buy it if the machine will be fed all day. Thirty minutes is a duty cycle, not continuous duty, and a department that shreds constantly wants a Powershred 125Ci or 225Ci cabinet instead. Do not buy it if you need discs destroyed — the LX models do not take optical media. And if the volume is genuinely small, the LX200 or LX210 cost less and take up less room.