Kobra 240 SS5

The Kobra 240 SS5 is a P-2 strip-cut office shredder that slices paper into 1/4 in (approx. 6 mm) strips and takes up to 29 sheets per pass at a 22 ft/min feed speed. Its wide strip means less cutting per sheet than the narrower 240 strip models, so it clears boxes of routine paper quickly in the same compact cabinet. It is for offices disposing of large amounts of general, non-confidential paper that want it unreadable in the recycling, not forensically destroyed.

Kobra 240 SS5 at a glance

• 1/4 in strip, the widest cut in the 240 family
• Up to 29 sheets per pass at 22 ft/min
• Rated P-2 O-2 T-2 E-2, including CDs/DVDs and cards
• No bags, no oil, 9.5-gallon (35-liter) pull-out bin
• 55 dB(A), 33 lb

Why a wider strip gives the 240 SS5 its capacity

Every extra cut across a sheet adds load on the motor. With a 1/4 in strip, the SS5 makes the fewest cuts of any 240 head, so the same 3/4 HP motor handles more paper at once: 29 sheets against 26 on the 1/8 in SS4 and 15 on the 1.9 mm SS2. It also keeps the full 22 ft/min feed speed of the non-Turbo models, which makes it the quickest choice in the series for one person working through an archive box of tidy stacks.

DIN 66399 bands strips by width, and both the 1/8 in and 1/4 in strips fall within P-2. On paper, the SS5 gives up nothing to the SS4. In practice a wider strip is easier to read and reassemble, so keep this machine for documents whose only requirement is that they should not be casually readable.

Ownership details for the 240 SS5

There are no consumables to stock. The strip head runs without oil, and the bin slides out without lifting the cutting head, needs no plastic liner and tips straight into a recycling container. Strip waste is bulky, so in a busy office expect to empty it often. Cards, CDs, DVDs and floppy disks are all within the rating; a separator keeps their fragments out of the paper. The carbon-hardened knives tolerate staples and paper clips but not binder clips.

The 3/4 HP motor runs continuously for 24 hours with thermal protection, through a heavy-duty chain with metal gears. Electronic eyes start and stop it, Energy Smart indicators show standby, and removing the bin stops the cutters.

240 SS5 specifications

240 SS5 compared with nearby models

• Kobra 240 SS5 Turbo: the same 1/4 in strip with up to 52 sheets per pass, but at 8 ft/min. It suits users who feed thick handfuls.
• Kobra 240 SS4: a narrower 1/8 in strip at 26 sheets and the same 22 ft/min, if you want slightly smaller strips.
• Kobra 240 C4: P-4 cross-cut particles of 3.5 x 30 mm at up to 15 sheets, for anything personal or financial.

Should you buy the 240 SS5?

Yes, if the work is bulk disposal of everyday office paper by people feeding orderly stacks. No, if the paper includes HR, patient or financial records; a cross-cut or micro-cut model is the right tool there.