Kobra 390 S5

The Kobra 390 S5 is a P-2 strip-cut departmental shredder with a 16 in (400 mm) throat that takes up to 47 sheets per pass and cuts them into 5.8 mm (1/4 in nominal) strips. Twin motors rated for continuous duty and a 53-gallon (200-liter) bagged bin make it a machine for records rooms and print rooms clearing large amounts of out-of-date, non-confidential paper. Its wide opening also accepts continuous-form and wide computer printouts without folding.

Kobra 390 S5 at a glance

• Up to 47 sheets at 70 g/m²; 43-45 at 80 g/m²
• 16 in throat for wide EDP and continuous-form stock
• 5.8 mm strip, rated P-2 O-2 T-2 E-2
• Two motors, 1 1/2 HP total, rated for 24-hour use
• 53-gallon bagged bin in a castored steel cabinet

What the 16 in throat changes for a records room

Most office shredders top out at around a foot wide, so wide printouts have to be folded, which effectively doubles their thickness and eats into stack capacity. The 390 S5 takes them flat. The small gap between its 70 g/m² and 80 g/m² ratings reflects how coarse a strip cut is: heavier paper barely slows it down. Two motors with 1500 W total input each drive a chain on steel gears, feeding at 22 ft/min, with no duty cycle to stop a long purge. Carbon-hardened knives mean stapled reports and clipped sets go in as they are.

Where P-2 fits, and where it does not

Strips 5.8 mm wide meet DIN 66399 P-2, intended for general internal documents. Superseded reports, old print runs and retired manuals are a good match. Strips can still be reassembled, so records with names, account numbers or health details should go through a cross-cut machine. Cards, CDs/DVDs and floppy disks are also accepted, at matching O-2, T-2 and E-2 levels.

Bag changes and housekeeping on the 390 S5

Strip waste is light and bulky, so even a 53-gallon bag fills on less paper weight than it would on a cross-cut machine. Kobra's consumable bag is art. SB-35, 50 per box, sold separately. Safety stops halt the cutters when the bin comes out or the bag is full. Electronic eyes handle start and stop, automatic reverse clears overloads, and Energy Smart standby with optical indicators shows the machine's state at a glance. There is no built-in oiler; occasional manual oiling is enough for a strip head. At 58 dB(A) it is moderate for its size.

390 S5 specifications

390 S5 or a neighboring Kobra?

• Kobra 390 C4 AUTO OILER: the same cabinet and throat with a 3.9 x 40 mm P-4 cross cut, up to 33 sheets and a built-in oiler.
• KOBRA 300.2 S5: the same 5.8 mm strip in a smaller cabinet with a 12.2 in throat, a 40-gallon bin and up to 40 sheets.
• Kobra 400 S5: 5.8 mm strips on a 2.9 HP chassis that takes up to 62 sheets, for even heavier volume.

Is the 390 S5 right for your workload?

Choose it for an archive purge, a print room or any department handling wide printouts and large volumes of routine paper. Pass on it if any of that paper carries personal or regulated data, or if you only shred letter-size sheets and the 300.2 S5 would cover the volume in a smaller footprint.