Fellowes Powershred 100% Jam Proof 79Ci 14 Sheet Cross-Cut Paper Shredder (3227901)

by Fellowes

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 15.2 x 21.5 inches ; 29.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 34 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000WB397I
• Item model number: 3227901
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (217 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #6 in Electronics > Office Electronics > Other Office Equipment > Shredders
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 12, 2007

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Paper jams are frustrating. That’s why Fellowes® built the first 100% Jam Proof System for the Powershred™ line. Featuring this innovative technology, the Powershred™ PS-79Ci Cross-Cut Shredder electronically measures paper thickness to eliminate jams and power through tough jobs. Our higher standards ensure you get the most reliable shredder you can buy – safer, faster, easier to use, and 100% Jam Proof.

	100% Jam Proof!
	How does the 100% Jam Proof System work? The Fellowes® Powershred™ PS-79Ci features a sophisticated sensor that measures the thickness of each paper stack you feed into the shredder. If you put in too much, our proprietary technology automatically stops the paper jam before it occurs. Similar to a traffic light which lets a driver know when they can proceed, an indicator light lets you know when you are nearing sheet capacity. A green to yellow light signals that you are within capacity. A red light signals that the shredder has been overfed and the machine will automatically stop, so you can remove excess paper to resume shredding. The PS-79Ci also detects when paper has been mis-fed or fast-fed into the shredder by turbo-powering through the job or reversing out the paper for easy removal. It’s an efficient system that will even shred your skepticism!
	Advanced Safety Feature
	Protect you and your family while shredding with patented SafeSense® Technology. The PS-79Ci features an advanced electronic safety sensor that surrounds the paper entry and automatically disables the shredder when hands touch the paper opening.
	Ultra-Quiet Performance
	We’ve proven it – shredding doesn’t have to be noisy! The PS-79Ci features ultra-quiet SilentShred™ performance, a technology that virtually eliminates loud shredder noise. Now you can shred any time you like without noisy interruptions.
	Superior Performance
	And there’s more – the Fellowes® Powershred™ PS-79Ci is build to last with solid steel cutters, a powerful motor, and parts that are engineered to outperform our competitors. With its cross-cut capability, it is also tough enough to cut through credit cards, staples, and CDs, while ensuring confidential documents are shredded into unreadable pieces. Additionally, the PS-79Ci features a simple pull-out bin for easy, mess-free waste disposal.
What’s in the Box? PS-79Ci shredder Pull-out bin Casters Replacement bags Sample oil bottle User manual

Comparison Models

	DESK SIDE USE	HIGH VOLUME DESK SIDE USE	SMALL BUSINESS SHARED USE
Model Name	PS-79Ci	SB-89Ci	SB-99Ci	C-120Ci
Cut Type	Cross-cut	Cross-cut	Cross-cut	Cross-cut
Sheet Capacity	13	16	17	18
Basket Capacity (Gallons)	6	7	9	13
Safely Shreds
100% Jam Proof Technology
Safe Sense Technology
Silent Shred Operation
Run Time (Minutes)	10	20	25	45
Pull-Out Bin	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cord Wrap	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Document Holder	-	-	Yes	-
Worry-free Warranty (Machine/Cutter)	2 year/Lifetime	2 year/Lifetime	2 year/Lifetime	3 year/Lifetime
Casters	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Product Description

100% Jam Proof System eliminates paper jams and powers through tough jobs. SilentShred™ offers ultra-quiet performance for shared workspaces. Patented SafeSense® Technology stops shredding when hands touch the paper opening. 2-year product and service warranty plus lifetime on cutters. 14 sheets per pass. 5/32” x 1-1/2” Cross-Cut particles (Security Level 3). Max run time: 12 minutes. 6-gallon pull-out bin. 21.5”H x 15.38”W x 12.19”D. For 1 user.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

209 of 211 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Shredder, April 1, 2008

By 

bulletx - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fellowes Powershred 100% Jam Proof 79Ci 14 Sheet Cross-Cut Paper Shredder (3227901) (Office Product)

I have had the Fellowes Intellishred PS-79Ci Shredder for one week. I have used it on several occassions for up to 15 minutes of intermittent shredding and it has worked flawlessly.

I have shredded up to 12 sheets of paper at one time (shredder works a little harder but still smoothly shreds), a couple of credit cards and approximately 15 CD/DVD disks. The operation with paper and credit cards is surprisingly quiet. You could probably shred with someone sleeping in the next room and not wake them. The noise level (dB) is probably doubled when shredding a computer disk, but it still is quieter than any other shredder I've worked with.

One time the shredding process stopped with paper still sticking up above the shredder. I had a pair of 8-10 bank checks, side by side, so that a total of 16-20 total checks were being shredded at one time. I thought that since the checks took only a fraction of the available space for feeding in paper that I could shred two stacks at one time. Well, the shredder stopped. I pressed the reverse button for a couple of seconds, then the forward button until all the checks were gobbled up. No further misfires since then, even doing the same thing again with checks.

Everything functions as Fellowes states. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a small bottle of oil and several clear waste bags. The bags work great. The operating manual is brief but answers some essential questions like what to do with shredding malfunctions, what not to shred, how long to shred and maintenance. While Fellowes tells you when to oil (at every waste bag exchange), Fellowes could have detailed exactly how to use their oil. Hopefully Fellowes technical support will be helpful when a question arises.

Shredded material size is as stated and is the same for paper as well as computer discs and credit cards. There are units with more finely shredded material, and there are many units that do not shred as small. A motivated thief with patience and plenty of time could reconstruct most any retail shredder's output. That said, a thief would most likely dumpster dive for someone else's unshredded documents before sifting through your well shredded ones. Overall, I feel reasonably comfortable with the level of security of the shredded material with this unit.

The construction and design appear to be of excellent quality with appropriate ruggedness. There is no bowing or undue flexibility of the frame when the drawer is out as has been commented on with the Fellowes Powershred PS-77Cs Shredder. The castors are resonably medium duty and can lock down to keep the unit from rolling away. The shredder without the castors sits flat and stable.

Would be nice to know about the quality of the internal parts. I have read that some machines use plastic toothed gears which have higher/earlier failure rates than metal ones. At least this shredder has a two year warranty for the entire unit, which is twice many competing machines.

Overall, the PS-79Ci shredder is an excellent unit, working exactly as advertised. The Fellowes website has a nice multimedia presentation on the operations of this unit, including the noise level. I haven't had this unit for very long but I am extremely pleased so far with its performance and fit and finish. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a light to medium duty shredder for home or home-office, especially if they want a longer warranty, low noise operation, very good build quality and plenty of whistles and bells that actually are useful and work.

107 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Monster Shredder, December 6, 2008

By 

CarpCaster (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fellowes Powershred 100% Jam Proof 79Ci 14 Sheet Cross-Cut Paper Shredder (3227901) (Office Product)

I purchased this shredder. Ordered it Tuesday afternoon, got free super saver shipping and received it Friday afternoon. Unbelievable. Amazon really knows how to ship.

There are a lot of reviews already but I thought I could add a few things.

A reviewer commented about the mess in the shred bin. Yeah, but it is only a minor problem. All my past shredders were worse. I shredded some CDs and DVDs and they make a mess because of the paint on the non-writable side. If you jar the bin slightly and push the pile down with your hand before pulling the bin out the rest of the way, you can minimize the mess. But with CDs and DVDs, some of the stuff is so light it blows around.

Someone commented about the on/off switches. There are two. A master rocker switch in back that I would guess you always leave on. The switch on top you might turn on and off. If you leave the unit on (both switches) all the time, the blue light will run and use a little power. If you really want to be green, I guess you could turn it off.

I want to stress what some other reviewers said about this monster. This is by far the best shredder (and most expensive) I've owned. I owned about three el cheapos before. They all burned out. I use this at home and I'm a nut about shredding anything with any personal information on it. So I might use it more than the average household and I can't imagine ever stressing this beast. But I did give it a shot (below). For day-to-day shredding, this thing wouldn't break a sweat. It is almost overkill but I could see this unit lasting years.

While vacuuming out the unit after shredding the DVDs, I looked at the business end of the shredder. There is a spindle of nasty looking, sharp metal teeth between plastic guides.

The power cord is bent at 90 degrees so the unit will sit closer to the wall. Nice touch that a lot of other manufacturers should do.

I had a pile of paper to shred since my last shredder burned out. It sawed through that pile in a few minutes. My old shredder would have loudly churned through the pile in about two hours. I always dreaded shredding before. Now, I'm looking for things to shred. The other thing is, this unit is very quiet. It produces a low hum as opposed to the much higher pitched whine of cheap shredders that beg for mercy if you give them a couple of sheets at a time.

The teeth are metal so follow the instructions and oil them. Nuff said.

Now for the main selling point. I had about 250 CDs and DVDs (old computer backups). You don't want to just toss your personal data in the trash - you have to shred that stuff. Most reviews of most shredders never mention shredding DVDs which seem a little tougher to me. This unit had no problem with the CDs or DVDs. I shredded them in groups of ten. I oiled the teeth a couple of times during the process. Awesome!

I used the guide for the credit cards, CDs and DVDs. I think there are probably tougher teeth in the middle and the guide makes sure the plastics go through in the right path.

The auto shutoff works as advertised. The teeth are so far down that I can't see a baby's finger getting in there. There's no way an adult's finger could get in. Maybe Gene Simmon's tongue (Kiss) could get in the slot. :-)

Look no further. Buy this shredder.

117 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FELLOWES CUSTOMER SERVICE, June 13, 2008

By 

H. P. Mc Cormick "Budmac" (Tucson, az) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fellowes Powershred 100% Jam Proof 79Ci 14 Sheet Cross-Cut Paper Shredder (3227901) (Office Product)

I had such a rare customer service experience I could not let it pass without a public compliment. In a nutshell, I wrote to Fellowes complaining about a problem I encountered with two shredders. I did not ask for anything, but I wanted someone to know that there was a problem with the shredder.
To my utter surprise, I was contacted directly by Mr. Fellowes and without excuses, recognized the problem and solved it on the spot.How refreshing it is to deal with a company that where the principal is directly involved and customer service is not farmed out to some third party in a foreign country.