Woodmaxx vs. Woodland Mills Chipper

[Lookin4GoodLife]

Well, I've got it down to these two, but I haven't made up my mind yet.  I did the pre-requisite search on here, but most of the threads were older, so my question is, any personal experience, praise, gripes about these two brands?  I'll definitely be going with the hydraulic feed, so I'm looking at the Woodland WC68 versus the Woodmaxx WM-8H.  I like that the Woodland has 4 chipper blades vs. the Woodmaxx's 2, but don't know that that matters.  I can't find anywhere on the Woodland page what the weight of the flywheel is, but I'll give them a call if no one knows....  the Woodmaxx is 200 lbs which I would *assume* chip better than a lighter flywheel.  I'm not really ready to buy yet as my Woodland Mills sawmill is still in the crate, but I noticed where they're increasing the price of their chipper by $300 August 3rd due to tariffs.  Can't really blame them because overhead is overhead, but I'd rather they'd just announced a price increase and not *specifically* said it was because of increased tariffs.  I'm not a big fan of President Trump and I certainly have nothing against Canadians, their businesses or their government, but it's kind of like a stick in my eye and could possibly be the tipping point in which chipper I buy.  Not trying to start a political argument here.    So if the Woodland Mills is head and shoulders better than the Woodmaxx, I will go ahead, scrape up the money and pull the trigger.  Otherwise, I may take my time and make my purchase when I'm actually ready to start using the thing.  My tractor is a New Holland Workmaster 33 with 32 HP, so my tractor should run either one ok.  It may not chip the max size at the max speed, but anything that large, I'll be saving as firewood anyway.  Thanks everybody!

[Lookin4GoodLife]

Oh and btw, please don't everybody start recommending Wallensteins.    Not in the budget.  I'm purchasing either the Woodland Mills WC68 or the Woodmaxx WM-8H.  Thanks. 

[rjwoelk]

woodland has a 100 lb chipper wheel. Woodmax 200 lbs.  But they do not do any wider than 8 inch. If you are wanting to chip slabs off the mill, you may want a wider opening. I have been looking at them as well, but have not done much price checking. I lean towards wallenstein they are 10 inch wide to take slabs. But yes price is large. But you are dealing with a lower canadian dollar should help. What kind of price diff?

[goose63]

I have the smaller one from woodlandmill it will do 6 inch when I'm done sawing the log Iput the slabs back on the mill saw them down to fit the chipper extra work yes but my tractor is 30 hp now some guy wants them for camp fire wood I sell them to him for $300 a trailer load

[Lookin4GoodLife]

No, I don't want to chip slabs. Just scrub trees I'm clearing.  The saw mill is for the larger trees on my property.  I just meant that I was not ready to purchase the chipper yet because I'm just clearing a spot for my sawmill right now and working on that project.  I was going to get my mill going before buying a chipper to start chipping up the scrub trees and what-not I'm clearing off my property.

[Ianab]

If you are just chipping light brush, and dragging out the bigger stuff for firewood the lighter unit should be fine. 

Some folks need to throw 8" limbs into a chipper, and that's takes some hp and weight. If you want firewood, then you can save anything over ~3" to lop into burnable lengths, and the rest can get chipped easy enough. 

[DelawhereJoe]

I was looking at the woodmaxx chipper myself but the mech feed over the hydro feed as my tractor has no rear hydro hookups. There economy 8" chipper is just under $1900 and thats a selling point for me being limited by my budget or lack thereof.

[Lookin4GoodLife]

My understanding is the hydraulics are self-contained on both units.  The only connection to the tractor is the PTO shaft.  That powers the hydraulics on the chipper.  I need to verify that, but that's my understanding.  I don't have rear hydraulics either.

Edit: Yep, the Woodmaxx is self-contained, no connection to the tractor necessary.  " - Self-contained hydraulic system (no hydraulics required from tractor)"

Edit 2:  Same for Woodland Mills.  All self contained.  According to manual under "Hydraulic requirement" it says "None.  Self contained"

[Jemclimber]

I know you didn't ask, but I would look into a brush bandit.  You can find used pto chippers in the model 65 (6"x12") and the model 90 (9"x17") opening. I think for your use, you'd be very happy with the 65. Both have hydraulic feed.

[Lookin4GoodLife]

Thanks for the info, but those are out of my budget range.  I ordered the Woodland Mills WC68 yesterday. 

[AlpineCutter]

I have the woodmax and love it. It has eaten everything i have thrown at it. My tractor is 40 hp and has no trouble with it. The hydraulics for the feed are all ran by the pto so no hook ups to the tractor are needed.

[Leigh Family Farm]

I know you didn't ask, but I would look into a brush bandit.  You can find used pto chippers in the model 65 (6"x12") and the model 90 (9"x17") opening. I think for your use, you'd be very happy with the 65. Both have hydraulic feed.

Why the Brush Bandit? I, too, will be looking at getting a small shipper for my new property.

Thanks for the info, but those are out of my budget range.  I ordered the Woodland Mills WC68 yesterday.  

Nice going! Let us know how it works for you! 

[Brad_S.]

 I see you have already ordered a machine but I’m going to add this anyhow.

I also have the 8” hydraulic feed Woodmaxx and I too love it! I run it on a 46 horse power Kubota and chip  my sawmill edgings, some of the smaller slabs and branches. I need the chips for composting and incorporating into the soil and the Woodmaxx makes nice small chips. My only criticism...and it’s something that doesn’t bother me much, is that it does not throw the chips very far. There is a tutorial online on how to modify chippers by adding conveyor belt to the fins to get them to throw farther.

I just received a notice from grizzly that a machine I have on order is going up in price because of tariffs on Chinese goods. The Woodmaxx is manufactured in China so their pricing may be going up soon too.

I would absolutely recommend the Woodmaxx!

[paul bunyan]

How are you liking the Woodland Mills chipper that you ordered?

[Lookin4GoodLife]

Sorry I didn't update here.  Yep, got the Woodland Mills WC68 and got it assembled with no problems.  It chips nice and handles everything I've stuffed down it.  Basically if it'll fit down the chute, it'll chew it up.  I have jammed it a couple times pretty good because I stuff things down it you probably shouldn't like curved branches, branches (logs) with a lot of limbs coming off of it, etc.  I just reversed it a few times until I got the stuff pulled out enough to work it on through.  If there's anything sticking out, sometimes I'll take another log and jam the stuff on through. 

Brad S. I have the same complaint with the WC68 that it doesn't throw chips as far as I'd like, but I agree with you, it's not a big deal.  And I've seen those videos also and may try that if I think I need the additional distance at some point. 

I'm in the US and did get hit with a $75 "international transaction fee" on my credit card that I didn't appreciate, but that was my ignorance.  Just a heads up on that....

Here's a link to the video I made and sent them so I'd get my free hat.   



If anyone has any specific questions I'd be glad to answer them as best as I can.  I've probably used it 6 or 8 hours total so far.

[Lookin4GoodLife]

Oh yeah, a couple tips for chipping novices.  Make sure you stand *behind* anything you stick in a chipper and not *beside* it.  Sometimes the chipper rotates the branch with quite a bit of force as it pulls it through, especially if the branch is curved or forked and you can get your brains busted out right quick.  Luckily, I have not had my brains busted out yet, but it has taken a couple swings at me. 

Also, on some of the larger stuff, as the feeder rotates and it's trying to get a grip on the end of the log to pull it through, sometimes it will violently flip the log up and down slamming it against the top and bottom of the feed chute.  If you've got your hand in the way, you could easily have your hand broken.  I have not had my hand smashed yet, but only because of my cat-like reflexes. 

I *can* tell you that like with most farm equipment, you can get hurt in a hurry if you're not paying attention to what you're doing and you're just casually stuffing things in there. 

[Leigh Family Farm]

Nice music choices for the video

[Lookin4GoodLife]

*I* thought it was cool.    Someone complained that I should have left the music off so they could hear the chipper working.  I guess that's a valid point if you're looking at the video as a review and wanted to hear if it bogged down or whatever.  I just wanted my free Woodland Mills hat.