Need Guidance on Buying Wood Chipper

Nrowles · June 20, 2016, 10:33:39 AM

To start, I am new to wood chippers. I recently purchased 14 acres of plantation pines and built a home. I want to clear a few acres over time. The trees were not managed well and are not worth anything and wont be worth anything for a very long time. I am looking to buy a chipper to get rid of these trees after I cut them down. Any guidance on what to look for when looking at these chippers?

I'm planning to look at a towable Brushmaster with a 25hp Kohler and it takes up to 6" logs. He's at work right now and says he doesn't know the model number. Most of what I will be chipping is under 6" and if it does the job it would suit me well. I don't know what to look for though. Feed type, chip type, drive type, etc. What questions should I ask? What wearable components should I inspect?

Den Socling · June 20, 2016, 03:18:51 PM

We bought a small one. By the time you have trimmed all of the branches so that you can feed them, you have decided to build a brush pile instead.

Ron Wenrich · June 20, 2016, 04:05:13 PM

I bought a shredder/chipper for the back of my tractor. It cleans stuff up pretty quick. You can put the small branches through the shredder and chip heavier stuff up to 5". There are some others out there that will chip up to 8" and seem reasonably priced. If you have a 3 pt pto tractor, I would go that route, as you have one less engine to take care of. Also easier to cart around.

pine · June 20, 2016, 04:07:31 PM

Buy the biggest that you can justify.
Hydraulic feed becomes very important as the size of the material goes up.

Folks think 6" but that maynot and most likely does not mean 6" diameter because of branches. Unless you want to spend a lot of time trimming branches you won't get much 6" diameter stuff in it. I have never run a 25 hp 6 inch chipper but that seems a bit light from my experience.
I use a 10" hydraulic feed and it gets branches hung up on occasion due to overfeeding the size limits.

Peter Drouin · June 21, 2016, 06:09:00 PM

Rent a 12' Morbark, get all your work/ Bruch cut don't pile it, let it lay where it's cut. try renting for ½ day and see how it goes.

ScottAR · June 22, 2016, 01:44:43 AM

I second Peter's idea if burning isn't an option. Buy the most capacity and HP you can stand.

A friend of mine with a tree service has an 18" Vermeer and it will eat most anything you can put in it.

My dream machine is a CBI 8800.... I couldn't afford the fuel bill but I can dream...

jdonovan · June 22, 2016, 06:09:46 AM

Once you get some crotches, and some non-straight limbs, your real capacity is about 1/3 to 1/2 what the feed opening is. Unless they are pre-limbed logs, then consider the unit you're looking at to be a 3-4" capacity.

I've got a 9" fed by a 50 HP at the PTO tractor, and I OFTEN want for more HP. When I feed it 2-3" stuff no complaints, but when I feed it a 6-7" it really needs more power.

I've learned blade sharpness is very important. Once the blades start to dull the machine will balk about taking 3-4". Having a spare set of blades is useful because I can swap a set of blades in 30 min or less. If I have to drag them to the shop and grind, I'm out a 1/2 day easy.

If you have 4-6" material you might find someone who is willing to cut them for pulpwood, even if it didn't pay you, to have someone come in with machinery and do all the cutting it might be worth it.

I'd say get a few brush piles, and rent a towable and see how it goes. feeding brush is hard work. Decide after that if you want to do the work, then hunt down a chipper.

Most of the wear on the chipper is blades, and infeed equipment.

Given the level of clearing your considering, I absolutely would not get a chipper without hydraulic feed.

scgargoyle · June 23, 2016, 06:23:38 AM

I'm in the market for one, too. I want to thin our woods a little at a time (I'm old). Our church gathers firewood all fall and winter for needy families, so my plan is to drop the tall skinny trees, drag the usable wood up out of the woods where the guys can get it, and chip the slash. The good news is that these guys will take just about anything, including really small stuff, and the trees don't have much slash as they are crowded by the bigger trees. First, I need to find a suitable tractor, and then add a chipper so I have the tools for the job.

I'm looking for a used, but serviceable 40-50 hp tractor with a loader. I figure the loader will come in handy around the place. I'll pony up for a hydraulic 6" chipper. I can either drag the trees out of the woods with the loader and back out, or drag all the trees out with the 3 point, then go back with the chipper to clean up the slash. Every winter, I'll spend a few weekends out in the woods.

pine · June 23, 2016, 09:45:56 AM

Quote from: scgargoyle on June 23, 2016, 06:23:38 AM
I'm in the market for one, too. I want to thin our woods a little at a time (I'm old). Our church gathers firewood all fall and winter for needy families, so my plan is to drop the tall skinny trees, drag the usable wood up out of the woods where the guys can get it, and chip the slash. The good news is that these guys will take just about anything, including really small stuff, and the trees don't have much slash as they are crowded by the bigger trees. First, I need to find a suitable tractor, and then add a chipper so I have the tools for the job.

I'm looking for a used, but serviceable 40-50 hp tractor with a loader. I figure the loader will come in handy around the place. I'll pony up for a hydraulic 6" chipper. I can either drag the trees out of the woods with the loader and back out, or drag all the trees out with the 3 point, then go back with the chipper to clean up the slash. Every winter, I'll spend a few weekends out in the woods.

Look at Salsco. I have one of their 10 inch models and it is great. They also make several 6 inch models.

OneWithWood · June 23, 2016, 10:33:07 AM

Years ago I bought a Crary Bearcat pto chipper shredder. I run it with my JD4520 tractor. It has served me well for a long time. It accepts up to 6" logs but it will bog down on the big stuff and as has been stated any crooks or knots drops the diameter limit. The biggest problem I have is removing the chips from under the unit. The chips pile up quickly and I spend more time pushing chips with a shovel than I do making chips.