Anyone have experience with DR Chippers

[fordmantpw]

I'm looking for a good, used, low-cost 3pt chipper and came across one on craigslist. I don't envision a tremendous amount of use, just some cleanup here and there.

Does anyone have experience with DR chippers? Does this look like a good deal? I have asked about the chute as I don't see it in the pic, but haven't heard back yet. Here is the link: Linky

Thanks for the help!

 

[jerrybob]

Can't speak for the chipper specifically but I can tell you that DR makes some good products. I bought a used walk behind brush mower a few years back. It's built to take abuse and really works well around our property for clearing brush. Parts are easy to get.....DR was very helpful and even re-registered the mower under my name. Good luck!

 

[gwdixon]

My wood cutting partner has the large DR chipper. He likes it very much. However, it is a stand-alone model, not a 3PH model.

It does only have one knife but it is larger (longer) than many others. It is somewhat difficult to reach and change out the knife according to him - I have not seen it done so can't comment.

The machine chips and throws the debris very well. There is no chute for leaves and small stuff but putting the little things through the main chute works fine.

He has experienced excellent customer support from the company.

 

[LehighValleyPA]

I've used two different 3-point DR chippers. For a while we borrowed my in-laws' top discharge version; I think they only make that style now. It worked great as long as the blade was reasonably sharp and gapped correctly. On a couple occasions the discharge chute jammed, but we found that that did not happen much if the RPM was up at full PTO operating speed.
Two years ago I bought a bottom-discharge DR chipper via craigslist and it has worked very well. My wife uses it (a lot more than I do) for chipping branches. It is the default implement that we have on the tractor most often.

 

[LehighValleyPA]

I suspect the DR chippers must be designed for class 0 & 1 mounting. I always have to bring the lift arms in, and use thin bushings on all the mounting pins.

Attached is an image of the old-style top discharge DR chipper I used to borrow. It is pretty compact and easy to muscle around.

 

[fordmantpw]

Thanks for the input everyone. LehighValleyPA, after reading your post and looking at the pic you posted, I bet the one I posted is a bottom-discharge. Maybe that's why I don't see a chute?

 

[kevinwak]

I have never personally owned a dr product, but I know people who have and I have heard great things.
I would like to ask what is the advantage of a chipper? I usually just burn the branches for a weiner roast, or pile them against the back fence.

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[fordmantpw]

I have never personally owned a dr product, but I know people who have and I have heard great things.
I would like to ask what is the advantage of a chipper? I usually just burn the branches for a weiner roast, or pile them against the back fence.

There are tons of uses for wood chips (mulch). Here are a few of uses that I have planned:

• Mulch around new trees
• Add to a compost pile to make compost for our garden
• Cover hilly sections of ATV trails to prevent erosion

 

[kevinwak]

There are tons of uses for wood chips (mulch). Here are a few of uses that I have planned:


[*]Mulch around new trees
[*]Add to a compost pile to make compost for our garden
[*]Cover hilly sections of ATV trails to prevent erosion

So is the purpose of having the chipper is more for getting chips than for getting rid of the tree debris? They look like a cool tool and I think it would be fun to own, but I am still just trying to figure out the reasons why so that I can put together a good excuse package for the lovely wife.

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[fordmantpw]

So is the purpose of having the chipper is more for getting chips than for getting rid of the tree debris? They look like a cool tool and I think it would be fun to own, but I am still just trying to figure out the reasons why so that I can put together a good excuse package for the lovely wife.

Well, it's two-fold. You get rid of tree debris, and you don't have to buy the mulch. Tell her you can save money because you won't have to buy mulch, and surely she will see the logic in it!

We recently purchased some land that has about 30-35 acres of woods. There is quite a bit of brush on the ground due to the fact that the previous owners cut some trees down for logs or firewood, and just left the limbs lay. Not to mention, there is always cleanup work that it can be used for. Rather than just burning the brush, I would like to chip it up and make use of the chips. I'm sure I could buy plenty of mulch for the cost of a chipper, but what's the fun in that?

I'm hoping to find a good chipper for under $1k, because if I have to spend $2k+ for a chipper, I will not be able to afford it. Not to mention, the lovely wife won't go for that much for a "toy".

 

[davehowell]

The reason that a lot of us have chippers is that lot of places do not allow open burning, especially in the summer. Often this is because of air quality issues from open burning. Chippers are the best way to manage plant material.

 

[BenRich]

Back in 2009 I bought a new DR gasoline powered chipper, their four inch top chute version and I am very very satisfied with it. We have three and a half acres, half of it wooded with sweet gum, tulip poplars, oak, ash, maple and southern white pine. I have used the chipper extensively when clearing out the smaller trees. We use the chips as landscaping mulch, garden mulch and compost mulch. The mulch has gone a long way towards restoring those areas that were pure red clay four years ago... now have worms aplenty and the soil is much happier.

The chipper has done all I've asked of it; I have replaced the chip blade once in that time (I had the original blade sharpened by a machinist and it is now in reserve); like all equipment, as long as it is not abused or asked to do more than it was designed to do, it serves perfectly. I've had excellent service from DR; they respond very quickly to any queries and they stand behind their equipment. I've loaned the chipper out to my two brothers-in-law... had to do some maintenance on it after one BIL tried to do more with it than it was designed to do (he was throwing large roots with dirt and gravel still attached into it... that ate up the blade quite quickly).

The DR chipper, whether pto-driven or gasoline powered, seems to be one of those items that sell very fast on Craigslist or on the classifieds, when you can find one, that is. When I first bought mine, I figured I wouldn't need it after a year or two; however, I've continued to use it throughout each year I've owned it, initially it was used just to chip up some extensive clearing. When I realized how beneficial the wood chips are for mulch, I've used it for that purpose only... creating valuable mulch for my property.

 

[fordmantpw]

Thanks for the info everyone! I did find out that this is the bottom discharge type. The owner says it has only been used once. She thought it was a shredder when she bought it, but it is only a chipper. I'm thinking I would prefer to have a chipper/shredder so that I can send leaves through it to use for my compost as well, but if I can get it for the right price, I may jump on it.

Thanks again!

 

[LehighValleyPA]

The craigslist ad in the original post is for the same model bottom-discharge chipper that we have. That seems like a mighty reasonable price to me - the used chipper I bought didn't have the PTO shaft. Speaking of that, be aware that the one in your ad photo is missing the tractor end of its PTO shaft.

My wife was using our DR chipper for a few hours this evening. She loves it but recommends earmuffs, gloves, and goggles. She also chips larger branches than I would; like 3" diameter.

 

[fordmantpw]

The craigslist ad in the original post is for the same model bottom-discharge chipper that we have. That seems like a mighty reasonable price to me - the used chipper I bought didn't have the PTO shaft. Speaking of that, be aware that the one in your ad photo is missing the tractor end of its PTO shaft.

My wife was using our DR chipper for a few hours this evening. She loves it but recommends earmuffs, gloves, and goggles. She also chips larger branches than I would; like 3" diameter.

Thanks for the input! I had to look extra close for the other end of the shaft, but it is in the bottom right corner. Definitely earmuffs and safety glasses! So you think 3" is probably the max for that chipper? I doubt I would chip anything larger than that anyway. Larger than that will be cut up for campfire wood.