Chipper My new Woodmaxx WM-8H wood chipper

[DaNag]

Just picked up a WM-8H, and while I've only one day of use on it - I'm pleased so far.

I'm using a Kubota 3130 w/Pat's quick hitch. With the added length of the hitch, the included PTO shaft just barely meets the specs - within 1/4". Also, the top attachment bar had to be flipped from the stock position - that shortens it up by a couple inches, allowing my TNT cylinder to reach it.

I've only sent soft cedar through it so far, but it never slowed down on the fastest setting. I sent numerous good sized trees through it, at or near the max size it could handle. Feed worked without intervention 95% of the time...every once in a while, I had to reposition and/or give a shove on large curved trunks.

Filled up the 8 yard trailer in about an hour.

 

[Piston]

Just picked up a WM-8H, and while I've only one day of use on it - I'm pleased so far.

I'm using a Kubota 3130 w/Pat's quick hitch. With the added length of the hitch, the included PTO shaft just barely meets the specs - within 1/4". Also, the top attachment bar had to be flipped from the stock position - that shortens it up by a couple inches, allowing my TNT cylinder to reach it.

I've only sent soft cedar through it so far, but it never slowed down on the fastest setting. I sent numerous good sized trees through it, at or near the max size it could handle. Feed worked without intervention 95% of the time...every once in a while, I had to reposition and/or give a shove on large curved trunks.

Filled up the 8 yard trailer in about an hour.

There is just something awesome about turning a giant pile of brush into a lovely smelling pile of woodchips!

 

[MNwoodchuck]

Yeah...a chipper lets you take something apart without having to worry about putting it back together again! One of life's great joys....

1999 JD 4600 MFWD
460 loader
Curtis cab

 

[DennisFolsom]

I placed my order on the evening of April 2nd. I just got the e-mail this afternoon, saying that my new WM-8H has left the warehouse.:cool2: It's been a bit of a wait, but all the reports on these are good.

Katahdin - I assume yours must have shipped as well. I think you placed your order a couple of days ahead of me.

I thought about starting a new thread, but the subject of this old one applies. I plan to post some photos of the assembly process. I must have viewed the assembly video at least 6 times and read the PDF manual 3 or 4 times.:licking:

 

[Katahdin]

Mine shipped on the 13th business day. It arrived at the Scarborough terminal early Saturday morning, of course there was no Saturday delivery or pickup. I scheduled the delivery for tomorrow because of the 4 inches of rain we just received. I hope the chipper is delivered early in the morning, I took the day off to put it together and play.

 

[DennisFolsom]

Mine shipped on the 13th business day. It arrived at the Scarborough terminal early Saturday morning, of course there was no Saturday delivery or pickup. I scheduled the delivery for tomorrow because of the 4 inches of rain we just received. I hope the chipper is delivered early in the morning, I took the day off to put it together and play.

Enjoy and be safe!

 

[CanuckPT]

I did too - but that still didn't prevent me from forgetting to put washers in the correct places in like step 2 or 3!!! Luckily it was an easy fix!! Enjoy!!

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[Katahdin]

The delivery truck arrived just before 0800, today is going to be a fun day!

 

[Katahdin]

Assembly mission was successful! What a great day!

https://youtu.be/ZqKp4qfgx4M

My notes:

I had to re-do the 2-hole straps that hold on the feeder bin, they are pre-bent, make sure to point them inward, not outward.

I also found a loose bolt going to the "flywheel fan weldment", check over everything carefully. This was not part of the assembly process.

The video differs a little from the actual assembly. The hydraulic control valve is an improved design.

The documentation is very good, and a lot of parts shipped with the correct fasteners already attached and wrapped to the part. That made things a lot easier. Thanks WoodMaxx!

 

[DennisFolsom]

Great Video!:thumbsup:

Thanks for the reminder to check everything over carefully. I was planning to anyway, but you finding a loose bolt gives me extra incentive to take the time to check thoroughly.

I trimmed a few trees in front of the house this afternoon, so I have some brush ready to test mine when I get it. I'm hoping for Friday.

 

[DennisFolsom]

Here are photos of a tree and some limbs that I cut today, to test the new chipper when it arrives. These are fir, hemlock and pine. The fir tree was 9" x 10" at the lower cut. I cut the tree down, about 2 ft high, where the trunk was about 7.5". I then ripped down through the rest of the trunk and cut it off the stump. My wife has long wanted this tree cut. (Shades the flowers that she planted in the shade.) Up to now, I have defended the poor thing from her by refusing to cut it. Wife is away on a trip. I thought I would surprise her by cutting the tree while she was away.

This afternoon's session about takes care of the east side of the driveway. I have a lot more to cut and trim on the west side. That's where the power line is. I'll be putting come-alongs on some of the larger trees there, to make doubly sure they drop away from the power line.

On the rest of our wooded 19 acres, I have a lot more trimming to do!

 

[CanuckPT]

The hydraulic intake is so efficient that the most difficult part is keeping the chipper fed!! I'm very impressed with mine!!

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

 

[DennisFolsom]

:dance1:My delivery date is tomorrow (Fri, 4/24).:dance1:

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Here are photos of a tree and some limbs that I cut today, to test the new chipper when it arrives. These are fir, hemlock and pine. The fir tree was 9" x 10" at the lower cut. I cut the tree down, about 2 ft high, where the trunk was about 7.5". I then ripped down through the rest of the trunk and cut it off the stump. My wife has long wanted this tree cut. (Shades the flowers that she planted in the shade.) Up to now, I have defended the poor thing from her by refusing to cut it. Wife is away on a trip. I thought I would surprise her by cutting the tree while she was away.

This afternoon's session about takes care of the east side of the driveway. I have a lot more to cut and trim on the west side. That's where the power line is. I'll be putting come-alongs on some of the larger trees there, to make doubly sure they drop away from the power line.

On the rest of our wooded 19 acres, I have a lot more trimming to do!

What I see there is, a nice "brush pile" in the corner of my property for wildlife and some firewood... lol AT LEAST that's how it's treated on my property...

SR

 

[DennisFolsom]

What I see there is, a nice "brush pile" in the corner of my property for wildlife and some firewood... lol AT LEAST that's how it's treated on my property...

SR

I've got some of those - some I made and some from before. One of my problems is that my woodland is very wet and the tractor cuts through the mat if I travel the same path too many times. Carrying brush, stumps and other natural waste to my "rot in peace" piles has created some very deep ruts in places. I'm planning to put a lot of my chips into my tractor road. My theory is that chips mixed with mud will make a better road than mud by itself.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I've done that myself before, in a few years i ended up with even more mud that seemed even more slippery, I didn't like the way that worked and stopped doing it...

SR

 

[tman1020]

The chips will help at first but won't last very long. Then it will create a spongie mat that holds moisture in. I used to put the wood chips from lot clearing on the drive way of my new construction sites but it causes more problems than it helped.

 

[DennisFolsom]

My chipper arrived at about 12:30 PM yesterday (4/24). At some point in shipping, one of the feet had been broken off the steel frame/crate, and some of the others were squat down. I could see no damage to the chipper. The damage to the crate caused the trucker and I to have a struggle getting it on his pallet jack, to move to the back of the truck. I got out a 5 foot crowbar, which we used to lift it enough to get it on.
We were able to position it so that I could get my tractor fork under it. I picked it from the back of the truck.

My 11 year old grandson, Joey, helped me unpack the components from the crate. Due to the limited overhead space in the garage, I decided not to lift the chipper out of the crate with the loader, but hooked it up to the 3 point instead. With the 3 point raised, and Joey holding the hydraulic control assembly out of the way, I managed to wiggle the crate off off the machine. By the time Joey's mom came to pick him up at 3:15, we had the chipper sitting on its feet and skids, as shown in the second photo.

I stopped for a late lunch, then continued with the assembly, taking time to check nearly all of the bolts. I chose to install the bolts in the feed hopper with the heads in, and the nuts out. The first time I watched the assembly video online, I wondered why they didn't do that. With the heads on the inside, I have less for the branches to snag on. They did have a note in the manual, saying that it was an option to put the heads in. You can't do that on the 4 bolts that hold the hydraulic control assembly, though. I think it was a little more difficult to assemble the way I did, especially the bolts that hold the feed roll assist lever on.

By the time the assembly was done and the hydraulic tank filled, it was getting dark. I ran the tractor outside and did the purging run on the hydraulic feed. I found a leak on a fitting I hadn't tightened enough, so I took care of that.

 

[DennisFolsom]

Today (4/25), I had my first chipping session. I used my utility trailer to catch the chips as I took care of the softwood brush and fir tree from Wednesday's session (see post #31 in this thread). The chipper worked great!:thumbsup: I set the speed control at 7 (on a 10 scale). That fed fast enough that I was never waiting for the chipper to clear. I love that hydraulic feed!

The 5" trunk section of the fir tree went right through at speed 7 without stopping. When I fed the 7.5" section, I did have to stop and start the feed a few times. Perhaps, if I had set a slower speed, it would have gone continuously. I decided not to try to chip the two larger splits form the base of the tree.

My next trimming session will include some maple and some beech. Any hardwood over 2 or 2.5 inches will be made into firewood, though. I'm anxious to see how the chipper does on the hardwood branches.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Did you see the you tube where a guy had some problems with his, and HE SAID the factory told him that the customer is suppose to take the chipper apart to tighten every bolt except on the flywheel before using it??

You may want to check that out... I think blue loc-tite is your friend!

SR