PTO Chipper, Victory vs Woodmax

[RyeThomas]

Now my 4510 is at the low end of recommended PTO hp, they want min of 30 and I’m only at 33.6. Rpm dropped but nothing to worry about. This was a 4” (a little over) log.

Very happy with my purchase.

 

[RyeThomas]

I also really like they sent me an extension for the chute, I can easily load my dump trailer from any side not just the back.

 

[Jack Yuan]

If the Chinese units are the same quality, engineering, and materials, then no issue, but the ones I have seen are not as well made as the name brands, at least not to the eye. The welds are not as good and I wonder about the quality of the steel, balancing of flywheel, bearings, etc -- stuff you can't tell by eye. A well made Chinese product can be fine, but that's often hard to know/verify. So I'd say to at least go with an importer that other people have bought from, and hopefully it's a company that has parts/support.

Woodmaxx improved the TH-8M based on Jimma WC8 years ago, Victory improved something else more. They are manufactuered in different factories which located in two different cities next to each other, they are the top quality level compare with nearly another 10 factories who produce same chipper in China. I visited most of them these years.
So it's fine no matter you choose woodmaxx or Victory.
It's difficult for US people to identify Chinese attachments through internet information, but it is always good to spend more time and dig more into internet.
It's better to deal with Chinese manufacturer or US importer, the basical rule is that the closer you reach to who produce it, the more support you will get.
Both Woodmaxx and Victory are importer.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Woodmaxx improved the TH-8M based on Jimma WC8 years ago, Victory improved something else more. They are manufactuered in different factories which located in two different cities next to each other, they are the top quality level compare with nearly another 10 factories who produce same chipper in China. I visited most of them these years.
So it's fine no matter you choose woodmaxx or Victory.
It's difficult for US people to identify Chinese attachments through internet information, but it is always good to spend more time and dig more into internet.
It's better to deal with Chinese manufacturer or US importer, the basical rule is that the closer you reach to who produce it, the more support you will get.
Both Woodmaxx and Victory are importer.

Interesting information. Thanks! Why did you visit the factories?

 

[Jack Yuan]

Interesting information. Thanks! Why did you visit the factories?

I m also manufacturer and I have to know what and how my competitors are doing, to make myself better than them.

 

[crazyal]

In this day and age it's really hard to tell. I'm buying a wood lathe from Grizzly. Grizzly is just an importer who buys them from a couple of different companies in China and Taiwan. A quick search for the actual company that makes it, in my case the Burt Group, you find they have the same equipment listed, just a different color. If you wanted to buy 10 of them they would sell to you. These same companies make equipment for much larger names as well. What is harder to tell is if the importer, in my case Grizzly, specifies specific brands of bearings or the castings to be finished to a specific level. I'm sure Harbor Freight is the same way, they just have lower standards so they can sell cheaper. So when it comes to quality it just comes down to what the importer specifies.

 

[Jack Yuan]

In this day and age it's really hard to tell. I'm buying a wood lathe from Grizzly. Grizzly is just an importer who buys them from a couple of different companies in China and Taiwan. A quick search for the actual company that makes it, in my case the Burt Group, you find they have the same equipment listed, just a different color. If you wanted to buy 10 of them they would sell to you. These same companies make equipment for much larger names as well. What is harder to tell is if the importer, in my case Grizzly, specifies specific brands of bearings or the castings to be finished to a specific level. I'm sure Harbor Freight is the same way, they just have lower standards so they can sell cheaper. So when it comes to quality it just comes down to what the importer specifies.

That's an problem for importer, importer is always willing to sell as more different products as they can, so they will buy from some different factories. Also importer will purchase same products from different factories, they try to avoid this pain but sometimes they have to do so because of some reasons. Different factories produce different products even through they looks same according to the photos. Or, we can say, even in same factory, different worker will produce different products.

About Harbor Freight, I think their products are only suitable for people who very few use the machine.

 

[RyeThomas]

Another vote for customer support. I have the chipper on a job clearing down to a river, I’ve been there all week. Took some leave from my real job just to get some side work done now that spring has sprung. Like a Moron I parked the machine sideways on a hill, the chute was uphill by a good deal (100% my fault) well I clogged the chute and smoked the belts. I was upset at first but sometimes the best lessons are the hard ones, man I’m good at the hard ones. Anyway once again it’s Sunday and I sent an email to customer service. Guess what I got an immediate reply and they are expediting my belts out. Again this is my fault and I don’t work for Victory but they sure are taking care of my self inflicted issues. Big thumbs up.

 

[whirly]

Yes they are very responsive on the US side.

Let us know how "easy" it was to change out the belts.

 

[Jack Yuan]

Yes they are very responsive on the US side.

Let us know how "easy" it was to change out the belts.

Remove the cover, you can see those bolts inside, then loosen some of them and replace the belts.

 

[whirly]

I know how it is "supposed" to work. Just want to hear how it actually works.

 

[whirly]

I know how it is "supposed" to work. Just want to hear how it actually works.

What is this? Is it a PTO hanger?

 

[Jack Yuan]

I know how it is "supposed" to work. Just want to hear how it actually works.

Depend on what tools you have. With wrench driven by air pump, I can replace it easily. For most people only have common wrench, well, it depend on if how strong you are. We always tighten these bolts very tight.

 

[buickanddeere]

Bigger is better.

 

[Jack Yuan]

I know how it is "supposed" to work. Just want to hear how it actually works.

What is this? Is it a PTO hanger?
View attachment 549099

Yes you are right, I add it recently.

 

[SirMaxwell]

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RyeThomas,

Thank you for all your straight shooter info and information. Thanks also for the videos. I was wondering, it seems whenever someone shows their machine in a video its always with nice straight branches/logs all nicely pruned and no nubs sticking out and even then have to fiddle with it a bit to get it 'started'. Many years ago when I worked for Asplundh, we never had such nice clean branches. We would cut down tree, cut off branches, toss into chute leaves and all, and the chipper never failed to suck it in and spit it out. Doesn't your machine have auto-feed? Do you ever just toss the branches in, warts, twigs, caterpillars, buckeyes, cones, nuts, leaves and all, and not have to fiddle with them?

Thanks again and please keep the info coming.

 

[RyeThomas]

Ok so let’s be clear it’s all about the infeed size, if we could all afford 24”+ machines with 120hp diesels that would be great. But reality is you can only do so much with your rated pto and size requirements. So with a 9” opening on these machines there will be some trimming involved. It just is what it is.
As far as having to get it started, the infeed rollers are adjustable. I happen to have mine super tight for smaller material so when big stuff comes along you have to pull the handle to get on top of them. I could change it but the job I’m doing has a bunch of small stuff and if I went up a bit it wouldn’t grab the little guys.
None of this has anything to do with manufacturer.

 

[RyeThomas]

Changed out the belts yesterday, it was raining so I didn’t get pictures. The lower pulley is set in a cradle, you loosen 4-18 mm bolts that hold it tight and you have 4-8mm, 2 front and 2 back that are used to adjust tension on the belts and adjust alignment.
I also loosened the pump bolts and the pump tension adjustment bolt (so a total of 3) just to have maximum room. This step is probably not needed.
It took me 30 minuets or so. Now I know how it works and bet I could do it in 10 easy. It was really simple.

 

[RyeThomas]

In hindsight after pulling things apart you have a lot of room for belt adjustment, I bet I could have tightened them up and kept on running. I’m glad I didn’t because now I have a far better understanding of how the drive system works and I can keep a better eye on wear and adjustments. Plus I have my original set of belts for an emergency back up, haha.

 

[Jack Yuan]

In hindsight after pulling things apart you have a lot of room for belt adjustment, I bet I could have tightened them up and kept on running. I’m glad I didn’t because now I have a far better understanding of how the drive system works and I can keep a better eye on wear and adjustments. Plus I have my original set of belts for an emergency back up, haha.

Assemble the cover asap, be safe.