More chipper questions - mostly about feed type

[ning]

I've always burned the brush and smaller branches I collect on my land; I use most 3+" wood (oak) as firewood, but I really dislike burning (doesn't scare me, but having to collect, let the green stuff dry, manage the burn piles, besides the idea of just burning stuff - as much as my chickens like the ash - I don't like the waste). I'd love to have wood chips for a variety of reasons, so I'm shopping chippers.

One particular question that comes up is, hydraulic-feed vs manual/gravity feed?


One thing that's obvious is there's a big price difference in the self/gravity-feed vs hydraulic feed chippers. From here, it looks like the gravity feed ones rely on ... gravity, obviously, plus the pull from the teeth grabbing stuff eventually. One concern I've got with these is, smaller stuff doesn't feed as well (leading to dangerous hand placement trying to push it it - probably shouldn't feed a gator like that, or better, grabbing another stick to push it in), and also, big stuff needs to be picked up higher to get it into the chute - so you've got to do more cutting so things are the right size to lift and get to the chute.
From what I've seen, the hydraulic feed units can have horizontal intakes, so it's much easier to feed a long tree or branch in.
There is, of course, a big price difference.

Is my take on the difference between the two feed types accurate? Would you consider hydraulic to be safer (because of things feeding better?), easier to use (less lifting?), or less safe (stuff gets pulled by the blades and the belt, unless you hit the safety)?

The safety issue is a big one here; I've never used a chipper, and I've got significant resistance from my wife, who's heard too many horror stories. I'm probably lucky that she'd never heard of how dangerous tractors are before I got mine... but, I do regularly ride a motorcycle (ATTGAT) and operate a chainsaw (chaps & boots & safety glasses), so it's not like I'm not allowed to do dangerous things :laughing: I just want to try to mitigate some of the dangers and still get what I need to do done.




Secondary questions/issues: I've got a Branson 3520h tractor (35hp, PTO claimed 29hp); it seems like a 4" chipper is about the sweet spot. I expect to be mostly chipping smaller hard stuff (oak, manzanita, and other shrubbery) up to about 2" - I burn anything bigger than that; but I'd also like to be able to chip pine up to 5 or 6 inches. Not a hard requirement; I could limit my chipping to 4" if necessary, but I don't find pine to be that useful for burning vs the oak around here and I could use the chips. Would the 29 PTO hp run a 6" chipper with pine?

I've seen the postings on the Woodmax 8H & Woodland WC68. Drool. I've also seen posts about eg Wallenstein BX42S, and it seems like a pretty decent unit and there's one at a reachable auction going up ... tomorrow. Bids are low so far, unit's new, though I'd imagine it'll go for a lot more.
I can afford an industrial unit, but I'm typically cheap and prefer getting something used. However, watching craigslists within 75 miles of me for quite some time all I see are either $10k self-engined units for tree companies and $500 2-3-inch capacity toys; I suspect I'll have regular use of a chipper as our area gets a lot of winter wet growth, so I don't want something that's junk.

 

[ruffdog]

I hired the work done to remove 1800 evergreens......

 

[mark02tj]

ning - I've owned both a manual feed 5" Bearcat chipper and a hydraulic self feed WoodMaxx 9900. My advice - buy something with a self-feed.

The Bearcat was really a great chipper. Made in USA quality with a nice, built-in shredder as well. As you mentioned in your post though, a self-feed will "grab" the material and pull it in. While that's OK for the most part, the problem I had with the Bearcat is that if I was feeding bigger material (4"+) of any length, you don't have control of the feed rate and it would stall the chipper and the tractor. If I tried to grab the material and pull it out to regulate the feed rate, it was a struggle to say the least. With my WoodMaxx, I can regulate the feed rate for bigger stuff and I've never come close to stalling my tractor - even feeding 8" stuff through it.

Another issue with the manual feed is that you have to "trim" the Y's from branches in order to get it in the chipper. This takes a lot of time and energy. My power feed chipper eliminates this issue for the most part as it will pull flexible branches into the machine.

My WoodMaxx is their top of the line made in the USA model. It was expensive. But, there are tons of reviews on this site and other tractor related sites from people that own the WoodMaxx "8-H" (I can't remember the full model number) and they love it. It's more moderately priced (under $3,000 I think) and seems to be a good buy for the money. I went with the 9900 for a couple of reasons. First, I had a good year business wise and I could afford it. I first sold my Bearcat to help offset the cost though. Next, I liked the super compact nature of the hydraulic feed system on it. The 9900 only uses a couple of quarts of 10-W-40 oil as opposed to the many quarts of oil that the less expensive model uses.

I think that Woodland Mills also has a comparably priced model to the less expensive WoodMaxx.

Regardless, get something that has a "power feed" option.

Good luck.

 

[oosik]

Every spring I thin my Ponderosa pine stands and cut, drag, stack & chip right around 900 small(1" to 6") pines. They are green when chipped - and chip very easily. I have a Wallenstein BX62S manual feed - PTO driven.

Safety - I have stood on a two foot high stand and reached as far down the intake chute as possible( tractor turned OFF). I can squeeze down that chute and get my finger tips exactly 13" from the blades. What stops me from going further - the width of my shoulders. A small child might reach the blades .........

I do not need hydraulic feed because all my small pines are straight as an arrow and I chip them in the round. If you will be chipping stuff that is forked, twisted, bent etc - THEN you might benefit from hydraulic in feed. The gravity feed system is more than sufficient for anything like pine trees - straight limbs - brush - etc. One of the advantages of hydraulic in-feed is you can POWER back stuck stuff out of the chute also.

Let me give you my "take" on necessary chipper sizing. My BX62S will handle anything up to and including 6 1/2 inches in diameter. I will cut, drag, stack and chip pines that are that size BUT - know this - dragging a pine tree that is 6" on the butt and averages 32' long is a GENUINE PITA. When I get done cutting all I want, to thin out of a stand, it looks like a game of Pick-Up-Sticks. I pull trees off the top of the jumbled pile and attempt to drag them out and stack them without tripping and falling over all the other fallen trees.

Next time you consider a chipper that can handle 8" material - go out and fell an 8" tree and see how much work it takes to get it prepped for chipping.

I've been managing my pine forest for the 36+ years I've been here. Once a pine gets beyond 6" - its safe from the horrors of MY chainsaws.

Yes - a tractor with 29 PTO hp will run a 6" chipper. Be advised - this will be on the very low end of the power curve. If you want to chip 6" pines with this unit - do it while the pines are still green and expect to blow a shear pin now and then.

 

[Stimw]

Something you are overlooking is Hp is only part of the process.
They use a flywheel to do the work. Once the rpm gets up to speed you feed and monitor the rpm.
At times you allow rpm to recover, it's not a constant feed.
I have used/owned 12" commercial units and owned a smaller unit (pic) that had a 18 hp ONAN.
Even that little one did a great job!

 

[ericm979]

Chippers are safe if you never ever stick your hand in the chute.

I've had both "self feeding" and power feed chippers. A MackKissick TH184 4.5" and an 8" Woodmaxx 8H. I will not go back to self feeding. Power feed is so much better and safer. The material is pulled in at a steady rate that's not too fast. The MackKissick would yank stuff out of my hands and pull it in very fast... .when it caught. If it didnt' catch I'd have to mess around with angles etc until it did. Power feed has a lot less of that. If it doesn't feed I reverse the feed to get it out and try again. I recommend paying the extra for a hydraulic power feed. That lets you adjust the feed rate which is vital if you chip a range of sizes of material and lets you reverse the feed. Power feed makes for more consistent chip size and lets you adjust it some.

The Woodmaxx 8H uses a heavy flywheel that's geared up to 2x pto speed. While the flywheel effect does help it power through short bits of larger wood, it slows rapidly if I feed in a large piece of wood too quickly. It's not practical to burn here due to fire risk and air quality restrictions and I have way more wood than I know what to do with, I chip whatever will fit. With a 32pto hp Branson 3725 I can handle wood up to the chipper's capacity but only with the feed turned way down. I ended up buying a flow control valve that's better matched to the 8h's flow and better made as the chinese one's adjustment range was very narrow.

Much of the time I'm chipping stuff smaller than 8" but the capacity lets me chip without having to trim as much. I suggest a largish chipper even if you're not chipping large logs.

The 8H's chute is waist height but it's level. I can chip stuff that's too heavy for me to pick up entirely by putting the butt end in and then picking up the other end.

Another advantage of the 8H (and the equivalent Woodland Mills model) is the output chute. The MackKissick just drops the chips. They build up fast and when the pile gets too high the chipper clogs so you have to move it. The 8H blows chips a ways so I can dump them in the woods or spread them right from the chipper.

 

[Rustyiron]

I

One particular question that comes up is, hydraulic-feed vs manual/gravity feed?

Gravity feed :laughing: don't let them fool you. YOU are the gravity and after a short while of operating a "gravity feed" chipper, you'll be feeling the gravity. That is the gravity of your mistake for not buying a power feed chipper.
Seriously, I had a serious Royer 3 pt self feed (disc type) chipper, well over 1000# on a 60 HP JD, even that was a joke. Ended up with a used Vermeer 1210? with a 6 cyl Ford industrial gas 6 cyl. with hyd. feed rollers. I'd try to rent or demo one before you buy. PS, chip "green" wood if you can, much easier on the knives & chipper.

 

[Piston]

Hydraulic self feed all the way! Chipping is hard enough work as it is, the hydraulic feed makes it less so, and safer and more efficient as well.
I can feed a 25’ Long tree into my chipper, all I have to do is get it started, then as it’s feeding, I can adjust the feed rate and even stop, or reverse, the feed. When there are branches that stop the feed, I can usually just reverse feed, and start feeding it again, and this repeated action will break the branches down and suck the tree right in.

Hydraulic feed chippers have safety bars that as you feed the material, you pull the safety bar back, but if you push the bar, it reverses feed. This is so if by chance you got tangled up in something, you hit the safety bar on the way in, and it will reverse direction.

There is only one single advantage to self feed, and that is the lower price. That’s it.

So if cost isn’t your number one priority, then by all means hydraulic self feed is the way to go.

 

[ning]

Hydraulic self feed all the way! Chipping is hard enough work as it is, the hydraulic feed makes it less so, and safer and more efficient as well.
I can feed a 25’ Long tree into my chipper, all I have to do is get it started, then as it’s feeding, I can adjust the feed rate and even stop, or reverse, the feed. When there are branches that stop the feed, I can usually just reverse feed, and start feeding it again, and this repeated action will break the branches down and suck the tree right in.

Hydraulic feed chippers have safety bars that as you feed the material, you pull the safety bar back, but if you push the bar, it reverses feed. This is so if by chance you got tangled up in something, you hit the safety bar on the way in, and it will reverse direction.

There is only one single advantage to self feed, and that is the lower price. That’s it.

So if cost isn’t your number one priority, then by all means hydraulic self feed is the way to go.

I really appreciate the responses - thanks everyone! Now I just have to sell the concept to the bean counting committee (of which I occupy one of two seats at)!

 

[Aquamoose]

Go & read post #4 by oosik. It’s exactly what I’d say except about the shear pins. I always engage at low throttle then increase it up to speed slowly over 15 seconds. Mine’s a Woodmax 8M which is a mechanical feed.

 

[oosik]

I have NEVER blown a shear pin at startup - but I do as Aquamoose says and start it slow. The one blown shear pin/shear bolt that comes to mind - an old dry - hard as rock - 6" apple trunk out of my orchard. It got thru about 3/4 of the total length and "Bango" Takes about 4 minutes to replace a shear bolt.

As I remember that's the only blown shear bolt on my new BX62S. Of course, that's, also, the only time I've chipped anything other than green pine trees.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Chippers are safe if you never ever stick your hand in the chute.

I've had both "self feeding" and power feed chippers. A MackKissick TH184 4.5" and an 8" Woodmaxx 8H. I will not go back to self feeding. Power feed is so much better and safer. The material is pulled in at a steady rate that's not too fast. The MackKissick would yank stuff out of my hands and pull it in very fast... .when it caught. If it didnt' catch I'd have to mess around with angles etc until it did. Power feed has a lot less of that. If it doesn't feed I reverse the feed to get it out and try again. I recommend paying the extra for a hydraulic power feed. That lets you adjust the feed rate which is vital if you chip a range of sizes of material and lets you reverse the feed. Power feed makes for more consistent chip size and lets you adjust it some.

The Woodmaxx 8H uses a heavy flywheel that's geared up to 2x pto speed. While the flywheel effect does help it power through short bits of larger wood, it slows rapidly if I feed in a large piece of wood too quickly. It's not practical to burn here due to fire risk and air quality restrictions and I have way more wood than I know what to do with, I chip whatever will fit. With a 32pto hp Branson 3725 I can handle wood up to the chipper's capacity but only with the feed turned way down. I ended up buying a flow control valve that's better matched to the 8h's flow and better made as the chinese one's adjustment range was very narrow.

Much of the time I'm chipping stuff smaller than 8" but the capacity lets me chip without having to trim as much. I suggest a largish chipper even if you're not chipping large logs.

The 8H's chute is waist height but it's level. I can chip stuff that's too heavy for me to pick up entirely by putting the butt end in and then picking up the other end.

Another advantage of the 8H (and the equivalent Woodland Mills model) is the output chute. The MackKissick just drops the chips. They build up fast and when the pile gets too high the chipper clogs so you have to move it. The 8H blows chips a ways so I can dump them in the woods or spread them right from the chipper.

Thanks for the detailed review Eric. I was actually looking at this same Woodmaxx chipper online yesterday. I remembered your statements previously that you wished you had more hp when chipping with your 3725. So we would effectively have the same setup. I'd also be interested in the flow control valve you put on your chipper. I may end up getting a chipper after all. I have a large pile of limbs still from storm damage a few months ago, and just haven't been able to get the right weather conditions to burn it all (too windy on weekends). Don't like the idea of buying a chipper for "one job", may wait and see what our next property looks like as far as trees needing managed. All we really have around here is soft woods, box elders here, with a few evergreens here and there, but no hard woods anywhere.

I probably won't chip anything bigger than 6", as that gets cut up, split and used for camp fires/backyard fire pit.

 

[ericm979]

I have plenty of power for 4" material. It's when it get to 5-6" where I have to slow the feed down and I start wanting more power. Many people don't chip stuff that large. The primary hardwood I've been chipping is madrone. The wood's hard but works well especially when wet. But little on a madrone is straight. I've found branches that grew into a 360 degree ring.

The valve I got was a Brand FCR51-1/2(0-4). It was a direct replacement for the chinese valve. It's a 4 gpm valve where the original is 16 gpm. Woodmaxx told me the system is 3 gpm so 4 is right according to the books. The narrow adjustment range of the original was right out of the textbook I found. I also got some excellent advice in the hydraulics forum- there's some really knowledgeable people there.

WoodlandMills may have the same issue, if they didn't locate a Chinese supplier that makes < 16 gpm valves (all I found on Alibaba).

When I'm chipping a large tree I have to cut it into parts. I'm not dragging a complete tree that's 8" at the butt and loading it into the chipper. My tendency is to cut them into pieces just small enough for me to manage but it's actually easier on me and just as fast to cut them smaller. When I'm working from a pile I can keep the chipper fed pretty much all the time.

 

[LD48750]

Jinma wood chipper review - YouTube

 

[Gem99ultra]

I bought the Woodland Mills WC68 about 2 months ago. So far I've chipped up at least 800 trash trees. Size of chipping runs from 1/4" to 6" x 8", although most are in the 2" to 4" size.
The WC68 is sized for power around 30hp. Your 29hp will definitely handle it just fine. I'm absolutely pleased with mine.

My initial evaluation narrowed down to WoodMaxx and Woodland Mills. Unfortunately for WoodMax, they chose to not respond to my 3 inquiries via their Customer Service, Sales Dept. nor direct eMail. On the other hand, Woodland Mills immediately responded, and has followed up on after-sales via eMails and telephone calls, to be sure everything was good and I was happy. I'm not saying WoodMaxx is bad or anything, but customer service is important to me.

I've tried the little 'toy' chippers with little satisfaction. They handle tiny sticks just fine, but in the end, they're a lot of work for little results.

 

[Budweiser John]

Another endorsement for a hydraulic feed machine.
My Woodmax 8-H is on it痴 fifth season and although an import machine, has worked as advertised with out any problems. Eats small trees with out limping so you can cut, stuff, repeat, and move on.
I generally cut and chip rather than accumulating the material in piles.
The chips do make decent landscape mulch however, unless you致e got a covered trailer to blow them into the collection and handling even with a FEL eats up a ton of time so i致e (In most cases) simply let them fall where they may and purchase commercially processed landscape mulch for the dressy stuff around the house.
B. John

 

[mikester]

If you go with a feeder don't buy a mechanical one - go hydraulic feed. I made that mistake and ended up converting mine to hydraulic in-feed after getting fed up with constant break downs on the mechanical feeder.

I personally wouldn't go gravity feed unless you really enjoy using a chainsaw and need to work on your Popeye arms.

 

[ruffdog]

That is why I hired out to rid me of those 1800 trees (5" to 12"). I'm in my 50's and I don't have the energy like when I was younger. With the right equipment, three guys did that work in just a few days. Sure, it cost me some coin but the job is done and my body didn't get beat up in the process.

 

[hayden]

If you can swing it, I too would highly recommend power feed. It makes a huge difference. I would also suggest buying as big a unit as will fit on the back of your tractor. The size capacity is not so much about chipping really big stuff - your tractor will bog down if you go too big - it's more about odd shaped branches with side branches and crotches not getting stuck. With a big opening, the chipper will sort out the odd shaped branches. With a smaller unit, you will spend a lot of time cutting things into smaller, straighter branches. Apple trees are probably the worst, then beech trees - at least around here. And don't forget Salsco as a possible builder/vendor. US built, very sturdy. I actually feed mine with the excavator and it gobbles it up. They also have a cool feature that is a speed sensor that pauses the feeder if the speed drops too much. So if I feed it a full, 3" maple sapling/tree, it chomps, pauses, chomps, pauses, then finishes it off. Meanwhile I'm picking out the next one to feed it.

 

[ericm979]

The speed sensor would be cool. But the units that have it cost a lot more than the Woodmaxx 8H (or the 8" Woodland Mills).

The Woodmaxx makes much smaller chips than the big commercial trailer chippers that tree services use. They're easier to scoop up with the loader. But if you need to transport them a ways from where you're chipping, doing it one bucket load at a time is a hassle. I got a dump trailer for the UTV and can dump or chip into that. In the past I've thrown a tarp over the UTV's cab to make a backstop and shot chips into the bed. That works but the bed is small and fills up fast. I'll probably take some scrap plywood and make a backstop for the dump trailer so more of the chips end up in the trailer instead of on the ground.