More chipper questions - mostly about feed type

[s219]

In my experience, the only brand that has a good reliable self-feed is Wallenstein, and that is what I ended up getting for that reason. I've never had it not feed a limb well, in fact it generally pulls stuff in so fast you need to start it and then back off quickly to get out of the way. It will chip as fast as it can suck material in and is extremely impressive. I've never had it stall my tractor either, which may just mean I have plenty of HP.

Where self feed chippers fall flat is when trying to feed in very twiggy material. If it can't fall down the chute, then it will chip up to the point where it is wider than the chute, hang up, and stop. The proper solution is to follow twiggy stuff with thicker limbs, which will pull the twiggy stuff in for the ride. If you can always alternate heavier limbs with twiggy stuff, then great. If not, you should get a chipper-shredder and use the shredder for the twiggy stuff, or get hydraulic feed and suck it all in with the feed.

 

[ultrarunner]

With feed you can reverse it any time... a great safety feature so even my 84 year old Mom can do it safely...

It has been a joy to use with only one issue and that was adjusting the knife clearances when delivered...

 

[ning]

Someone nearby (an hour away) has something very similar to the current Echo Bearcat CH5540HM. It seems very similar to the Woodmaxx 8H and Woodlands WC68, but it's a 5" and lists for $8k. Why does this unit cost so much? (The listed one is way below new price for an almost-new unit but it's still almost 2x the price of one of the others when new.)

 

[oosik]

I've had two chippers - both were Wallenstein - BX42S & BX62S - both were manual feed. I've had a feed problem with both - only a couple times. It was with long - old - weather hardened - larger diameter - pine trees. The chipper would actually feed too fast and choke - causing a shear pin to blow in a couple instances.

Perhaps if I would have had hydraulic controlled feed in those couple of cases the trees would have actually been held back and would not have fed so fast and caused the blown shear pin. I really do not know because I've never had hydraulic in-feed.

So except for those couple of instances - manual in-feed works just fine for me.

 

[JD 4520]

Woodland WC 88

 

[ultrarunner]

It was a cost decision... still lots of older chuck and duck commercial units on Craigslist.

Asked my tree guy and he said he made a lot of money with those... fast and obliterates anything.

He had to get rid of his for insurance reasons... no safety mechanism to reverse feed.

 

[oosik]

I had wondered if the hydraulic feed system would have helped when I chipped all my ancient apple trees. About half a dozen times a crooked limb would get stuck in the in-feed chute. Shut everything down and using a plain old shovel - pry the limb loose.

I wondered if the hydraulic feed system would have backed the limb back out - or not. One will never know - all the apples are now chipped and the only trees now are all Ponderosa pines.

My thinning program is a spring time thing - every year - around 900 small pines - 1" to 6" diameter - chipped green and whole.

Just like a kid attacking a candy cane............

 

[AndyMA]

I had wondered if the hydraulic feed system would have helped when I chipped all my ancient apple trees. About half a dozen times a crooked limb would get stuck in the in-feed chute. Shut everything down and using a plain old shovel - pry the limb loose.

I wondered if the hydraulic feed system would have backed the limb back out - or not. One will never know - all the apples are now chipped and the only trees now are all Ponderosa pines.

My thinning program is a spring time thing - every year - around 900 small pines - 1" to 6" diameter - chipped green and whole.

Just li
ke a kid attacking a candy cane............

I've had both a hydraulic & manual feed Valbi (Farmi) CH160 chipper. Hydraulic wins hands down

Farmi Wood Chippers | Products | Northeast Implement

Andy

 

[oosik]

OK Andy - I will bite. EXACTLY what makes the hydraulic feed win hands down over the manual feed??

BTW - I was going to initially get Valbi - the nearest dealer is in north central Montana.

 

[Oldoak]

................... Hydraulic wins hands down............................

Andy

I agree. After using a self feed for a couple of years, I rented a hydraulic feed chipper which the feed could be stopped completely or be put in reverse to clear a jam in the infeed caused by old tree branches not being flexible enough to go down the throat of the chipper. I never went back to a self feed chipper again while maintaining our wood lot and three acre apple orchard.

A trick I also learned was to cut half way +/- through stiff limbs attached to the larger pieces with the chain saw before picking them up and feeding it into the chipper. This technique allows those branches to bend easily while being pulled into the chipper by the hydraulic feed rollers.

 

[oosik]

Hmmm - - I understand and now I can see why I have never needed a hydraulic feed model. ALL pine tree with a butt diameter between 1" and 6" are straight as an arrow. Feed the pines in - butt first - and all the limbs are soft and gracefully arched upwards. They feed in easily also.

 

[Aquamoose]

Hmmm - - I understand and now I can see why I have never needed a hydraulic feed model. ALL pine tree with a butt diameter between 1" and 6" are straight as an arrow. Feed the pines in - butt first - and all the limbs are soft and gracefully arched upwards. They feed in easily also.

THIS is why I went for the mechanical feed. I roll my eyes when folks tout why one system is better than the other and most make declarations without knowing what the OP has on his/her property. Mechanical feeds for pine/fir saplings is plentiful all day long and hydraulic feeds would be overkill. The only downside about 3ph chippers is that I can’t have my boys feeding it while I pull trees to it so I pull them for a full day then hook up the chipper for the next two days.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I bought a 15" PTO Brush Bandit Last Year, with wheels. I never realized what a logistical issue getting dead pines to the chipper would be, especially in hilly terrain. So, high capacity machine and not much to stuff in it!

I do love the hydraulic feed that can crush a lot of stuff without feed stopages.

I almost considered buying another tractor just to pull a chip trailer, but had the brain storm of putting a hitch on the chipper, and I think that will work providing I never have to back up!

 

[oosik]

Well - my spring thinning project takes me about a month to six weeks. The toughest part - by far - dragging out all the cut pines and stacking them. I'm almost guaranteed to fall DOWN at least once or twice per day during the "dragging out" phase.

Aquamoose - I got to find some inducement to get my son and a couple of his friends out here this coming spring - just to drag out and pile all the cut trees. I can do the felling and chipping. This 'ol bod gets darn tired of falling.

I've chipped into my farm wagon - ten ton Horst running gear. I just stand up a sheet of plywood and clamp it to the end board. Gotta be heads up with this farm wagon - backing it up is just like trying to push hot spaghetti backwards. I know a few on TBN have experience and can do it. If I only have to back up 10 to 15 feet MAX - then I can do it also. Otherwise - its, GO forward young man.


View attachment 574054

 

[ericm979]

Power feed pulls the material in at a fixed rate. My old self feeding chipper would grab material and pull it in very fast. Except when it would not feed at all or would only feed a little and then stop. That happened a lot especially with brush or species that don't grow straight. It takes a lot more fussing with the material to get it to feed, and then you have to be ready to pull your hands out quick as it'll suck it in fast when it catches. With power feed that doesn't happen, and material feeds much more reliably.

The advantages of hydraulic feed over mechanical are being able to change the feed speed and being able to reverse the feed if something gets stuck. I chip all kinds of stuff from brush to firs to various deciduous species, and I chip a range of sizes from 1/2" to 8". Being able to change the feed speed is mandatory for that.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Nothing seems to humble a man, as much as falling! You watch something in free fall and it doesn't seem that fast, but it never ceases to amaze me how fast old man gravity will suck you down onto the deck.

 

[Aquamoose]

Well - my spring thinning project takes me about a month to six weeks. The toughest part - by far - dragging out all the cut pines and stacking them. I'm almost guaranteed to fall DOWN at least once or twice per day during the "dragging out" phase.

Aquamoose - I got to find some inducement to get my son and a couple of his friends out here this coming spring - just to drag out and pile all the cut trees. I can do the felling and chipping. This 'ol bod gets darn tired of falling.

I've chipped into my farm wagon - ten ton Horst running gear. I just stand up a sheet of plywood and clamp it to the end board. Gotta be heads up with this farm wagon - backing it up is just like trying to push hot spaghetti backwards. I know a few on TBN have experience and can do it. If I only have to back up 10 to 15 feet MAX - then I can do it also. Otherwise - its, GO forward young man.

I think we’re both doing the same thing. I have a 53’ military utility 3 ton trailer (4’x10’) but I use a small, fabricated trailer to blow chips in and my boys drive it out using an old riding mower to spread ‘em out on the trails.

I pluck the saplings and make piles here & there then I come back to cut the stumps off before feeding it to the chipper. You should get a tree puller. It’s a whopper of a time saver and I don’t have to deal with the stubs. Pluck, move, stack! I ought to make a video if you’d like.

Wish we were neighbors, we’d make a good team with our Bransons

 

[mark02tj]

I think we’re both doing the same thing. I have a 53’ military utility 3 ton trailer (4’x10’) but I use a small, fabricated trailer to blow chips in and my boys drive it out using an old riding mower to spread ‘em out on the trails.

I pluck the saplings and make piles here & there then I come back to cut the stumps off before feeding it to the chipper. You should get a tree puller. It’s a whopper of a time saver and I don’t have to deal with the stubs. Pluck, move, stack! I ought to make a video if you’d like.

Wish we were neighbors, we’d make a good team with our Bransons

Interesting! I do just the opposite - I go in and cut the saplings down and leave about 12-18". Then I go back in with my tree puller and yank the stumps. I would think that I'd get tangled up trying to cut a bunch of root balls off the trees laying in a pile. Plus, it's easier to handle the stumps with the puller when I don't have a bunch of "length" of tree hanging out there.

Just curious - what kind of puller do you have?


Sorry - didn't mean to derail the thread....

 

[Piston]

The only disadvantage to a hydraulic feed over mechanical is the price. There is literally no other reason to ever buy a mechanical feed chipper over hydraulic. Ever.

 

[Aquamoose]

Interesting! I do just the opposite - I go in and cut the saplings down and leave about 12-18". Then I go back in with my tree puller and yank the stumps. I would think that I'd get tangled up trying to cut a bunch of root balls off the trees laying in a pile. Plus, it's easier to handle the stumps with the puller when I don't have a bunch of "length" of tree hanging out there.

Just curious - what kind of puller do you have?


Sorry - didn't mean to derail the thread....

I’ve thought about, and tried that approach what you go but quickly found that it isn’t feasible because now I have 18” stumps blocking my tractor from moving around AND making removal of the saplings by hand quite difficult to pull out. Don’t forget that they make “head knockers” (infant widow makers) when they hang up on other trees if you’re cutting a bunch at a time. At least mine are because I have dense stands. I pluck & pile them in manageable groups with the roots facing the same way towards ample clearing where I can chip comfortably. I cut the stumps most at once and toss them in a pile for later pick up then have at it. No widow makers and I don’t have to collect the stumps.

The tree puller is what I built myself.