Chipper accident

[Jstpssng]

Michigan man dies after being pulled into wood chipper

 

[Midniteoyl]

Ever ran chipper?I have tell us all about your vast chipper experience ??

What was that for?

 

[Torvy]

I've run chippers, but nothing that big. Mostly cub cadet self-powered 4-6" capacity gas engine jobs. We always had one around our place growing up.

The thing about growing up around farm equipment is you learn to have a very healthy respect for it. I had a neighbor missing an arm in a PTO accident. He ran without the shield because he knew better. Most people who are seriously injured or killed are either inexperienced or they got complacent because they ran the equipment so long they figured nothing bad would happen to them. Not sure which it was with this guy, but loose clothing is a big risk.

My point was that we all need to respect the equipment.

 

[oosik]

I've had two chippers - both Wallenstein. First -BX42S, now - BX62S. I have well over 300 hours chipping my pine stands. Both - PTO powered.

I know for a fact - I CAN NOT reach the blades while still standing on the ground. If my jacket were caught and I was dragged off the ground - well, I just don't know and I will NEVER find out either. Respect and knowing/following ALL safety recommendations.

I occasionally( note, I did say occasionally) get assistance from my son and his friends. They are allowed to " pull from the pile and bring to my chipper". I am the only person who will put the trees into the chipper.

I've witnessed mice going thru the chipper. Not a pleasant experience.

 

[oosik]

The mice are DEFINITELY no friend of mine. The fellow had to do something very unusual to get drug past the safety release on that chipper.

 

[Erik M]

Very sad, regardless of exact what happened. My “baby” chipper has hydraulic feed and this was an important safety feature for me as it controls the feed rate and provides a way to stop it should a piece of clothing get somehow snagged in operation.

 

[RoyJackson]

I'm assuming the chipper in the accident was a commercial drum type...a lot faster type when pulling in material. I wouldn't ever get even near one...especially with my gimpy leg (I'm a walking trip hazard).
Two things I know when operating a chipper (I have a PTO driven Woodmaxx 8H): Never feed from directly behind the hopper and don't wear any type of clothing (gauntlet type gloves, for example) that can be snagged by the material.
The Woodmaxx has a safety bar that stops the feed roller instantly...but why take any chances?

One thing I am curious about when reading the linked article....the man was found, alive and conscious, with a body part in the chipper. My guess the body part was his leg (trying to kick something in or clear a jam)
My sympathies to the man's surviving kinfolk

 

[RoyJackson]

The fellow had to do something very unusual to get drug past the safety release on that chipper.

Could be an older chipper...I don't think the picture of the chipper in the link is the actual chipper in that accident...strictly a guess though.
Older chippers (I'm writing about the commercial machines, not a residential unit like many TBNers own) didn't have some of the safety gear (such as emergency stop bars) newer ones have, or the safety equipment may be disabled or not functional.
We can play "Monday Morning Quarterback" all we want, but we really can only speculate (guess) what happened...just know it was tragic...

 

[RandyT]

I'm assuming the chipper in the accident was a commercial drum type...a lot faster type when pulling in material. I wouldn't ever get even near one...especially with my gimpy leg (I'm a walking trip hazard).
Two things I know when operating a chipper (I have a PTO driven Woodmaxx 8H): Never feed from directly behind the hopper and don't wear any type of clothing (gauntlet type gloves, for example) that can be snagged by the material.
The Woodmaxx has a safety bar that stops the feed roller instantly...but why take any chances?

One thing I am curious about when reading the linked article....the man was found, alive and conscious, with a body part in the chipper. My guess the body part was his leg (trying to kick something in or clear a jam)
My sympathies to the man's surviving kinfolk

I don't think the chipper in the picture is the chipper in the accident. And for people that don't know about the old drum chippers that could suck in a 20 foot long 3 inch diameter branch in about 3 seconds with no emergency feed stop. So if you get snagged you are going in. The feed roller style both as a drum or disc chipper are a lot more controlled than the old drum grab and gone chippers.

 

[Frankenkubota]

was it the movie fargo where achipper played a big part?

 

[RoyJackson]

was it the movie fargo where a chipper played a big part?

Yeah, but the chipper was just a little gas powered unit and the body had to be cut up quite a bit to feed it into the chipper

 

[oosik]

My chipper - Wallenstein BX62S. ALL my young pines are fed in - butt first. The chipper grabs the butt end and jerks it into the chipper so hard/fast - it's scary.

The butt end is laid on the lip of the chipper. Go back 20, 25, 30 feet to the top and lift it up and slide it in. It will "digest" and spit out a 30 foot tree in less than ten seconds.

This jerking/pulling action has scared many who come for the day to help me.

They learn in a real big hurry. Lift it up - slide it in - let go of it - back away.

 

[Snobdds]

I have an Echo Bearcat 9 inch chipper with hydraulic feed. There is a safety bar around the entire outside of the chute that can stop or reverse the hydraulic feed. The end of the chute is only a foot square, meaning unless something can be compress into something less than a foot square, it's not getting to the blades because there is a giant roller in the way that goes up and down on a spring mechanism.

I use to have a manual feed chipper with direct exposure to the blades. Trying to force things in, one quickly figures out, it very dangerous to get a hand too far in the chute.

I will always have hydraulic feed chippers, let the hydraulics do the tough part of the job. I never really have my hands in farther than a few inches, then the roller takes over.

 

[metalbender]

The Bandit looks like a man eater. Why would any company make such a large "chuck and duck" machine? Controlled feed with safety bars to stop and reverse make way too much sense over the lower cost. My Champion gas powered unit requires a lot of attention.

 

[Jstpssng]

This may have changed but tree company Asplundh always used chippers which weren't self feeding.

 

[RoyJackson]

This may have changed but tree company Asplundh always used chippers which weren't self feeding.

I've seen quite a few "chuck and duck" chippers used by Asplundh over the years. Looks like those are getting phased out since the new ones have the safety bar.
Still a lot of gypsy tree trimmers around, with older equipment.
Before I bought my Woodmaxx, I had a Woods 5000 chipper/shredder which could handle up to a 5" branch or trunk. It was gravity feed and unless one purposely stuck their arm down the chute, there was no way one could be pulled in. The unit also had a brush chute on top....now, that pulled in like the speed of light....almost scary!
Good implement though...had it for years. Ran it behind a Deere 790, then a Deere 4400.

https://steenent.com/new-equipment/other/woods/dirtworking/flail-shredders/new-woods-5000-chippers-shredders/

 

[RandyT]

I've seen quite a few "chuck and duck" chippers used by Asplundh over the years. Looks like those are getting phased out since the new ones have the safety bar.
Still a lot of gypsy tree trimmers around, with older equipment.
Before I bought my Woodmaxx, I had a Woods 5000 chipper/shredder which could handle up to a 5" branch or trunk. It was gravity feed and unless one purposely stuck their arm down the chute, there was no way one could be pulled in. The unit also had a brush chute on top....now, that pulled in like the speed of light....almost scary!
Good implement though...had it for years. Ran it behind a Deere 790, then a Deere 4400.

https://steenent.com/new-equipment/other/woods/dirtworking/flail-shredders/new-woods-5000-chippers-shredders/

I think what Asplundh and Davey used was what was available at the time of purchase, but have been getting phased out as the newer safer equipment became available. I am not sure the self feeding roller type chippers were even that available 20-30 years ago.

 

[Jstpssng]

I think what Asplundh and Davey used was what was available at the time of purchase, but have been getting phased out as the newer safer equipment became available. I am not sure the self feeding roller type chippers were even that available 20-30 years ago.

They were. In 1987 I worked a while for a small company out of Athol, Mass. and the chippers they had were self feeding