3pt Wood Chipper Recommendation

[dbchaplin03]

We’re getting ready to start clearing 10 acres of land and are looking for recommendations on heavy duty chippers. We’ll be using the chips for compost and deep bedding for chickens, pigs, and goats.

Anything over 4” will be firewood but I do want a machine that can pull in crooked and forked stuff. If it doesn’t work well we likely wouldn’t end up using it because it’s much faster to burn.

I’ve looked at Woodmaxx, Split Fire, and Walenstine so far but figured I’d see what yall have owned and loved. ( or not loved).

 

[johnems]

We’re getting ready to start clearing 10 acres of land and are looking for recommendations on heavy duty chippers. We’ll be using the chips for compost and deep bedding for chickens, pigs, and goats.

Anything over 4” will be firewood but I do want a machine that can pull in crooked and forked stuff. If it doesn’t work well we likely wouldn’t end up using it because it’s much faster to burn.

I’ve looked at Woodmaxx, Split Fire, and Walenstine so far but figured I’d see what yall have owned and loved. ( or not loved).

I have Woodmaxx MX9900 and love the machine. It is a beast in terms of what it will take through it. Just spent yesterday using it for 6 hours and was great.

 

[dbchaplin03]

I have Woodmaxx MX9900 and love the machine. It is a beast in terms of what it will take through it. Just spent yesterday using it for 6 hours and was great.

Thank you for this feedback

 

[Gem99ultra]

We’re getting ready to start clearing 10 acres of land and are looking for recommendations on heavy duty chippers. We’ll be using the chips for compost and deep bedding for chickens, pigs, and goats.

Anything over 4” will be firewood but I do want a machine that can pull in crooked and forked stuff. If it doesn’t work well we likely wouldn’t end up using it because it’s much faster to burn.

I’ve looked at Woodmaxx, Split Fire, and Walenstine so far but figured I’d see what yall have owned and loved. ( or not loved).

I went with Woodland Mills for my little Kubota L3400. It technically handles 5"x6" but just for easy and convenience I stay under 6". Now they have 8" x 8" for the same power requirements. The hydraulic feed handles crooked and fork stuff with ease.

My choice bounced betwen Woodmax and Woodland Mills, although many folks on here also like Walenstine. I don't think you'll go far wrong either way.

 

[PeteN]

+1 on WoodMaxx. I've got a MX8800 and does everything I need a woodchipper for. Made in the USA. I bought mine 3 1/2 years ago. I was surprised how much the price went up since then. But what hasn't in the last 4 years.

 

[oosik]

I've had two Wallensteins. Both - manual feed. First - BX42S Now - BX62S. Both are excellent machines. I have no need for hydraulic in-feed. I only chip small ( 1" to 6" on the butt ) green pines.

Every two to three years I thin and chip my pine stands. 800 to 1000 small pines go thru my chipper during these sessions.

The price for a hydraulic feed Wally is through the roof. So.....unless you have a whole lot of chipping to do - those recommended in the above posts would probably do you well.

It's really sad about the price because a Wally is a truly superior implement.

 

[oldballs]

Here's some random thoughts....I presume that you are using your Kubota 6060 which will take any of the home owner largest chippers.

Burning has some advantages but is much reliant on weather and codes...and you end up with ashes. You gotta take the tree to the burn pile.

Chipping gives you usefull chips and you take the chipper to the tree. The chipper takes some money to buy and some maintenance to operate.

Ten acres is a lot to deal with .....over how much time???? what kinda trees or underbrush might be a question. What to do with the really big stuff

I've owned a Woodland Mills WC-68 for about 5 years and it has served me well....on my 3 acres..doing mostly pine and cedar................just some thoughts.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[oosik]

I have a decided advantage here on my 80 acres. The ONLY trees I have are Ponderosa pines. AND - young pines are soft - the limbs are supple - young trees are straight as an arrow.

They are chipped with no need to remove any limbs. Because of this - there is no need for hydraulic in-feed.

I use the chips on my mile long gravel driveway. However - that is only for those trees that I chip along the driveway. It's a good long ways from where I chip those cut from my stands to my driveway.

I could transport them with my farm wagon and spread them on the driveway. This has a down side too. If I ever get enough snow that I must plow the driveway - the chips will go the same way as the snow.

So.....I have great, long, narrow piles of chips - all over the property.

 

[ericm979]

My Woodmaxx 8H has been pretty good. I recommend a unit with hydraulic (or hydrostatic) variable power feed.

I chose the 8H because a lot of people here have them, and the dual feed rollers. Woodland Mills 8" has a single feed roller. In their videos it looks like it can be a challenge to get material to feed. The 8H has a handle to lift the upper roller and you can use that to get the roller to climb up the butt of larger material.

It's got some drawbacks though. The knives are accessed through small bolt on doors. Some units have clamshell rotor housings that give access to the upper half of the rotor. It's only an issue when its time to rotate or change blades, and only if you drop a blade bolt into the housing.

There's a gap between the rollers and the bed knife that can catch material and keep it from feeding. One of these days I'll weld a plate in there to fill the gap. This is also a pretty small issue.

My 8H came with a 20 gpm flow control valve but it's system is 3 gpm. The oversize valve had a very narrow active range making it hard to set a feed speed between slow and fast. I replaced it with a 5 gpm one that bolted right in and greatly improved feed speed control. Most people don't have a problem with it.

 

[oosik]

The power of my Kubota M6040 and the heavy fly wheel of the Wally BX62S are a perfect match. Even when chipping the 6" green pines - the Kubota does not slow down.

Some years my son and his friend will come out and help. When it's time to chip. NOBODY - including me - likes the dragging part. When I finish falling all the trees in a stand - looks like a giants game of Pick-Up-Sticks.

So.....decide where best to have a pile. Start dragging the fallen trees to that spot. I'm not working hard enough unless I stumble and fall a couple times. Most stands will take four or five piles.

When all the fallen trees from all the stands have been drug to piles - it's time to chip. It's also time to let all the scrapes/bangs on my forelegs heal somewhat.

Chipping is the fun part. My Kubota/Wally setup will take trees as fast as you can feed it. Best to wear gloves. The bark on a pine tree will grind the palm of your hand to hamburger - without gloves.

So much for the life of a tree farmer.

 

[fruitcakesa]

I have been waffling about getting a chipper. I am managing 50 acres of mostly white pine and hemlock with a some mixed hardwoods. When I log an area there is always 6 inch and under tops and limbs everywhere along with the variety of blowdowns, dead and dying trees of all sizes. I don’t intend to chip even a fraction of that mess but I do want the chips especially for filling my skid roads and trails in addition to all the landscaping and gardening use.
I also have a 6040 so I’ve been researching 8 inch units especially the WM and the MAXX. Glad to get real world feedback from forum users.

 

[oosik]

Hey fruitcakesa - When I bought the Wally BX62S - I also considered the next size larger. BX92S. It would handle 8 inch stuff. My Kubota M6040 would easily drive this 8 inch unit.

Then reality hit home - again. I went out and cut down a pine that was 8 inches on the butt - 28 or 30 feet tall. Not only did I have trouble lifting the damn butt end - no way in H#$% could I ever drag it. Then consider a giants game of Pick-Up-Sticks. That's what one of my stands looks like after thinning. It's ALL I CAN DO to drag 6 inch trees thru this game of Pick-Up-Sticks. If you read my post #6 you can see that this thinning operation is hard enough when interspersed with 6 inch trees. Adding 8 inch trees to this mix would make chipping almost impossible.

There is only one reason I would consider a larger unit. It SHOULD have a heavier flywheel and make chipping a tad smoother. At one time I was considering a Valby 260. It has a 560 pound fly wheel. The Kubota M6040 would have powered it. I could never find a dealer close enough nor the price.

I don't know the price difference between the 6 inch and 8 inch units you are considering. I do know the difference on a Wallenstein is significant. To the extent that any benefits a larger unit may bring - it certainly does not justify the added cost.

 

[CaptPat]

I have a Bearcat that works fine for stuff up to 5", it will feed itself once started. I went with Bearcat because it has a hopper to deal with brush. I wouldn't be looking forward to chipping whatever is cut from a 10-acre stand though, it's a lot of work to generate even a modest pile of chips.

 

[nisaacs]

I have a 7" from Nova Tractor. It has twin hydraulic infeed motors. I tried two different single powered rollers and it was just too much work for our gnarly limbs. I like it.

https://nova-tractor.com/products/bx72rsh-heavy-duty-professional-wood-chipper

 

[oosik]

Getting old can be a real PITA. Now I remember my chipping session with my weather hardened old apple trees. Six old semi-dwarfs. I sure could have used some form of hydraulic in feed. Instead - I cut all the limbs into three foot chunks. Things went smoothly but it did take extra time.

However - I do have one mighty pile of chipped apple wood. Good for the bar-b-que.

 

[aesanders]

I have been looking at the Splitfire myself. I know some people don’t like the vertical infeed system and lack of hydraulics, but from what I see it doesn’t need a hydraulic feed. It is rated for 4”, but has a very large infeed opening so it can handle larger material or crooked wood. It also looks very stout and simple to maintain, all leading to a long life machine. Made in Canada and not China to boot.

This YouTube video goes over it pretty well:

 

[BufordBoone]

We’re getting ready to start clearing 10 acres of land and are looking for recommendations on heavy duty chippers. We’ll be using the chips for compost and deep bedding for chickens, pigs, and goats.

Anything over 4” will be firewood but I do want a machine that can pull in crooked and forked stuff. If it doesn’t work well we likely wouldn’t end up using it because it’s much faster to burn.

I’ve looked at Woodmaxx, Split Fire, and Walenstine so far but figured I’d see what yall have owned and loved. ( or not loved).

I have a lightly used Wallenstein 62S (gravity fed) with an extra set of blades in the classifieds.

Don't know how far you are from Gainesville, Al but I can load it on a trailer for you.

 

[sixdogs]

I have a Wallenstein 5" or 6" chipper and it is wonderful. I chip endless amount of spruce limbs from windbreaks plus branches, etc from around the farm. I can chip a 5'x12' dump trailer full in short order and I'm older. I use an M7040 Kubota.
Most branches are maybe 12 or so feet long and 2" or 3". I've also easily chipped up to 5" of white cedar.

I've used other chippers over the years but for a lower-buck chipper, this is my best choice for carefree use and ease of operation.

 

[groundcover]

Bigger is better but there is always something bigger ! I have a 12" 140 horse Brush Bandit. Was helping a friend clean up a bunch of trees he dropped and we talked about a place his son bought that he wants to clear and chip. One thing leads to another and we start looking at tracked chippers !

2290 - TRACK - Bandit Industries, Inc. | Bandit Equipment

banditchippers.com

Like they say , If I hit the power ball there would be signs !

 

[lostcause]

I have a Wallenstein BX42 with hydraulic feed - bought it around 20 years ago. Originally had it on a JD770 and it did fine chipping any solid larger wood with any size to it. I did have problems trying to run leafy and small diameter items through. if you ran a 3" item through it, it would chew it fine until you got to the very top. when you have nothing but leaves and 1/8" twigs left it had issues. instead of taking small cuts it would end up letting the twigs get through the hole in the flywheel where the blade is, and they would end up getting cut to 4-6" length. those short twigs would then rattle around in the out feed chute and make a rats nest at the plate where the chute can be rotated. the next items through would then pile up against the rats nest and it would bring everything to a stall if you didn't disengage the PTO quickly. Leaves would do the same thing - not enough mass to be pushed out quickly and they would flutter around and eventually nest up in the same spot.

I attribute a lot of this to the chipper not creating enough vacuum to push the light items through. my solution was to not let it get to just a top with twigs & leaves. when i got close to that happening I would make sure i stuffed another 2-3" minimum stick in, so it was creating good sized chips that would fly through and bring the twigs & leafy stuff with it. that helped a lot, but not a guaranteed way to avoid all plugs.

I upgraded to a JD 3039R 4+ years ago, and I haven't even converted it over. i have not had any need to chip since then - well, I do, but I have not had the free time to chip anyways. Maybe this tractor with power to spare will generate a more constant speed and airflow, but I doubt it. Maybe I can adjust the knives to help, but again unsure when it comes to leaves. The one idea I had, but never tried was to bolt on some rubber flaps to the fins on the flywheel to maybe make more airflow?

Again, if i were chipping slabs or straight pieces of round wood, it'll eat that all day long with no issue.

One more thing I will add If you have not compared the feed vs. no feed side by side: no feed options will have the in-feed chute angled more vertically so gravity helps you. Hydraulic feed has the in-feed more parallel with the ground. this means you can take a 20 foot piece and drag it in and walk away. with a gravity feed hopper you'll likely need to chunk up your pieces into shorter lengths to drop them in.