Woodland Mill vs. Woodmax chipper?

[rumwrks]

I was wondering bout "upsizing." I like the woodland mills. It did seem like a lot more HP is required compared to others.

I couldn't figure out any actual reason for that either. Flywheel weight are similar, pto-flywheel ratios looked similar... There might well be a good reason, but I couldn't find it

All of the woodland mills are Chinese imports BUT they are made to spec and final assembled in NA and they do seem to do a lot of good customer care. After a lot of thought last year I went with the WC-88. I found one person having a ton of problems with the TF810PRO (this guy has a bunch of videos

- along with a direct compare of the non "pro" 88

) - it seemed to be flexing enough he was having the blades impact the anvil and then things went south from there.

The Woodmaxx machines are in two lines, the premium USA made MX series and the Chinese import WM series. The MX objectively have a few features that seemed better (or at least fancier hah) than woodland mills especially in the hydraulic system. The WM series are made more like the woodland but don't seem to be quite as nice based on my read. Plus I have a few friends with other woodland mills products who raved about their service. I waffled a bit on the WC-88 vs the MX-8800 or the MX-9900 though.

I've read a bunch of reviews and I haven't really found many people unhappy with the legacy woodland mills WC or the woodmaxx MX machines.

There's some difference of opinion on whether the top (woodmaxx) on/off bar is better than the (woodland) bottom. My take, without having tried the top.., is that the top is less prone to accidentally getting turned off, but the bottom is easier to turn off so arguably a touch safer. Pick your poison.

You DO have to set them up a little and getting the knives set properly was admittedly a bit of a pain in the *, there's no way to get a feeler gauge in there in a practical way. I ended up finding a wire that was the right thickness in the scrap pile and used it as effectively a long feeler gauge and had my SO gently move the flywheel back and forth along the whole blade while I adjusted the anvil in and out then doubled checked on the next knife.. repeat twice.. Luckily she's patient with my after a lot of years of working together hah. If they're set to fine you'll take out the knives and if they're set to coarse they don't cut well and clog so that's critical.

My short list of things I wanted:

• Hydraulic/Hydrostatic infeed (WC, WM, MX)
• Clamshell blade access (WC, MX)
• Mostly flat infeed (WC, WM, MX)
• Four blades preferred (WC68/88, MX-9900, MX-8600)
• 6" or larger infeed, not because I wanted to chip really large stuff, but tree tops go in easier.
• I could run it safely on my tractor
• It didn't completely break my bank

I don't think you'd go to wrong with either brand honestly, there's some preferences in there.. and a little pick how much you're willing to pay for what.

 

[MJZ]

I couldn't figure out any actual reason for that either. Flywheel weight are similar, pto-flywheel ratios looked similar... There might well be a good reason, but I couldn't find it

All of the woodland mills are Chinese imports BUT they are made to spec and final assembled in NA and they do seem to do a lot of good customer care. After a lot of thought last year I went with the WC-88. I found one person having a ton of problems with the TF810PRO (this guy has a bunch of videos

- along with a direct compare of the non "pro" 88

) - it seemed to be flexing enough he was having the blades impact the anvil and then things went south from there.

The Woodmaxx machines are in two lines, the premium USA made MX series and the Chinese import WM series. The MX objectively have a few features that seemed better (or at least fancier hah) than woodland mills especially in the hydraulic system. The WM series are made more like the woodland but don't seem to be quite as nice based on my read. Plus I have a few friends with other woodland mills products who raved about their service. I waffled a bit on the WC-88 vs the MX-8800 or the MX-9900 though.

I've read a bunch of reviews and I haven't really found many people unhappy with the legacy woodland mills WC or the woodmaxx MX machines.

There's some difference of opinion on whether the top (woodmaxx) on/off bar is better than the (woodland) bottom. My take, without having tried the top.., is that the top is less prone to accidentally getting turned off, but the bottom is easier to turn off so arguably a touch safer. Pick your poison.

You DO have to set them up a little and getting the knives set properly was admittedly a bit of a pain in the *, there's no way to get a feeler gauge in there in a practical way. I ended up finding a wire that was the right thickness in the scrap pile and used it as effectively a long feeler gauge and had my SO gently move the flywheel back and forth along the whole blade while I adjusted the anvil in and out then doubled checked on the next knife.. repeat twice.. Luckily she's patient with my after a lot of years of working together hah. If they're set to fine you'll take out the knives and if they're set to coarse they don't cut well and clog so that's critical.

My short list of things I wanted:

• Hydraulic/Hydrostatic infeed (WC, WM, MX)
• Clamshell blade access (WC, MX)
• Mostly flat infeed (WC, WM, MX)
• Four blades preferred (WC68/88, MX-9900, MX-8600)
• 6" or larger infeed, not because I wanted to chip really large stuff, but tree tops go in easier.
• I could run it safely on my tractor
• It didn't completely break my bank

I don't think you'd go to wrong with either brand honestly, there's some preferences in there.. and a little pick how much you're willing to pay for what.

Great info! Thanks!! I was wondering what diff is in the woodmax model (usa vs. Chinese). Just like you, I'm looking for the wider opening just to process cedar tops, not bigger trunks. Just less limbing. That helps. I'm gonna put a call into woodmax. I just want to know ow why 8800 only has 2 blades and the 8600 and 9900 have 4. I find that odd. The 8600 would be fine but the intake isn't flat.

 

[PeteN]

I bought the WoodMaxx MX8800 in 2021. It's really a nice piece of equipment that is well built. I like that the infeed roller is adjustable for speed (and reversing) and allows me to put the branch in and walk away to get another branch. Never chip wood much bigger than 3-4" but I bought this size to be able to not have to trim branches as much. I looked over the MX9900 specs recently and it has a few features I would have liked such as the ability to pivot the infeed chute out of the way to get to the knives and the foldable infeed chute for taking up less storage space. Neither of these features are on the MX8800. Not sure why 4 blades vs 2 on the two models but it probably takes less power with the 4 blade setup especially when chipping the big stuff. I'll be interested to hear WoodMaxx's response. I did have an issue at low hours with equipment setup as delivered but WoodMaxx stood behind the product and quickly addressed the issue. One thing I did notice is that the price is up about 50% from what I paid in 2021 - Yikes!

 

[rumwrks]

Great info! Thanks!! I was wondering what diff is in the woodmax model (usa vs. Chinese). Just like you, I'm looking for the wider opening just to process cedar tops, not bigger trunks. Just less limbing. That helps. I'm gonna put a call into woodmax. I just want to know ow why 8800 only has 2 blades and the 8600 and 9900 have 4. I find that odd. The 8600 would be fine but the intake isn't flat.

It's a good question, the 8800 has a 200lb flywheel vs the 120lb on the 8600 but doesn't go up a lot in HP requirements (the flywheels are all 24" but different thickness except the 9900 which is 26.5" diameter). I'm wondering if they did that so that it cuts less often to drop the load?

They also don't seem to list the flywheel speed on the 8600, the 8800 and 9900 say 1200rpm (which imho is spitting distance of the nominal 1000 for the woodland).

I personally like the look of the flatter infeed on the 8800 and 9900 vs the 8600 as well, but that seems to be a personal preference . I can see an argument either day depending on what you're putting in the thing.

 

[MJZ]

I bought the WoodMaxx MX8800 in 2021. It's really a nice piece of equipment that is well built. I like that the infeed roller is adjustable for speed (and reversing) and allows me to put the branch in and walk away to get another branch. Never chip wood much bigger than 3-4" but I bought this size to be able to not have to trim branches as much. I looked over the MX9900 specs recently and it has a few features I would have liked such as the ability to pivot the infeed chute out of the way to get to the knives and the foldable infeed chute for taking up less storage space. Neither of these features are on the MX8800. Not sure why 4 blades vs 2 on the two models but it probably takes less power with the 4 blade setup especially when chipping the big stuff. I'll be interested to hear WoodMaxx's response. I did have an issue at low hours with equipment setup as delivered but WoodMaxx stood behind the product and quickly addressed the issue. One thing I did notice is that the price is up about 50% from what I paid in 2021 - Yikes!

Good to hear bout your experience. I didn't get the opportunity to call today. I will let you know what I learn. I need the horizontal feed for what I do.

 

[PeteN]

I would think the flatter feed plate on models with the power infeed are easier to load since it is lower to the ground. At least it is for me. Wood chipping takes a lot of energy from the tractor and me!

 

[5030]

Roasting the limbs and trunks takes little effort. Just a match and some kindling to get it going. My preferred method....lol

 

[MJZ]

Roasting the limbs and trunks takes little effort. Just a match and some kindling to get it going. My preferred method....lol

Mine too. But, burning in OK is limited to select days that usually don't align with my schedule. Right temp, high humidity and little wind all happening on my days off is rare. makes hard to burn

 

[5030]

Also an issue here, sort of. Municipalities like to stick their noses where they don't belong today, even out here in flyover country but I basically ignore them. I'm just careful where I roast, when I roast and how I roast....lol

Amazing what you can reduce a big pile of discarded wood to. Big wood = small ashes.

 

[MJZ]

Also an issue here, sort of. Municipalities like to stick their noses where they don't belong today, even out here in flyover country but I basically ignore them. I'm just careful where I roast, when I roast and how I roast....lol

Amazing what you can reduce a big pile of discarded wood to. Big wood = small ashes.

Speaking of big pile, little ash, I lost 20 plus rics of wood last week due to wildfires. The ash is what's left of white oak firewood

 

[5030]

Don't heat with wood anymore, used to however. At my age, propane is light years easier. I do own a pair of pellet stoves (that also burn field corn) when it bitter cold out to supplement the propane furnace but only as a backup heat source. One in the house and one in the machine shop. The shop is also heated with propane, in floor pex heat.

 

[bigtiller]

Mine too. But, burning in OK is limited to select days that usually don't align with my schedule. Right temp, high humidity and little wind all happening on my days off is rare. makes hard to burn

Did the OK. state bill to eradicate all cedar trees in the state pass yet? There's an incentive to purchase a chipper.

 

[ericm979]

I think the minimum HP requirement for the WM-8 is way too low. I would not want much less than the 32 pto HP I have now. I could use more, even when sticking to material 4" or less.

 

[MJZ]

I think the minimum HP requirement for the WM-8 is way too low. I would not want much less than the 32 pto HP I have now. I could use more, even when sticking to material 4" or less.

Good to know

 

[MJZ]

Did the OK. state bill to eradicate all cedar trees in the state pass yet? There's an incentive to purchase a chipper.

It has passed the house. I will look for the incentive language! If you have any additional insight plz let me know

 

[KeithT]

I got a woodmaxx 8800 about a year ago. At the time there was some sort of a sale. I think I only paid around $2500 for it. This made the decision very easy for me, brand new. It was cheaper than a lot of the used ones I was looking at. I’ve got about six hours on it. I’ve never had any issues, have never had any clogging. I run it on my Yanmar YT 359. I have run up to 8 inch diameter through it as well with no issue.

 

[MJZ]

I got a woodmaxx 8800 about a year ago. At the time there was some sort of a sale. I think I only paid around $2500 for it. This made the decision very easy for me, brand new. It was cheaper than a lot of the used ones I was looking at. I’ve got about six hours on it. I’ve never had any issues, have never had any clogging. I run it on my Yanmar YT 359. I have run up to 8 inch diameter through it as well with no issue.

Ah, great info. Thanks. Helpful. At this point I may just go with the 8800. I will be using many many hours as we clear cedars amd clean up from fires. We will see...

 

[JimRB]

If you rented big chippers, little PTO chippers might be an annoyance. Many years ago I worked on a tree crew for 3 months. The owner liked the best stuff. I had no idea what that was. His stump grinder had a wide drum. The branch chipper would slap the heck out of you. Not bad if feeding maple. Painful if feeding oak with their stiff and hard branches. Feed rate was "Where did that branch go?"

I have a WM68. Feed rate is nowhere near that fast as those couple hundred horsepower rental units. But I can tow my tractor to the trail, chip away, go back home. No rental means I can go anytime. I do have to slow down the feed when feeding in the 6 inch stuff. The speed control on my WM68 seems to have a dead zone from half way to all the way. Some day I need to take out a tachometer and measure the infeed roller RPMs. I have a JD870 with 25 PTO HP. Anyhow, it is kind of neat to chip away at a 6 branch. I have no fireplace so rarely do I save that stuff for anyone else.

 

[rumwrks]

Did a decent yard cleanup in the apple orchard yesterday with the WC-88 which was the biggest project I've done with it so far. I cut everything above about 3" or so into smoker wood (love apple smoked bacon and sausage!), so mostly smaller stuff but the trees had been poorly treated for 8 or so years and there was a LOT of it (much heavier pruning than I'm usually happy with but at least they look mostly like trees and not giant shrubs now).

A few things to note (I think this all carries over to the woodmaxx mostly):

The here limit was really how fast we could haul things to the chipper, although we were mostly chipping not too large of branches I was also feeding in 4 or 5 or more at a time. Feeding in large bundles wasn't a problem for the most part. The orchard wood tends to be a bit gnarly so the 8" wide infeed is definitely nice even for smaller stuff, saves a ton of time not having to trim to make it fit. I think you'd get 90% of the benefit in that regard with an 8x6 with most wood. It's still a lot of work, but I also mulched most of the apple trees for basically "free" (amortized cost of chipper, tractor, and runtime cost of diesel .. aside.. lol).

This size lugs my 55hp (44hp claimed PTO) 5520H TYM a bit when it's spinning up the flywheel - this is a 24" x 1" flywheel so assuming it's about the same as the woodmaxx that's a 200lb flywheel.. which is about the same as the 8800. I believe the woodmaxx steals a little less HP for the hydraulic pump so maybe you get a bit of that back there... but I think most of the HP is going to the flywheel. You'd definitely want to keep the RPM's up a bit to avoid stalling anyway. It's fine when it's running though, the heavy flywheel definitely helps carry it around.

 

[ZiggyD]

Keep in mind the Woodland Mills is Canadian. Consequently, there will be a substantial tariff on it... Woodmax, on the other hand is USA. Not sure about the tariff on it. Some Woodmax stuff is made here, some is Chinese.

FWIW Woodmax is “American designed” but it’s made in China so all applicable tariffs apply.

I have the Woodmax 8H. Don’t know about the other brand but the hydraulic feed is priceless. Don’t settle for gravity fed chipper if for the same price or less you can get hydraulic.