advice on PTO chipper

[brusew86]

There was a semi recent thread on PTO chippers. I read through that. My main question is on power feed vs gravity feed. I have only ever used power feed. My uncle has one for his 30hp ford and I have used it quite a bit. I don't recall who made it. He has had it for along time, probably 25 years. Anyway, I have a NH TC-45 and looking for a chipper just for stuff around the homestead, I probably wont even use it that much really. I do like to clean up If I scavange or take down a tree in my woods, but I would take everything 4" and over for firewood. IT seems you can get basic non power feed ones for around $1500. What are they like to feed? Do they vibratron the crap out of you as you feed it? Is it a lot of work to feed or does stuff kinda naturally self feed? Another grand gets a power feed woodmax, which everyone seems to be reasonably happy with. Just trying to decide if I should cheap out and save that grand.

Ethan

 

[Aquamoose]

You haven’t mentioned what you plan to chip but at 4”, you could easily do well with the Woodmax. I’m sure you’ve seen the reviews about them so that should say something about these machines, especially for occasional use.

Mine’s a non-hydraulic feed but it did well for my pine & fir but if you’ve got hardwood, it may be worth investing in one with a hydraulic feed version as it allows you to vary the feed rate. Once it grabs a branch, I let it go and move on to grab another branch to feed. Pretty much all chippers will vibrate when chipping. It’s just the nature of these machines anyway.

 

[RoyJackson]

For that occasional small chipping job, you might want to look at the Woods 5000 chipper/shredder.
I've had one of these for....well, probably 10 years.

 

[TerryR]

My main question is on power feed vs gravity feed. I have only ever used power feed. My uncle has one for his 30hp ford and I have used it quite a bit. I don't recall who made it. He has had it for along time, probably 25 years. Anyway, I have a NH TC-45 and looking for a chipper just for stuff around the homestead, I probably wont even use it that much really. I do like to clean up If I scavange or take down a tree in my woods, but I would take everything 4" and over for firewood.

I've used a manual feed chipper for occasional cleanup on our 12-acre property in the mountains of NC ever since we bought it 20 years ago. I'm now on my second one. I'm a big fan of manual feed for homeowners with occasional needs. They are cheaper than power feed and trouble-free.

What are they like to feed? Do they vibratron the crap out of you as you feed it? Is it a lot of work to feed or does stuff kinda naturally self feed?

They pretty well feed themselves if you keep the blades really sharp and trim of branches that are big enough to stop the feed. You will have to help feed if there are branches that resist letting the piece get into the blades. For that reason a larger opening is good, even if you don't intend to chip pieces that big (and you will from time to time want to chip something bigger when you find something too rotten to use for firewood, or something like pine you don't want to burn).

I find an few pieces that want to vibrate my hands but generally that's not an issue. I once in a while have to jerk out a solid piece that's on the upper end of chipping size because it lugs down my tractor engine, but not often.

Yes, after a few hours of chipping you know you've done something, but I'm now 76 and never have thought I was over-worked by it.

 

[747driver]

I have the WoodMax 8H. Great machine. The power feed was worth the extra cost as I use it 5/6 times a year living in the forest. It also saves my shoulder and back from having to yank on jammed limbs !! I paid $3200 2 yrs ago.

 

[mark02tj]

I sold my self feed Bearcat and bought a hydraulic feed Woodmaxx.

Two issues I had with the self feed. First, if there was a "Y" branch, you typically had to either trim those branches or force them through the opening. With the brush I have around here, I had a LOT of "Y"s so I spent a lot of time just getting the material ready to chip.

The second issue was with chipping larger stuff. I don't burn wood here, so I probably chip larger stuff than you might. As mentioned by someone else, the self feed will usually pull stuff right into the blades. But, if you have larger material, it will pull that stuff in quickly and stall the chipper. So, I had to either try and hold on to the material and feed it a little at a time or I had to cut the larger stuff into smaller lengths and feed them one at a time. With the hydraulic feed I can easily adjust the feed rate to match the material. So feeding a 20' long, 4" tree in one shot isn't unheard of. Plus, there's a lot less trimming since it will pull in all of the "Y" branches as it feeds.

If you're just using it a time or two a year and feeding smaller stuff, save the $1000. If you have a lot of "branchy" stuff, spend the extra money and get the hydraulic feed. And, if you're chipping bigger stuff too, really spend the extra money and get the WoodMaxx 9900!!

 

[Gordon Gould]

I have a BearCat manual feed 5" chipper shredder. I agree 100% with what TerryR says. And keeping the blades sharp can't be emphasized to much.



gg

 

[mikester]

If you can afford it go hydraulic power feed and get one with a swivel chute turner. Avoid the Chinese aux. belt drive mechanical feeder units unless you plan on retrofitting it or like stopping every 15 minutes to fix it.

I find with the manual feed ones need you to cut up the brush into smaller pieces. i.e. you have to remove branches from the logs

Is anyone interested in a blog on cheap Chinese chipper mods?

I retrofitted an 8inch mechanical power feed PTO chipper to hydraulic feed, added a swivel chute turner, guarding mods,...

 

[Code54]

Having owned both a top quality manual feed and a Woodmaxx Hydro, I can truly say the hydro is worth every dollar!
The manual machine just grabs stuff and sucks it in, twigs and little junk can be hard to get through the machine. I also found that wet wood with leaves was tough as it would clog as it sucks it in faster than it can discharge it.
The hydro takes it in at a controlled rate, if you are feeding big stuff (like 5" hardwood) you can easily stop it if you have a smaller machine and it is bogging the tractor. Also if you get a weird twisted piece that does not fit down the feed shoot and sort of jambs at the blades, pull the level for the hydro feed and it reverses and kicks the jam back out. This is a HUGE help and time saver. Around here we have a lot of limbs that twist and branch off in all directions and with the hydro feed it is MUCH easier and quicker as well as requiring a lot less trimming.
The other thing is get the biggest chipper you can as a 4" chipper won't chip much unless everything is shaped like a broom handle!

 

[RoyJackson]

I have a BearCat manual feed 5" chipper shredder. I agree 100% with what TerryR says. And keeping the blades sharp can't be emphasized to much.

View attachment 539504

gg

I've got the same chipper/shredder you have...just has Woods on it (Bearcat is the manufacturer).
I see you have the blower/chute...mine doesn't and I wish it did. I just can't justify the (almost) thousand dollar price tag to add it...especially since I only paid a grand for it (used) years ago.

 

[ericm979]

I have a large 4.5" MacKissick and a Woodmaxx 8H. The Woodmaxx is far superior for chipping. The MackKissick has a shredder for small material and the 8H doesn't so it wins on shredding.

Besides feeding more easily the power feed is also a lot safer- I'm not pushing irregular shaped stuff into the chipper, and it pulls the material slowly and consistently instead of grabbing and yanking it in it like the self-feeding chipper does.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I've got the same chipper/shredder you have...just has Woods on it (Bearcat is the manufacturer).
I see you have the blower/chute...mine doesn't and I wish it did. I just can't justify the (almost) thousand dollar price tag to add it...especially since I only paid a grand for it (used) years ago.

I bought mine used also. My neighbor had it. It mostly sat unused. I offered him $1200 - he said no. About a year later he asked if I still wanted it Usually deals work the other way for me. It is a good chipper. The blower does take some extra power to run though.

gg

 

[s219]

Having owned both a top quality manual feed and a Woodmaxx Hydro, I can truly say the hydro is worth every dollar!
The manual machine just grabs stuff and sucks it in, twigs and little junk can be hard to get through the machine. I also found that wet wood with leaves was tough as it would clog as it sucks it in faster than it can discharge it.
The hydro takes it in at a controlled rate, if you are feeding big stuff (like 5" hardwood) you can easily stop it if you have a smaller machine and it is bogging the tractor. Also if you get a weird twisted piece that does not fit down the feed shoot and sort of jambs at the blades, pull the level for the hydro feed and it reverses and kicks the jam back out. This is a HUGE help and time saver. Around here we have a lot of limbs that twist and branch off in all directions and with the hydro feed it is MUCH easier and quicker as well as requiring a lot less trimming.
The other thing is get the biggest chipper you can as a 4" chipper won't chip much unless everything is shaped like a broom handle!

These are some great points. The only time I get frustrated with my manual feed Wallenstein is when sending in a really twisted branch or one with a lot of side branches at large angles. Maples and Beeches tend to be like this. It can take a lot of twisting and coercion to get them to feed. I keep a pair of loppers handy and if a branch is especially gangly I will lop off the side branches ahead of time to try and streamline the shape. I shove them all in at the same time, so still chipping the same amount of stuff, it just feeds better.

In contrast, if I send in the top of a pine tree, everything 4" or less, the shape of the treetop is such that it just gets sucked in and chips like magic. Saplings behave the same way. It's really just the gangly maple and beech branches that turn into a wrestling match.

 

[brusew86]

thanks for all the replies. The more I think about it, I like the idea of having a unit that also has the shredder, such as the mackassic that was mentioned. I always Have a big mess of bark and small pieces of wood around my woodpile and a shredder would turn that into some nice usable material.

Someone mentioned the difficulty in changes hammers on the old troy built tomahawk. Funny you should mention that. I remember like 25 years ago, I was around ten, and my dad was changes the hammers on his. I remember him being all frustrated, angry, bloody knuckles and all....

 

[mark02tj]

My old Bearcat was a Chipper/Shredder. I rarely used the shredder. Even the smaller stuff just went in the chipper chute. I don't miss having the shredder one bit. With my hydraulic feed, I just dump a pile of stuff that would have been size-appropriate for the shredder on the intake area and then feed in a leafy branch that acts like a broom to pull in all the little stuff.

The only thing that I really used the shredder for was to grind up the ornamental grass that I have planted around my place. But now I just pile it up and then hit it with the brush hog on the front of my Gravely.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I have the Wallenstein self-feeding BX62. It works really well up to about 4", then the natural feed rate is too fast for larger stuff and it overpowers/stalls my tractor. A hydraulic power feeder would allow me to control the feed rate so that I could put larger pieces through it.

 

[jbrumberg]

I really like my Wallenstein self feeding chipper/shredder. I can take 3" size wood. I cut and burn 4" wood so it works for me.

 

[RalphVa]

thanks for all the replies. The more I think about it, I like the idea of having a unit that also has the shredder, such as the mackassic that was mentioned. I always Have a big mess of bark and small pieces of wood around my woodpile and a shredder would turn that into some nice usable material.

Someone mentioned the difficulty in changes hammers on the old troy built tomahawk. Funny you should mention that. I remember like 25 years ago, I was around ten, and my dad was changes the hammers on his. I remember him being all frustrated, angry, bloody knuckles and all....

I've spent hours hammering away on Tomahawk shafts, to drive them out the other side. The spacers get deformed and weld themselves to the shafts. Never did try heating up the spacers. That might have worked.

On the TPH-122, you just remove the pins on the ends and just push out the shafts with a finget. There's no hole on the opposing side to hammer them out like is on a Tomahawk. Rotated the hammers (have to remove the shafts for that) 3 times and now again to replace all the hammers, spacers. The spacers had gotten hammered enough to kinda shrink them up on the sides but never got deformed against the shaft like they did on the Tomahawk.

Had one of the split pins come out on the TPH-122. Caused a shaft end to hit the nut that holds the "window" cover in place and cracked off a piece of the end of the shaft. Replaced that shaft when I did the rebuild. Think total rebuild parts were around $100. The new chipper blade won't be cheap. The spare I bought about 10 or so years ago was $56.

Ralph

 

[oosik]

I've owned two chippers - both Wallenstein. BX42S & BX62S. Both were "manual feed" and because I chip only small( 6" on the butt or less) pine trees, the hydraulic in-feed system is not required. I feed the pine trees into the chipper - whole - butt first - no limbs removed. The chipper grabs the tree - jerks it out of my hand if I'
m still gripping it - chunks it up. The tree does shake, vibrate, thrash about, slap and twist - but you have long previously released/let go of it.

Currently, I have the Wally BX62S and run it with my 56 PTO Hp Kubota M6040. I could have chosen the BX92S, which goes up to 9" trees, on the butt. However, every spring I thin my young pine stands. This means I identify, cut, drag & chip from 750 to 900 young Ponderosa pine trees.

When deciding what chipper to purchase - consider my situation as an example. I cut pines that are 6" on the butt and "usually" 28' to 32' tall. Its all this 'ol bod can do to drag this tree, I've just cut, out of the pine stand and onto the "cut" pile. Now - I will usually thin 10 to 12 stands with 25 to 30 - 6" x 32' - pines in each stand. All the remaining pines are less than 6".

I DO NOT chunk up these bigger pines with the idea - " its easier to move small chunks". More chunks simply mean more trips and a chunked up pine tree is a REAL PITA to feed into any chipper.

So....... go out into your forrest - fell a 6" pine - grab it around the butt - drag it 75' to an imaginary pile. Do this repeatedly - 20 to 25 times per hour. Now - ask me why I don't want a chipper that can handle 9" trees.

In MY pine stands - if you are bigger than 6" on the butt - you might just live to become an old tree.