Any Uses For Wood Chips?

[RobertN]

Harv,
The issue isn't the size of the chipper, it's the size of chips the chipper makes. The rental yard over here has a nice 25hp chipper(at $20/hr) that will basically take a small tree if you try. But, it still makes nice size chips. We also had some tree work done here; the crew chipped the stuff, and it came out nice sized.

The stuff I got from the road and powerline crew was larger, like Bird mentioned. It does, however, still cook down pretty well. I have friends that get the same stuff, and have it placed off to the side, where they let it cook down for a season. By the time it's done, it's really nice; it just takes longer. In fact, I'm about ready to get another load.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>The issue isn't the size of the chipper, it's the size of chips the chipper makes.</font color=blue>

Different size knives in the machine? Number of knives? Different RPM's? Different feed rates? Be nice if I could get sawdust to come out the other end. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Looks like this is yet another learning curve I have yet to climb.

When I get this project done, I'll see how many chips I can get into an envelope and make sure that Bird and Glenn get some.

 

[RobertN]

The typical home machine will have hammer or knives as part of the apparatus. These actually shred. The number of knives is usually driven by the HP and size of the machine. Typically, a 8hp home machine will have more knives or hammers than a 5hp machine; it simply has more power to spin them up.

Generally, the size of the chip is gauged by the distance from the front plate to the cutting wheel. The greater the distance, the bigger the chip.

The RPM is generally driven by the rating of the motor, and the size of the cutting wheel.

For feed rate, the smaller home machines have many variables; how big the material is, overall power of the unit, how wet the material is. The larger units have hydraulic feeds. They sense the rpm of the cutter, and adjust feed rate to maintian optimum cut/chipping.

I would arrange for the rental, AND a helper. Then, before you pick up the chipper, make sure to break up the piles loader. It's a pain to pull stuff from a tangled up pile. It's also a pain to work the machine alone at $20/hr.

 

[Bird]

Harv, I took that little 5 hp Craftsman apart, changed the knives, etc., but have never been into (or seen an exploded view of) any of the others, so I don't know, but the little Craftsman had 2 knives for chipping and 4 sets of 3 flails for shredding. It did a great job on small stuff, but anything over 2" was pretty tough. And I'm sure you know to stay out of the way of the discharge. The chute was angled down at the ground on the Craftsman, but I left it wide open so it would shoot the wood chips straight out horizontally way out in the garden and one day it sounded as if it had completely self destructed and I shut it down real quick. When I took it apart, I found that a roll pin had come out and it had thrown one set of 3 flails, so I went out in the garden and started hunting and found all the pieces, but some of those chunks of steel were 50' or more from where the machine had been.

 

[stovepoker]

Using chips for stove fuel isn't all that difficult. I separate the
bone-dry branches from the green stuff, and do the chipping
during dry weather to keep it that way. The dry chips are
screened to eliminate the sawdust and big chips. So the resulting
"pellet" fuel is sized to fit the stove. The chips can
be mixed with commercial pellet fuel but this is not necessary.
I don't pay attention to the species. A pound of hemlock chips
has the same fuel value as a pound of hickory chips. If you
are using multiple species, mixing them will give you a more
consistent burn. My contractor has a 20HP chipper that
produces smaller chips than the typical municipal chipper.

 

[Harv]

I was just thinkin' (it happens) -- although I never seem to leave myself enough time to try it, I've often toyed with the idea of taking some of the brushier stuff off my pile and just running over it a few times with my rotary cutter.

Anybody ever try this (and want to admit to it)?

 

[RobertN]

Been there, done that. It works, although it will throw stuff around quite a bit. If you do not care about where the chips are placed, or the size of the chip, it will work.

 

[dlabrie]

I heat my home with wood that I cut on my property. I have quite a few brush piles around. My wife wanted me to chip them, but I suggested that they were great habitats for the small animals. So they have set in place over the years. Now after reading all the posts on the value of wood chips, renting a chipper for a day might not be a bad idea. I remember hearing some where that green brush is easier to chip than dry brush. Is there any truth to that?
David

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>I remember hearing some where that green brush is easier to chip than dry brush. Is there any truth to that?</font color=blue>

Definitely true.

 

[GlennT]

Green wood does seem to be easier to chip than dry material. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe the cell walls in dry wood are actually harder. Or maybe the sap in fresh wood acts as a lubricant. A problem I've had is that leaves and needles in a brush pile start to mold and then it is easy to feed too fast and clog up the discharge chute of the chipper. All of this does motivate a person to get rid of that pile of brush before it dries out. This is one of those jobs that's easy to put off till later.

 

[Harv]

<font color=blue>This is one of those jobs that's easy to put off till later</font color=blue>

You got that right, Glenn, and I've been doing just that for years now.

Fact is, this whole brush and tree clearing thing just became my responsibility a few years ago. It was my parents' property since the mid 70's, and I have no idea exactly when this pile was born, nor was I around on "disposal" days. I noticed an incinerator type of setup nearby, so I'm guessing Pop burned off small quantities at regular intervals. He was a methodical man.

When Pop passed in '89, Mom did her best to keep things cleared, but she was more of the weed-pulling type than a brush clearer. It was only 3 or 4 years ago that it finally dawned on me that my visits should be as much about taking care of the acreage as caring for Mom and making home repairs. And less than 2 years ago that I realized what I really needed was a tractor. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

With my new found ability to carry off great loads of brush, branches and even logs, it seemed logical to just dump it all on the existing brush pile. And now, with Mom gone and the property officially mine, I finally realize that the pile will only get bigger until I find a way to deal with it.

Never said I was a quick study. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

 

[cisco]

I had major tree limbs, minor limbs, and lots of vines around the (about) 75 big trees on my property after I got through the "brush cut and then tree trim" phase of cleaning my country 7.5 acres (previously "wild"). Rented a 20 hp Vermeer (rated to 6 inch limbs - don't believe it - maybe 4 inch) and towed such behind my pick-up. Drove up to any particular tree, chainsawed the big stuff into manageable pieces, put what I could through the chipper (about 2-4" chips), and threw the oversized stuff into the pickup bed, destined for the woodpile (later to be burned). Wear ear plugs, manuver recalcitrant limbs around the entrance port of the chipper with a stick or whatever (not your hand), and don't muck with the chipper when you're real tired - what it can do to wood, and hence your arm, is scary. You'll get lots of chips, which you can just spread around the base of the tree to deter weed, vine and brush growth (just like pine straw would do). Good luck - I had to rent the chipper two weekends in a row (if you rent Saturday AM, you can return the chipper before 8am on Monday, and only get charged for 1 day - at least I could). I had considered picking up all the debris with my FEL & pick-up, and carting such to a mega-brush pile, but the chipper was the faster way to go. Good luck, and stay safe.

 

[stovepoker]

Green wood is much easier to chip than dry. My contractor
agrees to chip the dry stuff only for special consideration
(extra money, equipment repairs, extra hard cider) etc.
Dry wood is MUCH harder on the machinery.

 

[patrickg]

Since no one put in a plug for the procrastinators... here goes. If you age your brush long enough it gets beyond the "hard" stage and gets softer. Old old brush doesn't actually chip per se but turns into a soft granular material that seems ready to use as a soil ammendment. I've never had a plugging problem with this stuff. I didn't age brush intentionally, just had a big supply when I bought the chipper (DR 20 HP - a good tool) I have been trying to cover all the unpaved space within 20' of my mom's house with chips. Got help from Asplundh (sp?) Plan is to make a really low maint yard for her. So far so good. Can walk the chips after inches of rain with no problem. They don't blow around much as they stay moist most of the time. Help retain moisture around the roses etc. and ****** weed and grass growth although will use a little spray next year to discourage some hardy grass that was not killed in advance of chip application. Could use several truck loads for rest of yard and garden.

If there is a nitrogen depletion problem with adding uncomposted chips to the garden, add some high nitrogen fertilizer, its cheap enough. Sure helps our clay from getting too cement like when dry.

Patrick