Chipper Bear Cat Chipper Questions

[JohnInCA]

bobnewjersey,

I have a Bearcat 74554. It's 5" capacity, with hydraulic feed. Nice unit. Whatever you do, if you can afford it, buy a chipper with hydraulic feed. It's much less work to feed, and a lot safer. Just stick it in, and once it get's a grip, you can let go and pick up the next branch. I had to pay $5200 for the unit. I almost bought a manual unit for $1800 less, but now I'm really glad I didn't.

 

[bobnewjersey]

Thanks, John. I've decided to go with the Bear Cat 72854 8" hydraulic feed. Your post made sense about the hydraulic feed safety, etc. Did you buy an extra set of blades with yours? Have you found the blade removal diffucult? Any suggestions or thoughts on maintence? Thanks again!

 

[DavidInNH]

I think having a spare set of blades is a big win. It never fails that you decide that the blades need sharpening half way into a weekend project. If you have a spare set, you swap them in and take the dull ones to the sharpener on Monday. It has saved me a lot of frustration - especially when its happens on the first sunny weekend in a while.

Have fun with the Bearcat!

-david

 

[JohnInCA]

bobnewjersey,

I did not buy any spare blades. Decided to just wait and see how long they stay sharp. When they finally dull, I'll buy a spare set for use while I have the original set sharpened. Although I haven't had them out yet, it looks like it should be real easy to do. I've run some real junky dirty wood through my chipper, and the blades still look great.

 

[bobnewjersey]

Thanks John.