Chipper Chipper / Tractor Purchase Help

[botics]

I am in a bit of a dilema...I have 1.5 acres in Miami where palms are our biggest issue. I started off looking at a BX24 and a Bearcat 77454 4.5" Chipper with a cantilever disc (supposidly no drum for fibers to wrap around).

I have owned the Bearcat 72854 and a Grand L4230- but thought it was too large for this size land. Today I looked at the new Grand L series and feel like this is once again large for what I am doing but may be a neccessity to drive the HP requirements of a 9" chipper rated from 25 to 60 hp on a diesel.

When I take a look at the actual debris around the property which includes the "boots" of the palms (the thickest part of the actual frawn), frawns, ficus, oak, and dead plant material.

So now I am looking at a Bearcat 76854 Orchard Chipper with a 9" PTO Hydraulic unit (the shute on the orchard model is smaller and would fit in the garage) that I would have to move up in tractor size to a Grand L series, possibly 30-50 Hp at the PTO.

1. Has anyone used the Orchard Chipper Bearcat 76854 unit?

2. Has anyone used the 77454 chipper by Bearcat? By picking the BX 24 and this unit the palm boots go in a garbage can and I may have a more managable unit to manuaver in the yard...something that may be a better fit.

3. What would you recommend tractor wise for me to look at that would have enough HP on the PTO to drive the larger unit?

Both the dealer and my wife think I am nuts- but neither care what I end up with!

Any help would be appreciated and thanks for clearing my head-

Dazed and confused in Miami.

Rich

 

[hazmat]

How big is the property? Is this a constant maintanance issue or a one time cleanup?

I have the bearcat 73554 chipper shredder (see review here

I've run it on my 18HP new holland (14.5 PTO) and my B3030 (24 PTO). While the BX has more HP, the new holland had more cubic inches & potentially more torque. Anything over 3" hardwood (dry) would bog it down after 4' of wood. Runs much nicer on the B3030 - It'll take just about anything I can feed it.

 

[botics]

Hazmat:

The dealer claimed I woould be severly limited in PTO power on the above unit you mention on the same tractor you own- I dispute this in my mind, but I also realize the PTO on the B3030 is 23HP- which would make me wonder if I would be limited in terms of power - or do I just realize that I may have to make a pullback at some point and feed material a little slower.

Looking at their orchard unit it has a built in self feed system that works with the tractor so it does not stall- but then again I am only talking 1.5 acres here but the amount of debri we deal with is medium to large palm items.

I was set on a BX24 with the 77454 from Bearcat but now I have no idea what to buy.

Has your unit given you any issues with binding or wrapping?

 

[hazmat]

The bigger issue with the BX is the lift capacity of the three point hitch. All but the smallest of chippers weigh in at some serious numbers. My 73554 weighs 720# which exeeds the BX lift capacity of 661# 24" aft of the lift pins.

For the ulitmate in chipping, get the hyrdaulic feed & size the tractor for that - perhaps the L series.

Are you going to use the tractor to mow the lawn? If not, bigger is better...

On the other hand, bearcat & others make towable chippers with their own powerplants. That might be the way to go & then size the tractor for your other uses.

Edit - I should note that several BX owners are happily running the smaller sized chippers on their tractors.

 

[acohen100]

Glad I read this thread. I was going to buy a cheaper chipper (the DR model). The Bearcats seem like stalwart machines. I am considering the 70554 for my BX24. $3K is more than I wanted to spend but it seems a worthwhile investment. I have 15 acres of forest and overgrown brush which will need a lot of work and maintenance. Is this a reasonable model to consider for my tractor?

 

[ChuckinNH]

The Bearcat 77454 PTO chipper seems well matched to the BX series tractors. Woods sells it too under their brand in the "Estate" series, and state that it was designed especially for the BX. It is much heavier than the DR, and has two chipping knives instead of one for twice the number of cuts per minute at the same rpm. I like the Wallenstein BX422 chipper too, and know a few guys who are running them on their BX machines. The newer design seems to self feed quite well, and they are popular in this area. The Bearcat is running $2200/$2300 in this area, and the Wallenstein is commonly priced at $2495.
Hope this is some help.

 

[botics]

I am really interested in the Bear Cat 76854 which is an orchard model with a self feed modulator and is hydraulic. Then again I am only on 1.5 acres and it seems a unit of this size means I will need a Grand L size unit- perhaps 40-50 horses on the PTO.

I have called Bearcat and they say I can go anywhere from 30-40 hp on the PTO. I hate to have this size tractor and chipper on this size proeprty- perhaps I need to reconsider the BX or B series and trash the larger debri.

All I need a unit for is chipping...but I do have some larger debri that I need to get rid of at times.

Ugh....I cannot make up my mind.

P.S.- The chipper for the BX by bearcat is the 77454 which weighs in at 361 pounds and has two blades with a low discharge shute and a cantilever rotor / bearing design which would be ideal for palms and such.

 

[IslandTractor]

I have the 70554 BearCat on my Kioti CK20 and it works very well. Engine at PTO speed handles just about everything except the biggest stuff without straining/slowing. My only complaint is that the discharge pile builds up very quickly under the chipper and I have to move the tractor. I do not have the blower attachment which would prevent that.

 

[Wesdor]

I hope you will not be angry if I throw in a new wrinkle into this thread.

I purchased a Wallenstein BX42 last week from Moscow Implement in Moscow, Iowa. We drove out on Thursday, they loaded it into our half ton pickup truck, I paid them the $2300 and took it home.

Put it together in just a few minutes and then tried it out. Andrew suggested that I didn't need the hyrdaulic feed ($1,000) more and said I could always add if it I found it to be necessary.

After working with it for about 2 hours, I would say he made a good call. The design seems to be such that gravity pulls the branches into the chipper.

It is a direct drive, so no belts and so far I couldn't be happier.

If you want to check them out, they have a good website at:

http://www.iowafarmequipment.com/

 

[joes_427_vette]

Just purchased a used bear cat 71854 and have a NH tc55 to power it. Haven't had it out as of yet but in a few days the chips will be flying. I like the heavy flywheel and four knifes. The unit is built out of heavy material and should last a great while. With a few paint scratches and $2200. it will solve my problems. The hydraulic kit is very expensive. If needed I may have to do some engineering !!