Chipper Chippers - Are they worth it?

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks in advance. I have been reading the past threads on the Salsco Chippers and wonder if you guys think they are worth buying and how much they cost.

I have about 10acres of woods that I would love to clean up. I am getting tired of burning brush piles. I would probably use it 4 or 5 times a year, at least. I have a 30hp Kubota 7800. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Frank

 

[RoyJackson]

Figuring $135 per day (that's what one rents for around here), you'd amortize your costs (less any maintenance or repairs) in about 4½ years. This assumes $3000 for for the chipper. You might find a used unit for < $2000.
With the 7800's ~25 PTO HP, you've got plenty of power. Really depends if you've got the available funds. I think you can justify the purchase.

Me...I've got 16 HP @ the PTO and about 3 acres. I calculated the amortization at 12 years, so purchasing isn't really practical for me. And, I really don't have quite enough tractor to do the job efficiently.

Good luck in your decision!

 

[Chipperman]

Roy
That is one way to look at it. With no disrespect intended another way which I believe many people look at it is convenience. Having a tractor and or implements when you want to use them is priceless. Obviously they need to be able to afford them in the first place. And the sooner the pay back the better.
Chipperman

 

[RoyJackson]

"With no disrespect intended another way "

No offense taken, of course! We all have our opinions and circumstances.
Granted, having a chipper on hand would be mighty fine...I just can't justify it to myself, let alone the CFO. I did go through the searches, pricing and comparisons. I just don't have enough use to make it a worthwhile addition to my implements. Of course, if I see one at an auction (guy I know did buy one...Valby 150, I think) for less then 2 grand, I'd be sorely tempted.
But, I think a newer tractor is more of a priority for me. That'll probably be next year...late Winter or thereabouts.

 

[B7500]

Buy it!!! Another reason to use your tractor. I debated forever on buying one. I just could not justify the price. I put an ad in the paper and luckily found a perfect used one for half the price. I use it all the time and simply could not imagine the hassle of rental.
Good luck!
-Terry

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks Roy and Chipperman, you know I am not bad with the finances, so I am kind of surprised I didn't go through the numbers too. Thanks for the wake up. With your numbers it does make sense + the convenience and not to mention becoming popular with the neighbors once they realize it's up on my hill. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks,

Frank /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[RoyJackson]

"becoming popular with the neighbors once they realize it's up on my hill."

It's nice to be popular with the neighbors. Just remember a chipper can be an extremely dangerous piece of equipment. Some of the stories I've read of Chipper accidents flat chill me to the bone just recalling them (worst: 14 yr old boy helping his father...got pulled in. The autopsy results were "Death by Fragmentation". You'll note, I remember that phrase verbatim). Wow, that is horrifying!

Be careful..no kids around and dress appropriately!

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Chipperman,
What is your opinion of the safety of drum versus disc chippers? A buddy of mine had a chunk of tree whiz by his head after a drum chipper belched it back out. He said he wouldn't own a drum chipper after that and just bought a used 6 cyl. ford disc chipper.
I'm interested in hearing what you think.
DaveL

 

[normde2001]

I found that if you have a lot of brush to get rid of, a burning brushpile is the only way to go. Picked up this 4'x8' trailer kit from TSC for $230. Pulling this thing around with your chainsaw on board, you can get rid of a lot more brush, a lot faster than with a chipper/shredder.

 

[fractal]

I think it comes down to personal perference on how you want to do things. When I had 6000 sq ft of yard and one tree that pissed leaves every year, the electric weed whacker dropped in a plastic trash barrel and filled with leaves worked well. Turn the whacker on and it reduces the leaves by 80%. Pour the resulting mulch in the garden.

I then started actaully taking care of the property and dealing with the trimmings. A 5hp chipper/shreader did wonders for reducing normal yard waste to cost effective volumes.

Then I moved to our current 1 acre property, half filled with avocado trees. I do have a half dozen trees that give offereings every year, but more importantly, I have tons, literally tons, of weeds, as well as trimmings. I did the research and came to the conclusion that ... ya know. I can haul a full truck load of stuff to the county yard every week for much longer than I will live for half the price of a chipper big enough to do the job. Now I don't need to take a trip every week. Maybe every 2-3 weeks on average. Still, don't like keeping the truck occupied. So... I decided to buy a trailer. Fill it over time and haul it to the county yard. Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men are often afowled by women, so instead I bought a bigger truck that I fill and drive the car to work /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Anyway, I am 99% of the opinion that there are those jobs that a 5-10 hp standalone chipper/shreder handle and those jobs that require one of those monster 50-150 hp full tree chippers, and most of the stuff in between is not cost effective if you value labor at minimum wage.

Things may be different on your property, but my use can not justify the initial purchase as well as continued maintence of a large chipper. Only you can decide how much material you produce that is "chippable" and how much you will need to deal with in its original form, and whether that justifies buying a piece of midrange equipment.

For me, it did not.

 

[MLB]

I don't own a tractor shredder. I can tell you that lots of people that buy the smaller chipper/shredders use them a lot the first year or two and then it tapers off dramatically. It sounds great to recycle all that waste material, but after a while it seems like a lot of time for a pile of wood chips. Real chips take forever to compost and tie up the nitrogen in the soil if applied fresh and more than an inch or two.
Neighbor with 3 acres bought a nice (stand alone) and used it big time the first year. Now he burns the piles and hauls in (free) wood chips from a local lumber processor.
It's really slow tedious work for what you get out of it.
That said I salute you that do it! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RoyJackson]

"...use them a lot the first year or two and then it tapers off dramatically. "

Once or twice in a season...that'd be it for me. Maybe a third time if we have windstorms dropping branches. That's just to be rid of the stuff. We don't use much mulch.

 

[buzst]

Initially I thought a chipper was the best way to clean-up my woodlot but after 3 weekends and a lot of work I saw very little progress. So, my next thought was to burn the branches. I made several burn piles in safe locations and waited for conditions to be right to burn. After nine months the piles were still there. My schedual and the weather just couldn't connect. The solution for me turned out to be to use the old wood as the base for a berm. I use the fel to carry the fallen wood to an area on the property where I want to create or block a view and stack it lengthwise, each piece parellel to the next, making the berm the required length. In the fall I cover the wood with fallen leaves from the lawn and beds. After two years they are grown over and you would never know they were there. Its cheap, easy, and does improve the property.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Buzst, that's the best advice I've read/heard all day. I think I'll take that path from now on (and it might make a nice home for some out door critters - preferably some that either taste good or won't cause me any additional head aches)...

In my case, instead of cutting off all the branches and making piles, I think I'll drag the whole tree (only use the logs for outside fireplace anyway - mostly soft woods) and cover it with the grass, etc...

 

[hayden]

I'm a chipper fan. I've had one for 5 years and just upgraded to a new one with hydraulic feed. I agree that in most cases you'd be challenged to make a purely financial justification. On the other hand, if you can afford it, the convenience is worth a lot. I use mine probably 5-10 times a year, and none of that use would happen if I had to rent due to inconvenience. Looking back over the 5 years I've had the first chipper, it's cost $500 a year - well worth it in my case.

 

[GlennT]

Just wanted to reaffirm what others have said. I have a small Valby chipper and although I am glad that I purchased it, I can't justify it financially. I could rent a much larger chipper locally for $100 a day and do the work in a fraction of the time or I could pile up the brush in my pasture, wait for a rainy day and burn it. The reason that I purchased the chipper is to have it available whenever I want to use it. It only takes about a few minutes to hook it up to my quick hitch (it's on a dolly) and connect the PTO. I can get rid of brush immediately after cutting and thereby eliminate skunk and snake havens (we have chickens), reduce the number of fire hazards, avoid unsightly brush piles, and wind up with wonderful chips for use as mulch in eroded areas, on walkways or around trees and bushes. What a deal!! Also, I hate to waste natural resources. Here in central Texas it seems that we are always experiencing a drought and much of the time it is dangerous to burn anything. I doubt that I will ever use the chipper enough to fully justify its cost, but I really like to have it available. It keeps our place a bit safer, certainly it looks a lot neater, and as long as the wife doesn't complain and I was able to scrounge up the cash, why not? I probably would have squandered the money on booze and babes, anyway (read: old geezer's fantasy). The Valby will last forever--or certainly longer than I will.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks for the input. I think I agree that financially it can't be justified, but... I'm still deciding. Thanks for the input, the more views the better the decision will be.

Frank