Kemp wood chipper

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Years ago a friend had this Kemp wood chipper that wasn't running he gave me. He was 97...I insisted on giving $100. I saved 5hp B&S and put a Predator 6.5hp on it. I removed the side chute, easier feeding limbs in. You can adjust size of chips.
I think he said he got it in 1969. It works fantastic, simple but no safety anything. It's really heavy, well made.
If you ever find a used one I'd recommend it.
They should have spaced wheels out though because it's tippy.

 

[Pag]

I had one of those that I bought new back in the '70's, worked pretty well for smaller branches. Over the years it sat outside and the engine died. I took the engine off chopped the frame and mounted it on a three point hitch carrier and cut down a pto shaft and attached that to the shaft were the pulley was. It works ok but I wish I could get more RPM out of it. Just a hint, keep the blade sharp. It is a pain to get it off to resharpen it. Good luck Pag

 

[Captain Dirty]

From your description and photos and from my advertising brochure it appears you have an early "Master Gardener (K6CH)". The brochure says powered by a B&S 5 HP, 24" diameter x 9" shredding chamber, 42 fixed teeth, 315 lbs. In 1985 Santa brought me a "Rancher (K8CH)", B&S 8 HP, 24" diameter x 14" shredding chamber, 54 fixed teeth, 470 lbs. The wider stance may make mine a little more stable, but the single pivot front axle still makes it tippy when pulling 90° from the long axis.

I think he said he got it in 1969. It works fantastic, simple but no safety anything.

My machine did have a sheet metal shield over the dual "B" belt drive. The parts diagram and list did not show such a guard on any of the models. The Kemp company was forced out of business by a liability suit around 1990; as a registered owner I received safety stickers and emphatic instructions on safe use. A company named Green Acre Lawn & Garden, also in Litiz, PA, bought and sold the inventory of spare parts that I now believe is long gone.

Admittedly, it is a machine that invites abuse, but my opinion is that it is a homeowner machine. Early on, the 1-1/4" drum shaft broke, the holes in the thin, sheet metal sides elongated, many teeth split, and at fewer than 400 hours, an angle iron on the drum failed with catastrophic results. It is a simple machine and far easier to work on than my neighbor's Troy-Built Chippewa. I welded the shaft back together, hard-faced the teeth, welded reinforcements at the holes, had repaired the drum, replaced the pillow block bearings with larger, greasable ones, and replaced the B&S with a 9.5 HP Kohler. The industrial arts dept. at the school where my son teaches repaired the catastrophic failure of the drum and fabricated a new section of screen for the cost of materials. My son and I now use the machine to shred leaves and chip <2" prunings but use my 6" PTO chipper for most chipping.

If you can coddle the machine it may last. If it doesn't last, it is easy to repair. You may want to fabricate a shield for the exposed drive belt and pulleys. Good Luck!

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I've chipped a lot since I had it. I've had to replace teeth, I made them out of (from memory) 1/4" steel, they're maybe 3" long, 1"wide and twisted, a hole for a bolt & locknut.
It's great but very dangerous!

 

[Mike from CLE]

Anybody know the diameter size of tree branches the pictured Kemp shredder can pulverizer? Also I found a four page operating instruction manual, is there an owners manual which details what you can pulverize? Respectfully, Mike from Cleveland

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Anybody know the diameter size of tree branches the pictured Kemp shredder can pulverizer? Also I found a four page operating instruction manual, is there an owners manual which details what you can pulverize? Respectfully, Mike from Cleveland

I believe it's about 3" diameter. The top has a leaf & stick chute that is large. Right now I have it all apart welding in new braces & replacing chippers because I was using that for big limbs (big mistake).

 

[Captain Dirty]

I have an "Operating Manual for Kemp Shredder/Chipper models . . ." that includes the K4 (4HP), K6 (5HP), K8 (8HP), and T6 (rear PTO mounted). It has 8 numbered pages (two 11 x 17" sheets printed on both sides folded to give the 8 pages). Page 2 has a statement "LARGER WOOD BRANCHES (OVER 1/2" dia.) SHOULD NOT BE FED INTO THE SHREDDER HOPPER." The chipper blades will handle larger branches. The K4CH (chipper) has a stated capacity of 2" diameter; the other machines have a stated capacity of 3" diameter. Most small (<10HP) chippers have similar capacities and are built with small (3" x 3") chipper openings fed through narrow, funnel-like chutes that prevent feeding gnarly branches.

As mentioned earlier, chipper-shredders are machines that invite abuse. Feeding a handful of several 1/2" dense, hardwood branches like lilac or locust puts a lot more strain on the machine than a single 1/2" white pine branch. When my K8CH was new, I was tamping leaves and twigs into the hopper with a 2" diameter x 16" long oak log when I lost my grip and dropped the log into the hopper. The machine slowed but did not stop, and it shredded the log. WOW! I continued to tamp with similar sized logs, but each subsequent incident was less well received. After tens of hours the drum would stall, teeth would be damaged, etc.