Looking for pto chipper--hard decisions

[bher]

I have been following chipper posts on tractorbynet and other places over the past couple of years. I am in the market for a chipper for my tractor (~25 pto hp). I have 14 acres of woodland and I want to clear out about 1 acre for a partially wooded pasture. I also cut firewood and do general cleanup in selected areas of the property. After the pasture clearing, I would expect to use the chipper maybe 5 or 6 times per year. I may eventually clear out a few more acres of debris and undergrowth from the woods. I will do much of the work by myself. I suspect a powerfeed chipper would be more to my liking but at about double the cost, I am really struggling with the decision. Used chippers have been nearly impossible to find. The brands that I am considering are Salsco, Valby, Wallenstein, and Patu. The chinese chipper is not an option for me. The bearcats seem overpriced for what they are. I really like the Salsco 824, but at $5k+, it is a hard decision. I also looked at the Salco 627. This looks like a pretty nice unit for $2900. It seems much like the Wallenstein BX60, but with the better customer service that I would likely get from Salsco. I really don't want to make a decision that I will regret and it is hard to get any real feedback. I have used a powerfeed rental chipper, but I do not have experience with a manual feed unit. What do you think? Know of any dealers in my area?

 

[dsgsr]

My neighbor has the Wallenstein, Power feed is not an issue. The feed throat is on an incline and gravity feeds the chipper. Seldom do you have to force something in. It also seems to be very well built.

David

 

[kully]

I used a valby ch140 with manuel feed all I can tell you is it gets old fast, I bought a beefco with 2 speed feed roll system I have had good luck with it and easy to used ,just put the branches in and walk away to get some more . the valby you had to stay with it ,when the branches got stuck you had to help push it in , it even had new blades on it ,work good but you had to stay with it

 

[Deerlope]

I have a Bear Cat 5" hyd feed and would not trade it for a Salsco on a bet. Believe me I looked at them all, did searchs for months. It finally came down to a Salsco or a Bear Cat at that point I campare item for item. Salsco had 2 chipper knives, BC had 4. BC had a heavyer rotor tham salsco. It does not take a chipper long to pull the RPM's down on these small tractors so the heavyer the rotor the better off you are. The more knives the smaller the chips will be.

 

[bher]

I am seeing prices of about $6500 for the 5" hyd feed bearcat. My local dealer quoted me $7000+freight. This seems really high. I am not sure if it has self-contained hydraulics or not. I think the Salsco 824 has a heavier (160 lb) rotor verses the bearcat (140). Also, it has a wider (8") opening. I know it matters to some people, but I could care less about the size of the chips. I would certainly consider a used bearcat <font color="red"> if </font> I could find one, but a new just does not seem like a very good value to me. Looks like I got two different opinions from the others posts. Easy feeding verses gets old fast. You guys are not making a hard decision much easier. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[markie61]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The chinese chipper is not an option for me. )</font>

Just curious - why not?

Mark

 

[AndyMA]

I have had a Valby CH150 manual feed and now have a CH160 hydraulic feed. They are both excellent chippers but there is no comparison. The hydraulic feed is so much easier on the operator. The manual feel is okay, but expect to be "bumped" arond quite a bit when you feed long brush. The hydraulic feed unit is so smooth that I acdiently left a can of soda on the unit and chipped for over an hour with out spilling a drop. I think the Valby line is tops in chippers. Line it up against the others and I think you 'll agree. Andy

 

[eee]

Could you use something like this to make mulch ?

 

[bher]

I did consider it for some time. But I decided that if I buy a piece of new equipment, I want to work with it and not on it. The chinese chipper has well known feed problems right out of the carton. I want a chipper that will last as long as the tractor. Some of you guys have "fixed" the feed problem, but I have to wonder if problems will happen again later.

 

[bher]

The powerfeed Valby is nice, but I have been concerned with the weight. I have a TC 29. Any thoughts as to how hard it is to lift?

 

[MadDog]

You might also want to consider the Vandermollen WoodPro 30QP3 chipper/shredder. WoodPro

I bought one this past spring and completely reduced a brush pile that was about 50'x20'x10'high in about two weekends and I have been very satisfied with it. It is well designed and constructed.

Pricewise, it compares with favorably with Valby and Bearcat, particularly because it both chips and shreds. No power feed but the feed hopper is inclined and I found that it pretty much self feeds.

I am running it on a Kubota B7800 (22pto hp) and that is amply sufficient power. The Vandermollen machine has a very heavy wheel and four blades and does an excellent job on branches up to about 5" (obviously hardwoods chip tougher than coniferous woods).

Hope this helps

 

[bher]

Thanks for the link. I had acually seen that unit on the net. I did not really consider it because I thought the price was too close to a powerfeed chipper.

 

[yugo]

Brant,
I'm new to the forum, and a retired farmer. I have the same scenario here - cleaning woodland area and cutting firewood. Here's my two cents worth.
At the present time I cut trees, then go in with a crawler and drag them out to a clearing. The brush piles were adding up and looking ugly. Too many trees for burning to be an option. So here's what I know about wood chippers after half a season.
It's a great tool. Remember that an oversized tractor and chipper and undersized wood is the way to go. I am also using a 25 hp tractor (undersized). The chipper has a PTO of about 50 to 75 hp rating. In order to save the tractor's PTO drive mechanism, I use an over running clutch for the backlash, even though the tractor has live PTO. Also, the chipper had a 5 belt pulley. I took 2 of the five belts off and softened the tension of the other three, rather than replace gears or clutch in the tractor's PTO.
You didn't mention whether you would be cutting hard or soft wood. The chipper knives play a big role in the cutting power. If it takes a half or quarter inch at a time is a concern. More horsepower for the half inch! The automatic feed is a must. Try to not run the tractor at full PTO speed. Running at half to 2-thirds power will save the tractor engine.
This works for me because any wood bigger than 2 inches in diameter is burned in our wood furnace.
Thanks for letting me put in my 2 cents worth. Kansas farmer - yogo

 

[cadblaster]

I have a 10 hp Craftsman/Troy Bilt manual feed chipper shredder.
A good friend of mine has a Vermeer 625 with speed sensing power feed.

Guess which one sits in the garage.

There is absolutely no comparison between manual feed and power feed. Hours vs. days, literally.

 

[bher]

Thanks for the feedback. What chipper do you have?

 

[yugo]

good morning bher
yes i know left the name out ! chinese ,in the crate $ 1500.
at the dealer, so far looks good,tell more in a year or two.
yugo

 

[GrayBeard]

I've got a BX 40 Wallenstein with about 30 hrs. on it so far.
Good price, well built and no problems so far. (other than some shear bolts)
Good luck on your choice.
GrayBeard

 

[botaman2]

I recently bought the same chipper (Wallenstein BX40). For those interested,the unit weighs 400#. It has a 20"rotor with 3 seven inch knives. The bed knife is also 7". There are no belts or pulleys,it is direct drive with a shear bolt on the PTO shaft. Maintainence is easy, buy removing one bolt the upper rotor housing flips out of the way,for access to the rotor and knives. Knife edges can be touched up with a stone right on the rotor. It has a 4" capacity.If it fits in opening of the cutters,it is gone! I have chipped various types of hardwood without it even slowing down. The chute opening is 18"x18".No self feed drives,means that you have to give some branches a push.For the average Joe around the property,it is a nice unit. www.embmfg.com

 

[Clyde]

Help!!!! I'm really confused with all of the chipper/shredders out on the market. I'm sorry to beat the topic to death but has anyone out there any experience with the Wood's 9100 with hydraulic powerfeed? I have forty acres of my own and 460 acres that I manage for my brother. All of the acreage has been selectively harvested recently and needs cleanup now. None of the properties are within 60 miles of my residence so firewood in the end costs me as much a natural gas to heat the house. My intent is not to have the woods look aesthetically beautiful but the red oak remnants take a long to time to decay and in the meantime the seedlings are still starved for sunlight. At my age, the brawn and brains are fighting for survival and I don't care to wrestle limbs into any contraption more than I have to. From prior post, the power feed seems to be the logical way to go. I need something that can handle up to 8" diameter logs but short in length. I don't have my mind set on a Wood's product but I don't want to chase across the country to pick one up either. Any suggestions or thought would be greatly appreciated. What sort of cost am I looking at? Thanks guys!

 

[bher]

You will need serious horsepower to chip an 8" oak log. Power feed is the way to go. The Woods chipper is the same as the Bearcat. A guy is selling new hyd. powerfeed Bearcat chippers (like the Woods 9100) on ebay for around $7500. That is probably as cheap as it gets. Also, chippers in this class are very heavy. Really, I think you need a utility tractor, and not a compact tractor, for this kind of work.