May get a new chipper

[5030]

Sold mine a year ago and got more than I paid for it, so all good with that. Being a pyro, I have way more fun roasting limbs and trunks than chipping them anyway plus it gives me a good place to get rid of used motor oil as an accelerant. I get a big pile together and then roast it. Matter of fact, I have a huge pile going on right now, 3 dead pines. Should make a dandy blaze.

 

[oosik]

I chip because burning, unless done in the winter, is just too risky.

 

[5030]

I chip because burning, unless done in the winter, is just too risky.

I'll do it just after a rain event.

 

[oosik]

That's another reason I chip. It doesn't rain here in the summer.

 

[RalphVa]

I used the chips to make garden mulch/compost.

 

[Erik M]

With the dry weather here and the costs of firefighting passed directly to the landowner if guilty of starting the fire it is much better for me to chip the brush as I use a lot of chips here each year and can make some of my own. Plus the composting process is much enhanced by chipping rather than letting everything pile up on the ground.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I had no interest in shopping for a wood chipper, but after reading this thread and watching YouTube videos all afternoon,
I WANT A WOODLAND MILLS WC-68 REAL BAD!

I better quit thinking about it!

I've had my WC-68 for 2 years now. Awesome piece of equipment. Zero failures, zero disappointments.

...start thinking. Spring's not that far off. Time to start cleaning up and clearing.

 

[oosik]

I don't compost my chips. Other than leaving the chips in piles where they fall. I chip pines along my driveway. Blow them back onto the driving surface. Makes a nice soft, dust free surface. And as long as I don't have to blade snow off the driveway - they stay right where they fall.

 

[OzKioti]

I've had a Woodland Mills WC-86 for a year or so, mostly used to chip olive wood prunings, but also general shrub & tree offcuts. The olive tree prunings tend to be quite knarly and the wood is semi-hard, but the hydraulic powered inlet roller grabs them and does a fine job.

I used a mates Wallenstein recently, and it was a royal PITA getting down on my knees to feed the bloody thing. In contrast, the Woodland Mills inlet shute is at waist height -- much more convenient and easy to feed.

The WM 86 has only clogged the outlet shute a couple of times, but that was my fault for over-feeding it! The 86 uses a PTO speed of 540 rpm, and the belt drive ups this to a much faster flywheel speed, thus much greater airflow, and subsequent muchly reduced clogging. I've heard anecdotally that the smaller 6" WM is more prone to clogging due to slower flywheel speed.

But overall, I'm happy as a pig-in-**** with the WM 86. Nicely designed and built, great features, and easy to maintain.

 

[RalphVa]

New owner is picking up the Mac this evening. Got the new HF QH and can put it on tomorrow when the WC46 arrives. Found the measurement from bottom lift arms to top to check placement of top link hook: 13 and 15 inches.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

Just reading the online owner's manual again. Does not tell you when to pour the hydraulic oil in. They screwed up. Think I'll pour it in as soon as I put that hydraulic connection back in place that is removed for shipping.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

Here's my compost pile and kitchen waste collector that I put in the middle of the pile when the container is full. Recently put a bag of shredded papers in the middle of both piles recently. Got a 2nd pile from the local landfill, to right of one in the picture. Collecting urine to help decompose the shreddings.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

RL Carriers out of Richmond said they'd be here between 2 and 4 pm and that we'd be the 9th stop. Got here @ 4:15. Guy brought the box all the way to the carriage house on a hand lift dolly.

Taking some pictures. Will show those later.

Had to remove box top and metal top (4 half inch bolts/nuts, so much for metric Canada). Then had to remove the other stuff out of the way.

Then problem # 1. Didn't realize they had the top pin in the 13 inch position. So, had to remove the top hook of the quick hitch and sorta let it hang on a hitch pin in place of one its bolts to get it all into the carriage house.

Put top hook back on. Now, it would not go low enough with the machine sitting on the floor to clear the top hook. Will be okay once I get make the bottom metal shipment into a dolly with castors underneath.

Sitting there now till the morning when we'll have to raise the machine up about an inch to get the top hook underneath (or remove and reinstall top hook again; have pins on order to replace those top hook bolts).

More tomorrow and will take more pictures.

Ralph

 

[Gem99ultra]

RL Carriers out of Richmond said they'd be here between 2 and 4 pm and that we'd be the 9th stop. Got here @ 4:15. Guy brought the box all the way to the carriage house on a hand lift dolly.

Taking some pictures. Will show those later.

Had to remove box top and metal top (4 half inch bolts/nuts, so much for metric Canada). Then had to remove the other stuff out of the way.

Then problem # 1. Didn't realize they had the top pin in the 13 inch position. So, had to remove the top hook of the quick hitch and sorta let it hang on a hitch pin in place of one its bolts to get it all into the carriage house.

Put top hook back on. Now, it would not go low enough with the machine sitting on the floor to clear the top hook. Will be okay once I get make the bottom metal shipment into a dolly with castors underneath.

Sitting there now till the morning when we'll have to raise the machine up about an inch to get the top hook underneath (or remove and reinstall top hook again; have pins on order to replace those top hook bolts).

More tomorrow and will take more pictures.

Ralph

I also added castors to the bottom shipping frame. Makes a very good heavy-duty dolly! I also flipped the top metal frame over, chopped off about 4" from the legs and slapped on some plywood for a handy work table.

Re R L Carriers, I was very pleased with their service. They called ahead several hours before delivery, which was exactly on time. Perfect service.

Instructions for completing the assembly were excellent, but assembly of a couple of parts by myself were a bit unwieldy, i.e. a little difficulty but do-able. If you're like me, you're have to give it a try-out ASAP. Oh, an referring to the previous chipper chute clogging... never happened to me in 2 years.

Love my WC68

 

[oosik]

Sounds like you have everything in hand and all is going well. I chip pine only. Glad when I got the M6040 and could go to the larger Wallenstein chipper. The BX42S had a smaller discharge chute and lower air flow. All that, combined with the fresh cut "drooling" pines DID lead to the chute plugging.

The larger tractor - larger discharge chute - much higher air flow - now the plugging chute is not a problem.

I had two solutions when I had the BX42S. Do my thinning and piling in the spring. Let these pines dry, in the piles, for a year. So my spring chipping was always with year old pines. Then when I'd get ready to chip - collect up old dry limbs. Every so often send a big, 'ol rock hard limb thru the chipper. This would clean things out.

If you have never chipped fresh cut pine for hours - you just don't know the joys of sap dripping off the leading edge of the discharge chute.

You probably get this effect from most everything that will be chipped green. At least, the pine sap smells good and is accentuated by running the trees thru a warm chipper.

 

[RalphVa]

I also added castors to the bottom shipping frame. Makes a very good heavy-duty dolly! I also flipped the top metal frame over, chopped off about 4" from the legs and slapped on some plywood for a handy work table.

Re R L Carriers, I was very pleased with their service. They called ahead several hours before delivery, which was exactly on time. Perfect service.

Instructions for completing the assembly were excellent, but assembly of a couple of parts by myself were a bit unwieldy, i.e. a little difficulty but do-able. If you're like me, you're have to give it a try-out ASAP. Oh, an referring to the previous chipper chute clogging... never happened to me in 2 years.

Love my WC68

Yes, the wife has claimed the top metal for a table.

Decided to unbolt the top hook on the QH again, back it up and latch the bottom ones and then put top hook back on.

Wife can be taking two of the 4 bolts holding the machine to its base while I'm undoing the top hook.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

Sounds like you have everything in hand and all is going well. I chip pine only. Glad when I got the M6040 and could go to the larger Wallenstein chipper. The BX42S had a smaller discharge chute and lower air flow. All that, combined with the fresh cut "drooling" pines DID lead to the chute plugging.

The larger tractor - larger discharge chute - much higher air flow - now the plugging chute is not a problem.

I had two solutions when I had the BX42S. Do my thinning and piling in the spring. Let these pines dry, in the piles, for a year. So my spring chipping was always with year old pines. Then when I'd get ready to chip - collect up old dry limbs. Every so often send a big, 'ol rock hard limb thru the chipper. This would clean things out.

If you have never chipped fresh cut pine for hours - you just don't know the joys of sap dripping off the leading edge of the discharge chute.

You probably get this effect from most everything that will be chipped green. At least, the pine sap smells good and is accentuated by running the trees thru a warm chipper.

All our stuff is mainly dead red cedar and some tulip poplar and wild cherry. Some live autumn olives. Got one big pile of mostly red cedar limbs in a small gully. Will do at least about half of it to get its height down after doing a couple other things.

Prolly won't be until tomorrow cuz I'm putting dabs of Goop on every nut and bolt (except chipper blade ones for now; will do those when I rotate them).

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

Dawned on me why the chipper is so low. One of the first jobs is to raise it and remove 4 bolts holding the base onto it. Then put the bolts back in about 4 inches higher up.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

I'll try to do this assembly bit in pieces. Otherwise, just having a bunch of pics may be confusing.

Here are the picture of it as shipped. Forgot to get the camera before I ripped most of the top of the box off. Just have to unbolt the 4 half inch (where's metric Canada?) bolts holding the top metal to get at the machine. Had to remove all but the PTO shaft to connect the 3ph quick hitch. Failed to notice they'd put the top pin in the 13 inch spot instead of the 15 inch one.

Ordered last Friday. Got here at 4:15 pm on Wednesday. Got a card for $100 off military veteran.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

Here're pics showing hydraulic oil fill and Quick Hitch (Harbor Freight) top link spot (in lower 2 holes; probably can raise it one more hole with the top pin in the 15 inch position). The chipper was unusually low because one of the first steps is to raise it and reposition its base so it is about 4 inches higher. The shipped low position barely allowed my lower arms to fit underneath the pins, but the top hook would not go. Had to remove it and put it back after getting the QH in on the bottom pins.

Thought I was smart syphoning the hydraulic oil out with the machine slightly elevated to keep that last 1/2 gallon from going it. Didn't work. I ended up rinsing out an old milk container with water and then alcohol and pouring 1/2 gallon into it and then pouring the 4 1/2 gallons into the machine's reservoir. Virginia is right on the border of using either ISO 32 or ISO 46. Went with the ISO 46.

Wrong top hitch picture. This shows where it ended up with the bottom 2 holes used for the top hook, but this pic is the temporary short pin I used to just get it into the carriage house last night. Actually found a long, skinny pin to use in place of one of the bolts for the top hook but have 2 on order from Kenny's boltonhooks.com web site.

Ralph