Chipper Scored a used BX62 Wallenstein

[dragoneggs]

Yes, dragoneggs, but the OP is burning grape vines. Or, at least, trying too. That's a WHOLE LOT different than you're burning wild hemp.:laughing::cool2:

Okay you gotta point there... remembering now a day long ago that my mom discovered my growing experiment and told me to destroy them. I wisecrackingly replied, okay, I will burn it. True story. That was shortly before I moved out.

 

[CobyRupert]

Okay you gotta point there... remembering now a day long ago that my mom discovered my growing experiment and told me to destroy them. I wisecrackingly replied, okay, I will burn it. True story. That was shortly before I moved out.

"....I will burn it." ....but just a little at a time. It may take awhile.

I seriously thought about a chipper.
But it does seem like more work, connecting it up, feeding it, etc...than dumping everything into a pile and hitting it with a torch. There's only a few months here we can't burn.

Environmentally: Yes, burning that's pile is turning it into CO2, from where it came, but I think that a pile of decomposing chips will too, and may even turn into methane as the chips decompose. Not 100% sure.

I'd like to hear from some experts on which has less environmental impact. Chipping and decomposing; or burning. (without getting too far fetched, like the manufacturing and end life of the chipper, tractor, etc.. but manufacturing & burning of the diesel fuel should be counted.)

 

[Zebrafive]

I do not have the manual and have not yet found a shear bolt. I assumed it used a slip clutch PTO shaft. I found two zerk fittings but where exactly is the shear bolt?

The factory PTO drive shaft had a shear bolt. Mine was M10, grade 10.9. Since I had 3/8 bolts handy I use them. On mine the shear bolt was the implement end of the PTO drive shaft

 

[Zebrafive]

I do not have the manual and have not yet found a shear bolt. I assumed it used a slip clutch PTO shaft. I found two zerk fittings but where exactly is the shear bolt?

I have a manual (some where) If you need any other info, post and I'll try and find my manual and check for you.

 

[ericm979]

"....I will burn it." ....but just a little at a time. It may take awhile.

I seriously thought about a chipper.
But it does seem like more work, connecting it up, feeding it, etc...than dumping everything into a pile and hitting it with a torch. There's only a few months here we can't burn.

Environmentally: Yes, burning that's pile is turning it into CO2, from where it came, but I think that a pile of decomposing chips will too, and may even turn into methane as the chips decompose. Not 100% sure.

I'd like to hear from some experts on which has less environmental impact. Chipping and decomposing; or burning. (without getting too far fetched, like the manufacturing and end life of the chipper, tractor, etc.. but manufacturing & burning of the diesel fuel should be counted.)

It's difficult to quantify and of course conditions will be different in different areas. Burning releases most of the carbon to the atmosphere, plus adds some amount of soot which also contributes to greenhouse effect. Decaying chips probably produce some methane but that would vary a lot depending on conditions. Decaying wood emits some carbon to the atmosphere directly but a lot goes into the agents of decay- bacteria, fungi, small critters, etc. When those die their carbon is consumed by some other agent of decay, or directly released to the atmosphere. The agents of decay also release C02 to the atmosphere as part of respiration, probably the majority of the carbon they consume.

The emissions from the diesel used to chip the wood is probably a second order effect since one gallon of diesel chips a lot of wood.

I've seen arguments that all the carbon goes into the atmosphere eventually, it's just faster when the wood is burnt. But since some is incorporated into the soil or agents of decay, I would argue that some carbon stays out of the atmosphere.

An interesting paper I found sort of related to the question of burn vs rot: Dead Forests Release Less Carbon Into Atmosphere Than Expected | UANews

In my case I have to chip. It's hard to get a burn permit in my area. For half the year or more it's too dry to burn anyhow. I don't mind the work. Tending a burn pile would also be work.

 

[CobyRupert]

Interesting

 

[oldballs]

I can't discuss the conservation of the universe (although that is a very interesting subject per above), but i can discuss the conservation of my energy and assets. Sometimes the two agree and sometimes they don't. I'll probably never live long enough to realize which is better served.:confused3:

 

[fitter1]

Good deal, but I'm wondering about that adv bike dirt bike in the background. Looks like gs and a ktm.

 

[Boondox]

Good deal, but I'm wondering about that adv bike dirt bike in the background. Looks like gs and a ktm.

310GS for my niece
Honda CRF250L for trail riding and mud season
R1200GSA for longer distance solo rides around New England
R1200GSA sidecar rig for cross country trips with my furry co-pilot. This spring and early summer we'll be doing a meandering 14,000 mile loop: Vermont to Lancaster Amish Country, Hocking Hills in southern Ohio, Ozarks and Oachitas in Missouri and Arkansas, the parks of southern Utah, Sequoia NP, Big Sur, Redwood and Lassen NP, southern Oregon coast, Crater Lake and up the spine of the Western Cascades to Mt Rainier NP, around the Olympic Peninsula to the San Juan Islands, across the Northern Cascades to Glacier NP, down to Beartooth Pass and the Bighorn Range, Devil's Tower, Black Hills and Badlands NP, Nebraska's Sand Hills. The route from there depends on whether my stay at home wife is still answering my calls.

View attachment DragonMidrange copy.jpg

 

[rd_macgregor]

A couple of years ago somebody stole the PTO shaft off my BX62S. Unlike most implements, the shaft isn't bolted to the chipper; it has a slide-on mount like the PTO mount ...only on both ends. I naively ordered an OEM replacement from Wallenstein...after taxes, it was ~$500 ! I now keep the shaft in a locked shed.
I am getting ready to sell the chipper, since I find it too much work to do all that chipping. I don't intend replacing the chipper with a torch, either; when I cut trees or brush, I now just shove the trimmings back into the woods for the saprophytes to work on.
I don't really regret buying the chipper; I've just gotten lazier. For those who need to do chipping, the BX62 is a fine piece of equipment.