Wallenstein Bx42 on B2920

tractchores · Feb 8, 2012

I have been reading threads about chippers and trying to decide what to get for my b2920. I've got a lot of hardwood with big branches at right angles all over the place, so wanted something that could handle that with a minimal of cutting up, but needed something that would fit my tractor. After searching on here I decided I wanted a Wallenstein based on the good reviews.
I got lucky earlier this week when I found a lightly used one at a good price. I got it home yesterday and after some tweaking got it attached. I wanted to post the info up here for others with similar tractors thinking about buying one. Here are my notes on the machine after probably 8 hours of use:

- I had to shorten the drive shaft about 2 inches to fit the tractor, it wasn't hard to do and using a reciprocating saw with a metal blade made a tedious job quick.

- The machine is really well built and easy to access for service, inspect etc. Mine was still on the original blades on the original side and they're still very sharp.

- The machine handled everything I wanted to throw at it. The 4x10 opening seemed to handle anything that would fit, that included some maximum width branches with other very big branches coming off. If it could fit it could chip, even with green hardwood. The b2920 has plenty of power and RPMS didn't dip much except one time when I filled the 4x10 slot many max size branches accidentally and it stalled the tractor (that was a user error)

- The chips are uniform and blow out nicely.

- I thought manual feed would be a pain, but the chipper actually aggressively pulls stuff in and the bigger it is the harder it pulls. That helps a lot with big branches, I found that smaller stuff needed a bit of a push if it had right angle branches, but the big stuff didn't jam even on 15 - 20' 4" hardwood branches with many side branches. Very impressive. Feeding was close to what I see on the 6" hydro feed chipper I usually rent, definitely no need for hydro feed on that unit.

- Chipping worked equally well on big stuff, small stuff, hardwood, softwood and even rotten wood or brushy material.

- The chipper is a good size for the tractor and even all the way up doesn't make it feel tippy and in general I feel it less than I feel the BH. I did have to watch the height in the woods over rocks and on steep hills so I didn't bang it on things.

- My only complaint so far is that since I bought it used I couldn't choose the color and now I've got a JD green chipper!

All in all I'm really happy with the chipper and the capabilities are way beyond what I had expected. All the videos show easy wood going through the chipper, but I put some really tough stuff through with no problem. I couldn't believe it wasn't a hydro feed.

(Sorry about the formatting, the List isn't working here)

smfcpacfp · Feb 8, 2012

I have one for my B3030 and agrre with what you said. We have probably used it for 40 hours or so, almost exclusively on jackpine.

One thing that we found to be true is it does feed agressively, but if you branches at 90 degree angles from the branch that you are chipping, and they are fairly stout, you will need to cut them off. Once we figured that out it has worked fine. You always need a chain saw handy when you are chipping unless you have a huge unit.

Kubota B3030 HSDC snowblowing Jan 2012 (HD) - YouTube

tractchores · Feb 9, 2012

I had pretty good luck with forcing branches in and didn't need to pull anything out to trim branches. I can see where if the branches don't bend then you would have to trim them down. I did find that if I pushed hard enough to squeeze the limbs into the 10" width of the chute then it would chip it and pulled with enough force that most of the larger branches bent with little pushing. I did find that putting things in with the correct orientation so that the majority of the branches are in line with the widest part of the opening worked really well.

s219 · Feb 9, 2012

How does it handle small branches, say less than 1" ?

tractchores · Feb 9, 2012

s219 said:
How does it handle small branches, say less than 1" ?

It seems fine, you'll want something to push them in, but i had no clogs running a lot of brushy stuff. It doesn't chip all the small stuff, but breaks it into inch long pieces. I imagine that really stringy material that doesn't break on the twig breaker like vines could be tough. I've heard running a bigger piece regularly when running brushy stuff will help prevent any clogs so thats what i do. I dont't think it would do with stuff you would have to rake to put in, for that you would want the one with the shredder.

CWB · Feb 9, 2012

I love my 42, but in response to the comment on vines (especially grape vines as they are very stringy - bittersweet isn't nearly as bad) they are a pain as they constantly clog the outlet.

Jeff F. · Feb 11, 2012

Do you have any problems with white pine? I have a small DR chipper (PTO) and if I chip exclusively fresh cut pine branches, it will clog. I do agree with feeding hard wood with it helps. This is hard to do when I am in a section that is all pine.

tractchores · Feb 11, 2012

Jeff F. said:
Do you have any problems with white pine? I have a small DR chipper (PTO) and if I chip exclusively fresh cut pine branches, it will clog. I do agree with feeding hard wood with it helps. This is hard to do when I am in a section that is all pine.

I haven't done a bunch of pine branches yet (might this weekend), but the previous owner said the only thing that gave him reliable issues was running lots of small hemlock branches, which could clog the chute. He said to avoid it all he would do is run a bigger branch or something with more wood in it once in a while to blow out the hemlock needles and small branches.

Jeff F. · Feb 12, 2012

You will have to let me know how the Wallenstein does on your pine. Maybe I will have to trade up.:thumbsup:

tractchores · Feb 12, 2012

Jeff F. said:
You will have to let me know how the Wallenstein does on your pine. Maybe I will have to trade up.:thumbsup:

I chipped for about 5 hours today and again was amazed at what I could put through. I did a bunch of green white pine branches (with needles) and had no trouble at all. They were a mix of big branches that broke off in storms and smaller stuff, all with needles and relatively green. There were some small pines mixed in from an area I cleared out as well.

I think the most interesting thing from today was handling vines. I have a huge number of these nasty vines with big thorns. They're green and grow to a width of maybe a pencil or a little bigger and grab onto everything. They're a nightmare because if you cut them they just dry out and stay there with the thorns seeming to get even sharper and woodier. Today they were all over the stuff I was trying to clear out and I decided to try an experiment. I gathered a huge pile and then shoved them into the chipper hopper in a ball and then just kept shoving more until there was a big mass in the hoper and they were getting pushed into the blades. I then used a stick to push the whole mass in to the blades and surprisingly it ground up everything with no clogs. I did that procedure for maybe 1 - 2 hours and got rid of a huge number of these vines. I won't use the chips for anything though, they're full of inch long vine pieces with thorns, but at least this way they'll decompose. I'm not sure if it worked because its very cold, or maybe the vines aren't woody enough to cause a clog, but I was pleasantly surprised and now have a solution to my vine issue.

Here's a pic of the chipper & tractor after i was done. You can see a piece of dead vine on the PTO safety cover. I'm surprised I haven't damaged a tire with these dang things, they'll poke right through a shoe.