Chipper What chipper should I buy?

[Todd_C]

I have a TC 30 right now, but I may trade up to a larger tractor within the next year (40-45hp range). I only have one pto speed on my TC 30 (540). I have searched this site for information on chippers/shredders and have found valuable information. I am currently interested in the Northern/Mickissic brand chippers. Nothern offers two models. I will use the chipper heavily the first year as I have a lot of small brush setting around from clearing a few acres. I also need a new supply of mulch and don't want to pay the expense of having several loads delivered.

The older posts stated the Mickissic chippers worked well. Is there another brand you would recommend in the same price range ($1,400-$2,200)? And last, is the more costly unit much better than the cheaper $1,400 Mickissic chipper).

 

[kayssupply]

Check the thread on Jinma 6" chippers. I have one and after some tuning it has been a very good investment. I use it basically the way you are talking about using yours.

 

[ddivinia]

I saved money with buying the Jinma, but so far I have spent more time working on it than using it. I still need to put the driveshaft back in it.

If I had to do it over, I would spend the extra money and get a real quality one.

D.

 

[inveresk]

D., Can I ask what problems and down time you've had? Also have spares been a problem?

 

[avorancher]

If I lost a driveshaft, I would probably be disappointed too, but I can say that I've had very good luck with a Jimna. I can't even imagine how many yards I have chipped in the past year.

Last weekend, I hired 2 workers and we kept it fed constantly for two 8 hour days, removing a pile of brush that was taller then me and at least 300 feet long. Yesterday, it ate everything smaller than firewood from 5 mature trees. It it the most used attachment I have and probably the best investment other than the tractor itself.

It's not perfect. I found numerous loose bolts and even one missing grease fitting when putting it together. It is particularly top-heavy, the feed drive needs modification or you need to be OK with replacing the retaining clip (I've been through 2 of them).

I'm sure there are other good brands out there as well at various cost/performance ratios, but I would say the Jimna is worth a look if it fits your criteria.

 

[Buzzboy]

I've tried to buy a Jimna chipper, but haven't had much luck so far. Paid for one on Ebay but 3 weeks later, he hasn't shipped and is no longer a "registered user". Anyone know where I can get one (providing I can get my money back) in the SW PA area?

 

[mrgoodwrenchman]

I purchased the Wallenstein BX40 at the beginning of the summer and it has been great. It is hooked up to Mahindra 2615. It will chip anything up to 4 inches in diameter that you put into it.

This is a direct drive chipper and the only thing I have done to it is grease it.

If you have enough horsepower you can more up to the BX60 which will chip anything up to 6 inches.

 

[ddivinia]

It seems I am having all the usual problems. The drive belt on the gear box for the drive - it is junk.

Almost every nut and bolt on it was loose from the beginning.

The driveshaft for the gear box for the feedwheel snapped. It appears to be a bad casting. In order to pull that part you have to be really good pull out a little piece of retaining wire. They were too cheap to put a C clip in that one can get with a regular pair of snap pliers.

The economics of the unit are marginal at best. The feed wheel lever is at the top, it should be lower.

The clutch disconnect is a joke - no way it can get disconnected under load.

I asked for a refund - it was refused. I wish I had spent the extra money and bought a quality unit. I will put it back together when I get time, but I would rather be using it instead of working on it.

I was trying to save some money on this purchase and it turned out to be a mistake. If somebody wants to buy it, I am near the Dallas, TX area.

Regards,
D.

 

[Affordable]

We sold ddivinia the woodchipper,one of the knuckles broke when he first tried the unit.we send him the part ,he could not get the retaining ring off so he set the part to us we replaced the knuckle and sent back to him.He has not had time to put the feed driveshaft back on .While these woodchippers are a great value most of the problems are minor.You don't get a Mercedes for a Cadillac price.I think if he gets the part back on he will see they are worth the money,or I offered his money back .All products can have problems and while we have had very few ddivinia got on that did

Tommy
Affordable Tractor

 

[rswyan]

I'm not going to try and tell anyone that these chippers don't have some flaws (but considering the price they are minimal) ... I've certainly had my share - but I have to take exception to the following:

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The clutch disconnect is a joke - no way it can get disconnected under load. )</font>

This totally incorrect - I have disengaged mine numerous times under load.

 

[mark1]

Hi Todd:
I have a Jinma 6" woodchipper and couldn't be happier, I have over 800 LARGE pine trees and for the past couple years have been trimming the lower 8 feet of limbs from them The chipper eats those limbs like they wern't even there and up to 6" diameter. I have the top 8-15 feet of some of my pines brake off in the winter and I manage to push the whole thing into the chipper at once..It just eats it up.I've had no problems with it at all that wasn't of my own doing.It don't like stringy vines.they wrap around the shaft but not hard to remove.I drop it on a cart when not needed and push it into the corner. Chip Chip /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[hayden]

Something like a 4" Patu manual feed chipper will be priced at the high end of the range you mentioned. I had a Patu for a number of years and it was quite good. It would self-feed very well as long as I kept the blades sharp. Not like a power feed, but good for the price. The Patu is a direct drive unit, but in all the years I used it it NEVER plugged up, so don't let anyone tell you that direct drive units will plug up. I can't speak for others, but the Patu won't.

A couple of years ago I traded up to a Salsco 824 with hydraulic feeder. The power feeded is great and signifcantly increases productivity. But, ironically, the Salsco plugs up pretty easily, and it has a belt/pully system to speed up the flywheel. I've learned to go slow with leafy material to avoid backups, but it's not a good in this respect to the Patu. The power feed also makes the unit significantly more expensive ($5000+).

Valby has a good reputation, but I haven't used one personally.

 

[Ranch_Hand_Supp]

The Jinma Chipper is a good chipper as long as it gets a good service prior to use......All bolts and adjustment do need to be inspected and or adjusted..... Either by the dealer or owner. All belts can be converted to U.S. belts etc.....

A good service perform to a new Jinma tractor is what makes it a good tractor for the buck.

Good luck on your search...there are many to choose from.

Ronald
Ranch Hand Supply

 

[DIYGuy]

I'm now into my third season on my Chipper. It gets 15 hours of run time every spring and fall, and the occasional afternoon when the wind takes a tree down.

Other than basic maintenance it has been a workhorse. If it broke beyond repair today, I'd buy a new one tommorrow.

FWIW

 

[RalphVa]

I just bought a Mighty Mac for my 4010 3 ph and have put 6 or so hours on it. It does up to 3 1/2" limbs. Wrote a review of it on this forum further down.

I have yet to have to shut it down to clear out from behind the screen. Used to have to do this 2 or 3 times almost every time that I used my Troy Bilt Tomahawk (8 hp, Briggs engine). Had to shut it down once because a big limb get a little twisted and was almost chewed up. Had to shut it down as I had to get my fingers down underneath it to jiggle it to get it back out.

Got mine for $1600 from my JD dealer. He gave me $100 off because they'd used it as a demo for some of the sales people to show how it worked.

The machine is very similar to the Troy Bilt. It requires similar mechanical work in removing and sharpening the chipper blade and removing and turning or replacing the hammers (hammers have 4 sides; generally only one side gets worn; you can turn them 3 times before replacing). The hammer replacement appears to be a tad easier on the Mac because the rods are held in place with cotter pin vs. roll pins that are a pain to remove and to take out on the Troy Bilt.

Ralph

 

[Lopez]

I've been looking to get a chipper for several months and have looked at many and read all these posts. I really wanted to spend my money at home, but had a budget to keep so decided not to be in a hurry. The other day I called the local JD dealer (Barnett Equipment in MT. Vernon, WA) just on the chance that they might have something used but good quality. They had a Goossen pto chipper shredder that had been used at a camp site, and sat outside for a few years. The paint was oxidized and it had some surface rust, but the chipper knives and flail knives were sharp and didn't look abused. Took it home, spent an hour cleaning it up and tightening fasteners, and hooked it up to the little Yanmar 155D. Don't know how fast that heavy flywheel spins, but it took the Yammy several seconds to get it spooled up. It was getting dark, so I didn't get to really wring it out, but it seems to work great. It appears to be built well-the screen is really herky. I paid $650 for it and the dealer said if I wasn't happy with it, to bring it back for a full refund. He said new ones were selling for $2900. Can't wait til tomorrow.

Don

 

[RalphVa]

Sounds like you got a good buy. Good luck.

I bought my Mac from the local JD dealer, too. The Macs are JD green, too.

Went down and started my old Troy Bilt yesterday, as I thought a guy was coming to look at it. Put the battery on and gave it a squirt of starting fluid. Started immediately. It's about 15 years old and probably has another 15 years in it, if the person who buys it will maintain the hammers and chipper blade.

Was using my 35 year old Stihl chain saw yesterday. It started pretty quick, too. Would you believe they still sell the same 009L model, and for a tad LESS money than what I paid for mine?

Ralph