What's a good chipper/shredder?

[FatTire]

Thinking about a chipper/shredder for my Kubota (PTO is 42 hp.) Local dealer has an Echo (Bearcat), and on-line looked at DR Power and Wallenstein. For chipping, anything bigger than about 3 inches goes in with the firewood, so don't need a big chipper, but we have a bunch of stuff to shred. Anyone with direct experience care to make a recommendation? Also, any reason these won't shred loose straw?

 

[CalG]

I have the Largest MacKissic pto shredder/chipper and like it well enough.
I've got about 40 hours on it over the past year or two with the piles to show for it (composting for gardens )

I run at high PTO rpm (1000) but at slightly lower engine revs, so I'm a bit fast on the chipper shredder, but down on the full 35 hp available from the Hurlimann.
It seems to work well this way, though the largest chipping tasks do slow the engine for a short bit when under the biggest load.

With that, I save anything over 2 inches for the quick fires in spring and fall. The bigger the stock, the more "self feeding" tendency when the chipper blades are sharp ,( I like and keep them so) and that can be a bit of effort to hold on to the brush length when things are getting hot and heavy.
Green wood chips the best! ;-) right down to the twigs which are then pulled from the chipper throat and tossed into the shredder. (where they promptly get ejected as 5 inch long missiles ;-)

The shredder I really like! ' Just turned the blades about a week ago. Seems like a lot of the machine needs to come apart to do that job. But the shredder is an aggressive self feeder with fresh edges.
The shredder does not like "wet" anything. Damp material sticks to the exit screen. Then, dry wood must be run through the chipper to clear the shredder screen. You being in Colorado might never now about this ;-)

Closest thing I have to hay and straw is maple leaves. They go through the shredder as fast as they can be shoveled in when dry (I use an Alu. grain shovel). The output is fine "leaf litter" that is perfect for many mulching needs. Wet or green?, not so good The exit screen thing...

I've looked into Gossen chipper shredders, They seem as good or even better. I like the flip open construction to get at the innards. They might take more of your available horse power as well. I've not seen any shredders offered that are "rated" for 45 HP, but it's easy enough to put in less. You just don't want the revs to drop.

Base line, look for a HEAVY chipper rotor with two knives or more.
Look for a heavy duty PTO shaft for the input. If that is a weak link it's going to piss you off. after that, the belt drives will take the jambs and overloads.

I did take a look down a Gossen "hay mucher/ spreader", the kind that goes to blow mulch on a grass reseeding jobs. It looked a bit like a chipper shredder, but also had stationary "knives" between the swinging blades. I can't imagine this arrangement working for "brush", but you might want to look into that aspect for your requirements.

For me, a straight chipper would be less useful. But... I'm not trying to reduce trees to chips ;-)

If I have it right, you pay extra for any of the three names you have mentioned...just for the name ;-)

PS

Whatever unit you decide on, get ready for a work out. If you have piles of materials that need chipped and shredded, having the tractor running and the shredder humming sets a pace that is difficult for one man to keep pace with. And if you have a helper lining up the branches.... get a sauna along with the unit!

 

[RoyJackson]

I have the Woods 5000 (which is manufactured by Bearcat, BTW).
These handle up to 5" (got to be pretty straight though) on the chipper end and any kind of brush in the shredder (up to about 3/4" in diameter).
Over the years I've had it (bought used), I find I use the shredder considerably more then the chipper.
It's been a great implement and I do recommend the Woods 5000 wholeheartedly!

The 'downside" is this implement does not have a blower (but that is an option one can retrofit) so the chips fall under the unit. Every so often, I have to lift the chipper and rake the chips. This has never been a problem for me, but some folks want to direct the chips into a trailer.

Anyway, give the 5000 a look....I think you'll like it and I expect it will do the work you need quite well.

 

[TerryR]

I have an Echo Bearcat, what is now model CH5540. It was then rated at 4 1/2 inches, now at 5, and will actually do a bit larger. I find the larger size useful to chip pine, which I don't burn for firewood, old stuff too rotten for firewood, and because it more easily accepts forked branches I don't have to trim so many of them off.

The machine is well built, and mostly easy to service. I especially like that it's easy to get to the blades, because you do need to keep them sharp. I bought this model mainly because of the blower - I found I got tired very quickly of raking out the chips from under my old one. I don't find the lack of a shredder an issue - I use it mostly for clearing downed limbs and trimmings, and not for clearing areas of brush.

Terry

 

[FatTire]

How heavy is the edge on these blades? Are we talking about bench grinder, stone, or both? I "think" I'd be ok with a pile under the unit, but not sure. When working in our forest I'd be moving between fairly small piles, but when shredding working for long periods in one location. Guess I am not usually in too much of a hurry.

 

[FatTire]

Also- my wife just raised two good questions: Can the shredder handle the bark that is left on the ground after splitting? And what about an occasional stone, we have a big pile of loose straw but we know there are a few stones in there sized up to about 3/4 or maybe even 1 inch. Would that just wreck the knives?
(That's a good sign when she starts asking questions, maybe I'll get the green light on this...)

 

[mark02tj]

I just bought an Echo Bearcat 73554 which is now the SC5540B. Since I have a lot of smaller brush that I'm clearing out I followed RoyJackson's recommendationto get a chipper with a shredder as well. After giving it a LOT of thought, I also wanted a unit with a blower so I could direct the chips. The major difference between mine and TerryR's unit is that his has a single feed area and a flywheel with the blades. Mine has a feed tube for "logs" that goes the flywheel blades and a "brush/limb" feed chute that goes into a series of swinging knives. The flywheel and the piece that holds the swinging blades are all one unit.

I just bought mine a couple of weeks ago and only have about an hour on it. I just HAD to try it out once I unloaded it! Overall I'm super satisfied with the unit. The knives are sharp (and I need to buy a couple more sets!) and the straight material pretty much self feeds. The chipper unit just sucks in anything you feed into it, almost to the point that it's scary!! :laughing: I did try to feed in an old piece of wood that was about 4" in diameter and about 12' long. It sucked it in and spit it out for about the first 8 feet. Then it stalled the flywheel. I turned off the PTO and pulled the piece out. I had to feed it in a little more slowly and had no troubles. Normally I would use something like that for firewood but I wanted to see what the chipper would do.

As CalG said, flywheel weight is a critical spec. My flywheel weighs 145 pounds and has 4 blades on it. I think it might have been able to handle that long piece better if the flywheel was heavier. (Maybe not though.) And based on everything I've read, he's also correct about keeping your blades sharp. Fortunately the Bearcats are pretty easy to access the blade area so I don't think it will be an issue.

My only major complaint is that the blower chute is too high to go into my garage. The plan this weekend is to cut 5" or 6" off of it so I can store it inside instead of outside of my garage. I plan to keep it on a dolly to make it easy to move around. I am also planning on modifying it so I can use my QuickHitch to hook it up.

I bought my unit used from an implement dealer in Wisconsin (I live in Ohio). One of the local JD dealers had the identical, used unit for $3500 (talked down to $3225). The one in Wisconsin was $2400. Shipping to the local ABF Freight terminal was $264. So even with shipping I saved $800. I had found a used, but super nice looking unit like Roy's at an east coast dealer for $1900. He quoted me $200 for shipping. I found these units on CraigsList using SearchTempest.com to search nationally.

This goes without saying, but... Eye protection and hearing protection are a must when using these things. They throw chips around and are REALLY loud as you're chipping. I am also considering getting a pair of padded gloves. If you're controlling the feed on longer stock, the wood does vibrate somewhat and I think the padding might be nice.

Good luck with shopping for the new unit!!

 

[RalphVa]

I've had a MacKissic TPH-122 for several years. It's a fine machine, mainly because it's so easy to maintain. Maybe a bit light for your size tractor but does up to 3 1/2 inches. Had a MacKissic shredder only on my Gravely before this and a TroyBilt Tomahawk. YOU DO NOT want a TroyBilt: a beast to maintain.

Ralph

 

[s219]

I bought a Wallenstein BX-42 (chipper only) but looked at a bunch, including the Wallenstein Chipper/Shredder models (BXM-42) and the Bearcats. I liked them both, but would definitely have added a chute to the Bearcat if I bought one. I find using the chute on my Wallenstein to be very helpful, both to direct chips out of the way and to blow them into a cart/trailer for other uses.

I was able to order the Wallenstein online (woodwardcrossings.com) and have it shipped. I had a harder time finding a nearby source for Bearcat and some of the other brands.

I'd say you need to avoid stones into the chipper knives at all costs. The chipper knives are fairly precise, and not something you can easily sharpen at home (plus stone damage could chip the edge off beyond the point of repair). Better models have reversible knives to give you two available edges. I can see how a stone could also potentially jam the flywheel and that could be a nasty situation.

Not sure how the hammers in a shredder chute would handle a stone, but my guess is that it would still do some damage (or make a ruckus and be potentially dangerous). Probably less sensitive than chipper knives, but I'd still avoid it.

When shopping, pay attention to whether the unit is belt driven or direct driven, how many bearings it has and their lube points, and things like shear pins. I started to see divisions that separated lesser units and better units, with about a $500-700 divide in the range I was shopping (4").

 

[zzvyb6]

Good Report here. I've been using a belt driver 10 hp Troy-Bilt the past few days to reduce apple, honeysuckle and crab apple stems and branches. They don't burn well so I picked up this unit at a garage sale. Will still 1 few acres of dense bush to clear, I too, am ready for a larger higher capacity machine. I use the chips for horse stall flooring, so the screen size options are nice to have.

I also would like to have a side discharge because the machine chokes when you get about a half bushel of chips below it. I though of mounting it on a dump trailer, but the combination is too tippy to tow around behind a 4 wheeler of golf cart. So a tractor driven version is in the budget.

Thank's for your info.