Buying Advice Wood Chipper for 12 acres

[NickTaylor]

Howdy,

I have about 6 acres of timber (mix of hardwood and cedars) to maintain on 12 acres in central TX. Have riding trails cut throughout so I知 constantly stacking brush, small trees, etc (usually 4 or less in diameter). I had a old craftsman chipper shredder that I just sold off so I could get something real. I need to chip all of this brush for trails and landscaping. I have a Deere 770 compact tractor that I use for mowing. It痴 only 23 hp so probably underpowered to do much as far as PTO driven, plus I壇 have to take off the mower deck every time I want to chip which sounds like a pain.

My goal is to stay under $3000 (I have other toys to buy).

Recommendations on a good chipper in this price range? Stand alone or PTO?

Looking for some sage advice.

Nick

 

[Tompet]

Look at woodland mills website. They have outstanding customer service and are priced within your budget. I purchased the pto WC68 and after a minor adjustment works great and saves a lot of time.

Maybe check out Woodmaxx too.

 

[4570Man]

There’s always the free option.

 

[NickTaylor]

I was just on their website. Tractor data says my rear PTO is only 20 hp so I wonder if the WC68 would just bog down? Looks like both Woodland Mills and Woodmaxx have models designed for compact utility tractors, so those sound like great options! Anyone have experience with the WC46 or the TM-86H?

 

[rademamj1]

I have been clearing power line and waterline access, widening gravel roads and opening footpaths on our property here in Central Texas for last three years. Been mainly Cedar, mesquite, some elms and oaks and lots of brush. It's really looking very nice too. This is selective clearing, and not the typical clear cutting of every tree on the property. All of it requires a PTO Chipper for this task.

After first removing and stacking the firewood pieces that are 3" diameter or greater, we then dispose of the rest. We have done burning of these brush piles in winter and spring time. However, must do the chipping in Summer and Fall due to State of Texas mandated bans on burning in the dry months.

I recommend the Woodmax WM-8H Chipper. Extremely well made, with 8" opening and requires about 19 hp to operate at high efficiency.

8" PTO Wood Chipper Tree Chipper Brush Chipper - Hydraulic Feed

 

[Thunder chicken]

I have a woodland Mills 88. i have lots of HP but, i'd say get the biggest one for your HP. It's not all about the size of a log you can chip, it's also the size of the opening into the chipping flywheel, which the bigger, the better, as you won't have to trim as many limbs off, worry about crooked branches etc. i'm running mostly 2-4" stuff through this 8", but with all the limbs on.
This pile woulda been a good night of burning in the fall, but i'd have had to wait, work around it, then stay up 1/2 the night tending to it. In less than an hour it is turned into $100 worth of garden chips/mulch. (actually that picture was not the whole brush pile, just a portion of it.)

 

[Industrial Toys]

I bought a large 15" PTO chipper. GREAT to have, but I soon realized that some poor sucker has to get every piece of wood to and into the chipper!

Then you hear stories on here about people getting truck loads of chips for the taking, as much as they want and you wonder what you are doing. Sure, that varies by region. Still better returning Biomass to the ground then burning it if you can find the time and energy.

 

[skipperbrown]

I don't have one, but in reading about them here, you really want a power feed system.

 

[Tompet]

I don't have one, but in reading about them here, you really want a power feed system.

Good point I forgot to mention.

 

[oosik]

I started out, many years ago, with a Wallenstein BX42S - manual feed. When I upgraded to my current Kubota M6040 - I wanted a larger chipper. I looked at the Wally BX92S. Then reality hit me. There is no way in God's green earth that I could drag a 9" pine tree. The VERY BIGGEST pine I can drag is 6". I got my current chipper - Wally BX62S - manual feed.

Every spring I scurry around the property - thinning my pine stands. I will end up with 900 to 1200 small pines that need to be chipped. So it's - identify, fell, drag to a pile, chip. "Drag to a pile" is, far and away, the most difficult part of this annual project.

Been doing this for over 15 years now. I chip all the pines "in the round" - ie, no limbs removed. Butt first - away they go. With pines being 100% of what I chip - never had the need for a hydraulic in-feed system. Crooked limbs & trees - completely different story.

There is a lot of truth to what Thunder Chicken says. Larger chipper - larger in-feed chute - larger mouth at the chipping fly wheel - larger flywheel. It also means - larger $$$$.