Wood chipper

[tractchores]

Hum. I never considered the BXM model. Might be worth considering. For the guys that own the BX chippers do you now wish you had the shredding capabilities that the the BXM has?

I don't miss the shredder, but i also don't put leaves or really small stuff through. I do put prunings through and other small branches and the regular model does fine, but you need to put a bigger limb through once in a while to keep the small stuff from clogging if its green and leafy.

 

[glennm]

I put small stuff up to an inch or inch and a half in the shredder. That stuff is hard too feed in through the chipper. You just drop it in the shredder. I don't use it for leaves. I have 13 acres of bush and have trails everywhere. I clean up all the brush and blow it on the trails. I'm glad I have the BXM and the 3" limb size is plenty big enough for me. I would burn anything 3" and over in my wood stove.

 

[jeff9366]

One of the factors I find attractive in the BX42s chipper is its stark simplicity. There is not much to figure out, there is hardly anything to go wrong.

I am usually chipping from a brush pile, somewhat aged. If the leaves have turned brown, and the pile is DRY the BXs model handles the small dry-brittle material and incidental DRY leaves pretty well; although twigs and dry leaves are blown through and not chopped much. If leaves are green, and you push twiggy-flexible material in, it will jam in the chute sooner or later. After couple experiences cleaning out the chute, you should learn not to feed green.

If anything green/twiggy does not want to feed I put it aside. It may go to the burn pile or be left longer to become brittle.

TRACTCHORES is 100% right about feeding something bigger along with small stuff, to carry smaller stuff into the knives. ---> a benefit of 4" X 10" mouth.

Mind you, I have NO experience with the Wallenstein BXr shredder models.

I keep a 24 volt battery Sawzall by Milwaukee on the tractor when chipping, for cutting forked branches, etc. It is also VERY EFFECTIVE at pulling out packed material when you get a chute plug. However, with one year experience, I very rarely get a plug, which is the result of BAD TECHNIQUE.

IE: Why have you done that to yourself, again?

 

[Knight9]

I have the BXM32 on my B2410. Sized well for it. 4" wood is firewood for me, so I went with the 3" chipper. The larger throat of the 4" would have been nice, but with the shredder the 4" was quite a bit more money. I have had to pull a few branches and cut the forks to get them in, but pretty minor issue. It has performed flawlessly for me so far!

 

[murphy1244]

I bought a BXM 42 last year and I love the shredder part of it cause of the size shoot. Make sure your gloves are strapped tight cause that brush will disappear fast . Mine has a belt drive which is reason no. 2 why I bought a wally. The belt will give if I have something stuck which has not happened yet. Paul, This thing is for real, no kids toy.

 

[4shorts]

Thanks guys. Man that's great info you've all given me. Not having been up and personal with any of these models it's nice to hear first hand just how they perform and just how well they hold up. Really enjoyed the photos as well so thanks for posting them.

Well. Had my mind made up to get a Wallenstein BX42 until I checked the thread this morning and looked at Glennm' post glennm uses his like we are going to be using ours. Our trees are more like pine and for the most part there will be a lot of small branches so that's what I like about the BXM model.

Knight9 got a nice unit. Thanks for posting the photo. Your BXM32 looks like the ideal unit for my needs. Like you stated, anything more than 3" is firewood.

TRACTCHORES don't shred small stuff so I understand why he don't need a shredder.


Murphy1244 is happy with his BXM42 but that model is to big for my little BX25 but would work well own the 5740. I also appreciate his warnings. If I think it's getting to dangerous I just ask my mother in law to feed the unit :laughing:

Jeff9366had a good point about the Wally BX42 simplicity. Good point my friend :thumbsup:

I called a few dealers today and asked for prices on the following models:

Wallenstein
- BXM32
- BX 42s
- BX32s

To be honest right now I'm leaning towards the BXM32 but I'll wait and see how the pricing looks like tomorrow. Time is on my side, we had snow last night and some more on the way. It was nice to sit my butt in Killer again

As usual all opinions are welcome. :thumbsup:

 

[CHDinCT]

Hum. I never considered the BXM model. Might be worth considering. For the guys that own the BX chippers do you now wish you had the shredding capabilities that the the BXM has?

There's times I would like to have the shredder too. Anything under about an 1" or maybe .75" would feed better in a shredder. With the gravity feed chippers, the light stuff will hang in the hopper and need to be pushed through due to lack of weight, unless the branch is very straight. I find the gravity feed works better the larger and straighter the branches are. You almost can't hold back a 3" or 4" piece while anything 1" or under tends to need some pushing to go through. This is why I wouldn't rule out hydraulic feed if you can afford it, unless you won't be chipping the twiggy ends of branches. Of course an alternative approach is to get the BXM model and shredd the smaller stuff, but then you might need to separate it from the main branches which is extra work. Or, you could get one of each and have it covered

 

[jeff9366]

As there is no Wallenstein dealer near me in Florida, I purchased my BX42s from Iowa Farm Supply via their eBay web site. If you search for WALLENSTEIN on eBay it will take you to IFS immediately. Big selection of sizes and colors. IFS' service was first rate; chipper showed up on my driveway four days after order submitted.

Check eBay for a price.

 

[4shorts]

There's times I would like to have the shredder too. Anything under about an 1" or maybe .75" would feed better in a shredder. With the gravity feed chippers, the light stuff will hang in the hopper and need to be pushed through due to lack of weight, unless the branch is very straight. I find the gravity feed works better the larger and straighter the branches are. You almost can't hold back a 3" or 4" piece while anything 1" or under tends to need some pushing to go through. This is why I wouldn't rule out hydraulic feed if you can afford it, unless you won't be chipping the twiggy ends of branches. Of course an alternative approach is to get the BXM model and shredd the smaller stuff, but then you might need to separate it from the main branches which is extra work. Or, you could get one of each and have it covered

I'm leaning towards the BXM32 based on the shredder and the average size of our branches on our trees. The average size is around 1-2inches and then they get smaller. If I've read the posts right I'm thinking the BX42 may not do a great job with that size of branch where as the BXM32 has the shredder to take care of those branches. Well that's how I'm seeing it
The BXM32 appears to be two tools in one as well. I wonder if the hydraulic feed more suited for the larger sticks?.

 

[tractchores]

I think if I were doing stuff mostly on the smaller side I'd go with the shredder model too. You lose some capability on the bigger stuff because it takes HP to drive the shredder (hence 3" chipper shredder VS 4" chipper). For my stuff capacity is often a limit (even at 4" and I really push size to the max it until stuff literally sticks in the entry chute). For small stuff the shredder is probably ideal and you'll get more uniform chips if you use them VS broken twigs, which is what you get when feeding small stuff in the chipper. Good luck with the search!

 

[groundcover]

I wish you were closer Paul, I would swing by with the Brush Bandit 250xp and chip up anything you got, up to 12" anyway ! That and I am sure there are a few mods that would be easy to do to my L5240 , the second time around is always easier !

 

[Stradbash]

I too have a BX 25 with a BXM 32 Chipper/Shedder with a fair number of trees on 1.5 acres. I think the two pieces of equipment are a good combination and work well together. The only time I've clogged things up is when I put too much small green non-woody stuff through it without alternating with woody branches. With pine or other trees that have wide angle branching, I do wind up doing a fair bit of pushing to get stuff in the chipper chute, but am happy to do that instead of more cutting. The small ends of branches go through just fine when followed by larger ones..., or you can just pull them out and put them in the shredder as the manual suggests. The shredder is great for smaller things, raked up leaves (but not large amounts), pine cones and such. My one caution, as alluded to by another poster, is putting longer stuff in the shredder. It will grab and snatch things out of your hands! Particularly vines. And I'll echo the advice and your plan to make a dolly for it. Nice to be able to roll it around and get it out of the way! On the newer ones, unlike mine, the feed chute can be easily detached and re-attached in a more space saving position during storage. Nice solid tools. The only thing I've done to mine is sharpen the chipper blades, adjust the cutting anvil gap (it was delivered out of spec) and greased it.
Enjoy!
I'm happy to answer questions you might have about it and it's use!

 

[4shorts]

I wish you were closer Paul, I would swing by with the Brush Bandit 250xp and chip up anything you got, up to 12" anyway ! That and I am sure there are a few mods that would be easy to do to my L5240 , the second time around is always easier !

OMG. I just Googled that thing you got. It's a cross between a monster and the space station :shocked: there can't be a tree left in your part of the country :laughing:
Nice tractor as well. Oh ya. If you were here I'd have no problems helping you out with that tractor

I too have a BX 25 with a BXM 32 Chipper/Shedder with a fair number of trees on 1.5 acres. I think the two pieces of equipment are a good combination and work well together. The only time I've clogged things up is when I put too much small green non-woody stuff through it without alternating with woody branches. With pine or other trees that have wide angle branching, I do wind up doing a fair bit of pushing to get stuff in the chipper chute, but am happy to do that instead of more cutting. The small ends of branches go through just fine when followed by larger ones..., or you can just pull them out and put them in the shredder as the manual suggests. The shredder is great for smaller things, raked up leaves (but not large amounts), pine cones and such. My one caution, as alluded to by another poster, is putting longer stuff in the shredder. It will grab and snatch things out of your hands! Particularly vines. And I'll echo the advice and your plan to make a dolly for it. Nice to be able to roll it around and get it out of the way! On the newer ones, unlike mine, the feed chute can be easily detached and re-attached in a more space saving position during storage. Nice solid tools. The only thing I've done to mine is sharpen the chipper blades, adjust the cutting anvil gap (it was delivered out of spec) and greased it.
Enjoy!
I'm happy to answer questions you might have about it and it's use!

Thanks for your post. I think the only thing with the BXM32 that I don't like so far is the smaller Shute. It may not make much of a difference with its size but I'd figure the wider the better. I'm going to get some pricing today and see what I settle on. The 4" BX42s is a nice unit as well so I'll see what the local dealers have sold more of. Thanks for your thoughts. Sounds like a nice set up you have there. Any photos?

 

[glennm]

Good luck with your search. I am fairly certain the local dealers will have sold more 42's, I wouldn't trade the BXM 32 for it, I find I use the hopper quite often sice you can just pitch smaller branches in there. I would say the weight of the 32 is about max for my bx23 tractor. It feels a bit tippy on rough terrain, I just keep it low to the ground and drive slow. It eats long pine branches like mad, it will pull them through even with a lot of smaller cross branches! Like the other guys say, the shreddeder pulls material in so fast it is almost Scarey. I just take my time, I have shredded and chipped 50 or more loads in my rtv. The bush is clean and the trails are groomed. I especially enjoy shredding branches that may be full of emerald ash borers!

 

[4shorts]

Good luck with your search. I am fairly certain the local dealers will have sold more 42's, I wouldn't trade the BXM 32 for it, I find I use the hopper quite often sice you can just pitch smaller branches in there. I would say the weight of the 32 is about max for my bx23 tractor. It feels a bit tippy on rough terrain, I just keep it low to the ground and drive slow. It eats long pine branches like mad, it will pull them through even with a lot of smaller cross branches! Like the other guys say, the shreddeder pulls material in so fast it is almost Scarey. I just take my time, I have shredded and chipped 50 or more loads in my rtv. The bush is clean and the trails are groomed. I especially enjoy shredding branches that may be full of emerald ash borers!

Sounds like your really enjoying yours and its doing a good job for you. That's what matters and I appreciate you and everyone's advise on this chipper purchase.

Today I decided and ordered the chipper. A couple of factors helped me decide. I looked at the weight of each chipper. I also looked at the HP requirements. Then I had to take into consideration what tractor would be running it. Considering the tractor will be a BX25 I went with the BXM 32. Horse power wise its the right size for the BX25D.
The BX42 s requires HP rating at 35-40 hp and by putting it on the BX25 I felt it would be working the tractor to hard and the fact I wouldn't be chipping 4" trees was also a factor in not choosing it.

If I had been looking for a chipper for a larger HP tractor the BX42 would have won.
It will be 6-8 weeks before its delivered but I'm in no rush.
Thanks everyone for your advise. Much appreciated.

 

[Stradbash]

I'm sure you'll be happy with it. One comment, I have carted mine around with just the tractor and no loader but the chipper is a fair bit of weight back there and things are MUCH more secure with the loader on. As always..., slow and low! No pics of mine in use, or none that I have time to find right now. Getting ready to leave town in the am for a race.

 

[4shorts]

I'm sure you'll be happy with it. One comment, I have carted mine around with just the tractor and no loader but the chipper is a fair bit of weight back there and things are MUCH more secure with the loader on. As always..., slow and low! No pics of mine in use, or none that I have time to find right now. Getting ready to leave town in the am for a race.

Thanks for the advise. Good luck with the race :thumbsup:

 

[glennm]

I agree. Keep the loader on.

I don't really think the 42 would be too much for your tractor if you used it like the 32. (don't try and chip the max size). I do feel that you will be very happy you have the shredder in the long run.

I live close to where they are built and just drove there to pick mine up. The Wallensein gear is built really well by local mennonite's. It is built to outlast us! I know if you wish you can order it painted in Kubota orange. Mine is standard construction yellow

Enjoy it and make sure you post your thoughts after you receive it!

 

[Knight9]

I don't really think the 42 would be too much for your tractor if you used it like the 32. (don't try and chip the max size).

I would agree with that. Running the 42 doesn't take much more HP than running the 32....if you are only putting in 3" wood. As stated, the nice thing about the 42 is the wider entrance throat, not just that it can do an extra inch diameter trunk.

 

[groundcover]

I am sure you will be happy with the BXM32. The Brush Bandit xp250 is all the L5240 wants to pull around ! It is powered by a Cat 140hp and has auto-feed so the feed stops to let rpms catch up on the really big stuff. The winch is slicker than a shirt pocket, winch your hitch into the feed rollers and you are set !
I got a start on the L5240 mods - 6 LED flashers mounted inside the cab, two each front and rear and one on each side. An indoor/outdoor thermometer , and a 5lb ABC dry chem fire extinguisher that I have used once to save a 'Dingo' track machine that caught on fire! A few grab hook on the bucket and forks but nothing like your over the top mods ! Keep up the good work !:thumbsup: