GlennT
Gold Member
First, I wish to express my appreciation to this forum for the invaluable information I've acquired during the past few months. Based on the experience of others, I've purchased a tractor, made a decision on which oil to use, become informed about on-road and off-road diesel, and purchased implements (including a quick-hitch). In summary, I've become a happy tractor owner with a considerably diminished bank account.
During the past three years I have been pruning oaks and clearing a pasture of cedars (ash junipers). As a result, I have MANY large piles of brush to get rid of and our prolonged Texas droughts have made it impossible to burn these. Also, I hate to burn an organic substance that has value as mulche. So, after much research and thought, I purchased a Valby CH-140 chipper (made in Finland) and have now used it for several sessions. Perhaps my experience with this chipper may be of interest to others.
The Valby chipper is built like a brick outhouse. It has a thick steel housing, large industrial rollar bearings, and a 26-inch, 220 pound disc with two 4-inch by 8-inch blades. The workmanship is excellent; the chipper is carefully assembled and the welding is professional. The chipper weighs 585 pounds. It is direct drive--no pulleys or belts to increase the speed of the disc. In other words, the disc turns at 540 RPM instead of 1,000 to 2,000 RPM as on many other chippers. The next model up--the CH-160--has a belt drive to increase the speed of the disc.
My John Deere Model 670 (18 HP drawbar; 16.5 HP PTO) seems to handle the chipper with ease. I have run through oak branches up to 4 inches without problems. However, my chipper doesn't have either a mechanical or hydraulic feed mechanism so I can easily modify the feed rate at will. The chipper blades will pull in branches if there are no side branches to catch in the chute. Usually, I'm too lazy to trim off small branches so I have to push the material into the chute. This takes time but so far does not seem unreasonable or overly tedious. Because of the slow speed of the disc, branches jump around in the chute more than if the disc turned faster. I feel that it is an advantage that all of my little tractor's power is devoted to turning the cutting disc and not partially diverted to a mechanical feed system. I should also mention that the chipper is so heavy that the front end of the tractor is very light--even with 200 pounds of suitcase weights. Any more weight and I would have to add wheels to the chipper to transport it.
The chipper does not like damp material; it does not function well as a shredder. Damp, partially decomposed leaves, grass or cedar needles clog the blower chute easily and it's a pain to stop the tractor, unbolt the top shroud, swing it to the side, and unplug the chute.
The biggest disadvantage of this chipper is that the slow-turning disc does not throw chips very far. It would not be possible to load a truck or wagon unless the vehicle was right next to the chute and fairly low to the ground. You need a rapidly-turning disc to heave the chips any distance. Also, a chipper with a slow-moving disc undoubtedly clogs up more easily.
All in all, I'm happy with the chipper. It seems to meet my needs now and will hopefully continue to do so in the future. By the way, a mechanical or hydraulic feed can be easily added later (for about $1,200). The durability of the machine is such that it will be around alot longer than I will. The chipper would certainly stand up to commercial use.
Again, thank you to all of you who posted information that was so helpful.
During the past three years I have been pruning oaks and clearing a pasture of cedars (ash junipers). As a result, I have MANY large piles of brush to get rid of and our prolonged Texas droughts have made it impossible to burn these. Also, I hate to burn an organic substance that has value as mulche. So, after much research and thought, I purchased a Valby CH-140 chipper (made in Finland) and have now used it for several sessions. Perhaps my experience with this chipper may be of interest to others.
The Valby chipper is built like a brick outhouse. It has a thick steel housing, large industrial rollar bearings, and a 26-inch, 220 pound disc with two 4-inch by 8-inch blades. The workmanship is excellent; the chipper is carefully assembled and the welding is professional. The chipper weighs 585 pounds. It is direct drive--no pulleys or belts to increase the speed of the disc. In other words, the disc turns at 540 RPM instead of 1,000 to 2,000 RPM as on many other chippers. The next model up--the CH-160--has a belt drive to increase the speed of the disc.
My John Deere Model 670 (18 HP drawbar; 16.5 HP PTO) seems to handle the chipper with ease. I have run through oak branches up to 4 inches without problems. However, my chipper doesn't have either a mechanical or hydraulic feed mechanism so I can easily modify the feed rate at will. The chipper blades will pull in branches if there are no side branches to catch in the chute. Usually, I'm too lazy to trim off small branches so I have to push the material into the chute. This takes time but so far does not seem unreasonable or overly tedious. Because of the slow speed of the disc, branches jump around in the chute more than if the disc turned faster. I feel that it is an advantage that all of my little tractor's power is devoted to turning the cutting disc and not partially diverted to a mechanical feed system. I should also mention that the chipper is so heavy that the front end of the tractor is very light--even with 200 pounds of suitcase weights. Any more weight and I would have to add wheels to the chipper to transport it.
The chipper does not like damp material; it does not function well as a shredder. Damp, partially decomposed leaves, grass or cedar needles clog the blower chute easily and it's a pain to stop the tractor, unbolt the top shroud, swing it to the side, and unplug the chute.
The biggest disadvantage of this chipper is that the slow-turning disc does not throw chips very far. It would not be possible to load a truck or wagon unless the vehicle was right next to the chute and fairly low to the ground. You need a rapidly-turning disc to heave the chips any distance. Also, a chipper with a slow-moving disc undoubtedly clogs up more easily.
All in all, I'm happy with the chipper. It seems to meet my needs now and will hopefully continue to do so in the future. By the way, a mechanical or hydraulic feed can be easily added later (for about $1,200). The durability of the machine is such that it will be around alot longer than I will. The chipper would certainly stand up to commercial use.
Again, thank you to all of you who posted information that was so helpful.