Valby chipper

   / Valby chipper #1  

GlennT

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2000
Messages
281
Location
Fredericksburg, TX
Tractor
John Deere Model 670
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.
 
   / Valby chipper #2  
Thanks for the report, GlennT. I'd like to have a good PTO powered chipper instead of this little 5hp Craftsman I have, but that's another one of those things on a long wish list./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird
 
   / Valby chipper
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks for the comments, Bird. As you know, chippers are EXPENSIVE!! However, for me it became a question of economics. The only chipper for rent where I live costs $100 per day and I would probably need to hire someone to help me feed the thing. At this time, I have eighteen piles of brush waiting--some of them very large. Also, I will be clearing brush for some time yet and have no idea how many more piles I will be creating. It didn't require advanced math to show that it would be cheaper in the long run to buy a chipper. Also, I can move at my own speed and I can use the chipper whenever I need to without stockpiling enough brush to justify renting one. If senility sets in before I have completely amortized the cost of the chipper, it should still have reasonable resale value--probably at least 50% of its original value (I tend to take pretty good care of my toys: always storing things inside, touching up paint chips, keeping bearings lubricated and blades sharpened, etc.). All in all, it seemed to make good sense to bite the bullet and pay the price. Thank goodness that the light of my life saw things the same way. Actually, I think that she was sick and tire of looking at the brush piles and maybe she saw this as another way to get me out of her hair.
 
   / Valby chipper #4  
Hi Glenn, if you don't mind my asking, what price range is the Valby in? I'm in similiar situation on the economics: not worth it to rent, lots of stuff piling up, small tractor available. My B7200 does have 858 RPM available on the rear PTO, do you think this would significantly improve performance compared to 540? Thanks for sharing.
 
   / Valby chipper #5  
Just a question My little tractor 25 hp has two speed PTO 540 and 1000 does the owners manual of your chipper only allow 540 rpm or does it even specify speed??
 
   / Valby chipper #6  
Glen, I don't know about the valby in particular, but as he said, "good chippers are expensive"...I bought a Woods 8100, hyd feed, 8inch PTO chipper (for my JD5410) and it set me back darn near $8K.

I am in a situation where not only would it cost me $100-$200 hundred dollars/day rental (for an equivalent model), it could take me upto 2 hours or more round trip to get there and back, and the rental was based on an 8 hour day, so it just wasn't very cost effective for me to rent. (Besides the fact that you really need to plan ahead and dedicate a full day to the task which I rarely get to do with 3 small kids).

Wasn't hard for me to justify, I have a lot of land, with many thousands and thousands of feet of old rock walls that I am slowly trying to uncover, and around here, you can not just burn anytime you want to.

Having a PTO chipper that you can just drive to where ever you need it (including deep into my woods along the trails I am putting in) is a great convenience.

$8K is an awful lot, but as another poster said, I plan on having this one for 30 or more years, and taking great care of it it may actually last that long...I'll let you know

PS: Having a big chipper is a great way to get rid of a body if you ever need to...a few years back someone around here put his wife through one and shot the "chips" into the connecticut river...somehow they still "got" him.
 
   / Valby chipper
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Jima1--I apologize for not responding to this promptly. I was out of state for a bit and got behind in things. My Valby Model 140 cost $2900. This is a discount from the list price and shipping from New York to central Texas was free (this represents about $300 or so). I purchased the chipper directly from Northeast Implement Corp. (www.valby@baka.com) and very pleased with their service. I dealt directly with a gracious gentleman named Rainer Langstedt who is very knowledgeable about chippers and their use. The chipper arrived in perfect condition--no shipping damage whatsoever. My price on the Valby was several hundred dollars cheaper than the best price I could find on a Model 73413 Bear Cat chipper, which was my second choice. I feel that I should repeat my opinion that the Valby is a heavier built unit designed for commercial use.
Again, I'm sorry that I didn't respond sooner to your inquiry.
 
   / Valby chipper
  • Thread Starter
#8  
TexasJeff--I need to apologize to you, too, for this late response. I've been out of circulation. After discussions with the Valby sales representative (and importer) Mr. Ranier Langstedt and after carefully reading information proved to me, I am of the opinion that the disc and the roller bearings on the Valby Model 140 are the same as those on the Valby Model 160, which has a belt drive to increase the rotation speed. The range of speeds cited for the Model 160 are 900 to 1700 RPM. I hope this answers your question. You might consider communicating with the sales representative, Ranier Langestedt at www.northeastimplement.com or by telephone at 607/589-6160l. Again, my apologies for a slow response.
 
   / Valby chipper #9  
GlennT -- no problem at all, your input is much appreciated at any time.
 
   / Valby chipper #10  
No need for apologies thanks for the info

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