Used chipper purchase, What do I check?

[easygo]

I'm looking at buying a used Goossen Industries chipper shredder and was wondering if you could give me pointers as for what I should check.
I would buy it from an individual who said that he also got it used about 5 years ago and it is about a 12-15 year old unit. They used it a good deal but it seems to be in decent shape and he said that the chipper knifes were replaced recently. What should I check and what may be telltale signs of heavy use (or abuse)? According to the company specs it is heavy duty and will handle more than what I want it to do. I would need it to shred 8-10 yards of compost material yearly and chip up 3" or smaller branches. It does not have the blower attachment and the guy wants $1000.
Easygo

[jeffinsgf]

Originally Posted by easygo

I'm looking at buying a used Goossen Industries chipper shredder and was wondering if you could give me pointers as for what I should check.
I would buy it from an individual who said that he also got it used about 5 years ago and it is about a 12-15 year old unit. They used it a good deal but it seems to be in decent shape and he said that the chipper knifes were replaced recently. What should I check and what may be telltale signs of heavy use (or abuse)? According to the company specs it is heavy duty and will handle more than what I want it to do. I would need it to shred 8-10 yards of compost material yearly and chip up 3" or smaller branches. It does not have the blower attachment and the guy wants $1000.
Easygo

I have the Bush Hog branded version of the same chipper (private labeled for Bush Hog by Goossen). Take the belt guards off and look at the bearing blocks. Have they been greased? The bearings are all covered by shields, and someone not careful about maintenance could ignore them easily. Are the belts in good condition? Yours may only have one belt, since the other belt on mine drives the blower. The main belt is a huge affair. It is one belt made to fit a three groove pulley. They last a long time, but are expensive to replace.

Replacing the chipper blades on this unit is not as easy as it could be, but not as difficult as it could be, either. Take the nine bolts out that hold the top down, then take out the upper two bolts that hold the screen in place. Now the top of the unit should hinge forward. Take a look at the chipper blades. They should be razor sharp and not nicked up. When the knives are sharp and straight, the chipper will pull the stock in on its own. When you start "helping" the feed, you really need to stop and sharpen the blades.

While you're in there, look at the shredder knives. They are made with 4 cutting edges, meaning that they can be turned 3 times before you need to replace them. I've had mine for 4 years, and bought it used and I am still on the first set of shredder edges. I've been thinking about turning them, but every time I sharpen the chipper knives, the shredder blades seem to still feel and look sharp -- but then I don't use the shredder part all that much. In looking at a unit to purchase, if the shredder blades were rounded off on the currently working set of edges, I would take that as an indication that the machine has not been well looked after. If the shredder blades have been turned so that more than a couple of the sets of edges have been used, the machine has seen a lot of hours.

Now my big criticism. I think the bottom discharge on this machine (and also the Bearcat of a very similar design) would be an enormous pain in the rear. You are going to constantly be shoveling the pile and/or moving the machine. It also seems like it will waste a lot of mulch/compost unless you keep a tarp placed under the discharge.

As I understand it, a brand new blower would fit your machine -- I don't think the design has changed in years. That said, it is pretty darned expensive new.

If it's cherry, and you are sure you won't mind the bottom discharge, I say go for it. If it shows neglect or high hours, I would keep looking, and start looking for one with a blower.

[easygo]

Jeff,
Thanks for the great detailed description. I printed it out and am taking it with me when looking at the chipper this afternoon. As for bottom discharge. Most of the chipping will be done in the woods when clearing trail and cleaning up old logging debree. I will use a lot of the chips as fill on rocky woods trails and I would just shred the compost right where it will sit for a long time afterward. Also it is a lot more $ to get the blower attachment.
I will make a decagon in a few hours.
Thanks again
Easygo

[kennyd]

I have a Goossen also...Jeff pretty much covered it all. They are simple, well built, heavy duty machines. It should be obvious if it has been abused.

[easygo]

I went to take a closer look at the chipper based on Jeff's description and it checked out good. The chipping blades all looked good though it could use a little sharpening, and none of the shredding blades showed any signs of being rounded down or having been turned just as you described. The original manual was also there and the shredding blades looked just like they were in the pictures only dirtier. The closer look only revealed that it does show the sings of being over a decade old and may have spent some time outdoors. After a little bargaining I bought it and looking forward to using it pretty soon. Thank you again for the responses.

[Gittyup]

I have the bushhog brand too. Great machine. I especially like the shredder. $1000 isn't a bad deal at all.

Keeping it greased is a pain as you have to remove panels to do it. Jeff pretty much covered it. Other that what has been mentioned, I would make sure there is little play in the pillow blocks and the main drive pulley.

The chipper blades are a pain to get at, and are expensive to replace.

I also don't have a blower. I priced a new one: $1395 as I recall. I thought I needed one but I don't really. Like the OP, I use it to get rid of brush, trimmings, etc., and to service my compost pile. Shoveling can be a pain, especially when chipping because it builds up fast. But, I would never use it just to make mulch, even if I had the blower. It's way too much work just to get a few yards. I use a lot of mulch (50 yards last year). So, I just go get my mulch from the landfill for free.

[jeffinsgf]

Originally Posted by Gittyup

...

The chipper blades are a pain to get at, and are expensive to replace.

I also don't have a blower. I priced a new one: $1395 as I recall. I thought I needed one but I don't really. Like the OP, I use it to get rid of brush, trimmings, etc., and to service my compost pile. Shoveling can be a pain, especially when chipping because it builds up fast. But, I would never use it just to make mulch, even if I had the blower. It's way too much work just to get a few yards. I use a lot of mulch (50 yards last year). So, I just go get my mulch from the landfill for free.

I got lucky when I bought mine. With blower I paid around 1300, if I recall correctly. It was absolutely cherry, bought second hand by a guy with a barn full of perfectly maintained 50's tractors after he had a bad storm. I am the third owner, and I'm sure I've put more hours on it in the last 3 years than the previous owners did put together.

Gittyup, those chipper blades can be resharpened dozens of times. Take them someplace that does planer blades or to a machine shop with a surface grinder. If you've got a steady hand, you can do a reasonable job with a bench grinder, but it is important to keep all four blades approximately the same size, so that the cutterhead remains in balance.

My place is covered with Eastern Red Cedar. I am thinning that out, using the trunks as landscaping timbers and turning the slash into mulch. We can get tub grinder mulch from the city for free, too, and I do. But up close to the house, I prefer the texture, longevity, and fragrance of the cedar chips from my Goossen.

I had to take down a big hickory that was mortally damaged by the ice storm last January. My next chipper project is going to be to turn the slash from that into barbecue chips.

[Gittyup]

Easygo,

Congrats. It'll serve you well. Be safe.

Jeff,

Yeah I know I can get the blades resharpened. I went ahead and bought a set so that I can keep a sharp set on there while the others were being sharpened. I got a good deal on mine too, although without the blower. I paid $600 for a very nice condition machine. The blower would be nice though.

[easygo]

After looking at the current manual and video I noticed that the shredder knives have been redesigned since my machine was built. I have knives that look like a house if you are looking at it from the eves. They are in pairs and that is the way they were photographed in the manual too.

Gittyup: I ended up getting the unit for $900 and will pick it up next week. If I were waiting for a deal like you got I might never find one.

There is an interesting story to go with the chipper though. The man who sold it said: "Be very careful with it! For real! Always pull the chips away from the chipper with a rake!" To underline his point he held up his right hand. His pinky and ring-finger were mostly missing and his middle finger was a digit short as well. My jaw dropped and after a moment of pause I asked if he did it with that machine. He said he was just pulling the chips away from under the discharge and his glove may have slipped into a hole on the bottom. "It was like ZZZIP! It pulled in my gloved hand and my fingers were gone in less than a second."
I thought about it a bit more, but I ended up buying.
Thank you again guys for your help.
Easygo

[Gittyup]

Wow! That lost fingers story got me to thinking. I knew the knives were spinning under there, and the baffle does have some big holes. I have used my hands a few times. NOT ANY MORE. It's shovel or rake from here on out. Thanks for posting that.

Yeah I did get a good deal, didn't I. But, you did alright. Again be safe.