OP -
I'm on my second
chipper. About 20 yrs ago I bought a Kemp 8hp standalone. Mainly for yard waste. It was more of a hassle using it than it was worth. Especially if you had twisted limbs.
This month I picked up a Jinma 8"
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/277284-jinma-8-chipper-first-hours.html
and it seems well worth the $1800.
My search started because I fell a lot of trees and planning on continuing. LOTS of limbs. I also run a small sawmill and have lot's of bark-sided cants. I live in Mississippi and have virtually no need for heat. I do need wood chips for landscaping.
I did a LOT of research and spent probably 80 hours on CL looking for a Wallenstein/Bear Cat 6" and rarely found one on the East Coast over the course of two years.
This year I HAD to clean up a rental lot and chipping seemed a LOT better than tying everything into bundles that weighed less than 50lbs and were less than 4' long for the trash. And I can't burn. Rental rates are about $300 for a weekend.
There seems to be 3 classes of PTO 6" plus wood chippers - Chinese (Jinma, Wood Maxx etc.), Bear Cat/Wallenstein and then the REALLY expensive ones. Prices are < $2K, $$5K to $6K, $10K plus.
I'm very pleased with the Jinma from RanchHandsupply.
A couple of salient points -
If you read many of the threads talking about "chinese" chippers you'll find they have lot's initial problem points. Loose or missing bolts, belts that break, bad oil, zerks, etc. And a LOT of the different "chinese chippers" brands look identical. Ronald addresses all these problems and ships a machine that has gone thru quality control and part upgrades.
Get the biggest throat you can afford. Limbs are not straight. I can't envision trying to lug an 8" diameter log to the
chipper - too heavy. Yesterday I was feeding it 4' long 6" diameter tree trunks. They were heavy.
Make sure you have the "little things" - shear bolts etc. Safety glasses. Ear protection.
And a word on renting VS buying. For me to rent it's got to be a high maintenance or rarely used item. I've used this
chipper for about 4 days at two hours per day. IN GOOD WEATHER. If I had tried to rent a
chipper over the weekend it's poured the last weekend