Wood Chipper (PTO vs stand alone)

[otherguy]

Considering buying a wood chipper and I am wondering what the better option would be, specifically work flow wise or what is most efficient working wise. I am comparing brand new PTO wood chippers to used commercial style wood chipper. I have seen used commercial type ones that aren't that much more expensive than a new PTO one, which is why I am trying to see what might be the better option.

 

[TerryR]

The virtues of a PTO model:
- No additional engine to maintain
- Easily moved to difficult locations

If these don't matter to you maybe a stand-alone model works for you.

 

[4570Man]

The virtues of a PTO model:
- No additional engine to maintain
.

If I had a dollar for every time I’d heard that I’d be rich. How many people that don’t run ethanol gas have had any problems?

 

[mikester]

Are you buying a commercial powered chipper or a homeowner unit?

Commercial units are large and expensive. PTO units are cheaper. You need plenty of PTO HP on your tractor.

I壇 strongly recommend make getting the hydraulic infeed rollers.

Homeowner units are great for things like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Try renting a commercial unit and a homeowner unit. You won稚 want the homeowner unit afterwards.

 

[Oldoak]

If I had a dollar for every time I’d heard that I’d be rich. How many people that don’t run ethanol gas have had any problems?

There's way more to properly maintaining an engine than what gas is used.

That's one of the reasons I rent a commercial chipper for my needs. And a PTO driven home owner's model just won't "hack" it. I find a commercial rental is faster, more efficient and cheaper in the long run.

 

[TerryR]

If I had a dollar for every time I’d heard that I’d be rich. How many people that don’t run ethanol gas have had any problems?

Of course you've heard it many times, and you will continue to hear it because it's true.

The gas isn't the issue, other than you have to go out of your way to keep some ethanol-free and get it from the only place in town that sells when they happen to be open. That, or run the carburetor dry after each use.

But "maintenance" means much more than that. There's the oil changes not going to be made, and the batteries not going to be replaced until they fail, for example. You guys who like tinkering with your equipment just don't get it. The rest of us just don't like doing that ... there are other things we would rather do with our time. So that stuff doesn't get done.

For example, I have a walk-behind rotary mower that I use to mow the grass around my barn and equipment shed a couple of times a month during growing season. This past summer I noticed the oil level was getting a little low (yes, I do check the oil every four or five times I use it). So this fall I changed the oil, for the first time in the 20 years we've lived here. I changed the oil in our stand-by generator about 10 years ago, I think.

So we don't do it, and won't do it, and then we have to listen to guys like you tell us how easy it is to change the oil, check the battery, wax the tractor, and the like. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that...

 

[oosik]

I have a homeowners unit. PTO driven Wallenstein BX62S. Because I only chip Ponderosa pine - I did not get the hydraulic feed system. This willing monster will whip a pine tree out of my hands just like a child grabbing a Christmas candy cane.

One thing to consider - size of the chipper. I have the BX62S because it will handle trees/limbs up to and including 6 inches. I could have purchased the BX92S and my tractor has the power to effectively run that larger unit also. The BX92S will handle 9" stuff.

The cold hard facts - cut down a Ponderosa pine that is 9" on the base - it will stand 38' to 46' tall. Now - pick up the base and attempt to drag this tree over to your chipper. Lot of fun - isn't it. Well - every spring I thin my pine stands and will be identifying, marking, felling, dragging and chipping between 750 to 900 small (6" or less on the butt) pine trees. And - NO - I never anticipate cutting these trees in half, thirds or quarters so I can manhandle them.

I feed these trees - butt first - into my chipper. I remove NO limbs, cones, squirrels, chipmunks etc - they go in whole.

 

[disney]

... I have seen used commercial type ones that aren't that much more expensive than a new PTO one, which is why I am trying to see what might be the better option.

Sometimes buying used is akin to buying someone else's problems. I think it might be hard to find a "good used one", especially since it's likely you don't know exactly what to look out for. (unless you are a commercial chipper repair person, who knows what goes bad, and how to tell something major is about to go bad...from sound, feel, or etc...)

Part availability and cost is likely to be much more of an issue on a used (likely older) commercial chipper.

Yes a commercial one will likely be faster when it works, but how much time and money will be spent keeping it working--that is the real question.

 

[ericm979]

Used trailer chippers are quite a bit more expensive than a new PTO chipper of the same capacity. They're used commercially, which often means they're poorly maintained. My Woodmaxx 8" was $2800 shipped. The cheapest used trailer chipper I can find on craigslist is $7000, has less capacity and it's 400 miles away. Most are $10k and up.

Renting a chipper adds two hours to my day to pick it up and drop it off. When I own the chipper I can spend that time working, and I don't have to wait until there's a day's worth of piles to chip.

 

[RalphVa]

I've had both. Agree with what TerryR said but, in addition, you cannot beat the torque of diesel power which you typically do not get in a separate unit. Think I've only ever stalled my tractor mounted unit unit maybe one time; whereas, I was forever stalling the old Troybilt

You only need 18.5 hp to run a 3 1/2" chipper. That's what I had when I bought my first PTO unit, a Mackissic TPH-122 (TPH = three point hitch). Now have 24.5 hp because JD refuses to make a smaller tractor running the same Mac. In fact, I recently completely replaced all the hammers and spacers after about 12 years.

I also use mine for shredding leaves. Think a hammer unit is better for this vs. an all knife, mainly chipper, unit. I pick up over a 100 bags of leaves that town homeowners just throw away (and our local business turns them into mulch, compost or soil that he sells back).

I highly recommend the Mac TPH-122 if a 3 1/2" and smaller unit would meet your needs. It is so easy to work on. Before, I had a Troybilt Tomahawk, which is an absolute beast to work on. Why? The spacers between its hammers get beat and beat up and misshapen such that they "weld" themselves to the shafts. You can then spend hours hammering those shafts back out. (Maybe, if you had a 2nd person applying a torch to those spacers, it might get easier.) The hammers on both the Tomahawk and the Mac are the same: 4 corners and 2 shaft holes. You can rotate them 3 times when each leading corner gets rounded off. Chipper blade changeout on the Mac is easier, too, once you know how, because you don't have to reach inside to get a backer tool onto the head of the bolts holding the chipper blade. On the Mac, they're screws.

ALWAYS use a face shield and long gloves. I once had a hand pruner thrown back out at me from a bunch of leaves I lifted with 2 hands and let dribble into the Mac. Didn't catch the hand pruners in there until they caught ME coming back out.

Ralph