Depends on how much you want to pay. Ones available near $1500 are Jinma, DR and MacKissic. The most capable of these seems to be the Jinma. It's a beast though: weighs 800 # and requires "some assembly". Does up to 6", probably about 20 hp min. The Mac is only 160# and only requires about 12 hp and does up to 3". Think the DR is in between.
For more info, see the list below:
The following were examined and/or demoed (by the poster):
• Valby CH140F
Made in Finland. Super heavy duty and capable. Self feeds very effectively. I would have purchased this
chipper if price was no object (in 2002 this
chipper cost ~$2,800 in the US).
Weighs 585 lbs (220 lb flywheel); 15-40 hp required; 540-1,000 rpm required; runs at 540-1,000 rpm; 2 knives; max. size material = 6.25" rotating exhaust chute; hydraulic feed can be added. Cost: $4,180 + tax (price quoted by NYS dealer 8/2005; add $3,010 for hydraulic feed)
• Wallenstein BX40
A great alternative in a "classic"
chipper to the Valby CH140. Weighs 400 lbs; 16-40 hp required; runs at 540 rpm; 3 knives; max. size material = 4". Cost: $2,200 + tax (price quoted by NYS tractor dealer 8/2005)
• Salsco Model 600
An impressive "high speed"
chipper, very well built. See more pictures here. The newest Model 600 I saw had a double belt pulley instead of the single belt pictured on the company's website. This
chipper self feeds very effectively because of the especially steep intake chute; however, I did not like the steep angle so well. It felt less natural to me to lift material up over the lip of the chute. I think this
chipper is an excellent value for the money; I almost bought one. Weighs 388 lbs; 8-40 hp required; runs at ~1,800 rpm; 2 knives; max. size material = 3.5". Cost: $1,750 (quoted by Salsco 8/2005)
• Pequea Machine, Inc. Champion C-3
This is the
chipper I bought. See more pictures here. Simple mechanics, heavy construction. I believe this
chipper weighs well over 400 lbs (instead of the quoted weight of 350 lbs). I like the angle, size, and arrangement of the loading chute; I especially like the fold-down cover that becomes a shelf (like the bigger 6" chippers I have rented). Three year old 3" hawthorn feeds smoothly and continuously into this
chipper. Simple and easy to maintain. Exhaust chute reverses from side to side, but does not rotate. The
chipper base has slots cut for loader forks (too bad my Kubota doesn't have a quick-detach bucket system so that I could easily mount forks!).
Quoted weight is 350 lbs (I think 400+ lbs); 15-30 hp required; runs at 3.3x tractor PTO speed (~1,800+ rpm); 2 knives; max. size material = 3". Cost: ~$2,500
I bought this
chipper new from the manufacturer at the 2005 NY State Farm Days ag show; I paid less than the list price quoted for the Salsco 600 (above).
• Woods Equipment TCH4500
I saw this
chipper (made for Woods by BearCat) at the the 2005 NY State Farm Days ag show. Nicely designed, with a large folding load chute. Belt driven, with a manual lever to tension the belt (i.e., this
chipper has a clutch independent of the tractor's PTO clutch). The end of the flywheel shaft is exposed in its housing, and is painted so that it's easy to see if the shaft is rotating. The shroud for the flywheel is slightly elongated upward with a nice big lifting hole near the center of balance of the
chipper: easy to sling this machine to move it. Disadvantage: chips are exhausted downward to one side only (wouldn't take long until you have to shovel them aside). This
chipper seemed expensive to me at the quoted price.
Weighs 600 lbs; 8-40 hp required; runs at ~1,800 rpm; 4 knives; max. size material = 4.5". Cost: $3,250 (quoted by Woods 8/2005)
• NOTE: I did not consider the Jinma Model 4 Mechanical-feed
Chipper from China, despite (generally) favorable reviews I've seen for the Model 6. The Model 4 (4" capacity) seems to cost almost as much as the Model 6 (6" capacity), and most dealers offer only the Model 6 (which is too heavy for my BX-22 at ~780 lbs).
The links in the above-copied article don't seem to have carried through. It's in the forums somewhere. Search for it.
Ralph
