Chipper Manual Feed Chipper vs Autofeed

[btownacres]

I found a used Robarge (?) made in Canada, just a few years old, 6" chipper. If I spend the dough, I'm thinking I want auto feed to make it easier. Any comment from guys who have manual feed? I guess this is a $4000. or so chipper that they are asking $1900 for. Looks to be 5 or so years old, but not sure.
thanks

 

[tom30519]

That must be a Roberge chipper. I've never heard anything bad about them, and there are quite a few in use around here. They appear to be solidly built.

Manual vs automatic feed: I went with a manual feed because the hydraulics and rollers hanging that far off the 3pt hitch simply made the whole thing too long, too heavy, and very unwieldly to move around in my woodlot without hitting stuff all the time.

A manual feed works just fine for me 90% of the time. Keeping the knives sharp makes a difference in how easily branches will go through it. It can be a real bone-shaker when feeding it long-dead oak branches! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I've heard that some automatic feeds get clogged up on the small branches with lot of green leaves still on 'em, like cedars for example, but so does the manual feed. It might be more difficult to clear the clog on an automatic feed, I imagine. That would depend on how easily the feed mechanism can be swung out of the way.

Tom.

 

[JRobyn]

I really like the hydraulic feed on my old Morbark. I think it makes it safer. The infeed rate is nice and steady, not too slow, not too fast, and there's no need to even think about getting near the disk/blades since the feed does it. Plus, the feed roller prevents chips from blowing back into the infeed chute.

 

[Ductape]

Btown,
I'm with Tom here. I bought a nice used chipper/shredded a few weeks ago with manual feed. It has far exceeded my expectations. He is right, old dry oak can really rattle your bones when you are feeding it. Really i guess it all comes down to A: money , and B: how many hours you will be using it. I suppose if money were no object..... i'd have auto feed. Sure must be effortless. However.... my manual feed chipper works great. If you feel the used one you are looking at is a fair deal... buy it !! I made a car sized pile of brush a small mound of mulch in an afternoon !!

Scott

 

[Deerlope]

I have a 5" Bearcat Hyd feed that I used all day today. I would not want a manuel feed cause I am 64.

 

[rdbrumfield]

I have to go with the hyd feed also. I would be afraid that manual feed might tend to self feed and plug. or worse stop the knife. Being able to not have hands on the tough stuff as mentioned above, and being able to backup or slow down the feed is a great advantage. I use a 6in, hyd fed bearcat.

 

[MA1920]

Deerlope, I wouldn't use age as a reason for or against manual feed. I'm 43 using a manual feed Valby and I would like to upgrade to hydraulic feed. When chipping long straight pieces, it goes too fast, and the engine starts to lug (28.5 pto hp). It's not too comfortable grabbing onto a bouncing limb trying to prevent it from getting pulled into the chipper. Before people say cut it into shorter lengths; we're only talking about 10-15' long and second, why have a chipper if the brush has to be excessivelly pruned. Also, with the manual feed, if the material is bushy, it requires pruning or a push stick to feed the material into the chipper. I'm considering Bearcat 5" hydraulic or Salsco 4" or 6" hydraulic.

 

[tom30519]

Apparently, a lot depends on the design of the chipper, whether it is a flywheel or a drum, the feed angle relative to the blades, etc. Some will tend to pull branches in more than others - that could be a dangerous situation, IMO! I must admit, I never considered a hydraulic feed as a means of slowing down the feed rate...

My manual feed is a big flywheel with three blades. It doesn't pull stuff in by itself, yet it doesn't require much help from me, either. Kinda neutral, I guess. And I can push big branches through as fast as I want with no hint of slowing down, let alone lugging. That's how big the flywheel is on this thing...

When I went hunting for a chipper I found two fairly close to home. Same manufacturer, same model but one had the additional hydraulic feed. And in this case, it is an optional module that sits between the feed chute and the flywheel, adding about 18" in length, and a couple of hundred pounds in weight. That was too long and too heavy for my situation, so I went with manual feed, and it works out just fine. (And I'm 60 years old! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)

Tom.

 

[CTyler]

Personaly I would not have one without a feed unit.